Show List

Caffe Vivace's Upcoming Shows

Kathy Wade Quartet: A Swingin’ Halloween

Kathy Wade Quartet: A Swingin’ Halloween

Sat, Oct 31

Celebrate Halloween with an evening of spirited jazz as vocalist Kathy Wade joins pianist Dan Karlsberg and friends for A Swingin’ Halloween. Enjoy blues, ballads, and swinging favorites—including a few songs with a touch of Halloween magic. Costumes are encouraged, with a costume contest during each set and a $25 Caffè Vivace gift card awarded to each winner!


Renowned international jazz vocalist and recording artist Kathy Wade, a Top Music Influencer in the Cincinnati Black Music Walk of Fame, has been a popular Cincinnati performer for over 40 years. A two-time regional Emmy® award winner, she has sung in concerts across the United States, Europe, and the Caribbean.


Kathy opened for the legendary Eartha Kitt, Dionne Warwick, Dame Cleo Laine, Shirley Horn, Nancy Wilson, Diane Schuur, Anita Baker, Alex Bugnon, Kenny G, Whitney Houston, David Sanborn, George Benson, Al Jarreau, Frankie Beverly and Maze, Will Downing and Ramsey Lewis. Kathy debuted with the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra in July 2021 as a guest performer with the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra with former conductor Keith Lockhart and the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra won rave reviews for their work in Ain’t Misbehavin’, the 60s review Beehive; Crowns at Tony recipient Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park; and Crowns at the Repertory Theater of St. Louis; Suessical, Jr., the world premiere of The Wiz, Jr. with the Children’s Theater of Cincinnati and guest performer in the national tour of The Vagina Monologues.


Kathy is the 2023 Ohio Governor’s Awards for the Arts honoree in Arts Administration and presenter at the Oxford University, Oxford, UK World Literacy Summit. She co-founded Learning Through Art, Inc., a nonprofit organization celebrating 32 years of building resilient communities through art. A graduate of Xavier University with a master’s in arts administration from UC’s CCM, Kathy is the 2024 University of Cincinnati Marian A. Spencer Mosaic Distinguished Alumni Award recipient. Kathy serves on Xavier University's Board of Trustees and CCMpower Board.


Ticket Price is $15-$23 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 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.

CCM Jazz Combo Night #1

CCM Jazz Combo Night #1

Mon, Nov 02

Ryan Hamilton Combo #1 7:00- 7:30pm

Ryan Hamilton Combo #2 7:45- 8:15pm

Jazz USA Combo 8:30 - 9:00pm


A $15 ($5 for students) 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.


Blue Wisp Big Band

Blue Wisp Big Band

Wed, Nov 04

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.
Brasilia

Brasilia

Thu, Nov 05

Brasilia fuses the improvisational influences of American jazz with the wide palette of Brazilian musical styles. The band includes pianist Phil DeGreg, trumpeter Kim Pensyl, vibraphonist Rusty Burge, bassist Aaron Jacobs, and drummer John Taylor, all professors at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and nationally well-respected players. The band frequently performs around the Midwest.


Brasilia was formed in 2008 following Phil’s four-month Fulbright Fellowship residency at the University of Campinas, near Sao Paulo, Brazil. The group performs classic popular Brazilian repertoire and original music with plenty of room for improvisation. Their repertoire includes songs in samba, bossa-nova, choro, baião, and frevo styles, including works by Antonio Carlos Jobim, Edu Lobo, João Donato, Hermeto Pascoal, and others.


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.

Diego Figueiredo

Diego Figueiredo

Fri, Nov 06

“Diego Figueiredo is one of the greatest guitarists I’ve seen in my whole life”. The world needs to listen to his music. (George Benson)


Diego Figueiredo is a new star of the guitar world. He is only 34, and he has release 23 Cds, 3 DVDs, and he has playing in more than 60 countries around the world. He is winner of several important competitions like Montreux Jazz Competition, VISA Prize and some others. Diego is presenting now his new concert “ From the Classical to the Jazz”. It is a fusion between Jazz, Bossa nova and Classical music. Diego has an unique interpretation, with a lot of technique, much emotion, and his show has been a great sucsses about to the audience.


Diego Figueiredo was born in Franca, Brazil, in 1980, and at the age of 4, he used to strike poses carrying his small guitar. At six, he got a mandolin, which was kept in a very special place in his house. Diego played many instruments before choosing the electric guitar when he was twelve, playing in theaters and local pubs, revealing the great art of improvising and harmonizing. At 15, he conquered theaters and nightclubs in many different Brazilian states, playing solo or with renowned musicians.


Besides being a guitar player, Diego is a producer, arranger, orchestrator, and multi-instrumentalist.


Brazil continuously fosters new stars that impress and amaze their audiences with their joy and exceptional technique. Diego Figueiredo makes new fans every time he enters the stage, and very few others play the guitar as expressively as he does


Having received awards twice at the “MONTREUX JAZZ FESTIVAL” as one of the greatest guitarists in the world, Diego Figueiredo performs one amazing concert uniting technique and emotion in a fusion of Brazilian music and jazz. Diego Figueiredo presents the most requested show of Brazilian music.

With a variety of work already released, Diego is doing shows on the most important stages around the world enchanting and charming the public wherever he goes with his unique touch.


Diego has recorded and performed with big names like Gilberto Gil, João Bosco, Roberto Menescal, Toquinho, Belchior, Fafá de Belém, Angela Maria, Toninho Horta, Larry Coryell, Ken Peplowski, Lewis Nash, John Clayton, Cyrille Aimée and many others.


He has performed in great places like Montreux Jazz Festival, Hong Kong Jazz Festival, Rio das Ostras Jazz Festival ( Brazil) , Oakville Jazz Festival, La Paz Festijazz, Jarasum Jazz Festival (Korea), Copenhage Jazz Festival, Douro Jazz (Portugal), Vail Jazz Party, Syracuse Jazz Festival, Aspen Jazz Series, Dizzy´s Club NY, Birdland NY, Joe´s Pub NY, Jazz Alley, Guanabara ( London), Harlem Jazz Festival ( Netherlands), Jazz Port Townsend, Django Fest, Zoellner Arts Center, Centre Stage Reston, Bourbon Street, Onda Jazz, Jazzhus Montmartre, Quasimodo ( Berlim), Zhuhai Jazz Festival (China), Vitello´s Jazz, Miami Festival, Jazz on the Platz, and hundreds more.


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.