Show List

Caffe Vivace's Upcoming Shows

Faux Frenchmen

Faux Frenchmen

Sat, May 30

Paul Patterson — violin Brian Lovely — guitar George Cunningham — guitar Don Aren — bass Guitarist Django Reinhardt and violinist Stephane Grappelli fronted the Quintette of the Hot Club of France in and around Paris from 1934 to 1939. They constituted the first generation of European jazz musicians. The Hot Club blended backgrounds in traditional gypsy and European popular and classical music with the then-new sounds of American jazz artists like Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Fats Waller, and Benny Goodman to create a new musical genre, now often called "gypsy jazz." The Faux Frenchmen adapt the Hot Club’s instrumentation and style in forging their own re-Americanized take on gypsy jazz. Their four CD releases, Faux Frenchmen (2007), Oblivion (2008), The Swing Shift (2010), and 3 AM Waltz (2011), bend the relationship between American and European jazz, utilizing elements of both to create a distinctive stylistic voice. A $15 drink/food minimum is charged per person in the party, per set, if the total for beverages purchased by the party does not meet the minimum. Important Notices: If you do not check in by 15 minutes into the start of the set, we reserve the right to resale 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.
Paul Patterson & Friends

Paul Patterson & Friends

Tue, Jun 02

Paul Patterson — classical/12-string guitars Justin Dawson — bass Dan Dorff — drums/percussion Sylvia Mitchell — violin/accordion A night of Paul’s original music with flavors of Brazilian jazz guitar and ambient 12-string guitar. 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 resale 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.
Blue Wisp Big Band

Blue Wisp Big Band

Wed, Jun 03

Jeremy Long — alto saxophone Jamie Walkenhauer — alto saxophone Brent Gallaher — tenor saxophone Dan Drees — tenor saxophone Larry Dickson — baritone saxophone Jeff Owen — trombone Clarence Pawn — trombone Brian Stevens — trombone Gary Langhorst — bass trombone Jeff Folkens — trumpet Hank Mautner — trumpet John Zappa — trumpet Kim Pensyl — trumpet Steve Schmidt — piano Mike Sharfe — bass Jim Leslie — drums Cincinnati's legendary Blue Wisp Big Band celebrates its 46th year of swingin' Big Band music at Caffe Vivace. Founded in January 1980 by drummer John Von Ohlen and trumpeter Don Johnson, the Blue Wisp Big Band got its start in and its name from the late Blue Wisp Jazz Club. Von Ohlen, a native of Indianapolis, moved to the Cincinnati area after many years on the road playing with world-class jazz orchestras, most notably those of Stan Kenton and Woody Herman. After hearing all of the fine musicians in the area, he felt there was a need to form a group because most of them “weren’t playing any jazz, which is the reason they started playing in the first place.” He felt the desire to start a “world-class big band and wanted to put it in a tavern, a beer joint.” Don Johnson, who had been on the Cincinnati scene for years, suggested which instrumentalists should play in the band. Von Ohlen states, “Don was the horn connection.” Pianist Steve Schmidt and bassist Michael Sharfe were already playing with Von Ohlen at the Blue Wisp in the Steve Schmidt Trio, Wednesday through Saturday nights, so the rhythm section was easily formed. Von Ohlen remembers approaching Paul and Marjean Wisby, the original owners of the Blue Wisp, with the idea, “Wednesday is a slow night. Why don’t we bring in a big band and blow the roof off the place? It worked real good.”Since its inception, the Blue Wisp Big Band has been the top jazz orchestra in Cincinnati. The hard bop-oriented big band started recording in 1981: first, an LP sponsored by the Cincinnati television station WKRC, and then four for the Mopro label, founded by Fred and Helen Morr, in the 1980s. The Mopro LPs were reissued in the mid -’90s on two CDs on the California label Sea Breeze, with one of the sets recorded in Los Angeles during a West Coast tour in 1984. Through the devoted and hard work of Helen Morr, the LPs were distributed around the country and Europe, garnering notice, good reviews, and airplay around the world. Among the group’s more notable members were trumpeter Tim Hagans and bassist Lynn Seaton. The band continued to perform at the Blue Wisp Jazz Club in Cincinnati on Wednesday nights until its closure in the summer of 2014. After a six-month tenure at Japp’s Annex in downtown Cincinnati, a short stint at Pirate’s Den in Westwood, and three years at the Urban Artifact in Northside, the band has a new home at Caffè Vivace in Walnut Hills. A $15 drink/food minimum is charged per person in the party, per set, if the total for beverages purchased by the party does not meet the minimum. 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 Blue Wisp Big Band show of equal value will be accepted. The transfer must be requested 24 hours before the start of the performance.
The Love of Country Jazz Quintet presents Cowboy Bossa Nova: Hank Williams, Bob Wills, Merle Haggard, & Willie Nelson meets Antonio Carlos Jobim

The Love of Country Jazz Quintet presents Cowboy Bossa Nova: Hank Williams, Bob Wills, Merle Haggard, & Willie Nelson meets Antonio Carlos Jobim

Thu, Jun 04

Featuring: Matt McAlister on Drums and percussion, Aaron Jacobs on Bass, Nick Fryer on Pedal Steel Guitar, special guest Paul Patterson on Fiddle, and Brad Myers on Guitar and Vocals. After a sold out debut performance, The Love of Country Jazz Quintet is BACK at Caffe Vivace! Cincinnati Jazz Guitarist and vocalist Brad Myers aka Tex Message presents his new project, The Love of Country Jazz Quintet as an open marriage, of sorts, between Classic Country & Western Swing songwriting and Brazilian Rhythms and deep compositions of Antonio Carlos Jobim. Seen through the filter of jazz improvisers, these tunes are re-imagined in a way which proves that timeless classic songs are not beholden to the limits of genre and a good song is a good song. Period. Hank Williams, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard and more meet Antonio Carlos Jobim in Cowboy Bossa Nova: Old Country with a New Flair. Brad Myers, as a guitarist, he is known to be a musical shape shifter, of sorts, moving between gigs accompanying Mandy Gaines, swinging with the Cincinnati Contemporary Jazz Orchestra, getting funky with Steve Schmidt’s Organ Trio and John Zappa’s Now Hear This, or deep musical conversations with Michael Sharfe and an array of Cincinnati’s best drummers in the Sanguinaria Trio. He also is part of Tinfoil Hat Cowboys: A Country Western Conspiracy, Aja: a Tribute to the Music of Steely Dan, Joe’s Truck Stop, The Hiders, and Ray’s Music Exchange. He also teaches at UC’s College Conservatory of Music and the CCM Prep Jazz Department. Important Notices: If you do not check in by 15 minutes into the start of the set, we reserve the right to resale 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.
Walfredo Reyes Jr. Trio

Walfredo Reyes Jr. Trio

Fri, Jun 05

Walfredo Reyes Jr. — drums and percussion Steve Weingart – keyboards Matt Wiles – bass Walfredo is the current drummer for the legendary band Chicago. He has been a recording and touring percussionist and drummer with artists such as Santana, Steve Winwood, Robbie Robertson, Lindsey Buckingham, Joe Sample, Sergio Mendes, and many more. With the trio, he infuses many music styles, funky grooves, and melodies of songs we love. A $15 food/drink minimum is charged per person in the party, per set, if the total for beverages purchased by the party does not meet the minimum. Important Notices: If you do not check in by 15 minutes into the start of the set, we reserve the right to resale 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.