with Sean Smith, bass Vito Lesczak, drums ERIC COMSTOCK (piano/voice) and BARBARA FASANO (voice) bring their singular, soulful showmanship home to Birdland with “SUMMER STANDARD TIME.” Hailed as “smart, funny, and utterly delightful” and "a hotbed of pleasure" by The New York Times, Eric and Barbara have been on a roll, releasing an acclaimed CD, PAINTING THE TOWN (“Great tunes, impeccable musicality, and vocal prowess” -- The NYC Jazz Record) and touring the country. Fresh from their Artist Residency at Italy’s Monteverdi Tuscany, they return to Birdland to celebrate summer with an ever-evolving American Songbook. The eclectic mix includes Jazz and pop classics by Duke Ellington, Harold Arlen, and Cole Porter, plus singer-songwriters like Joni Mitchell, Paul Simon, Jill Sobule, and Bruce Springsteen. Eric and Barbara dive deep into the repertoire and always include surprising gems in their sets. As they put it, “You’ll go home humming a song you didn’t know you loved.” They will also salute favorite artists born a century ago: Tony Bennett, Oscar Brown Jr., Jeri Southern, Bill Henderson, and John Wallowitch. Joining Eric and Barbara will be their longtime collaborators Sean Smith (bass) and Vito Lesczak (drums), who also appear on PAINTING THE TOWN. The married musical couple’s electrifying combination of warmth, wit, swing, and sensuality have made them the nightclub world’s most celebrated team. Their performances have taken them from Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center to Saratoga Jazz Festival, Music Mountain Twilight Jazz, London’s Pizza Express, Italy’s Monteverdi Tuscany, and nightclubs and music festivals across the country. Their 2025 CD, PAINTING THE TOWN (Human Child Records), featuring tenor saxophone legend Houston Person, has received ecstatic reviews: The Syncopated Times’ Brian R. Sheridan hailed it as “captivating … essential listening, a milestone” and Will Friedwald of The New York Sun simply raves, “swinging and stunning.” Every bit as entertaining as they are musically savvy, The New Yorker praises Comstock's “expert musicianship and joie de vivre in equal measure.” Fasano has been hailed by The New York Times as "a lyrically sensitive interpreter with a special affinity for Joni Mitchell" and by The New York Post as "a gorgeous, soulful singer who has an actor's intensity in whatever she sings."  Her CDs BUSY BEING FREE and WRITTEN IN THE STARS both won the MAC Award for Major Recording of the Year. Winners of 9 MAC Awards, 5 New York Bistro Awards and the New York Nightlife Award, Eric and Barbara recently received the Donald F. Smith Award from the Mabel Mercer Foundation, acknowledging their artistry. The glamorous couple’s style is all their own, with a wide choice of material that brings the generations together. Eric and Barbara make all of it fresh, new, spontaneous, and fun – and their audiences feel they’ve been to a terrific party where the music and the stories have been equally great. In the words of revered jazz critic Ira Gitler, they “have it all, and then some … artistic, swinging, and superbly entertaining.”