JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER PRESENTS: GREAT AMERICAN CROONERS

Name: JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER PRESENTS: GREAT AMERICAN CROONERS
Start: 2026-02-24T19:00:00-05:00
End: 2026-02-24T22:00:00-05:00
Location: Caffè Vivace - Cincinnati, OH

Schedule

Tue Feb 24 2026 at 07:00 pm to 10:00 pm

UTC-05:00

Location

Caffè Vivace - Cincinnati, OH | Cincinnati, OH

Soak in the sounds of the velvety melodies and smoky rhythms of quintessential crooners such as Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, and Bobby Darin when the golden age of jazz returns with Great American Crooners! A dazzling night of swoon worthy hits and sentimental serenades await when Benny Benack III (Downbeat Magazine #1 Rising Star), Robbie Lee and Shenel Johns perform favorites like “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” “Misty,” “I Only Have Eyes for You,” “Moon River” and many, many more. In addition to soaring vocals, the trio of Jazz at Lincoln Center (JALC) favorites will share incredible true stories about the legendary performers who brought these timeless songs to life.
For over three decades, Jazz at Lincoln Center has been a leading advocate for jazz, culture, and arts education globally. Under the direction of Wynton Marsalis, Jazz at Lincoln Center has brought the art form of jazz from the heart of New York City to over 446 cities in more than 40 countries. The organization’s touring initiative provides an affordable opportunity to present great jazz programming, featuring up-and-coming musicians who have been identified as rising stars by JALC. The initiative also allows for expansion of the mission of JALC “to entertain, enrich and expand a global community for jazz through performance, education, and advocacy.”
Emmy®-nominated trumpeter and singer Benny Benack III has proven to be that rarest of talents: not only a fiery trumpet player but also a singer with a sly, mature, naturally expressive delivery performing standards and his own astute songs with a thrilling sense of showmanship. This dual-threat ability was recognized by the 2022 Downbeat Critics Poll where he appeared as not only the #2 Rising Star Male Vocalist, but a top Rising Star Trumpeter as well. His superb intonation and bracing virtuosity enable him to handle astounding feats of originally composed vocalese (complex solos with written lyrics). On top of it all, he’s a highly capable pianist as well. Third in a generational line of Pittsburgh jazz notables, Benny follows in the footsteps of his trumpeter/bandleader grandfather, Benny Benack, Sr. (1921-86), and his father Benny Benack, Jr., a saxophonist/clarinetist who gave the young Benny his first professional experience.
Benny has performed internationally as an emcee/host for the YouTube sensation Postmodern Jukebox and achieved his own viral success amassing millions of views for his crooning alongside the Grammy®-winning 8-Bit Big Band. Alongside his global touring as a bandleader, Benny has appeared as a trumpet soloist in more commercial circles alongside Josh Groban, Ben Folds, fashion icon Isaac Mizrahi, Ann Hampton Callaway and more. He’s been featured at leading New York venues, and has also been a special guest with the Pittsburgh Symphony Pops Orchestra, the Columbus Jazz Orchestra and the Minsk Philharmonic Orchestra.
With a voice that embodies grace and passion and a personal style that sways effortlessly from jazz to R&B to gospel, Shenel Johns has emerged as one of the shining stars of her generation. A native of Hartford, CT, Shenel has been performing since she was 14 and has developed a distinctive, eclectic style that has increasingly caught the attention of her peers and some of the industry’s top performers.
Shenel received a B.A. in Music Management from the Jackie McLean Institute at the Hartt School of Music and studied performance with such jazz legends as Rene McLean, Jimmy Greene and Nat Reeves. She has shared the stage with music royalty including Curtis Fuller, Hank Jones, Dionne Warwick and Sheila Jordan, and has performed and recorded with an impressive array of leaders in the field. In 2016, Shenel completed a musical residency at Jazz at Lincoln Center Doha in Qatar and, several months later, honored Billie Holiday as part of Jazz at Lincoln Center’s New York production of Billie and the Boys. She has also paid tribute to another of her idols, Lena Horne, at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s famed Appel Room. Most recently, she was the winner of the Riga Jazz Stage Competition in Riga, Latvia, and was featured in the Hartford Jazz Festival’s Ella Fitzgerald Tribute
Robbie Lee is a New York City based pianist, vocalist, composer and educator whose spectacular ability to merge his talents make him one of the most exciting emerging artists to date. Growing up in Tucson, AZ, Robbie was encouraged by his mother to find music he enjoyed. Falling in love with earlier blues and rock and roll music, he eventually found jazz as a new way to express himself. Through joining the Tucson Jazz Institute, Robbie was exposed to a broad range of jazz from traditional to post-bop styles.
A graduate of both The Juilliard School (AD ‘21) and The Manhattan School of Music (BM ‘18), at 27 he has already shared the stage with his mentors such as world-renowned jazz icons Wynton Marsalis, Jimmy Heath, Herlin Riley, Bruce Barth, Matt Wilson and Brice Winston. As both a leader and a sideman, Robbie has graced several world-class stages and played in numerous jazz festivals across the globe. Throughout his career, he has earned recognition for both his performance and composition skills, receiving awards from Downbeat Magazine, YoungArts, The Essentially Ellington Festival and Competition and The Next Generation Jazz Festival.
If the total amount of beverages purchased by the party does not meet the minimum, a $15 drink/food minimum is charged per person in the party, per set.
Important Notices:
If you do not check in by 15 minutes into the start of the set, we reserve the right to resell your seats with no refund.
Tickets for this performance are non-refundable. If you are unable to attend, a one-time transfer to a future show of equal value will be accepted. The transfer must be requested 24 hours before the start of the performance.