Jeff Daniels

Best-known for such films as Terms of Endearment and Dumb and Dumber, actor/singer/songwriter Jeff Daniels makes his New York City concert debut at Birdland. The evening is part of The New Season, a series of concerts featuring top theater and cabaret performers and composers presented by Jim Caruso in association with TheaterMania.com.

Jeff Daniels has been writing songs since the 1970’s, something most people didn’t know, because – unlike numerous other celebrities – he kept them to himself. A few years ago, someone suggested that he might be able to raise funds for his pet project, the Purple Rose Theater in his hometown of Chelsea, Michigan, by going out on stage and singing some of those songs. Lo and behold, a musical star was born! The subsequent CD, Live and Unplugged, is a collection of live performances, which humorously and often touchingly, reflect on his life and career. “If William Shatner Can, I Can Too” is Daniels’ take on celebrities trying to be taken seriously as musicians. “The Dirty Harry Blues” describes the joy of being killed by Clint Eastwood. He bares his heart in “Kathy,” which describes his first date with his wife, and then thanks his mother for support and guidance in “Momma Never Left Her Oldest Boy Alone.”

Birdland has been a world-class music room on the Manhattan nightclub scene since 1949. Jazz superstars Sarah Vaughan, Count Basie, Dinah Washington, and more recently Ann Hampton Callaway, Diana Krall, John Pizzarelli and Tito Puente have all performed on the Birdland stage. The room offers top-flight music in a world class setting, good sight lines and acoustics, and a menu featuring award-winning Southern cuisine till 1:00 AM. Most recently, it’s become the home of Jim Caruso’s Cast Party, the weekly Monday late night showbiz gathering featuring impromptu performances by the Broadway, jazz and nightclub crème de la crème.