Born and raised in San Francisco, now based in NYC, Gabriel showcases a catalogue of original music, jazz standards, and arrangements of works by Bill Evans, Chick Corea, Thelonious Monk, Duke Ellington, Cedar Walton, and Keith Jarrett. Gabriel honors the history of these master pianists with performances that are both soulful and hard-hitting. You’ll find him performing almost every night with distinguished jazz musicians at household New York City jazz venues including The Django, Ornithology, The Harlem Jazz Museum, Chelsea Table and Stage, Cellar Dog, and more.
Led by veteran trumpeter Simon Wettenhall and Grammy winning pianist Conal Fowkes, The High Society New Orleans Jazz Band are a New Orleans style Jazz band which for decades have been Woody Allen’s band of choice for his movies, concert tours and weekly pertormances.
The band have appeared on all the premiere concert stages of Europe and the United States. Band members have appeared in and provided music for Woody Allen movies including: Wild Man Blues, Sweet and Lowdown, Midnight in Paris, Blue Jasmine, Cafe Society, Magic In The Moonlight, and A Rainy Day In New York.
Their driving sound is a testament to the ongoing relevance of New Orleans Jazz and they have an international fan base to prove it. Loved by critics and jazz aficionados alike, they have attracted Jazz icons like Chick Corea, Marian McPartland, Diana Krall and many others who sat in with the band during its twenty year residency at the Cafe Carlyle.
The Smoke Rings evokes the elegance and charm of the Jazz and Swing Eras. Anchored by the unique vocals of Sarah King, the group specializes in songs from The Great American Song Book.
https://winniesnyc.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Smoke-Rings.jpg12001600[email protected]https://winniesnyc.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/winnies-logo.png[email protected]2025-12-26 19:30:002025-12-22 12:07:36Glenn Crytzer & The Sarah King Big Band
“he can focus the intensity in a tune as well as any pianist in mainstream jazz.”
– New York Times
“Weiss’ shrewd writing and arranging skills are as clearly in view as his sleek piano work”
– The New Yorker
“An energy and irrepressible inventiveness… The nimbleness of Weiss’ technique was
matched by the intellectual heft of his ideas.” – Chicago Tribune
“Weiss’ compositions take on different shapes, great complexity and fresh perspectives”
– Washington Post
“One of the most fluent and flexible pianists of his generation.” – BMI Music World
“Combines the wonder of spontaneity with a workmanlike acknowledgment of his
materials: art and craft in delightful balance.” – Chicago Reader
You can tell a lot about a musician by the company he keeps. The star-studded resume
that pianist and composer Michael Weiss has quietly assembled over the past 40 years
proves that some of the greatest names in jazz have long considered Weiss one of the best
in the business. Since arriving in New York in 1982, the Dallas native has forged a
formidable career working in the bands of jazz legends Johnny Griffin, Art Farmer,
Benny Golson, Slide Hampton, Frank Wess, Jimmy Heath and the Heath Brothers,
George Coleman, Charles McPherson, Jon Hendricks, Lou Donaldson, Junior Cook/Bill
Hardman Quintet, Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, and Mingus Epitaph Orchestra. Weiss’
fifteen year association with Griffin, yielded four recordings and annual tours in the USA
and around the world. He has also performed with Joe Henderson, Woody Shaw, Clark
Terry, Clifford Jordan, Gary Bartz, Phil Woods, Pepper Adams, Joe Lovano, Ron Carter,
David Newman, Gerry Mulligan, Nancy Wilson, Randy Brecker, Tom Harrell, Gerry
Mulligan, Wynton Marsalis, and numerous other jazz greats.
As a band leader, Weiss has headlined at the Village Vanguard, Detroit Jazz Festival,
Detroit Symphony Hall, Smithsonian Institution, and major New York venues such as the
Blue Note, Jazz Standard, Birdland, Bradley’s, Iridium, Sweet Basil, Smoke and Merkin
Concert Hall. Reviewing his Vanguard debut, the New York Times wrote that Weiss
“demonstrated a strong sense of leadership and organization” exhibiting “sensitivity and
logic, along with crisp control.” Television appearances include CBS-TV’s Nightwatch
and PBS’ Live From Lincoln Center: The City of Jazz. NPR radio appearances include
PianoJazz with Marion McPartland, Making the Music with Wynton Marsalis, Jazzset, and
the Jazz Piano Christmas Special. Weiss was the 1989 second prizewinner in the
Thelonious Monk Institute’s International Piano Competition.
Weiss has also been recognized for his writing. He was the grand prize winner of the
2000 BMI/Thelonious Monk Institute’s Composition Competition presented to him by
Wayne Shorter, and is a two-time Chamber Music America New Works grant recipient.
Weiss’ compositions reveal eclectic influences from the worlds of jazz, 20th Century
classical and popular music. Weiss focuses on extended forms, thematic development and
attention to detail.
In 2022 Weiss celebrates the release of his fifth recording as a leader, Persistence (Cellar
Live). His previous recordings on the CrissCross, SteepleChase, DIW and Sintra labels
have been hailed by the critics:
“Weiss has a rich palette of composing devices at his command” – Downbeat
“Weiss’ original compositions conjured a distinct world of sound, a testament to the
nature of Weiss’ imagination.” – Chicago Tribune
“Warmth, integrity and above all, originality. Weiss’ originals are formful and dynamic
enough to sound as if they were standards of the genre.” – JazzTimes
“the songs simply smoke” – Detroit Free Press
“Weiss is a vital talent with something important to say” – All About Jazz
“About as close to perfection as a recording can get….If there is truly justice in our
world, this should be a Grammy nominee.” – Jazz Improv
“A prodigious bop-and-beyond pianist and composer…. consummate musicianship and
alluring improvisations” – The Star Ledger
“This music lives and breathes freshness and exhilarating originality. The individual
selections are strong and attractive enough, to still be played as jazz vehicles in 10, 20,
or even 50 year’s time.” – Jazz Journal
“a masterwork. Soul Journey is terrific. The work is majestic, brash and dynamic
throughout.” – Jazzwax.com
As a sideman Weiss appears on recordings of Johnny Griffin, Frank Wess, Charles
McPherson, Steve Grossman, Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, Ronnie Cuber, Louis Smith,
Dick Oatts, the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra and others.
Weiss is deeply committed to jazz education. He has held faculty positions at Indiana
University, Hartt College of Music, Queens College. In master classes and residencies
throughout the world Weiss aims to relay his bandstand experience through a host of
topics that directly address the standards and performance practices required of a
professional jazz musician.
Visit www.michaelweiss.info
“I am music” was one of April’s first proclamations as a very young child and it holds true to this day. Since singing her first notes as a four-year-old, inspired by none other than the Disney Princess movies, her journey toward growing as a musician began. In fact, April has spent the majority of her life performing and competing in the arts.
NYC-based jazz vocalist with the curly red hair from Toledo, Ohio, April Varner is a name you won’t soon forget. She began taking voice lessons at the University of Toledo as a classical vocalist at age 8 and began studying piano from her grandmother at age 6. No stranger to the stage, April began displaying vocal, musical theatre, drama, and piano talents at the local, regional, national, and international levels at a young age. This includes being a guest vocalist at the Toledo Symphony Orchestra Pops Concert, a 2-time All-National Honors Ensemble member in Nashville, TN, and a National Finalist at the Michael Feinstein Great American Songbook Academy in Carmel, IN. By age 16, April had made her Carnegie Hall debut in Weill Hall following a first-place award by the American Protégé International Vocal Competition, and had traveled to Edinburgh, Scotland as part of a drama group to share the stage with world actors at the renowned Edinburgh Arts Fringe Festival.
April began her musical transition into jazz after discovering a deep passion for it following her freshman year at Indiana University. April soon after became the director of the Vocal Jazz Ensemble, ResoluSHion, within the Grammy-nominated show choir, The Singing Hoosiers. During her final semester at IU, April was the vocalist in the Du Vido Septet, a Brazilian Jazz Ensemble led by Brazilian composer, arranger and pianist, Guilherme Ribeiro. The group was chosen as one of three finalists within the famed Detroit Jazz Festival’s Collegiate Combo Competition. In the spring of 2020, April graduated with her undergraduate degree in Jazz Studies (Voice).
At the age of 27, April has immersed herself deeply into the jazz tradition and has performed/studied with a multitude of legendary artists and jazz luminaries such as Tierney Sutton, Russell Malone, Sachal Vasandani, Jane Monheit, Kurt Elling, Walter Smith III and others.
April has performed/will be performing at some of the most notable venues in the Northeast, such as Chris’s Jazz Cafe (Philadelphia), Blues Alley (Washington D.C), Con Alma (Pittsburgh), 54 Below (NYC), Birdland Jazz Club (NYC, sold out debut show), and Mezzrow Jazz Club (NYC, sold out debut show). She also recently made her International Debut, headlining the Longjumeau Jazz Festival (Longjumeau, France) in celebration of the great Ella Fitzgerald, along with two full shows at Sunset Sunside in Paris. In October, April will be an invited featured artist in the Jazz For All Ages Festival (Hilton Head, SC), alongside some of the most notable figures in jazz, such as Kurt Elling, Catherine Russell, John Pizzarelli and Emmet Cohen.
She was awarded the 2023 Winner of the International Ella Fitzgerald Jazz Vocal Competition and most recently received a 2024 Honorable Mention Award in the ASCAP Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composers Competition. She excitedly just released her debut full-length album, entitled “April by April Varner”, on Cellar Live Record Label. This genre-busting collection of all April-titled songs was produced by Grammy-Award winning drummer, producer and educator, Ulysses Owens Jr.
Ben is a unique jazz guitarist. Fluent in the classic jazz tradition of Wes Montgomery, Kenny Burrell, and George Benson, Ben also draws from the rich Brazilian guitar tradition of Baden Powell, Raphael Rabello and Joao Gilberto. Ben combines standard jazz plectrum technique, with classical fingerstyle, to create a wide range of sounds and textures.
TrumpeterDanny Tobias brings beautiful swing and individuality to his jazz performances.
Danny has enjoyed performing and recording with artists such as Warren Vaché, Scott Robinson, RossanoSportiello, Mark Shane, Vince Giordano, David Ostwald, Gordon Webster, Terry Waldo, Jon-Erik Kellso, Kevin Dorn, the Midiri Brothers, and Marty Grosz. He can be seen performingat Birdland,Mezzrow, the Ear Inn, and Zinc Bar, and at jazz festivals/parties across the USA and Canada.
Danny has recorded a number of albums as a leader. His most recent album “Silver Linings” was recorded on Ride Symbol Records.
Danny also mentors musicians of all ages in person, or remotely.
Pete Caldera sings standards, mainly at New York’s Carnegie Club. He performs there monthly and is the primary sub for the long-running ‘Sinatra Saturday’ show with the 11-piece Stan Rubin Orchestra.
Away from the stage, Pete writes for the Bergen Record and the USA Today network, covering the Yankees. He is a past chairman of the New York Chapter of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.
Tobias Gebb is a drummer, composer and educator based in New York City. Over the years he has shared the stage or recording studio with a wide variety of artists. From Blue Note jazz guitarist Peter Burnstein to Donald Fegan of Steely Dan. From the famed west coast jazz pianist Smith Dobson to the famed rocker Lenny Kravits. He has a BA in composition from Berklee College of Music, an MA from Manhattan School of Music and a dual MSE in general and special education from The Bank Street School. His album Free At Last was in the Top10 on American jazz radio charts and through his licensing business his group Trio West has been heard on shows such as Dexter, Madam Secretary, Key and Peele and others.
Tobias began studying the violin at age 6, switched to classical piano studies at 8 and finally switched to the drum set when he was 16. He began studying drums at the Drummers Collective in New York City with Ricky Sebastian, Mike Clark and Kim Plainfield. At Berklee College of Music he studied with Jon Hazilla and JohnRamsey, along with famed Boston drummer Gary Chaffee. Back in New York at Manhattan School of Music he studied with John Riley and Justin DiCioccio. Additionally, he occasionally meets for private lessons with great New York City-based drummers like Ben Perowsky and Ari Hoenig.
Bassist John Lang offers a distinguished resume in performance, arranging and composition. Lang is most recognized in New York as a straight-ahead bassist. He hosted the Burgundy Wine Jazz Duets Series for 8 years in the early 2000s, featuring such modern-days stars as Saul Rubin, Ehud Asherie, Kris Kaiser, Yotam Silberstein, Jeremy Manasia, Nat Harris, Vito Dieterle, Larry Ham, Tardo Hammer, Michael Moore and Randy Napolean. Lang’s quintet has performed at Smalls, The Jazz Forum, Fat Cat, Little Branch, Times Square Café, The Hawaiian Tropic Room and Toons.
Lang founded La Onda Va Bien, the Latin jazz ensemble that recorded 2003’s “La Vuelta,” featuring 10 of his original songs. His second CD, “Lend Me Your Ears,” premiered at Smalls in 2009 and was called “a rare collection of swing and modernity” by reviewer Scott Yanow. Lang is a member of the Kolotov Mocktails, a modern jazz band comprised of stellar jazz musicians from across the United States. The band’s 2020 debut recording “Ivy Hall,” is enjoying radio play and positive reviews from fans and critics alike. He released “Now Ear This,” his first electric project, to rave reviews in 2021. “NET” features 9 original songs as well as fresh arrangements of “Pusherman” and “Four on Six” and was produced by jazz legend John Patitucci. Modern drumming powerhouse Richie Morales noted the album’s “clear arrangements, great solos and tight ensemble work. Take a listen!” Lang is currently a member of the Kolotov Mocktails, a new American jazz band. Their debut recording, “Ivy Hall” is enjoying radio play and critical acclaim in America and Europe.
Lang has recorded and arranged for many Broadway singers including Natalie Toro and Rita Harvey, as well as for the cast recordings of Fat Camp and the Adventures of Flat Stanley. His big band arrangements were featured in the 2006 production of “Little Jack Frost,” a recreation of a 1940s radio show, and he has toured internationally with the Jack Cassidy and Adrienne Hindmarsh trios.
Lang also doubles on electric bass and in that capacity has performed and recorded with Kinny Landrum and the Gumbo Roux, Cady Huffman, Mary Ann Renza, Rocksteady, Stolen Moments, and Sis Boom Bah.
He has served on the faculty of the Music Conservatory of Westchester since 2014, and maintains a healthy roster of private students. In the fall 2020 he began studies as SUNY Purchase for a master’s in jazz performance under bassist Doug Weiss. Lang resides in the Hudson River Valley, just north of New York City, with his wife Damaris and son Milo.
