Jazz Vespers: Alex Leonard, James Chirillo, Jay Leonhart

Welcome to Jazz Vespers!

However you are connecting with Saint Peter's, we hope you will find a wide and warm embrace. Among the skyscrapers and hustle and bustle of Midtown, this is a place of respite and renewal. Whether in person in our Sanctuary, or streaming from home. Jazz Vespers is free of charge with donations welcome at the door or online.

About Jazz Vespers

Jazz Vespers, NYC's unique jazz prayer service, is held every Sunday at 5:00 P.M. Originating in 1965 with The Rev. John Garcia Gensel, he believed jazz to be "probably the best music for worship because it speaks to the existential situation of a human being. It is the personal expression of the person playing it." Saint Peter’s Church, the “First Church of Jazz,” remains a spiritual home to jazz musicians and lovers of jazz. Founded by Ruth and Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn, Joe Newman and Sheila Jordan, among many others, today the community represents the best of the New York City jazz scene.

This Week We Welcome...

Alex Leonard (piano/voice)

James Chirillo (guitar)

Jay Leonhart (bass)

About Alex Leonard

Pianist/vocalist Alex Leonard has been featured in venues from Manhattan to Las Vegas, Europe and Japan. He has performed on stages such as Weill Recital Hall, Rose Hall at Lincoln Center, Below 54, Algonquin Hotel and The Smith Center in Las Vegas. Alex's recordings have received national airplay and enthusiastic reviews from publications such as Jazz Now, Broadway World, Cabaret Scenes, Cadence and All About Jazz. All Music Guide calls Alex Leonard, “an important mainstay of the Big Apple”, the theater magazine Show Business writes, “superb piano playing... a class act”.

About James Chirillo

Guitarist James Chirillo has worked with many of the swing era's recognized greats including the legendary Benny Goodman. He is a charter member of the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra and has collaborated with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra under the direction of Wynton Marsalis. As a composer, the National Endowment for the Arts awarded James a 1995 composition grant for his, “Homage Concerto for Clarinet and Jazz Orchestra”. He has performed on Broadway and featured in numerous movie soundtracks.

About Jay Leonhart

Jay Leonhart is a superior bassist and songwriter having performed and recorded with a who's who list of the most legendary names in the music business including Peggy Lee, Mel Torme, Tony Bennett, Carly Simon, Steely Dan and Sting. Jay was named the Most Valuable Bassist in the recording industry three times by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. He has toured worldwide and also appears in his one man show called “The Bass Lesson”.

About Saint Peter’s

If you are looking for a religious community, this may be a place for you! We are a Sanctuary and Reconciling in Christ Parish of the ELCA. We are a bi-lingual English-speaking and Spanish-speaking community. We are Brown, Black, White and more. We are persons of all sexual orientations and gender identities. Some of us hold citizenship, others of us are Dreamers, asylees or seeking documentation. A good way to begin this journey is to participate in our Sunday liturgies.

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

Get App

Host or Publisher Saint Peter's Church