Show List

Caffe Vivace's Upcoming Shows

G. Thomas Allen Quintet

G. Thomas Allen Quintet

Fri, Oct 16

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

Jon Lampley

Sat, Oct 17

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.

CCM Faculty Jazztet

CCM Faculty Jazztet

Tue, Oct 20

Straight from the heart of one of the nation’s top jazz programs, the UC-CCM faculty Jazztet brings world-class players to the bandstand for a night of burning, modern jazz. Featuring artists who shape the next generation by day and light up stages by night, this is high-level music with real soul. Come hear what happens when elite teachers cut loose and just play. 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 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, Oct 21

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.
Cincinnati Jazz Messengers featuring Matt Harris and John Ricci

Cincinnati Jazz Messengers featuring Matt Harris and John Ricci

Thu, Oct 22

Ralph DiSylvestro — trumpet

John Ricci — tenor saxophone

Philip Hilger — alto saxophone

Zachary Granger — trombone

Matt Harris — piano

Mason Daugherty — bass

Alex Merk — drums


The Cincinnati Jazz Messengers are a 7-piece ensemble assembled by trumpeter Ralph DiSylvestro to celebrate the iconic and exciting music of Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers from the 1950s through the 1980s. Art Blakey’s band featured some of the most influential composers and instrumentalists of the 20th century, such as Benny Golson, Cedar Walton, Wayne Shorter, Freddie Hubbard, and Bobby Watson. The goal of the Cincinnati Jazz Messengers is to keep the music of these jazz titans alive and, in the spirit of the Jazz Messengers, contribute their compositions to the diverse and rich songbook.


Ticket price is $15 per person.


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.