Blue Note New York will bring together a series of new programming in 2023, highlighting the relationship between the funk, jazz and jam music communities.
Among the artists lined up for performances starting in January 2023 at Blue Note are DJ Logic, Soulive, Lettuce, Galactic, Antibalas, Karl Denson, Ghost Note, Butcher Brown and many more. During the series, Blue Note will be a stomping ground for innovation and improvisation, showcasing the fluidity of the artists who perform within these funky genres.
The power of jazz has impacted and influenced many musical genres, and has its fingerprint deep within jam band culture and funk. Blue Note greatly celebrates this legacy and presents a broad range of artistry. We feel it’s important for us to embrace jam band culture, funk, progressive and soulful music all of which have been influenced by jazz.
We’re proud to have genre-bending artists upcoming at Blue Note ranging from Lettuce, Soulive, Galactic & Friends, to Ghost Note, and Butcher Brown. Jazz and improvisation lives and breathes within progressive funk and jam band artistry. As a legendary jazz institution, it’s Blue Note’s responsibility to continue presenting innovative and soulful artists with musical integrity influenced by its exposure to jazz and improvised music.
Blue Note Director of Programming Alex Kurland
Blue Note continues to maintain their historical excellence in providing the audiences with a wide range of dynamic and culturally rich experiences from top artistry. Take a look at the lineup of artists from the funk, jazz and jam worlds coming to Blue Note New York in 2023! Get tickets here.
DJ Logic & Friends (Jan 19 – 22)
Special guests will include:
- Jan 19 – 20: James Carter, James Genus, Robert “Sput” Searight, Neal Evans
- Jan 21: James Genus, Robert “Sput” Searight, Neal Evans, Casey Benjamin
- Jan 22: John Popper, Paul Shaffer, James Genus, Robert “Sput” Searight, Casey Benjamin
As one of the world’s most accomplished turntablists, DJ Logic is widely credited for introducing jazz into the hip–hop realms and is considered by most as a highly-respected session musician and an innovative bandleader.
Galactic (Jan 25 – 29)
Special guests will include:
- Jan 25: James Carter
- Jan 26 – 27: Robert Randolph
- Jan 28: Matisyahu
- Jan 29: Nicholas Payton
Galactic draws on 25 years together in order to progress with each performance and subsequent record. After 10 albums, over 2,000 gigs, and tens of millions of streams, the proud New Orleans, LA quintet—Ben Ellman [saxophone, harmonica], Robert Mercurio [bass], Stanton Moore [drums, percussion], Jeffrey Raines [guitar], and Richard Vogal [keyboards]—have kept the torch burning.
Karl Denson Project (Feb 23 – 26)
Band line up will include:
- Feb 23 – 26: Keyon Harrold, James Francies, Burniss Travis & Blaque Dynamite
Saxophonist Karl Denson met Lenny Kravitz during a recording session in 1988. The following year, Kravitz called Denson and asked him to do the solo on the single “Let Love Rule” from Kravitz’s album of the same name.
Krasno Moore Project ft. Eric Finland (March 16 – 19)
Soulive and Lettuce co-founder, Eric “Kraz” Krasno is a New York-based Grammy-winning guitarist, songwriter, recording artist, and producer. His own musical roots lie in funk, jazz, rock, and hip-hop, and he has written songs and produced records for a variety of artists in a range of genres including Norah Jones, Aaron Neville, Talib Kweli, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Ledisi, 50 Cent, and Matisyahu.
Butcher Brown with Special Guests (May 8 – 10)
Pulsing from the nerve center of Jellowstone Studios in Richmond VA, Butcher Brown takes careful note of the history and legacy of jazz and throws caution to the wind. Their musical vibe blends jazz with hip hop, funk, rap, rock and soul. The group honors each musical genre and, at the same time, challenges traditional musical boundaries.
Antibalas (May 18 – 21)
It’s hard to believe that more than twenty years have passed since Antibalas’s humble beginning as a neighborhood dance / protest band in the block parties and underground parties in pre-gentrified Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Over the past two decades they have evolved into what The Guardian called “one of the world’s finest Afrobeat bands” while enjoying equal renown for their cross-genre collaborations with legends of popular music.
Ghost Note (June 1 – 4)
Headed by Snarky Puppy’s multi-Grammy–winning percussion duo of Robert “Sput” Searight and Nate Werth, Ghost-Note is an explosion of sound. With an expansive roster of next-level musicians—representing members of Prince, Snoop Dogg, Erykah Badu, Herbie Hancock, Kendrick Lamar, Marcus Miller, Toto, Justin Timberlake, and more.
Lettuce (June 8 – 11, Festival)
Lettuce, a sextet composed of Adam Deitch (drums), Ryan Zoidis (saxophone), Adam Smirnoff (guitar), Erick Coomes (bass), Nigel Hall (keyboards/vocals), and Eric ‘Benny’ Bloom (trumpet), is approaching thirty years since its humble Boston Beginnings.
Soulive (June 15 – 18 & 29 – July 2)
Soulive has never made any bones about what they do best; it’s right there in their name. Since forming in 1999, the trio of guitarist Eric Krasno, drummer Alan Evans and keyboardist Neal Evans has carried the torch for the soul-jazz organ trio.
