Vocalist Sam Chiba joins pianist Joe Alterman for an evening of international jazz at Birdland on Monday, August 24 at 7:00 PM. Centered on the many stages of love, Chiba’s performance moves fluidly between American, Brazilian, Latin, and French jazz standards. Blending lyrical sensitivity with rich musical textures, the program creates an intimate atmosphere that draws audiences into a deeply felt emotional journey. A New York City–based jazz vocalist, Chiba reimagines the crooner tradition through a modern and deeply personal lens. A classically trained tenor with a multicultural background, he brings both the dynamic flexibility to command a large ensemble and the sensitivity suited to intimate settings. Drawing from the Great American Songbook and international jazz repertoire, his performances move beyond nostalgia to center vulnerability and lived experience. Singing in multiple languages, he connects with audiences across cultures through a sound that feels both timeless and immediate, exploring love and human connection from a broad and expressive perspective. Joe Alterman is a jazz pianist devoted to joy…the kind of piano that makes people lean forward, smile, and stay a little longer. Les McCann called him "a giant." Ramsey Lewis called him "an inspiration." Ahmad Jamal hailed him "a very special artist." George Benson once told him, "You play good and you sound good — and there's a difference." A longtime mentee of McCann and Lewis, Alterman has released eight critically acclaimed albums and performed at the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, Birdland, and the Blue Note. His work appears on two Grammy Award–winning projects, and he has contributed liner notes to three Wynton Marsalis albums, and he was the subject of Nat Hentoff's final piece on music. He hosts The Upside of Jazz on WABE 90.1 — a show devoted not only to celebrating the music, but to the joy, hope, and life lessons it carries.