*Livestreams are available for 48 hours in every timezone Cyrus Chestnut – piano Special guest Carla Cook – vocals “The best jazz pianist of his generation.”
– Time Pianist Cyrus Chestnut, a virtuoso renowned for his soulful brilliance, celebrates his birthday by leading this exceptional trio featuring guest vocalist Carla Cook. Chestnut’s playing, deeply rooted in gospel and blues, infuses each performance with profound emotional depth. As The New York Times notes, his “crisp articulation and blues-inflected harmony evoke another era… multifaceted and dynamic,” seamlessly blending tradition with fresh innovation to captivate audiences. Chestnut’s artistry has earned him widespread acclaim as one of the most distinctive and compelling jazz pianists of his generation. As The New York Daily News aptly describes him, he is “the rightful heir to Bud Powell, Art Tatum, and Erroll Garner.” 

*Livestreams are available for 48 hours in every time zone Nicholas Payton – trumpet, piano & keyboards Buster Williams – bass Lenny White – drums “Payton dazzled the audience, simultaneously playing his trumpet and a Fender Rhodes. It's his signature, resonant sound… Payton's genius virtuosity captivated both faithful fans and anyone in the NPR crowd just discovering his music for the first time. -- NPR Multi-instrumental virtuoso and visionary Nicholas Payton reunites the group from his Couch Sessions album, featuring two of the greatest ever: bassist Buster Williams and drummer Lenny White. Based in his hometown, New Orleans, Payton is a master trumpeter and pianist steeped in acoustic jazz, post-bop, and the music of his hometown, but who also explores other lanes encompassing the entirety of Black American Music. He has recorded and performed with Wynton Marsalis, Dr. Michael White, Christian McBride, Joshua Redman, Roy Hargrove, Doc Cheatham, and Joe Henderson, among many others, and is widely considered one of the most important artists of our time. In a review, the Chicago Tribune reports, “No descriptive label or category could be affixed to Payton’s solos, which were as brashly original as they were technically imposing.” 

*Livestreams are available for 48 hours in every time zone Joe Lovano – tenor saxophone Leo Genovese – piano John Menegon – bass Lamy Istrefi Jr. – drums “The titan among us.” – DownBeat Saxophonist Joe Lovano makes his highly anticipated SMOKE debut as a leader of his own quartet with pianist Leo Genovese, bassist John Menegon, and drummer Lamy Istrefi Jr. One of the most prolific, beloved, and decorated artists of our time, Lovano is known for fearlessly finding new modes of artistic expression. He is a Grammy winner with 14 other nominations and has won DownBeat’s Critics and Readers Polls countless times as Tenor Saxophonist, Musician of the Year, and Jazz Album of the Year. He has also received numerous awards from JazzTimes and the Jazz Journalists Association for Tenor Saxophone, Album of the Year, and Musician of the Year. His recording and performing credits include collaborations with a long list of jazz greats, including Tony Bennett, Abbey Lincoln, McCoy Tyner, Hank Jones, and Ornette Coleman, among many others. NPR calls him “one of the jazz world’s most celebrated musicians,” while The Guardian says he is a “giant American elder of jazz reeds-playing” who seems “ to be simmering all his decades of timeless tunes and exquisite passing phrases down to essences.” 

*Livestreams are available for 48 hours in every time zone Theo Croker – trumpet Tyler Bullock II – piano & keyboards Eric Wheeler – bass Koleby Royston – drums “In a field teeming with talented young lions, the bright sound of trumpeter Theo Croker still sticks out.”
– All About Jazz Theo Croker, a GRAMMY Award-nominated trumpeter, returns to SMOKE with another stellar group featuring Tyler Bullock, II, Eric Wheeler, and Koleby Royston. A genre-defying, generation-defining artist who rejects boundaries, Croker lets his voice ring through the music, The grandson of legendary trumpeter Doc Cheatham, Crocker is a leading figure on the contemporary music scene, renowned for his entrancing melodies and innovative approach. He was a student of Donald Byrd, a protégé of Wynton Marsalis, and a veteran of performances with such jazz greats as Dee Dee Bridgewater, Jimmy Heath, the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, Gary Bartz, Kassa Overall, and many more. Well-versed in the swing, bop, and modal styles of acoustic jazz, Croker’s own music reveals a love of organic funk, soul, and hip-hop. JazzWise reports, “Croker is a spiritualist and a politically minded artist and has long since turned his musical gaze towards a crossover culture where jazz, drum beats, reverberating, ethereal trumpet sounds, elements of hip-hop and club electronics, Afrofuturism, sampled voices and ritual tribal chants meet organically and combine to create a gripping, spacey concoction.” The Wall Street Journal calls his music “timeless and of the moment.”