Birdland Big Band feat. Emma Smith

Birdland’s resident big band takes the late set with British vocalist Emma Smith as featured guest. Directed by saxophonist David DeJesus, the ensemble brings its standing Friday-night program to the club: an original blend of jazz, funk, Brazilian, Latin and world music. Smith joins the band as the evening’s guest vocalist, adding a distinct voice to the large-ensemble arrangements.

The Birdland Big Band is a New York resident ensemble whose weekly guests have included players from the David Letterman and Saturday Night Live television bands, as well as touring bands for Rob Thomas and Rod Stewart. DeJesus has performed with the Village Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, Mingus Big Band, Dizzy Gillespie Alumni All-Stars, Jimmy Heath’s Big Band, Ruben Blades and Gilberto Santa Rosa. Smith, a British vocalist and Parliamentary Jazz Vocalist of the Year, has collaborated with Michael Bublé, the Quincy Jones Orchestra, Jeff Goldblum, and the Jeremy Pelt and Wayne Escoffery quintet. Time Out New York called the band “a completely unique experience… there isn’t another band like this anywhere,” while All About Jazz praised its “bandstand democracy in action.”