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Richard Cortez “Mood Swings” Album Release Celebration
Oct 24 | 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Swinging American Songbook
A leader in the new crop of vocal talents emerging from the New York City jazz scene, Richard Cortez’s golden voice brings a deep emotional intelligence and unbridled passion to the Great American Songbook. Rare and moving, he also brings an activist’s relationship to both his material and his audience. In this special performance, Richard will be joined by pianist Tyler Henderson to celebrate the release of his new record, Mood Swings, through La Reserve, coming out the very next day. The duo will perform jazz favorites such as ‘Old Black Magic,’ ‘God Bless the Child,’ ‘You Go to My Head,’ and more!
Richard Cortez: Vocals
Tyler Henderson: Piano
Richard Cortez, known for his ambition and extensive knowledge of The Great American Songbook, has shared the bandstand with some of New York City’s most celebrated and respected musicians — Sullivan Fortner, Adam Birnbaum, Paul Gill, Peter Bernstein, Grant Stewart, Alexander Claffy, Joe Farnsworth, Jerry Weldon, Joe Strasser, Nicole Glover, Russell Hall and Emmet Cohen — to name a few.
Splitting his time between a number of weekly residencies at iconic venues across the city-among them Club Cumming, owned by actor Alan Cumming, Cortez has focused and refined his artistry while growing his wide fan-base. Recent performances in distinguished productions such as Live at Emmet’s Place with the Emmet Cohen Trio, or Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Jazz at Pride with Tony/Grammy Award winner Bryan Carter, have marked the vocalist’s career for success.
Cortez’s renderings of timeless treasures by Cole Porter, Billie Holiday, Jerome Kern, and so many others deliver sweetness, self-assuredness and disarming vulnerability with a well-timed wit. Richard breathes exciting new life into this beloved material, forever reminding us that as we progress as a society, so do our stories told within these sacred songs.