Caffe Vivace's Upcoming Shows

G. Thomas Allen - voice

Andrew Toombs - piano

Greg Ward - alto saxophone

Ethan Philion - bass

Neil Hemphill - drums

G. Thomas Allen, M. Mus., Associate Professor of Voice at Berklee College of Music, is an award-winning, genre-defying artist whose career bridges opera, jazz, and contemporary performance. His appearance at the 67th Monterey Jazz Festival was praised by San Francisco Classical Voice for “effectively deploying the androgynous quality of his voice to reimagine musical boundaries,” drawing comparisons to the legendary Little Jimmy Scott.

Allen rose to national attention during the 2014–15 season with his L.A. Opera debut as The First Witch in Dido and Aeneas, in a landmark production featuring three African American countertenors onstage—a rarity in opera history. In summer 2026, he made his Cincinnati Opera debut in the world premiere of Lalovavi: An Afrofuturist Grand Opera as part of the Black Opera Project.

In 2021, Allen became the first male winner of the Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition, cementing his reputation as a crossover artist at the intersection of jazz and classical music. He has headlined renowned venues including Dizzy’s Club (NYC), Minton’s Playhouse, SOUTH (Philadelphia), Keystone Korner (Baltimore), The Jazz Showcase, The Green Mill, and Winter’s Jazz Club (Chicago), and has appeared at major festivals including Monterey, New Orleans, Chicago, White Plains, Buffalo, TD Moody, and Stevens Point.

His concert credits include Bernstein’s Mass with the Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra, Too Hot to Handel with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, performances with the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra and Black Pearl Chamber Orchestra, and a 2024 BBC Proms debut at London’s Royal Albert Hall. He also appeared on Saturday Night Live as a background vocalist for Jacob Collier and Coldplay.

Allen is also recognized in gospel music for his Grammy-nominated recordings with Ricky Dillard & New G. His self-titled jazz debut reached #1 on the iTunes Jazz chart, followed by Love Affair: Serenades of the Heart, with his third recording, Dream Shade, scheduled for release in early spring.

A sought-after presenter and educator, Allen has appeared at ACDA, GIA, JEN, and GMWA conferences. He holds degrees from Morgan State University and Carthage College, is the author of The AndroVox Method: A Practical Guide to Mapping Resonance in Contemporary Voice, and is the CEO and founder of Allen Studios, LLC, a private voice studio based in Chicago.

A $20 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 show of equal value will be accepted. The transfer must be requested 24 hours before the start of the performance.

Jon Lampley: Trumpet/Vocals

Louis Fouché: Alto Saxophone

Dave Linard: Piano

Barry Stephenson: Bass

Willie B: Drums

What comes next after 11 years with The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’s house band? For Jon Lampley, the answer is Notes To Self — his sophomore solo album, out June 26, 2026, and a deeply personal statement from an artist stepping fully into the spotlight. With praise from NPR and The New York Times already behind him, Lampley enters this next chapter with confidence and clarity.

Lampley has made his name as a consummate trumpet and sousaphone player, singer-songwriter, composer, and bandleader, blending jazz, soul, gospel, and contemporary roots music. On The Late Show, he performed nightly under bandleaders Louis Cato and Jon Batiste, honing his craft and stage presence before a global audience.

Produced by Lampley, The Diner (Jordan Cohen, Clyde Lawrence, Jonny Koh), and Michael Thurber, Notes To Self pairs introspective songwriting with the virtuosity, joy, and communal energy that define his career. The album reflects on ambition, optimism, faith, and growth, with standout tracks like “Greener,” “JOY,” and “Maybe.”

Beyond late-night television, Lampley has built a reputation as one of the most versatile brass players of his generation. He co-founded the high-energy jazz-funk ensemble Huntertones and has performed in amphitheaters, arenas, and festivals with jam-rock mainstays O.A.R. and pop-soul powerhouse Lake Street Dive. Long regarded as an elite collaborator and sideman, Lampley has increasingly stepped forward as a frontman, composer, and creative force in his own right.

That instinct to lead is rooted in his upbringing in Akron, Ohio, where church music shaped both his sound and philosophy. Learning trumpet by ear and absorbing the emotional power of communal performance, Lampley developed a style centered on connection, intention, and atmosphere. He continued refining his craft at The Ohio State University before relocating to Brooklyn, New York, where his artistic vision fully crystallized. Influenced by the trumpet lineage of Roy Hargrove and Louis Armstrong and the soulful vocal traditions of Sam Cooke and D’Angelo, Lampley focuses less on flash and more on creating a sound that is immediate, human, and unmistakably his own.

If the total amount of beverages purchased by the party does not meet the minimum, a $20 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.