Visions Jazz Ensemble featuring April Varner | Album Release Party "Winter Songs Vol. 3"

7p Show | Doors at 5p

Sam Butler - Trumpet and Arrangements

Garrett Fasig - Alto Saxophone and Arrangements

April Varner - Vocals

Caleb Robinson - Tenor Saxophone

Jeff Parker - Trombone

William Hill III - Piano

Langston Kitchen - Bass

Francis Bassett-Dilley - Drums

New York City vocalist April Varner and the Visions Jazz Ensemble are back to celebrate the holidays and the release of their collaboration on Varner's Winter Songs Vol. 3, including music from How The Grinch Stole Christmas, Dolly Parton, Jason Robert Brown, and other timeless holiday classics! Keep the party going towards New Year's with a can't miss show!

About the Visions Jazz Ensemble

The Visions Jazz Ensemble—led by Indiana University alumni Sam Butler and Garrett Fasig—is a critically acclaimed group that has toured around the United States, dedicated to delivering fresh, modern interpretations of both original compositions and timeless jazz standards. Their sophomore album, Of The People, featuring Ella Fitzgerald Jazz Vocal Competition winner and Downbeat Rising Star Vocalist April Varner released in July of 2026 to worldwide radio play and high praise for its inventive and genre-bending jazz arrangements of classical Americana and folk songs. Performances bring a vibrant and joyful energy, featuring original music from the ensemble as well as arrangements of unique songs from across the canon of jazz music. Sam, the 2023 International Trumpet Guild Jazz Solo Competition winner, and Garrett, whose compositions have been showcased by the New York Youth Symphony and renowned vocalist Brianna Thomas, push the envelope with every performance, blending creativity, artistry, and positivity in their music.

About April Varner

Masterful in improvisational scat and the art of the vocalese — The New York City Jazz Record

Praised by DownBeat as an artist with "impressive range," April Varner has gained steady momentum as a supreme vocalist, a bebop technician and a contemporary storyteller. The Toledo-born New Yorker has toured the world as a leader and a highly sought collaborator, and her music has received wide recognition in the New York City Jazz Record, Hot House Jazz Guide, NPR affiliate WRTI Radio, DownBeat, Paris-Move and UK Jazz News, among others.

Dazzling audiences with her growing mastery of the American Songbook and her creative approach to the vocalese tradition, April also shares videos online, many of which have gone viral, working through her own transcriptions of iconic solos from architects of hard bop, and amassing more than 130K+ followers on Instagram. But what fuels April's artistry is her desire to connect with other improvisers. She has collaborated with a roster of emerging artists and living legends, including Kurt Elling, Jane Monheit, John Pizzarelli, Ulysses Owens, Jr., Theo Bleckmann, Yasushi Nakamura, Benny Benack III, Emmet Cohen, Nicole Zuraitis, Chico Pinheiro, Leandro Pellegrino, Dayna Stephens, Reuben Rogers and the recently departed Russell Malone.

April has headlined across New York City at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Dizzy's Club, Mezzrow, Birdland, Minton's Playhouse, The Django, Zinc Bar, Arthur's Tavern, City Winery's City Vineyard, Winnie's Jazz Bar, Aman New York, Corner Lounge Bistro and The Gin Mill, among dozens of other clubs and venues. She's led her own band across the country, appearing at Blues Alley, The Side Door, Con Alma, Blue Llama, Chris' Jazz Café, Sam First, The Deerhead Inn and Lucille's Jazz Club, and headlined at Duc des Lombards, 38 Riv, Le Pop Up du Label, 18 Oberkampf & Sunset Sunside in Paris. This past summer, April headlined a debut sold-out show at London's most renowned club, Ronnie Scott's. As a soloist, she has performed live at the Jazz for All Ages Festival, Paris' Ella Fitzgerald Festival, and International Jazz Day. Through summer 2025, April toured with Postmodern Jukebox, a band with a rotating artist roster that has garnered 6.5 million YouTube followers to date.

[April has] an ability to adapt her amazingly pliable voice to a wide range of styles and settings — Hot House Jazz Guide

In four short years April has launched two EPs and three acclaimed albums, receiving effusive praise. Her 2024 debut album April (Cellar Music Group) landed a 4-star review from DownBeat, and features an endearing track listing of April-titled tunes. In March 2026, she released her newest album, Ella via Cellar Music Group. Reimagining The First Lady of Song's repertoire with new arrangements for big band and her intimate ensemble, Ella delivers ten new songs with emotional precision and ungoverned spontaneity.

April graduated from Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University with her Bachelor of Music in Vocal Jazz Performance, before earning her Master of Music from Manhattan School of Music in New York, where she received the President's Award for a two-year scholarship. She has also received wide recognition on the competition circuit as a Rising Star Jazz Vocalist in the 73rd and 74th Annual DownBeat Critics' Poll; winner for one of DownBeat's Best Albums of 2024; recipient of Honorable Mention in the ASCAP Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composers Competition; and winner of the 2023 International Ella Fitzgerald Jazz Vocal Competition. To keep up with April's busy tour schedule, subscribe to her newsletter: aprilvarner.com and follow her on YouTube, Instagram @aprilvarnermusic, and TikTok @aprilvarnermusic.