Showtimes: 7:00 PM & 8:30 PM| Tickets: $35 at the door. Reservations: Not necessary. We recommend arriving 20-30 minutes before showtime to secure your seat. Seating: Available throughout the shows. Bar Hours: Open from 5:00 PM to midnight — no cover charge to enjoy cocktails and the vibe! “Award-Winning NYC Jazz Vocalist, April Varner, returns to Zinc Bar! 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 released her debut album in 2024 entitled “April by April Varner”, on Cellar Live Record Label. This genre-busting collection of all April-titled songs was produced by 3-time GRAMMY winning drummer, producer and educator, Ulysses Owens Jr. It received many accolades, such as a 4 out of 5 star review from Downbeat Magazine (October 2024 Issue), was included in Downbeat’s “Best Albums of 2024” list (January Issue) and was listed in The New York City Jazz Record’s “Best of 2024”under “Debuts” and “Vocal Releases” (January Issue).In Winter of 2024, she self-released a 6 song EP, entitled “Winter Songs Vol. 1”. This small collection of classic wintery tunes featured a stellar line up of musicians – the Emmet Cohen Trio, Grammy-Award Winning Vocalist, Nicole Zuraitis, and Award-Winning Brazilian Guitarist, Chico Pinheiro. In November 2025, April released the second collection, “Winter Songs Vol. 2”, this time as a full length Christmas album on Cellar Live Record Label. Once again produced by Ulysses Owens Jr. , the record received many glowing reviews: “the album retains warmth without succumbing to nostalgia, intelligence without pretension…” (Paris Move, Highest Rating of ‘Indespensable’), “It isn’t just her pretty voice, either. It’s her style, technique, and heart…” (The Toledo Blade). Her next album, entitled “Ella” is set to be released on March 20th 2026 with Cellar Live. Having been April’s biggest vocal inspiration, this album will feature a collection of Ella Fitzgerald’s greatest hits with a twist, spanning from the very beginning of her career to her peak. Produced by Ulysses Owens Jr., personnel include Emmet Cohen, Yasushi Nakamura, and more! 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, dazzling audiences with her growing mastery of the American Songbook and her creative approach to the vocalese tradition. She has amassed more than 90K followers on Instagram and TikTok, and collaborated with a roster of emerging artists and living legends, including Postmodern Jukebox, Kurt Elling, Jane Monheit, John Pizzarelli, Ulysses Owens, Jr., Theo Bleckmann, Yasushi Nakamura, Benny Benack III, The Su...
