SMOKE Jazz Club, New York City Announces September 2025 Line-up.
Wednesday, July 23, 2025
SMOKE Jazz Club Announces September Line-Up: Performers include Joe Farnsworth, Kris Davis, George Cables, Marquis Hill, Emmet Cohen, Robert Hurst, Johnathan Blake.
We have received the following press release;
SMOKE Jazz Club Announces September 2025 Line-up Featuring Joe Farnsworth’s Album Release Celebration, a Special Tribute to Women Jazz Pianists Led by Kris Davis, and More.
Joe Farnsworth Quintet featuring Emmet Cohen The Big Room (Sep 3-7)
Kris Davis Trio featuring Robert Hurst & Johnathan Blake (Sep 10-14)
George Cables Quartet (Sep 17-21)
Marquis Hill: Color Theory (Sep 24-28)
Hailed as the “#1 Jazz Club in New York City (SecretNYC),” SMOKE Jazz Club today announced its concert schedule for September 2025. The month begins celebrating the release of Joe Farnsworth’s latest album The Big Room (SMOKE Sessions Records) with “one of the best bands recording today” (WJTU Radio): Sarah Hanahan, Emmet Cohen, Joel Ross, Yasushi Nakamura, and Jeremy Pelt. Making her SMOKE debut as a bandleader is pianist Kris Davis—who was recently named the Pianist of the Year in the 2025 DownBeat Critics Poll— in a special concert series paying tribute to six trailblazing woman pianists, including Geri Allen, Carla Bley, and more. For the complete and most updated September schedule, please visit http://www.smokejazz.com. As always, all Friday night concerts are livestreamed!
September 2025 Concert Schedule (subject to change):
Wed-Sun Sep 3-7: Joe Farnsworth Quintet featuring Emmet Cohen The Big Room record release
Jeremy Pelt – trumpet
Sarah Hanahan – alto saxophone
Emmet Cohen – piano
Yasushi Nakamura – bass
Joe Farnsworth – drums
“This most swinging of percussionists can spark any band with his perfect time and unwavering attention to detail.” – The New Yorker
Renowned drummer (also rapidly gaining a reputation as a preeminent bandleader) Joe Farnsworth celebrates the release of his exciting new album The Big Room (SMOKE Sessions Records 07.25.25) with an energetic and rewarding quintet featuring pianist Emmet Cohen and an all-star lineup with trumpeter Jeremy Pelt, saxophonist Sarah Hanahan, and bassist Yasushi Nakamura.
Glide Magazine calls him “one of the premiere straight-ahead drummers of his generation,” while Broadway World adds that he “is known for his blazing speed, precision, and melodic playing.” After 30+ years working alongside such seminal artists as George Coleman, Benny Golson, Pharaoh Sanders, Cedar Walton, Harold Mabern, and McCoy Tyner, Farnsworth steps into the spotlight with The Big Room—aiming for “a place where all of the discipline, rules, and language that a musician spends a lifetime mastering suddenly fade, and pure, transcendent creation can occur.”
Wed-Sun Sep 10-14: Kris Davis Trio featuring Robert Hurst & Johnathan Blake SMOKE debut
Kris Davis – piano
Robert Hurst – bass
Johnathan Blake – drums
“Davis’s music is precisely and unmistakably the sound of today.” – DownBeat
The incredible Kris Davis, a GRAMMY Award-winning pianist and composer, described by The New York Times as a beacon for “deciding where to hear jazz [in New York] on a given night,” makes her SMOKE debut as a leader with a superb trio with bassist Robert Hurst and drummer Johnathan Blake. Davis has released 24 recordings as a leader or co-leader and collaborated with artists such as Terri Lyne Carrington, Dave Holland, John Zorn, Craig Taborn, Ingrid Laubrock, Tyshawn Sorey, and esperanza spalding. She was named a 2021 Doris Duke Artist, Pianist of the Year by DownBeat magazine in 2025, 2022 and 2020, and Pianist and Composer of the Year by the Jazz Journalists Association in 2021.
Her latest album, Run the Gauntlet, features this trio with Hurst and Blake and stands as a testament to Davis’s singular voice within the jazz landscape. The program pays homage to six trailblazing women pianists who have left an indelible mark on her journey as a pianist and composer: Geri Allen, Carla Bley, Renee Rosnes, Angelica Sanchez, Marilyn Crispell, and Sylvie Courvoisier. These remarkable women not only navigated the male-dominated field of jazz, but also profoundly influenced Davis’s development as a pianist and composer. By dedicating the album to these extraordinary women, Davis honors their resilience and groundbreaking contributions as leaders in the jazz community.
Wed-Sun Sep 17-21: George Cables Quartet
Craig Handy – saxophone
George Cables – piano
Essiet Essiet – bass
Jerome Jennings – drums
“Anyone serious about jazz will tell you that George Cables belongs in the pantheon of the greatest jazz pianists.” – All About Jazz
Legendary pianist George Cables leads a quartet featuring three of his favorite collaborators: saxophonist Craig Handy, bassist Essiet Essiet, and drummer Jerome Jennings. A major voice in modern jazz, Cables is celebrated for his fresh interpretations of classic compositions and for his innovative style of writing. In addition to composing and arranging for his own albums, Cables has contributed to recordings by Dexter Gordon, Art Pepper, Freddie Hubbard, Woody Shaw, Bobby Hutcherson, and many others.
Recently named an inaugural recipient of the 2025 Jazz Legacy Fellowship by the Mellon Foundation and the Jazz Foundation of America, Cables is described as a “humble keyboard genius with impeccable technique and a unique songbook.” The New York City Jazz Record hails him as “a piano giant,” while National Public Radio notes that his solos “reveal a deep sense of groove and pacing and a mind at work.”
Wed-Sun Sep 24-28: Marquis Hill: Color Theory
Marquis Hill – trumpet
Tivon Pennicott – tenor saxophone
Emmanuel Michel – guitar
Harish Raghavan – bass
Dave King – drums
“An established force in contemporary jazz.” – Financial Times
Marquis Hill, one of the great trumpet artists of our time, leads an exciting and adventurous quintet featuring tenor saxophonist Tivon Pennicott, guitarist Emmanuel Michel, bassist Harish Raghavan, and drummer Dave King. Hill’s promise was recognized early by winning two highly prestigious competitions: the International Trumpet Guild Jazz Competition (2012) and the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Trumpet Competition (2014), which helped launch a career that continues to impress. Originally from the South Side of Chicago, Hill credits many of that city’s great artists for helping foster his development. Players like Von Freeman, Bobby Broom, and Willie Pickens, just to name a few.
The New Yorker says, “his performances and recordings reveal a smart post-bop player who circumvents genre clichés by incorporating elements of hip-hop and contemporary R. & B.” DownBeat adds, “The groove-laden arrangements provide the perfect soundscape for Hill’s fluid improvisational style, which, with its glass-like lucidity, recalls the crisp elegance of hard-bop stalwart Donald Byrd.”
About SMOKE
Located on Manhattan’s Upper West Side at the junction of Broadway and 106th Street (aka Duke Ellington Boulevard), Smoke Jazz Club is one of New York City’s premier live music venues. Renowned for offering top-notch programming of accessible, timeless jazz featuring legendary performers, modern masters, and rising stars, Smoke stands apart with its candlelit dining room, stellar acoustics, and classic American cuisine. Founded in 1999, SMOKE also boasts a GRAMMY-nominated label, Smoke Sessions Records, and a celebrated streaming concert series, Smoke Screens. For everything else, visit http://www.smokejazz.com.
Ticketing + Information:
When: Wednesday-Sunday @ 7:00 p.m. + 9:00 p.m. and additional 10:30 p.m. (Fri & Sat only). Doors open at 5:00 p.m. (unless otherwise noted).
Where: SMOKE Jazz Club, 2751 Broadway (between 105/106th Streets), New York, NY, Train: 1 to 103rd Street.
Tickets: In-Person $25+. Livestream $15 (Fri only). For more information and to make reservations, please visit http://www.smokejazz.com.