Join vocalist/bassist/composer extraordinaire Blake Shaw for one night only fronting the Des Moines Big Band as part of their First Wednesdays concert series. --- 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. Led by renowned trumpeter/arranger Dave Rezek, this organization is in residence at Noce on Wednesday nights. --- Blake Shaw is an upright/electric bassist, composer & arranger, bandleader and private teacher. Shaw has played at festivals such as the main stage of the Iowa City Jazz Fest, Twin Cities Jazz Fest, 80/35, Camp Euforia, Summer Camp, Iowa Soul Fest, Iowa Stock Music Fest, Mission Creek and Grey Area. Influences come from various genres and instrumentalists with experience from jazz, rock, classical, bluegrass, to latin, funk, R&B, and anything in between. His main bass influences include Dave Holland, Christian McBride and John Clayton. Current bands Shaw books with include: The Blake Shaw Quintet, Thrio, Goose Town, PSA, Elizabeth Moen, River Glen, and The Clinton St House Band. 

Every Thursday night, Noce hosts an all night happy hour. Doors at 6, music 7-10pm, no cover all night! $5 green tea shots, $6 well drinks, $7 house wine, $8 specialty cocktails. Some of the top jazz musicians in the region are featured each week. 

Seth Hedquist combines his background in history and music to tell a unique story about Iowa agricultural musicians in the early 20th century, in an all original, twelve-song cycle. --- Hedquist earned a BS in History (2009) and an MA in History (2015), both from Iowa State University. His work focuses on rural Iowa musicians who played at state and county farm bureau events in the 1920s and 30s. He investigates who these musicians were, and what needs they fulfilled for the organization, and for themselves, by participating in those events. His work further examines to what extent the styles they played measured up to farm bureau and Country Life leaders’ expectations for rural music at that time. Broadly, this topic focuses on questions of identity, and the complexities of playing music for organizations during trying times of heightened pressure, like the 1920s and 30s. His master's thesis The Chronicles of Agrimusic won the Iowa History Center’s “Outstanding Master's Thesis Award” in 2016, and his article “Boost the Farm Bureau: Agricultural Leaders, Progressive Musicians, and Social Orchestration in Iowa, 1921 - 1937” appears in Agricultural History (Vol. 93, No. 2, Spring 2019). Hedquist graduated from The School for Music Vocations at Southwestern Community College in 2005. He works as a full-time professional musician in Des Moines, Iowa. As an educator, Hedquist teaches improvisation to students of all ages at The Seth Hedquist School of Music and Improvisation (SHSMI) in Valley Junction, and is the jazz guitar instructor at Drake University. As a performer, Hedquist has played and recorded with Des Moines artists such as Bonne Finken, Nella Thomas, James Biehn, Max Wellman, Dustin Smith, and The Maytags. He has played with the Des Moines Symphony since 2015; pieces include George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue (tenor banjo) and William Bolcom’s Ragomania (guitar). With the Symphony he has also accompanied Tony Award-winning performers such as Audra McDonald, Sutton Foster, Kristin Chenoweth, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Bernadette Peters and Santino Fontana. He plays at the Des Moines Civic Center for traveling Broadway musicals; past shows include Beautiful: A Carole King Musical, Something Rotten!, Chicago, Mean Girls, Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, The Wiz, MJ: The Musical, and Back to the Future. And he has played for the Des Moines Metro Opera’s Porgy and Bess (2022), The Falling and the Rising (2023), and The Barber of Seville, (2024), the last of which he also made his debut stage role as “The Guitarist.” Hedquist is the bandleader for Plymouth Congregational Church’s Saturday Night Band, and is the music director and choral conductor at Wakonda Christian Church. 

By age 33, Emmy-nominated trumpeter and singer Benny Benack III has proven to be that rarest of talents: not only a fiery trumpet player with a stirring command of the postbop trumpet vernacular in the vein of Kenny Dorham and Freddie Hubbard, but also a singer with a sly, mature, naturally expressive delivery in the post-Sinatra mold, performing standards and his own astute songs with a thrilling sense of showmanship. This duel-threat ability was recognized by the 2025 Downbeat Readers Poll where he won the category of Rising Star Male Vocalist, and placed #8 as a Rising Star Trumpeter as well. His superb intonation and bracing virtuosity enable him to handle astounding feats of originally composed vocalese (complex solos with written lyrics). On top of it all, he’s a highly capable pianist as well. Benny has performed internationally as an Emcee/Host for the Youtube sensation Postmodern Jukebox, and achieved his own viral success amassing millions of views for his crooning alongside the Grammy-award winning “8-Bit Big Band”. In early 2020 he released A Lot of Livin’ to Do, the follow-up to his well-received 2017 debut One of a Kind. This sophomore effort, richly varied in mood and brimming with bop inflection, features bassist extraordinaire and Jazz ambassador Christian McBride (whose Grammy-award winning Big Band frequently calls upon Benny in the trumpet section) and drummer/producer Ulysses Owens, Jr., as well as the radiant Takeshi Ohbayashi on piano and Rhodes. His vocalese duet on “Social Call” from this album alongside fellow young star vocalist Veronica Swift became an instant smash hit single, being transcribed and learned by Jazz vocalists around the world. His latest album “Third Time’s the Charm” features many stars including Peter Bernstein, Emmet Cohen & Bria Skonberg and was released in June 2023 to critical acclaim and chart-topping success, reaching #2 on the JazzWeek National Radio Charts. Alongside his global touring as a straight-ahead/contemporary bandleader, Benny has appeared as a trumpet soloist in more commercial circles alongside Josh Groban, Ben Folds, fashion icon Isaac Mizrahi, Ann Hampton Callaway and more. He’s been featured at Birdland, Jazz @ Lincoln Center, Mezzrow, Bemelmans Bar at the Carlyle and other leading New York venues, and has also been a special guest with the Pittsburgh Symphony Pops Orchestra, the Columbus Jazz Orchestra and the Minsk Philharmonic Orchestra. He made his television debut in NBC’s short-lived, SNL-inspired variety show “Maya & Marty” playing in the in-studio band led by acclaimed bassist & Broadway arranger Charlie Rosen. More recent TV credits include “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” where he’s performed in the House Band started by Jon Batiste. His global recognition has been bolstered by recent live-streaming concerts at Smalls Jazz Club, where he maintains a Jam Session residency, as well as frequent appearances on fellow young lion Emmet Cohen’s smash-hit online concert series “Emmet’s Place” . Third in a generational line of Pittsburgh jazz notables, Benny follows in the footsteps of his trumpeter/bandleader grandfather, Benny Benack, Sr. (1921-86), and his father Benny Benack, Jr., a saxophonist/clarinetist who gave the young Benny his first professional experience. Benny, Sr. hailed from a Pittsburgh lineage that also produced Roy Eldridge, Earl Hines, Art Blakey, Billy Strayhorn and so many more. He recorded the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 1960 theme song “Beat ’Em Bucs” and toured with Tommy Dorsey and Raymond Scott, among others. Benny III returns to Pittsburgh often to perform, saluting his family forebears and the jazz heritage as a whole, nonetheless staking his bold and highly individual artistic claim. He is an endorsing artist with Torpedo Bags cases, CarolBrass flugelhorns, as well as various menswear fashion lines including X-Suit, Alain Dupetit, Brisk Shirts, Proper Cloth & Vittone. 

Join Max Wellman each Saturday night after 9pm 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. Shows will go until 11 or midnight, depending on the evening. There is no cover. --- 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. Led by renowned trumpeter/arranger Dave Rezek, this organization is in residence at Noce on Wednesday nights. --- 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. 

Every Thursday night, Noce hosts an all night happy hour. Doors at 6, music 7-10pm, no cover all night! $5 green tea shots, $6 well drinks, $7 house wine, $8 specialty cocktails. Some of the top jazz musicians in the region are featured each week. 

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. 

Max Wellman and his big band highlight the works of Frank Sinatra, his contemporaries, and those that followed. Fly Me to The Moon features songs made famous by Harry Connick Jr, Michael Bublé, Dean Martin, and more. Wellman includes newly commissioned arrangements from some of today’s great Big Band arrangers; this new format will allow for an ever-changing, dynamic set list each time the band takes the stage. –––––––––– Vocalist Max Wellman continues to entice music lovers throughout the region, with a sound evoking Sinatra and Connick. Wellman’s recordings & performances proclaim that the Great American Songbook is alive and well for a new generation of listeners. Noce is a state-of-the-art jazz club (co-founded by Wellman) in the Western Gateway neighborhood of downtown Des Moines. In addition to performing at Noce, Wellman has appeared at some of the great clubs around the country, including Dizzy's Club Coca Cola at Lincoln Center, Andy's Jazz Club in Chicago, and Dazzle in Denver. 

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. Led by renowned trumpeter/arranger Dave Rezek, this organization is in residence at Noce on Wednesday nights. --- 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. 

Every Thursday night, Noce hosts an all night happy hour. Doors at 6, music 7-10pm, no cover all night! $5 green tea shots, $6 well drinks, $7 house wine, $8 specialty cocktails. Some of the top jazz musicians in the region are featured each week. 

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. 

Join Max Wellman & his band for an evening full of standards. --- 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. 

Lenard Simpson is a saxophonist, composer and educator from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Lenard was mostly self-taught through high school, but his natural ability and musicianship earned him accolades such as membership in the esteemed Grammy Camp Jazz Session, and an outstanding soloist award at the Mingus Jazz Competition in New York City. Lenard has had the opportunity to play and travel with artists such as pianist and composer-Billy Childs, Kurt Elling, Marquis Hill, and Clayton Cameron. Lenard received a B.M in Jazz performance at Northern Illinois University. While studying at NIU, Lenard was awarded first place in Chicago’s esteemed Luminarts Jazz Competition. Upon graduation, Lenard moved to Chicago and soon became one of the city’s top call saxophonists playing sideman to legendary local drummers, George Fludas and Charles Heath. Lenard’s trio has appeared at premier clubs and jazz festivals throughout the Chicago and Milwaukee area. Lenard recently graduated from the Thelonious Monk Institute Fellowship, which has since been renamed to the Herbie Hancock Institut where he was selected by a panel of Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, James Newton and Ambrose Akinmusire. 

Join Max Wellman each Saturday night after 9pm 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. Shows will go until 11 or midnight, depending on the evening. There is no cover. --- 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. Led by renowned trumpeter/arranger Dave Rezek, this organization is in residence at Noce on Wednesday nights. --- 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. 

Every Thursday night, Noce hosts an all night happy hour. Doors at 6, music 7-10pm, no cover all night! $5 green tea shots, $6 well drinks, $7 house wine, $8 specialty cocktails. Some of the top jazz musicians in the region are featured each week. 

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. 

Gabriel Espinosa was born in Merida, Mexico. He received a BA in Music from Central College and an Arranging Degree from Berklee College of Music in Boston. He later received his Masters in Music from the University of North Texas. He began his teaching career at Central College in 1996 and in 2004 he joined the music faculty at Grinnell College. Prior to going solo in 2009 Espinosa recorded three albums with his Iowa based band Ashanti. Since then, he has recorded five albums under the music label Zoho Music based in New York City. Musicians featured include Antonio Sanchez, Anat Cohen, Hendrik Meurkens, Misha Tsiganov, Helio Alves, Tierney Sutton and Kim Nazarian to name a few. --- For Misha Tsiganov, the journey to becoming a renowned jazz musician began with a dream—a dream to move to the United States for greater opportunities and a broader musical landscape. Born in St. Petersburg, Russia, into a family of artists—his father a sculptor and his mother a music teacher—Misha's passion for music ignited early. At just six years old, he began playing the piano, and his dedication led him to graduate from the Mussorgsky College of Music. In 1990, Misha’s exceptional talent was recognized with a prize-winner diploma at the All-Russia Jazz Competition. The following year, his dream took a significant step forward when the esteemed vibraphonist Gary Burton invited him to study at Berklee College of Music in Boston. After two years of rigorous training, Misha’s dream of moving to the U.S. became a reality when he relocated to New York City, where his career began to flourish. Misha’s impressive career includes a range of notable collaborations and recordings: 1998-2008: Collaborated with Norman Hedman's Tropique, contributing to Taken By Surprise (2000, Palmetto Records) and Garden Of Forbidden Fruit (2003, PowerLight Media). 2002-present: Worked with Johnny Colon on Keeping It Real (2007). 2002-present: Partnered with Willie Martinez, recording I Remember You (2002), Family (2005), and After Winter, Spring (2008). 2003-2004: Joined Chico Freeman for the album Out Of Many Comes The One (2003, Arabesque Records). 2004: Featured on NGFOOT (Nine Guys From Out Of Town), produced by Stu Gardner and featuring artists like Michael Brecker and Randy Brecker. 2004-2008: Worked with Joe Chambers on The Outlaw (2005, Savant Records) and performed at the Half Note Jazz Club in Athens. 2007-present: Collaborated with Papo Pepin and Jed Levy, with albums including Travelogue (2011) and Italian Suite (2013, SteepleChase Records). 2007-present: Partnered with Hendrik Meurkens, contributing to Samba To Go (2009, Zoho Records), A Night In Jakarta (2010, Jawo Records), Live at Bird's Eye (2011, Zoho Records), Celebrando (2012, Zoho Records), and Samba, Little Samba (2014, Zoho Records). In 2011, Misha toured Europe with the Myron Walden Quintet featuring Darren Barrett. His performances have illuminated prestigious international venues and festivals, including Carnegie Hall, Blue Note, Dizzy's Club, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Avery Fisher Hall, and many others, from the Java Jakarta Jazz Festival to the St. Croix Jazz Festival. Misha Tsiganov’s distinctive piano work was a highlight of the Bill Cosby television cartoon Little Bill (1999-2002), which continues to air on Nickelodeon and CBS. His contributions are also featured in Paramount Pictures / Viacom’s Little Bill videos. Throughout his career, Misha has had the privilege of performing and recording with jazz icons such as Clark Terry, Michael Brecker, Randy Brecker, Wynton Marsalis, Joe Chambers, Gary Bartz, Hendrik Meurkens, and many others, embodying the essence of jazz with each performance. Misha Tsiganov’s journey underscores the power of a dream and the transformative opportunities it can bring. 

Join Max Wellman each Saturday night after 9pm 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. Shows will go until 11 or midnight, depending on the evening. There is no cover. --- 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 Napoleon Douglas Backstage at Noce as he introduces a group of very talented gospel artists from the Des Moines Metro Area to NOCE Backstage for an afternoon of Gospel Selections accompanied by a Soul Food inspired brunch & bar fare (available for purchase, not included in ticket). With headliners Donovan McCamey and Adrienne Kay Brown, a full band, and featured vocalists, this event will bring you the praise break that you want to continue after-church to start your week off on the good foot. --- 

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. Led by renowned trumpeter/arranger Dave Rezek, this organization is in residence at Noce on Wednesday nights. --- 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.