April Varner Quintet

About

NYC-based jazz vocalist with the curly red hair from Toledo, Ohio, April Varner is a name you won’t soon forget. Recognizable by her curly red hair and voice of an “old soul”, April brings her listeners to another place- one long ago when the giants of jazz were still gracing the stage. Amassing several viral videos of 1 million+ views on her social media of her challenging solo transcriptions, cleverly crafted vocaleses and acapella renditions of the Great American Songbook, April’s voice can fit itself into a myriad of different molds. At the age of 28, April has immersed herself deeply into the jazz tradition and has performed/studied with a multitude of legendary artists and jazz luminaries such as Tierney Sutton, Russell Malone, Sachal Vasandani, Jane Monheit, Kurt Elling, Walter Smith III and others. April graduated in May of 2022 with her Master’s degree in Jazz Voice Performance from the Manhattan School of Music under the guidance of 2-time Grammy© nominated vocalist and teacher Theo Bleckmann. Soon after, she released her first EP, entitled "Hummingbird", featuring both original compositions and original vocaleses. She was awarded the 2023 Winner of the International Ella Fitzgerald Jazz Vocal Competition, 2024 Honorable Mention Award in the ASCAP Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composers Competition and a most recent mention in the 2025 73rd Annual Critics Poll in Downbeat Magazine as a “Rising Star Female Vocalist of the Year”. April has performed at some of the most notable venues in the Northeast, such as Chris's Jazz Cafe (Philadelphia), Blues Alley (Washington D.C), Con Alma (Pittsburgh), 54 Below (NYC), Birdland Jazz Club (NYC, sold out debut show), and Mezzrow Jazz Club (NYC, sold out debut show). In May of 2024, April made her International Debut, headlining the Longjumeau Jazz Festival (Longjumeau, France) in celebration of the great Ella Fitzgerald, along with two full shows at Sunset Sunside in Paris. She was invited featured artist in the Jazz For All Ages Festival (Hilton Head, SC), alongside some of the most notable figures in jazz, such as Kurt Elling, Catherine Russell, John Pizzarelli and Emmet Cohen. Most recently, April was on a summer-long North American tour with renowned group, Postmodern Jukebox. Postmodern Jukebox is known for reworking popular modern music into different vintage genres, especially early 20th century forms such as swing and jazz. They have toured North America, Europe, and Australia; often simultaneously due to the extensive discography and the numerous artists and performers involved in the project. Postmodern Jukebox has amassed over 1.9 billion YouTube views and 6.2 million YouTube subscribers since its introduction in 2011. April appears at JAX with San Francisco native SF native Eytan Schillinger-Hyman. Eytan is an accomplished upright and electric bassist and composer known for his versatility, rhythmic precision, and expansive musical voice. A recent graduate of The Juilliard School with a Master’s degree in Jazz Bass Performance, he trained under jazz luminaries including Gerald Cannon, Ron Carter, Ben Wolfe, Donald Vega, and Billy Drummond. Active across both the New York City and San Francisco Bay Area jazz scenes, Eytan has performed at major venues and festivals such as Blue Note NYC, Dizzy’s Club at Jazz at Lincoln Center, SFJAZZ, The Anthem in Washington, D.C. (opening for Lalah Hathaway), Smalls Jazz Club, and the Monterey Jazz Festival. Free Admission, All Ages Beer, Wine, Mocktails for sale at JAX bar Pizza available for purchase from LaFenice pop up, 4pm-9pm For reservations, please call (415) 446-9505 or reserve at www.exploretock.com/jaxvineyardssf https://www.exploretock.com/jaxvineyardssf Sponsored by Jazz in the Neighborhood