At The Improv Café, where the radio station only plays live Jazz, Big Band, Swing, and Vocal Jazz recordings—every track, always the live version—we celebrate the artists and stages that have shaped jazz history. And few stages have shaped the music more profoundly than the legendary Village Vanguard in New York City.
This week, November 25–30, 2025, one of the most inventive pianists of our time—Jason Moran—returns to the famed basement room with his celebrated trio The Bandwagon, filling the Vanguard with five nights of exploration, groove, abstraction, and fire.
And before we dive into the details, remember:
🎙️ Tonight on The Improv Café: “Live at the Village Vanguard” – Five straight hours of classic live sets recorded on that iconic stage.
Only live. Only jazz. Only here.
Jason Moran & The Bandwagon: Live at the Village Vanguard All Week
A Residency Rooted in Mastery
This week at the Vanguard, pianist Jason Moran brings his long-running trio The Bandwagon—featuring Tarus Mateen (bass) and Nasheet Waits (drums)—back “home.”
Dates:
Tuesday, November 25 – Sunday, November 30, 2025
Sets: Two sets nightly
The Washington Post captured the essence of Moran’s brilliance beautifully:
“He radiates such facility and generosity from behind that piano. With his eloquence flooding our ears, we were suddenly invited to listen for a private friction in his brain… Instead of settling into the center of his expanding soundworld, Moran decides to keep moving.”
Jason Moran is one of the few artists who treats the piano not as an instrument but as a living organism—breathing, responding, questioning, building. At The Improv Café, where we honor musicians who thrive in the immediacy of live performance, Moran’s residency is the perfect embodiment of what makes live jazz irreplaceable.
The Bandwagon: A Trio of Motion
- Tarus Mateen’s bass work is elastic yet grounding, weaving harmonic support with rhythmic daring.
- Nasheet Waits brings crystalline cymbal textures, sharp-edged swing, and intuitive responsiveness.
Together, they create a constantly shifting landscape—never predictable, never complacent, always alive.
🎟️ For ticket details, pricing, and set availability, visit the Village Vanguard’s official website or their SquadUp ticketing page.
Tonight’s Improv Café Spotlight: Live at the Village Vanguard
Every Tuesday night, The Improv Café dedicates five continuous hours to nothing but classic live recordings made at The Village Vanguard.
You’ll hear:
- Bill Evans’ transcendent 1961 sets
- Sonny Rollins’ explosive trios
- Wynton Marsalis’ early Vanguard fire
- Chris Potter’s modern-edge masterpieces
- And many more historic nights captured in this sacred room
Like everything we play on The Improv Café, every single track is the live version—never a studio take, never a substitute.
Tonight’s broadcast pairs beautifully with this week’s Moran residency—past and present converging in one continuous flow of Vanguard history.
Ongoing Traditions: Mondays with the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra
The Village Vanguard’s legacy isn’t just about visiting artists.
Every Monday night, for more than 50 consecutive years, the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra has taken the stage.
This is one of jazz’s most enduring institutions—an unbroken chain linking Thad Jones and Mel Lewis to the present day.
At The Improv Café, where Big Band and Swing are integral to our soundscape (always performed live), the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra represents the very heartbeat of large ensemble jazz.
Upcoming Artists: Closing 2025 and Opening 2026 in Style
The Village Vanguard has already announced a powerhouse lineup heading into December and January:
- Christian McBride – one of the most magnetic bassists of the modern era
- Kenny Barron – a pianist whose lyricism is matched only by his elegance
- Chris Potter – a saxophone titan and one of today’s most influential improvisers
- Fred Hersch – the master of introspective, poetic piano
For jazz lovers—especially those who tune in to The Improv Café for live recordings—this upcoming stretch at the Vanguard may be one of the most exciting in years.
The Village Vanguard: A Living Legend Since 1935
Opened in 1935, the Vanguard is the oldest continuously operating jazz club in New York City. Surviving countless cultural shifts, economic cycles, and even a pandemic closure, it remains:
- A historical landmark
- A recording studio for some of jazz’s greatest albums
- A spiritual home for improvisational music
The room’s unique shape, low ceiling, dim lighting, and pure acoustics create a one-of-a-kind listening experience—one that rewards silence, attention, and emotional openness.
It is no exaggeration to say that the sound of live jazz—especially the kind we celebrate here at The Improv Café—was shaped in this room.
Why The Improv Café Loves the Village Vanguard
At The Improv Café, our mission is simple and sacred:
We play only live Jazz, Big Band, Swing, and Vocal Jazz—and only the live versions.
When you listen to us, you hear:
- Real rooms
- Real musicians
- Real audiences
- Real spontaneity
- Real imperfections that make the music perfect
The Village Vanguard embodies all of that.
From John Coltrane’s historic runs to Jason Moran’s 2025 residency, the club’s legacy is etched into the DNA of live jazz itself—and into the heartbeat of The Improv Café.
Final Notes from The Improv Café
Jason Moran & The Bandwagon’s weeklong residency is another chapter in a story that spans nine decades. If you’re in New York, this is the kind of musical moment you don’t miss. If you’re tuning in from afar, The Improv Café will keep the Vanguard spirit alive with our exclusive Tuesday-night marathon of classic live sets recorded in that iconic room.
🎷 Only live. Only jazz. Only the versions that happened right in the moment.
🎺 Only at The Improv Café.