Jazz Thursdays

Brooklyn native Barbara King was introduced to jazz at an early age and has performed for audiences in Greece; Italy, Japan, Dubai and Eastern Europe; Cuba’s Havana International Jazz Festival, Jamaica, West Indies, and of course in New York City.  Notable venues include Birdland, The Iridium, Brownstone Jazz, The Water Club, Sweet Rhythm, Tavern on the Green, Minton’s, Jazz Standard, The Kitano, Philadelphia’s Chris’ Jazz Café, and she was a regular at the legendary Lenox Lounge in Harlem. Barbara was the co-owner and musical director of the Sound Bite Restaurant in Hell’s Kitchen in Manhattan, a jazz and blues venue that attracted many of the country’s top musicians.

Her television appearances include WNBC Weekend Today in New York, Fox & Friends Weekend, and Brooklyn Cable Access Television (BCAT), to name a few.  She has also been invited twice to perform at the Smithsonian Institute’s Anacostia Museum – giving presentations on “The Ladies of Jazz” and a “Tribute to Sarah Vaughan”. Her debut CD, Perfect Timing, has earned critical acclaim with a combination of popular tunes and original compositions. Since relocating to Sarasota a year ago, Barbara has been actively engaged in the music scene locally and in surrounding areas in Southwest Florida. She performed in the Sarasota Jazz Festival, the Swan City Jazz Festival, and at Florida Studio Theatre in Downtown Sarasota, The Grill at 1951 in Port Charlotte, and for a host of private events. Barbara has often been compared to the legendary Sarah Vaughan, but definitely has a style all her own.