Vocalist Hilary Kole will play Mary with Brenda Feliciano as the archangel. They will be joined onstage by Latin percussionist Candido and tenor saxophonist Bob Kindred as well as saxophonist Frank Wess, trombonist Benny Powell, trumpeters Lou Soloff and Ingrid Jensen, pianists Hank Jones and Arturo O'Farrell and tappers Maurice Chestnut, Andrew Nemr and Roxane Butterfly. Mary Poppins' Daniel Marconi and the Newark Boys Chorus School's Misael Sanchez will alternate in the role of the shepherd boy.
Tad and Beth Jones direct with music direction by Bob Kindred.
Written and arranged by singer-songwriter Anne Phillips, Bending Towards the Light . . . A Jazz Nativity premiered in 1985. The show combines well-known Christmas carols with original music by Phillips, Bob Kindred and Dave and Iola Brubeck.
Show times are Dec. 21 at 5 PM, Dec. 22 at 7 PM, Dec. 23 at 6 PM, Dec. 24 at 5 and 8 PM and Dec. 25 at 5 and 8 PM.
Birdland is located in Manhattan at 315 West 44th Street. Tickets, priced $40, are available by calling (212) 581-3080 or by visiting www.birdlandjazz.com. For more information go to www.jazznativity.com.
