The concert tour celebrates the golden age of jazz with swoon worthy hits and sentimental serenades featuring Benny Benack III, Robbie Lee and Shenel Johns
NEW YORK, NY, UNITED STATES, January 22, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER PRESENTS is bringing the velvety melodies and smoky rhythms of quintessential crooners like Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, and Bobby Darin to audiences nationwide with an all-new national tour Great American Crooners. These concerts, kicking off this February in Irvine, CA, celebrate the golden age of jazz with swoon worthy hits and sentimental serenades featuring Benny Benack III (Downbeat Magazine #1 Rising Star), Robbie Lee and Shenel Johns performing “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” “Misty,” “I Only Have Eyes for You,” “Moon River” and many, many more. In addition to soaring vocals, the trio of Jazz at Lincoln Center (JALC) favorites will share incredible true stories about the legendary performers who brought these timeless songs to life.
See the full tour schedule and additional information at www.greatamericancrooners.com.
Benny Benack states, “As a self-proclaimed crooner myself, this show is very near and dear to my heart. Many of us grew up on these classics playing around the house, at family gatherings, and spent hours singing along to the radio. It’s timeless repertoire that will drum up all kinds of nostalgia and fond memories, but with our stellar cast, we’ll keep things fresh!” Robbie Lee adds, “To me, crooning isn’t just a style of singing that can be limited to a voice like Bing Crosby. Crooning encompasses an entire range of voices, the unifying sound being the intimacy and attention to subtle nuance each crooner carries in their storytelling. Every artist on this tour and all the artists we will be paying tribute to carry these special traits.”
For over three decades, JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER has been a leading advocate for jazz, culture, and arts education globally. Under the direction of Wynton Marsalis, Jazz at Lincoln Center has brought the art form of jazz from the heart of New York City to over 446 cities in more than 40 countries. The organization’s touring initiative provides an affordable opportunity to present great jazz programming, featuring up-and-coming musicians who have been identified as rising stars by JALC. The initiative also allows for expansion of the mission of JALC “to entertain, enrich and expand a global community for jazz through performance, education, and advocacy.”
Approximately 150,000 students participate in Jazz at Lincoln Center’s education programs each year. “What is Jazz?”, from the renowned education department at JALC is being offered in conjunction with the tour. Please see more here: jazz.org.
JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER PRESENTS concert tours are booked and managed by IMG Artists.
ARTIST BIOS
Emmy®-nominated trumpeter and singer BENNY BENACK III has proven to be that rarest of talents: not only a fiery trumpet player but also a singer with a sly, mature, naturally expressive delivery performing standards and his own astute songs with a thrilling sense of showmanship. This dual-threat ability was recognized by the 2022 Downbeat Critics Poll where he appeared as not only the #2 Rising Star Male Vocalist, but a top Rising Star Trumpeter as well. Benny has performed internationally as an emcee/host for the YouTube sensation Postmodern Jukebox and achieved his own viral success amassing millions of views for his crooning alongside the Grammy®-winning 8-Bit Big Band. Alongside his global touring as a bandleader, Benny has appeared as a trumpet soloist in more commercial circles alongside Josh Groban, Ben Folds, fashion icon Isaac Mizrahi, Ann Hampton Callaway and more. He’s been featured at leading New York venues and has also been a special guest with the Pittsburgh Symphony Pops Orchestra, the Columbus Jazz Orchestra and the Minsk Philharmonic Orchestra.
ROBBIE LEE is a New York City based pianist, vocalist, composer and educator whose spectacular ability to merge his talents make him one of the most exciting emerging artists to date. A graduate of both The Juilliard School (AD ‘21) and The Manhattan School of Music (BM ‘18), at 27 he has already shared the stage with his mentors such as world-renowned jazz icons Wynton Marsalis, Jimmy Heath, Herlin Riley, Bruce Barth, Matt Wilson and Brice Winston. As both a leader and a sideman, Robbie has graced several world-class stages and played in numerous jazz festivals across the globe. Throughout his career, he has earned recognition for both his performance and composition skills, receiving awards from Downbeat Magazine, YoungArts, The Essentially Ellington Festival and Competition and The Next Generation Jazz Festival.
SHENEL JOHNS has emerged as one of the shining stars of her generation with a voice that embodies grace and passion and a personal style that sways effortlessly from jazz to R&B to gospel. She has shared the stage with music royalty including Curtis Fuller, Hank Jones, Dionne Warwick and Sheila Jordan, and has performed and recorded with an impressive array of leaders in the field. In 2016, Shenel completed a musical residency at Jazz at Lincoln Center Doha in Qatar and, several months later, honored Billie Holiday as part of Jazz at Lincoln Center’s New York production of Billie and the Boys. She has also paid tribute to another of her idols, Lena Horne, at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s famed Appel Room. Most recently, she was the winner of the Riga Jazz Stage Competition in Riga, Latvia, and was featured in the Hartford Jazz Festival’s Ella Fitzgerald Tribute.
IMG ARTISTS: The performing arts are an essential part of the human experience. We at IMG Artists are proud to play our part within the cultural ecosystem and are dedicated to connecting artists, creators and organizations with new, emerging and loyal audiences. Artist, tour and project management relies on passionate, empathetic, insightful multi-skilled individuals who are dedicated to their work. For forty years, IMG Artists’ team has provided the expertise, direction and support needed to develop artistically, commercially and strategically successful careers for an illustrious roster of artists and projects across three continents. We encourage collaboration and innovation within the cultural industries and forge distinctive relationships and partnerships to craft and advance endeavors that benefit our artists and projects, but also audiences, partners and intra-industry colleagues around the world. In addition to supporting artistic talent, we are committed to the care and development of each member of the IMGA Team. Most of our managers and senior team have been with the company since internships or first jobs or returned to the company after exploring other roles. We want to make sure that IMGA is a place where people are respected and encouraged, so that today’s assistant managers and interns are tomorrow’s leaders.
Craig Boleman
SoloShoe Communications, LLC
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