The Pan-American Nutcracker Suite: Joe McCarthy's NY Afro Bop Alliance Big Band
Dizzy's Club102 Columbus Circle, New York 10107
Joe McCarthy leads his 18-piece New York Afro Bop Alliance Big Band through The Pan-American Nutcracker Suite, his and Vince Norman's reworking of Tchaikovsky's holiday music. McCarthy directs from the drums, with trumpeters Nick Marchione, Tony Kadleck, Alex Norris and Diego Urcola; trombonists Joe Fiedler, John Yao, Sam Blakeslee and James Borowski; and saxophonists Alejandro Aviles, Andrew Gould, Ben Kono, Luis Hernandez and Frank Basile. Alex Brown, Boris Kozlov, Vinny Valentino and Luisito Quintero complete the band on piano, bass, guitar and percussion. Afro-Cuban grooves, Brazilian samba, and rhythms from the Americas and Asia reshape the familiar score.
Founded and led in New York City by drummer McCarthy, the Afro Bop Alliance brings together first-call jazz and Afro-Cuban musicians for big-band music rooted in bebop and expanded through African, Afro-Caribbean, Brazilian and other influences. The group won the 2008 Latin Grammy for Latin Jazz Album of the Year for Afro Bop Alliance Featuring Dave Samuels, and its "Waltz of the Flowers" received a 2023 Latin Grammy nomination for Best Arrangement. Its collaborators have included Alex Brown, Hector Martignon, Dave Samuels, Victor Provost and Roland Vazquez, while live guests have included Paquito D'Rivera, Poncho Sanchez and Arturo O'Farrill. DownBeat called the band “a torchbearer of the genre’s storied history and also one of its fiercest innovators.”
Dizzy's Club offers a refined jazz experience with a seating capacity of about 140, where guests enjoy live performances from world-class musicians in a room that frames sweeping views of Central Park and the Manhattan skyline. The venue features a full bar and a seasonal menu with sophisticated soul food, enhancing the evening beyond just the music. Shows are ticketed and typically run two sets per night, with late-night sessions available without reservation. The seating is generally first-come, first-served, encouraging early arrival for the best vantage points. The club’s location within Jazz at Lincoln Center places it in a lively cultural hub, making it ideal for a night that blends attentive listening with the pleasure of fine dining and cityscape views.