Once again, it’s time to celebrate bringing in a new year—a moment to reflect on last year and commit to New Year’s resolutions, make things happen, shake it up, be the change. Kick off 2024 by celebrating ’til the Big Ball drops, ’til the rooster crows!
The following is a short listing of New Year’s Eve jazz happenings around town.
Bill’s Place (148 West 133rd Street), owned by saxophonist and composer Bill Saxton, will be in New Year’s Eve stride as it stirs up spirits from those Prohibition days, when this authentic Harlem speakeasy had plates of Tillie’s fried chicken and a young Billie Holiday turned heads with song and a voice that caused listeners to tremble.
The spirits of such notables will be silently celebrating among live guests as Saxton’s Harlem All-Stars jam the night away. The first set, at 7:30 p.m., will offer party favors/BYOB and a grand time. Admission is $60 per person. The second set begins at 10:30 p.m. with party favors, complimentary wine bar, and food to take you into the wee hours of a dawning New Year. Admission is $90 per person.
For reservations, visit billsplaceharlem.com/products/new-years-show.
In Brooklyn at Sista’s Place (456 Nostrand Avenue), high-flyin’ notes will be bouncing off the ceiling as trombonist Craig Harris’s band infuse their jazz drenched in funk and swing. His trusted band members are pianist Yayoi Ikawa, bassist Calvin Jones, drummer Kahill Kwame Bell, and vocalist Milton Suggs.
The celebration begins at 10:30 p.m. and includes a champagne toast and traditional New Year’s Eve Southern cuisine (chicken, black-eyed peas, rice, potato salad, and fish). Admission is $75 per person.
For reservations, call 718-398-1766.
Returning to Manhattan, the Smoke Jazz & Supper Club (2751 Broadway) will be jumping with vocalist Carla Cook, pianist Eric Reed, and the alto saxophonist Vincent Herring Quintet. The group will be rounded out with drummer Joe Farnsworth, trumpeter Jeremy Pelt, and bassist tba.
The set at 7 p.m. is $250, which includes a three-course holiday dinner and one show. The 9:30 p.m. set is $350, which includes the dinner, two shows, and a midnight celebration with hats and noise-makers. Of course, customers will be so busy grooving to Cook’s magical vocals and the outstanding all-star quintet (of established musicians and band leaders) that noise-makers will only be an afterthought.
For reservations, visit tickets.smokejazz.com.
If you’re in the Washington, D.C., area for New Year’s, you might want to check out the celebration at Keystone Korner Baltimore, presenting a special double bill featuring pianist Cyrus Chestnut and Affirmation, along with violinist Chelsey Green & the Green Project.
In a grand finale closer, the two bands will perform together. The ticket of $130 plus tax includes a four-course meal (appetizer, entrée, dessert, and non-alcoholic drinks served from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m.) and a champagne toast at midnight.
For more information, visit the website keystonekornerbaltimore.com.
I would like to thank everyone for taking time to read this column and, more importantly, for reading the Amsterdam News, one of the oldest and most influential Black weekly newspapers in the United States. James Henry Anderson, the founder of the Amsterdam News, once stated, “Harlem is the Amsterdam News and we are Harlem.”
For 2024, the key words are resilience and perseverance. These words reflect the tenacity of our African ancestors. Cuba Gooding and the Main Ingredient said it best on their single, “Rolling Down the Mountainside”: “We all count/We got strength and we got pride/Fight when you know you’re right/Keep the truth in sight…” “Black seeds keep on growing.”
One Love 2024!!!