BIRDLAND JAZZ CLUB will present pianist Matt Baker and singer/dancer Luke Hawkins in “The Buddy Boys Take Birdland” – an exciting night of music, magic and a little mayhem – on Monday, August 14 at 7:00 PM. Their special guests will include vocalists Jelani Remy, Gabrielle Stravelli, Jacob Khalil, Ella Mae Dixon, Kim McClay, and Izze Stein, with Marty Kenny on bass, Alvester Garnett on drums, Ben Golder-Novick on saxophone. There is a $30 music charge. Birdland is located at 315 West 44th Street in New York. 

Matt Baker performs regularly as a sideman at jazz venues including Birdland and The Blue Note, tours both within the USA and internationally as a bandleader and sideman and has released 6 albums, his latest a DVD album Live at Birdland. In 2019, Matt premiered his new project “A Rhapsody of Gershwin” at Birdland, presenting a new spin on the music of one of America’s most celebrated composers. The show’s all-star lineup from the heart of New York’s jazz scene includes Endea Owenson bass, Curtis Nowosad on drums, and 2019 Grammy nominee vocalist Nicole Zuraitis. The project fuses jazz with classical, and is comprised of music from Porgy and Bess, “An American in Paris,” “Rhapsody in Blue” and “Concerto in F,” plus other exciting gems from the classical and popular worlds of George Gershwin. Baker’s sideman credits include touring and performing with vocalists Judy Collins, Ann Hampton Callaway, Jennifer Holliday, Vanessa Williams, Patti LaBelle, Veronica Swift (2015 Monk competition winner), Tierney Sutton, and Arianna Neikrug (2015 Sarah Vaughan competition winner), in addition to guitar icon Bucky Pizzarelli, and tenor saxophonist Joel Frahm.  Matt Baker was an award winner himself in the 2003 Montreux International Solo Jazz Piano competition and a semi-finalist in 2004 and 2005.

Luke Hawkins is a NYC-based tap dancer and choreographer. He performed in and choreographed the Broadway show, Harry Connick Jr. – A Tribute to Cole Porter at the Nederlander Theatre in 2019 and has choreographed Connick and performed alongside him in 43 concerts including The Hollywood Bowl, Wolftrap, UNO Lakefront arena in New Orleans, La Seine Musicale in Paris, and the Palladium in London. Luke’s theatre credits include the Broadway production of Xanadu, Cirque du Soleil’s Banana Shpeel (NYC) and Joya (Cancun, Mexico) as well as New York City Center Encores! productions of No, No, Nanette; Gentlemen Prefer Blondes; and On Your Toes. He has played several leading roles in regional productions as Ren in Footloose, Huck in Big River, Bert in Mary Poppins, Action in West Side Story, Will Parker in Oklahoma!, Tulsa in Gypsy, and Robert in The Drowsy Chaperone. His TV and film credits include tap dancing alongside Channing Tatum in the Coen Brothers’ Hail, Caesar!, the 2015 Tony Awards, “Gossip Girl,” “America’s Got Talent,” “The Colbert Report,” “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon,” the 2021 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and “Annie Live!” 

BIRDLAND JAZZ CLUB will present Matt Baker and Luke Hawkins in “The Buddy Boys Take Birdland” on Monday, August 14 at 7:00 PM. There is a $30 music charge and a $20 food and beverage minimum. Birdland is located at 315 West 44th Street (between 8th and 9th Avenues) in Manhattan.For reservations, please call (212) 581-3080 or visit www.BirdlandJazz.com.