Vocalist Kendall Thomas returns to Joe's Pub with his “Jazz on A Sunday Afternoon” series for two shows that turn a queer eye on the Great American Songbook. In a performance that includes songs by Bessie Smith, the Gershwins, Billy Strayhorn, Burt Bacharach and Nina Simone, Thomas and the Ben Paterson Trio celebrate the creative energy and impact of the queer(ed) jazz and blues aesthetic on America’s popular classical music.

Kendall Thomas has sung and played keyboards since he was six. Musical references include the African-American spirituals, gospel and blues he learned as a child, alongside classical, pop, rock, R& B, folk, cabaret, Broadway and, most, recently, jazz. Thomas has taught at Columbia University since 1983, where he is the Nash Professor of Law.