Aviana Gedler is a jazz singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist with a passion for music and performance artistry. As the 1st Place Winner of the Ravenscroft Jazz Prize and 2nd Place Winner of the 2024 Ella Fitzgerald Jazz Vocal Competition, she has developed her voice and improvisational ear in the worlds of swing, bossa nova, bebop, modern jazz, and many more, and has spread her artistry across her home state of Iowa, with performances at Noce Jazz & Cabaret, Turner Jazz Center, and Hoyt Sherman, to name a few. She has performed alongside many other renowned musicians and ensembles, including Gabriel Espinosa, Kim Nazarian, Nate Sparks, and the Iowa Jazz Composers Orchestra, and has performed at summer festivals such as the Iowa City Jazz Festival and Jazz in July in Des Moines. After earning her Associate of Applied Arts degree in professional music at the School for Music Vocations in Creston, Iowa, under the direction of Tobi Crawford and Grammy-nominated Dr. Jeremy Fox, Aviana studied jazz performance at the New England Conservatory in Boston, Massachusetts with Jason Moran, Dominique Eade, Hankus Netsky and Ran Blake. She entered the New England scene, playing at Wally’s Jazz Cafe, the Mad Monkfish, and has performed at the Regattabar alongside the NEC Jazz Orchestra. Aviana now resides in Chicago, where she continues to write and perform her original music and collaborate with those around her. Aside from music, in her free time, Aviana enjoys eating food, reading, running, and petting her cats, Iris and June.
Vocalist/pianist Max Wellman along with local jazz musicians play standards from the end of Saturday night's primetime show (9:30 or 10:30) until 11:30 or midnight. --- Vocalist Max Wellman is enticing music lovers throughout the region. With a sound evoking the likes of Sinatra and Connick, Wellman’s recordings & performances promise that the Great American Songbook is alive & well for a new generation of listeners. Wellman co-founded Noce, a state-of-the-art jazz club in the Western Gateway neighborhood of downtown Des Moines. Additionally, Wellman has appeared at some of the great clubs throughout the country, from Dizzy's Club Coca Cola at Lincoln Center to Andy's Jazz Club in Chicago to Dazzle in Denver & many in between.
The Des Moines Big Band, a storied ensemble that goes back to the 1950s, has played with some of the greatest names in jazz, from legends like Clark Terry to some of the more local household names such as Scott Smith. --- The band often invites high school & college groups in to play during the set break. The first Wednesday of every month, though, the band plays their own full night highlighting the work of a different iconic jazz artist or composer.
Noce is proud to present “Voix de Ville,” an original ever-evolving cabaret produced by Max Wellman featuring arrangements spanning from the 1920s to the 2020s. A modernized creation inspired by the vaudeville shows that ushered in the Jazz Age, Voix de Ville includes an elite jazz orchestra under the direction of Jason Danielson alongside drag & ballet professionals. The show opened in September of 2024 & will have an ongoing rotating cast of performers for a different show each week. Past shows have featured drag queens Tyona Diamond & Domita Sanchez, ballet professionals Amelia & Logan Hillman, Napoleon Douglas, & more.
Adam Larson (b. 1990) is an American saxophonist, composer, educator and author currently residing in the Kansas City-area. Larson holds BM and MM degrees in jazz performance from The Manhattan School of Music and was a part of the vibrant NYC jazz scene for eleven years before relocating in 2019. While a resident of the KC-Metro, Larson has held positions at UMKC Conservatory, University of Kansas and The Kansas City Art Institute. Larson currently teaches Entrepreneurship at KCAI. Larson continues to perform in NYC with some of the greatest musicians in the genre. As a guest artist, Larson has been invited to present masterclasses on music business, improvisation and composition at more than one hundred universities across the globe. Adam has recorded eight albums as a leader and maintains an active touring and clinician schedule, playing and presenting his original music and educational materials.
Vocalist/pianist Max Wellman along with local jazz musicians play standards from the end of Saturday night's primetime show (9:30 or 10:30) until 11:30 or midnight. --- Vocalist Max Wellman is enticing music lovers throughout the region. With a sound evoking the likes of Sinatra and Connick, Wellman’s recordings & performances promise that the Great American Songbook is alive & well for a new generation of listeners. Wellman co-founded Noce, a state-of-the-art jazz club in the Western Gateway neighborhood of downtown Des Moines. Additionally, Wellman has appeared at some of the great clubs throughout the country, from Dizzy's Club Coca Cola at Lincoln Center to Andy's Jazz Club in Chicago to Dazzle in Denver & many in between.
The Des Moines Big Band, a storied ensemble that goes back to the 1950s, has played with some of the greatest names in jazz, from legends like Clark Terry to some of the more local household names such as Scott Smith. --- The band often invites high school & college groups in to play during the set break. The first Wednesday of every month, though, the band plays their own full night highlighting the work of a different iconic jazz artist or composer.
Enjoy the music of this up-and-coming jazz pianist and his trio. Carson Parker is lighting up the state's music scene, and Noce is proud to host him for this special performance. --- Born and raised in Des Moines, IA, Carson Parker discovered his passion for piano at the early age of 6, setting the stage for a lifelong musical journey. His genre-defying sound effortlessly blends jazz, blues, and funk engaging audiences with every performance. His music has been shaped by a combination of tradition and innovation, drawing inspiration from legendary jazz pianists including Cedar Walton, Oscar Peterson, and Duke Ellington. Carson has performed at prestigious venues across Iowa such as Hancher Auditorium, Noce Jazz Club, and the Iowa City Jazz Festival. Including collaborations with musicians including Benny Green, Sean Jones, Benny Benack III, Max Wellman, and Jerome Gillespie. In 2023, Carson distinguished himself as the sole pianist selected for the esteemed National Jazz Band of America. Currently pursuing a bachelor's degree in jazz performance and marketing at the University of Iowa, he continues to captivate audiences across Iowa with his own ensemble, and as a sideman, showcasing his passion for music. Carson will be joined by some of Iowa City’s finest musicians including bassist Blake Shaw, and drummer Christopher Jensen
Join Max Wellman for a night full of standards featuring a rotating cast of musicians & other singers. Similar to Wellman's Last Call series, but just a little bit earlier in the evening. --- Vocalist Max Wellman is enticing music lovers throughout the region. With a sound evoking the likes of Sinatra and Connick, Wellman’s recordings & performances promise that the Great American Songbook is alive & well for a new generation of listeners. Wellman co-founded Noce, a state-of-the-art jazz club in the Western Gateway neighborhood of downtown Des Moines. Additionally, Wellman has appeared at some of the great clubs throughout the country, from Dizzy's Club Coca Cola at Lincoln Center to Andy's Jazz Club in Chicago to Dazzle in Denver & many in between.
Noce is proud to present a new show starring Domita Sanchez, with music arranged & directed by Paul Lichty. Domita has performed across the country & with great artists everywhere, from the Saddle Gurls to Chappel Roan & more. The Domita Sanchez Show will feature some drag, yes, but also live, dynamic vocals alongside a 10 piece big band. Expect everything from Louis Jordan to Beyonce & beyond. This is a cabaret unlike any other.
Noce is proud to present Nate Sparks along with his big band in an ongoing residency as the premier pianist & composer continues to establish one of the top-level big bands in the region. Nate Sparks is a composer/arranger/performer who grew up in Runnells, Iowa. Nate began playing the piano at age 7, trumpet at 11, and pursued jazz throughout his middle school and high school years. His acceptance into several national high school honor bands and music festivals led him to a post-secondary study of jazz at the Juilliard School, where he also began his career as a writer. Since then he has been commissioned to write music for Lucky Chops, the Juilliard Jazz Orchestra, Bobby Sanabria and the Multiverse Big Band, the MSM Afro-Cuban Orchestra, Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks, among many others. In 2018 he made arranging contributions to a Grammy Nominated album, West Side Story Reimagined, by Bobby Sanabria and the Multiverse Big Band. While he regularly takes commissions for freelance work, his main outlet as a writer is with his own band, the Nate Sparks Big Band, a New York/Des Moines-based 18-piece jazz orchestra. Playing exclusively his own compositions, arrangements, and transcriptions, the Nate Sparks Big Band performed regularly at Dizzy's Club Coca Cola in New York City in 2016-2019, and now takes root in Des Moines Iowa where he currently Resides. In May of 2017, Nate graduated from Juilliard with a Bachelor's degree in performance, and now in addition to writing and performing, actively pursues a career as a jazz educator. Since then, Nate has been a faculty member of the Lafayette Summer Music Jazz Workshop, the Sitka Jazz and the Simpson College Jazz Workshop. In 2020, he founded and continues to direct the Des Moines Youth Jazz Orchestra, an elite high school ensemble in Central Iowa. He has also been a guest clinician for the New York Youth Symphony Jazz Orchestra (New York, NY), The University of Scranton (Scranton, PA), Drake University (Des Moines, IA), Delaware Valley High School (Milford, PA), and Southeast Polk High School (Des Moines, IA). Nate also teaches private lessons in Jazz Piano, Piano Fundamentals, Theory, Jazz Improvisation, Composition and Arranging, and Trumpet.
Vocalist/pianist Max Wellman along with local jazz musicians play standards from the end of Saturday night's primetime show (9:30 or 10:30) until 11:30 or midnight. --- Vocalist Max Wellman is enticing music lovers throughout the region. With a sound evoking the likes of Sinatra and Connick, Wellman’s recordings & performances promise that the Great American Songbook is alive & well for a new generation of listeners. Wellman co-founded Noce, a state-of-the-art jazz club in the Western Gateway neighborhood of downtown Des Moines. Additionally, Wellman has appeared at some of the great clubs throughout the country, from Dizzy's Club Coca Cola at Lincoln Center to Andy's Jazz Club in Chicago to Dazzle in Denver & many in between.
Vocalist, Lauren Vilmain is a graduate of Drake University where she majored in vocal performance with a minor in musical theatre. In her studies she fell in love with both the thrill of live performance and the beauty of self-expression. While being classically trained, Lauren also dove into musical theater repertoire. After her studies she found a challenging and deep love for American Jazz music. Her repertoire ranges widely from Nina Simone, Melody Gardot and Madeleine Peyroux to blues artists like Lizz Wright, Tracy Chapman, and Eva Cassidy. She performs locally with NOLA Jazz Band as well as her Quintet and is proud to regular the Noce Jazz Club in Downtown Des Moines. Lauren is privileged to work with some of the best musicians in the state and to collaborate with them for her personal projects.
Vocalist Max Wellman brings back his wildly popular Home for the Holidays show to Noce, featuring the great work of music director & trumpeter Dave Rezek. This show has sold out runs at The Des Moines Playhouse, the Des Moines Social Club, The Turner Jazz Center, & more. Designed after the classic holiday variety shows of yore, you'll hear all of your favorite songs (It's the Most Wonderful Time Of The Year, The Christmas Song, Sleigh Ride) brought to you by stellar jazz musicians in a beautiful room. –––––––––– Vocalist Max Wellman is enticing music lovers throughout the region. With a sound evoking the likes of Sinatra and Connick, Wellman’s recordings & performances promise that the Great American Songbook is alive & well for a new generation of listeners.Wellman co-founded Noce, a state-of-the-art jazz club in the Western Gateway neighborhood of downtown Des Moines. Additionally, Wellman has appeared at some of the great clubs throughout the country, from Dizzy's Club Coca Cola at Lincoln Center to Andy's Jazz Club in Chicago to Dazzle in Denver & many in between.
Join the Des Moines Big Band for a monthlong series of favorite holiday classics put through a Big Band filter. From Duke Ellington's "Sugar Rum Cherry" spin on the Sugarplum Fairy and a Zydeco groove "Joy to the World" to Carols of yore, this holiday tradition is a favorite at Noce year after year. –––––––––– The Des Moines Big Band, a storied ensemble that goes back to the 1950s, has played with some of the greatest names in jazz, from legends like Clark Terry to some of the more local household names such as Scott Smith.
Vocalist Max Wellman brings back his wildly popular Home for the Holidays show to Noce, featuring the great work of music director & trumpeter Dave Rezek. This show has sold out runs at The Des Moines Playhouse, the Des Moines Social Club, The Turner Jazz Center, & more. Designed after the classic holiday variety shows of yore, you'll hear all of your favorite songs (It's the Most Wonderful Time Of The Year, The Christmas Song, Sleigh Ride) brought to you by stellar jazz musicians in a beautiful room. –––––––––– Vocalist Max Wellman is enticing music lovers throughout the region. With a sound evoking the likes of Sinatra and Connick, Wellman’s recordings & performances promise that the Great American Songbook is alive & well for a new generation of listeners.Wellman co-founded Noce, a state-of-the-art jazz club in the Western Gateway neighborhood of downtown Des Moines. Additionally, Wellman has appeared at some of the great clubs throughout the country, from Dizzy's Club Coca Cola at Lincoln Center to Andy's Jazz Club in Chicago to Dazzle in Denver & many in between.
Join renowned singer and actress Gina Gedler and her combo of musicians for an evening of some of her favorite warm and toasty Holiday songs by Ella Fitzgerald, Karen Carpenter, Eartha Kitt, Diana Krall, and many more! --- A Note From Gina: Hi! I'm Gina Gedler and I am a regular to the Des Moines entertainment scene and have been performing for many years. I was born in Newton, Iowa and my family moved to Arizona shortly after I was born. Ever since I was a little girl, I always loved to sing and act up! (My mom and dad always said that I entered this world screaming! Come to think of it, that may have been my first singing debut!) Because I had no opportunity for lessons; I grew up listening to records, watching old movies, teaching myself the different styles of music, and the ins and outs of singing and acting. In Arizona I became very involved, during my academic years, in Theater and Music. I returned to Des Moines, Iowa during the spring break of my Junior year of High School. That was tough! But I immediately became involved in the music and theater department to meet new people. And that I did! After meeting the love of my life Mike, in my senior year of High School, we married a year after graduating High School and within our first 5 years of marriage we were blessed with our wonderful son, Brandon! In Des Moines I have been heavily involved in music scene and performing in theater as well. With hard work I have had the privilege and honor of appearing in numerous musicals on stage and many various professional acts and music performances throughout the state and outside of the state as well. For years, I have been enjoying singing in Des Moines as well as outside of the metro area, with my combo of musicians and big bands, for company and personal parties/celebrations, and in various restaurant and lounge venues. I am a current resident performer at the unique and swanky NOCE Jazz and Cabaret Club since its inception in 2015. I am also the lead vocalist with the Ballyhoo Foxtrot Combo and the Soya Vista Jazz Orchestra as well as a guest lead vocalist for several other local bands. I am a singer as well as an entertainer. I pride myself on truly enjoying and delivering what I am singing. I am very versatile with my music styling and offerings. I think a combination of those things is what helps make me unique. One minute I could be singing a standard, or something soft and jazzy, and then break into an upbeat number from the 70's! You just never know what will happen. I love the excitement and emotion that comes from performing all kinds music. Helping people smile, laugh, and feel through music, is what I LOVE! It makes my heart feel good!
Vocalist Max Wellman brings back his wildly popular Home for the Holidays show to Noce, featuring the great work of music director & trumpeter Dave Rezek. This show has sold out runs at The Des Moines Playhouse, the Des Moines Social Club, The Turner Jazz Center, & more. Designed after the classic holiday variety shows of yore, you'll hear all of your favorite songs (It's the Most Wonderful Time Of The Year, The Christmas Song, Sleigh Ride) brought to you by stellar jazz musicians in a beautiful room. –––––––––– Vocalist Max Wellman is enticing music lovers throughout the region. With a sound evoking the likes of Sinatra and Connick, Wellman’s recordings & performances promise that the Great American Songbook is alive & well for a new generation of listeners.Wellman co-founded Noce, a state-of-the-art jazz club in the Western Gateway neighborhood of downtown Des Moines. Additionally, Wellman has appeared at some of the great clubs throughout the country, from Dizzy's Club Coca Cola at Lincoln Center to Andy's Jazz Club in Chicago to Dazzle in Denver & many in between.
Join renowned singer and actress Gina Gedler and her combo of musicians for an evening of some of her favorite warm and toasty Holiday songs by Ella Fitzgerald, Karen Carpenter, Eartha Kitt, Diana Krall, and many more! --- A Note From Gina: Hi! I'm Gina Gedler and I am a regular to the Des Moines entertainment scene and have been performing for many years. I was born in Newton, Iowa and my family moved to Arizona shortly after I was born. Ever since I was a little girl, I always loved to sing and act up! (My mom and dad always said that I entered this world screaming! Come to think of it, that may have been my first singing debut!) Because I had no opportunity for lessons; I grew up listening to records, watching old movies, teaching myself the different styles of music, and the ins and outs of singing and acting. In Arizona I became very involved, during my academic years, in Theater and Music. I returned to Des Moines, Iowa during the spring break of my Junior year of High School. That was tough! But I immediately became involved in the music and theater department to meet new people. And that I did! After meeting the love of my life Mike, in my senior year of High School, we married a year after graduating High School and within our first 5 years of marriage we were blessed with our wonderful son, Brandon! In Des Moines I have been heavily involved in music scene and performing in theater as well. With hard work I have had the privilege and honor of appearing in numerous musicals on stage and many various professional acts and music performances throughout the state and outside of the state as well. For years, I have been enjoying singing in Des Moines as well as outside of the metro area, with my combo of musicians and big bands, for company and personal parties/celebrations, and in various restaurant and lounge venues. I am a current resident performer at the unique and swanky NOCE Jazz and Cabaret Club since its inception in 2015. I am also the lead vocalist with the Ballyhoo Foxtrot Combo and the Soya Vista Jazz Orchestra as well as a guest lead vocalist for several other local bands. I am a singer as well as an entertainer. I pride myself on truly enjoying and delivering what I am singing. I am very versatile with my music styling and offerings. I think a combination of those things is what helps make me unique. One minute I could be singing a standard, or something soft and jazzy, and then break into an upbeat number from the 70's! You just never know what will happen. I love the excitement and emotion that comes from performing all kinds music. Helping people smile, laugh, and feel through music, is what I LOVE! It makes my heart feel good!
Hear the classic score from composer Vince Guaraldi, brought to you by one of the great piano trios in the region. --- Tanner Taylor studied under Jack Oatts and Manhattan School of Music’s Garry Dial. Taylor is an in-demand pianist throughout the Midwest, actively performing in the Omaha, Minneapolis, Des Moines, and Kansas City music scenes. Taylor has performed with jazz notables such as Clark Terry, Slide Hampton, Lew Tabackin, David “Fathead” Newman, Steve Turre, Wycliffe Gordon, Wes “Warm Daddy” Anderson, Dick Oatts, Eric Alexander, Bobby Shew, Steve Smith, Jaleel Shaw, Delfeayo Marsalis, Barbara Morrison, Connie Evingson,and Randy Brecker. as well as performing on "A Praire Home Companion" with Garrison Keilor. Taylor was inducted into the Iowa Jazz Hall of Fame in October, 2022.