Events

ABSOLUTELY LIVE ENTERTAINMENT
presents the 2010 Season

Below is just a sample of the activities ALE will be working on for the next year!
More news and updates will appear regularly.

"Louis"

"Louis" - A Silent Film

Monday, August 30, 8pm
The Apollo Theater, New York City

“Louis” is a silent film set in 1907 New Orleans that tells the story of a young boy born into poverty who dreams of playing the trumpet. The action takes place in “The District” – the section of New Orleans dedicated to pleasure and violence. “Louis” is an homage to Louis Armstrong, Charlie Chaplin, beautiful women and the birth of the great American art form, jazz.

“Louis” is a new film by Dan Pritzker, shot in the style of a classic silent film by Academy Award winning cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond. The film will be accompanied by live music from The Wynton Marsalis Ensemble and pianist Cecile Licad.

THIS FILM IS RATED R -- TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 70 Minutes

Tickets are on sale now at ticketmaster.com and at the Apollo Theater Box Office at 253 West 125th St. (between 7th & 8th Aves.) or by calling 1-800-745-3000.

SPAC 2010 New

SPAC 2010 New

Freihofer's Saratoga Jazz Festival, Saratoga Springs, NY

The 33rd Annual Freihofer's Jazz Festival took place on Saturday, June 26 & Sunday, June 27 at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center and presented a stellar 2010 lineup including the "Empress of Soul" Gladys Knight, jazz singer Al Jarreau & the George Duke Trio, legendary blues icon Taj Mahal, guitarist extraordinaire Al Di Meola and two piano legends – Ramsey Lewis and Ahmad Jamal.  The festival featured more than 20 performances over the two-day weekend on SPAC’s Amphitheater and Gazebo stages and many of the artists performed at the festival for the first time.

Saturday, June 26

  • Al Jarreau & the George Duke Trio
  • “Sax for Stax” – Gerald Albright & Kirk Whalum
  • Ahmad Jamal
  • Taj Mahal
  • Al DiMeola – World Sinfonia
  • Evan Christopher – New Orleans Clarinet Virtuoso
  • Mario Abney Quintet
  • Tomasz Stanko Quartet – Polish Jazz Legend
  • Alyssa Graham
  • JD Allen Trio
  • Steve Kroon Sextet

Sunday, June 27

  • Gladys Knight
  • Juan De Marcos & the Afro Cuban All Stars (Buena Vista Social Club Visionary)
  • Ramsey Lewis Trio – 21 Years since Last Festival Appearance!
  • Ann Hampton Callaway
  • Stefon Harris & Blackout
  • Trio of OZ featuring Rachel Z and Omar Hakim
  • Linda Oh Trio
  • Kendrick Scott Oracle
  • Ralph Lalama Quartet
  • Hailey Niswanger – Berklee College of Music alto sax phenom

Presented in partnership with the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, this festival is like no other: two days & nights, two stages, picnics, reserved seats & tents on the lawn, free parking, sun & shade, jazz, blues, soul, Latin and more. With an inside seating capacity of 5,200 and lawn seating of 20,000, and just three hours driving time from Boston and New York, SPAC's Jazz Festival draws thousands of jazz aficionados from across the Northeast and the US.

 

Shape of Jazz

Shape of Jazz

"The Shape of Jazz"

Zankel Hall @ Carnegie Hall

2010-2011 season

  • Regina Carter’s Reverse Thread — October 20, 2010
  • Chris Potter’s Underground — November 10, 2010
  • Bill Charlap & Renee Rosnes — February 9, 2011
  • Toshiko Akiyoshi – Solo, Trio & Quartet — part of JapanNYC Festival — April 6, 2011

For further information, please go to Carnegie Hall or call CarnegieCharge at 212-247-7800.

Kind of Blue

Kind of Blue

Kind of Blue @ 50 — Jimmy Cobb & The So What Band World Tour

Miles Davis recorded what would become the most famous album in jazz, Kind of Blue, in 1959. Jimmy Cobb was the drummer on those sessions. Fifty years later Cobb, the newly honored NEA Jazz Master who celebrated his 80th birthday on January 20, 2009 (Inauguration Day!), leads a handpicked band on a world tour. ALE proudly produces this tour, which commenced at the 40th annual New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in May '09, followed by a trip to Sao Paulo, Brazil in mid-May. The band performed at many North American and European Jazz Festivals in June & July and throughout the fall in Europe and in the US.

The band includes Eddie Henderson, Javon Jackson, Vincent Herring, Larry Willis, Buster Williams & Jimmy Cobb and will perform in Knoxville, TN on Saturday, August 28, 2010. The band, featuring Jeremy Pelt on trumpet, will perform 4 concerts in February, 2011 in Albany, NY (2/10), Blue Bell, PA (2/11), Buffalo, NY (2/12), & Red Bank, NJ (2/13).

Click here to see the 2009 50th anniversary tour schedule.

For more information on presenting this ensemble, please contact Scott Southard at International Music Network at 978-283-2883 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Danilo Perez

Danilo Perez

Danilo Perez presents "Things To Come: 21st Century Dizzy"

Here's the next "thing" from three-time Grammy ® nominee and Panamanian jazz pianist Danilo Perez, his global all-star band celebrating the music and bountiful inspiration of his mentor, Dizzy Gillespie. As the youngest member of the last edition of Dizzy Gillespie's United Nation Orchestra, Perez learned first-hand how Gillespie embraced musical and personal collaborations throughout the world.

Danilo has assembled a little big band to perform new arrangements of classic Gillespie tunes in addition to original group compositions. Dizzy's bands were a constant melting pot of styles, genres, and pan-global collaborations. Danilo's hand-picked all-stars, with roots in Afro-Cuban, be-bop, Indian, African and Middle Eastern music among other genres, will more than honor Dizzy's legendary vision.

ALE is proud to produce this band, which toured between February and May 2010, featuring Danilo Perez - piano (Panama), David Sanchez - tenor saxophone (Puerto Rico), Rudresh Mahanthappa - alto saxophone (India/US), Jamey Haddad - percussion (Lebanon/US), Ben Street - bass (US), Adam Cruz - drums (Puerto Rico/US) and Amir ElSaffar - trumpet/voice (Iraq/US).

2010 Tour dates were:

Friday 3/19/10 Philadelphia, PA

  • Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts
    Verizon Hall
  • Saturday 3/27/10 Toronto, ON
    The Royal Conservatory - Telus Centre for Performance and Learning
    Koerner Hall
  • Thursday 4/1/10 – Sunday 4/4/10 New York, NY
    The Jazz Standard
  • Thursday 4/8/10 Ann Arbor, MI
    University of Michigan
    Hill Auditorium
  • Saturday 4/10/10 Minneapolis, MN
    University of Minnesota
    Ted Mann Concert Hall
  • Friday 5/21/10 Chicago, IL
    Symphony Center

For more information on presenting this ensemble, please contact Jack Randall at Ted Kurland Associates at 617-254-0007 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Blue Note Records

Blue Note Records

Blue Note Records — A 70th Anniversary Recording & Tour

Throughout 2009, Blue Note Records celebrated its 70th anniversary. ALE produced a national tour that featured an all-star band led by Blue Note Records recording artist and pianist Bill Charlap.

The band includes Peter Bernstein, Ravi Coltrane, Lewis Nash, Nicholas Payton, Peter Washington and Steve Wilson. The group's recording, which was the #1 Jazz Radio CD of the year, The Blue Note 7: Mosaic is out now.

Click here to see the entire US tour schedule. The band is on hiatus at this time and we hope to have them on the road again in the future!

Sonny Rollins

Sonny Rollins

Sonny Rollins 80th Birthday Celebration!

Sunday, April 18, 2010
Boston Symphony Hall

First Boston Appearance in 3 Years!

Absolutely Live Entertainment presented Sonny Rollins’ 80th Birthday Concert on Sunday, April 18 at Boston Symphony Hall. Sonny & his band played a stellar set to an extremely appreciative audience. After the concert, Sonny met various guests and fans for over 90 minutes. He took every photo and signed every autograph. A gentleman indeed.

2009 in Review


2009 in Review

Keith Jarrett

Keith Jarrett – An Evening of Solo Improvisations

Thursday, January 29, 2009
Carnegie Hall

ALE was honored, once again, to have presented this masterful artist in concert.

Miles & Coltrane

"Miles & Coltrane" - 50th Anniversary of Kind of Blue and Giant Steps

Thursday-Saturday, February 12-14, 2009

Rose Theater at Frederick P. Rose Hall
Produced by Jazz at Lincoln Center — ALE was the Line Producer for this event.

In 1959, two seminal albums changed the way jazz was played and heard: Miles Davis' Kind of Blue and John Coltrane's Giant Steps. Music director Mulgrew Miller and his trio join a capella masters Take 6 to bring their unique style to the music of Kind of Blue, while the saxophone section of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra plays orchestrated solos from Giant Steps. The legendary Jimmy Cobb, the drummer on Kind of Blue & Giant Steps, joins the evening's festivities, as these groundbreaking masterpieces are re-imagined.

Honor

Honor: Blues, Jazz, Rhythm and Blues, Soul, And Beyond

Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Carnegie Hall

Jessye Norman, Producer
Danny Melnick, Associate Producer
Ray Chew, Musical Director

Paying tribute to the great African American popular music artists of the past, the brightest lights in blues, rhythm and blues, soul, and jazz, as well as today's daring innovators, gathered for a magical evening of music. Each presentation paralleled an event in the bountiful history of performances by African American artists at Carnegie Hall. This grand celebration featured Ashford & Simpson, Anthony Hamilton, Doug E. Fresh, Leela James, Kem, Toshi Reagon, James “Blood” Ulmer, Vernon Reid, Ryan Shaw, MC Lyte, Freddie Jackson, James Carter, Terence Blanchard, Geri Allen, Ron Carter, and others.

Afro-Cuban All Stars

Afro-Cuban All Stars

Saturday, March 28, 2009
First NYC Appearance in 10 Years!

The Town Hall

Presented in partnership with New Audiences Productions, this concert was a rousing success. The band performed an incredible set of over two hours to a close-to-capacity audience!

Duke Ellington Jazz Festival

Duke Ellington Jazz Festival — Washington DC

June 5-15, 2009
5th Annual Duke Ellington Jazz Festival Celebrates New Orleans

Expanded to 11 days from seven days last year, the 5th annual Festival presented over 100 programs in nearly 50 venues, bringing jazz to every part of the city and to every level of fan from young to old, artist to student, resident to tourist.

The 5th anniversary festival paid tribute to the unique, rich and diverse musical heritage of New Orleans. The salute to pianist/composer/educator Ellis Marsalis, a patriarch of jazz in New Orleans and father of musicians Branford, Delfeayo, Jason and Wynton, at the Kennedy Center on June 15, was completely sold out and one of the finest artistic events ever witnessed by those lucky enough to be in the house that evening. Ellis performed along side his sons, Harry Connick, Jr., Dr. Billy Taylor and others.

The DEJF's unique and free programs included Jazz 'n Families Fun Day at the Phillips Collection, and Jazz on The National Mall, two days of free concerts next to the Washington Monument on June 13 & 14. The Mall event featured Terence Blanchard, Irma Thomas & the Professionals, Buckwheat Zydeco, Little Freddie King, Nicholas Payton, Rebirth Brass Band, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, Donald Harrison, Don Vappie & The Creole Jazz Serenaders and Bob French & The Original Tuxedo Jazz Band.

2010 festival dates will be announced in the fall and further information can be found at www.dejazzfest.org.

Gary Burton Quartet

Gary Burton Quartet Revisited, featuring Pat Metheny, Steve Swallow & Antonio Sanchez

Saturday, June 20, 2009, 8 pm
Berklee Performance Center, Boston, MA

Vibraphone master Gary Burton reunited with former band-mates, guitar virtuoso Pat Metheny and bass guitar legend Steve Swallow along with contemporary drumming sensation Antonio Sanchez for a summer tour of the U.S. & Canada in support of their new Concord Records release, Quartet Live.

SPAC 2009

Freihofer's Saratoga Jazz Festival, Saratoga Springs, NY

The 32nd Annual Freihofer's Jazz Festival, which featured stellar performances by Patti LaBelle, George Benson, Dave Brubeck, Gary Burton Quartet featuring Pat Metheny, Bettye Lavette, Spanish Harlem Orchestra, SMV - Stanley Clarke, Marcus Miller, Victor Wooten, and a celebration of Miles Davis' seminal album, Kind of Blue by jazz great Jimmy Cobb, and many others, was a smashing success.

More information can be found on SPAC's website at www.spac.org or by contacting SPAC at 518-584-9330.

Iranian Sounds of Peace

"Iranian Sounds of Peace: Rumi Symphony Project Cycle I"

Saturday, November 14, 2009
Carnegie Hall
Hafez Nazeri – The New Face of Iran – Premieres "Rumi Symphony Project: Cycle One"

An East/West “musical dialogue” featuring Hafez Nazeri and his legendary father, Shahram Nazeri, with an international all-star ensemble.

The Nazeri Music Foundation presents "Iranian Sounds of Peace" in association with Absolutely Live Entertainment and the Asia Society and is the first Iranian headlining event at Carnegie Hall.

Shape of Jazz Prior Seasons


"The Shape of Jazz" — Prior Seasons

  • 2009-2010 Season

Terence Blanchard

Eliane Elias

James Moody Celebration

  • 2008-2009 Season
    • Bill Charlap Trio — "Somewhere: The Music of Leonard Bernstein"
    • John Scofield Trio featuring the ScoHorns
    • Dee Dee Bridgewater — part of the "Honor! A Celebration of the African American Cultural Legacy" festival
  • 2007-2008 Season
    • David Sanchez Group – "La Leyenda del Cañaveral" — NY Debut
    • The Bad Plus
    • The SFJAZZ Collective – "The Music of Wayne Shorter" — NY Exclusive
    • Manhattan Trinity – Cyrus Chestnut, George Mraz, Lewis Nash
  • 2006-2007 Season
    • Stefon Harris – "African Tarantella...Dances with Duke" — NY Debut
    • Kurt Elling Group featuring The Escher String Quartet & Bob Mintzer
    • Geri Allen Trio with Special Guest Maurice Chestnut, Tap Dancer
    • James Carter Quartet plus Strings – "Gardenias for Lady Day" — NY Debut
  • 2005-2006 Season
    • Fred Hersch 50th Birthday – Solo Piano
    • Ron Carter, Russell Malone & Mulgrew Miller
    • Patricia Barber
    • Matt Wilson's Arts & Crafts Quartet
  • 2004-2005 Season
    • Abdullah Ibrahim 70th Birthday – Solo & Trio
    • Michael Brecker Quindectet
    • Lizz Wright
    • Greg Osby Four
  • 2003-2004 Season
    • David Murray with Strings — World Premiere
    • Karrin Allyson & Luciana Souza
    • Danilo Perez Trio & Danilo Perez/Steve Lacy Duets
    • Dave Holland Big Band