Back on 9/9 we posted about an incident at NYC jazz venue University of the Streets where Kevin Shea of Talibam! ended up with a pretty nasty injury to his face after an altercation with the venue's staff. About a week later the venue did in fact respond.... all in caps and with some fun lines like this: "THE ATTENDANT RAISED HIS HAND TO PROTECT THE DIRECTOR AND IN THE MELEE THE BAND-MEMBER'S FACE CONNECTED WITH THE ATTENDEES HAND." Read the whole thing below...

Continue reading "University of the Streets issued a "statement of events" (event = musician punched)"

Like an edition of PS1's Warm Up, and the DMB Caravan, the Irene-cancelled Charlie Parker Jazz Festival has been rescheduled, though now it's only one day...

Due to Hurricane Irene, City Parks Foundation was forced to postpone the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival which was originally scheduled for Saturday, August 27 and Sunday, August 28. We are proud to announce a new date for the festival, Friday, September 23, from 6-10 pm at the Richard Rodgers Amphitheater in Harlem's Marcus Garvey Park. Due to the rescheduling of this event, the lineup has been altered and the typically two-day festival has been consolidated to just one day.

On Friday, September 23, the festival will take place at Marcus Garvey Park with KENNY WERNER, JAMES CARTER, TIA FULLER and THE GERALD CLAYTON TRIO.

This FREE performances is certain to fill up quickly, so get there early: the show begins at 6:00pm.

Continue reading "Charlie Parker Jazz Fest rescheduled"

by Andrew Frisicano

As announced a few months ago, the four-night Undead Jazz Fest kicks off tonight (6/23) with music at Le Poisson Rouge, Sullivan Hall and Kenny's Castaways. The format is similar to that of the Winter Jazz fest (and the inaugural Undead fest last year): one ticket that covers entry to a handful of neighboring venues. This year, each night offers something a little different.

Thursday night the venues are in Greenwich Village and music include Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog, Dave King Trucking Company, Gerald Clayton and Alan Licht & Brian Chase. Friday night features a "round robin of improvised duets" at the Bell House. Scheduled participants for that are: "David Torn, Elliot Sharp, Jim Black, Erik Friedlander, Dean Bowman, Chris Lightcap, Brian Chase (Yeah Yeah Yeahs!), David King (Bad Plus!), Darius Jones, Chris Speed, Jamie Saft, Chris Dingman, Eivind Opsvik, Charlie Burnham, Marco Cappelli and Kirk Knuffke."

Saturday the music will be in the Gowanus/Park Slope area (at Littlefield and unconventional spots Homage Skateboard Training Facility and Cross Fit) where you'll be able to see Elliott Sharp (playing Thelonious Monk), David S. Ware, the Darius Jones Trio and more, all on the same Degraw Street block.

Sunday, the music (a super-varied lineup that includes The Claudia Quintet, Peter Brotzmann's FULL BLAST, Bobby Previte Quartet, Erik Friedlander and UB313 with Sun Ra Arkestra's Marshall Allen) is in Williamsburg, split between four stages at three venues: Public Assembly, Cubana Social and the Cameo.

Tickets for all days are still available, including four-day and two-day tix.

There are copies of the Undead Jazz Fest Review floating around town that come with an excellent sampler CD, which you can stream below.

We should note that last week, the New York Times published news about an online petition asking for an increase in musician pay for the Undead and Winter Jazz Fests. Initially, it was unclear whether that situation would affect this year's festival (some of the signees are scheduled to perform), but the organizers of the petition have since clarified some points, mainly that they support this year's fest and that they didn't mean for the press to find out about what they thought was a private email, but that they're hoping to negotiate for a pay raise at future fests. Some more info on that is below, if you're interested...

Now that that's out of the way... the fest recently put together a trailer containing one second of music from each artist on the bill. That and the full schedule are below...

Continue reading "Undead Jazz Fest begins (full schedule, an event trailer & a small controversy included)"

Brian Wilson played the Highline Ballroom [Sunday] night as part of its sister club's month-long Blue Note Jazz Festival, and though the two-set show featured his entire current Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin album of Gershwin standards, it wasn't jazz, really, but no less demanding--and rewarding.

The Beach Boys' beloved creative genius brought a 12-piece band of multi-instrumentalists/vocalists--and a local female string section--and all lived up to his contention that it's one of his best bands ever.

The Gershwin album, which was conceived under the aegis of his hero George Gershwin's estate, led off the second set--the first being a breathtaking recreation of Beach Boys classics ranging from the ultra-romantic 1963 ballad "Surfer Girl," his first composition, to the symphonic "Heroes And Villains" of 1967. While Wilson's ability to sing his signature falsetto vocal leads and harmonies is long gone, guitarist Jeff Foskett was downright spooky in mimicking it on hits like "Don't Worry Baby" and "Wouldn't It Be Nice." [Examiner]

The festival also includes many other shows we've mentioned before including the Jimmy Scott shows at The Blue Note on June 23. Tickets are still on sale.

The recently mentioned Bjorkestra show at Highline Ballroom on June 14 is also part of the festival. As discussed, tickets are on sale and can be purchased with a 50% discount by using the access code "BIGBAND."

The Chaka Khan shows at BB King's on June 18 are also part of the festival. Tickets are still on sale.

The festival also includes the Roy Ayers and Pete Rock show at Highline Ballroom on June 22. Tickets are still on sale.

Bootsy Collins

Bootsy Collins, who just played Bonnaroo, brings his previously announced Blue Note festival show to BB King's on June 26....

"Bootsy Collins was just one more band on our to-do list -- we didn't expect him to nearly steal the whole festival. After an annoying hour-plus wait that had the crowd chanting "bullshit," Collins instantly won the fans back in his favor by bringing THA FUNK. Everything was on the one after that. Lead guitarist Blackbyrd McKnight melted minds, while original P-Funk keyboardist Bernie Worrell provided the ballast. A special mid-set run found the band tackling classics by P-Funk, Jimi Hendrix, and Sly and The Family Stone." [American Songwriter]

Tickets are also still on sale for the two Roberta Flack shows at BB King's on June 24.

Questlove is presenting Mo' Meta Blues I at The Blue Note on June 20 and 21. Both days consist of an early show and a late show. Mo' Meta Blues I features Questlove on drums/electronics, Booker T on organ/keyboards/vocals, Eric Krasno on guitar, and Christian McBridge on bass. Tickets are on sale.

The following night (6/23), The Roots will present Mo' Meta Blues II - Paid In Full 25th Anniversary featuring Black Thought and Rakim at The Blue Note. There will also be an early and a late show. Advance tickets for table reservations are sold out, but you can still get in at the bar on a first come, first served basis (if you're 21+).

English R&B singer-songwriter, rapper and record producer Estelle plays two shows at Blue Note on June 24, her only upcoming appearances. Tickets are still on sale.

Al Kooper & Organ-asm play BB King's on June 29. Tickets are on sale.

"The Music of Stax Records" featuring Steve Cropper, Duck Dunn, Eddie Floyd and Lester Snell is happening on June 26 at Highline Ballroom. Tickets are on sale.

Last but not least, we want to highlight the Dances of Vice presentred Powerhouse Stomp II: a musical tribute to the classic cartoons of the 1920s, '30s, and '40s on June 29 at Highline Ballroom featuring Brian Carpenter's Ghost Train Orchestra. Sounds fun and tickets are on sale.

Check the Blue Note Jazz Festival's website for the full schedule. A selection of related videos below..

Continue reading "Blue Note Jazz Fest continues -- Brian Wilson, Dave Brubeck, Bootsy Collins, The Roots, Roberta Flack, Estelle & more"

Todd Sickafoose & Mary Halvorson

Speaking of Andrew Bird (who has a big headlining free Brooklyn show coming up), check out who the players in Todd Sickafoose's Tiny Resistors are:

John Ellis * sax + clarinet
Alan Ferber * trombone
Andrew Bird * violin + looping
Steve Cardenas * guitar
Jonathan Goldberger * guitar
Ted Poor * drums + percussion
Todd Sickafoose * bass + piano

Meanwhile catch Mary Halvorson with Jessica Pavone at Littlefield in Brooklyn tonight (4/28). All Mary dates below...

Continue reading "Andrew Bird is part of Todd Sickafoose's Tiny Resistors who play w/ Mary Halvorson who also plays tonight..."

by Andrew Frisicano

Steven Bernstein

Speaking of Colin Stetson, you can see him tonight at the Blue Note (2/25), where he plays with Steven Bernstein (trumpet), Vicente Archer (bass) and Dan Weiss (drums) as part of Spontaneous Construction, a new series put on by Search & Restore happening at the venue most Fridays (midnight doors, with a $10 cover). The idea is to pair up musicians that don't regularly play together into one-night combos, and the schedule for the next few months includes big names like Jason Moran, Bobby Previte, Ari Hoenig, Nasheet Waits and Dave King (with plenty TBAs too). All the sets will be recorded for Search & Restore's ongoing video project, which launched earlier this year. For a taste of the quality of those videos, check out their recording of the group Four Bags, posted below, with the Spontaneous Construction schedule thus far...

Continue reading "'Spontaneous Construction' Friday nights @ the Blue Note"

by Andrew Frisicano

Ben Perowsky's Moodswing Orchestra w/ TK Wonder

Like the year before it, NYC Winter Jazz Fest 2011 was a hit. Capacity crowds filled the venues on both nights (all together 1,400 on Friday and 2,600 on Saturday), and it'd be hard to find two people who came away seeing the same acts, or with the same impression of the fest. From what I've heard and read of Friday night, the music was stellar, but after LPR closed around 9:30pm for another event the numbers overwhelmed the remaining two spaces, with long lines and many disgruntled jazz-heads.

(Le) Poisson Rouge, the largest of the venues, was crammed full on Saturday for a curious lineup of jam-band jazz (Charlie Hunter), noisy guitar improv + painting (Nels Cline and painter Norton Wisdom) and Steve Coleman & Five Elements (high-strung group improv with vocalist Jen Shyu scatting along). I only stayed for those, before heading to Kenny's Castaways for part of its Search and Restore showcase. Aethereal Bace - drummers Nasheet Waits and Eric Mcpherson, and saxist Abraham Burton - improvised as a duo after Mcpherson didn't show (their tight, restrained set mainly served to make me more curious about the two-drummer set up they usually employ). Talibam!, who followed, were something else entirely: spasmotic punk in jazz clothes. Back at LPR, at this point well after 2am, Ben Perowsky's Moodswing Orchestra backed up MC/singer TK Wonder for a criminally underattended set. Then I ended the night with trumpeter David Weiss's band at Bitter End, which, at 3:45am, it was.

Some pictures of the above-mentioned acts (plus Asphalt Orchestra who made an appearance at LPR) are below...

Continue reading "Winter Jazz Fest 2011 in pics & review"

by Adam Schatz (Search & Restore)

Mary Halvorson (photo by Peter Gannushkin)

Mary Halvorson's sound is a hyena, sharp and active. Historically, the classic jazz guitar tone and reputation is closer to a basset hound. 9 out of 10 dentists prefer the one who's out for blood. Standing out from the pack, Halvorson's strings cut with beauty and precision. Her melodies are hooky and complex at the same time, no small feat, and her talent for improvising with her hand picked ensemble is one to be seen to be believed. There is a fluidness to her style, and it is all in the art of juxtaposition. She is jagged but defined, aggressive but beautiful.

On Thursday, January 13th, she's performing at Littlefield in Brooklyn in a collaborative trio with improvisers Weasel Walter on the drums and Peter Evans on the trumpet. This double whammy show pairs Halvorson's crew with Mostly Other People Do The Killing, an gloriously titled high energy group (sharing Evans on the trumpet and Talibam!'s Kevin Shea on drums), smashing jazz aesthetics with subtle and not so subtle humor and phenomenal talent. Don't miss it.

The Littlefield show is a record release party for the trio's new record, Electric Fruit, out January 25th via Thirsty Ear. It will be Mary's first release in 2011. She lists nine that came out in 2010. Those include the notable Mary Halvorson Quintet album, Saturn Sings, which was released via Firehouse 12.

Mary can also be found tonight, January 12th, playing with Marc Ribot at Le Poisson Rouge. A video and all of her tour dates can be found below...

Continue reading "a spotlight on jazz guitarist Mary Halvorson (and tour dates)"

"NEVER STOP is the first album by The Bad Plus to consist entirely of originals. Recorded in Minnesota with a live, stripped-down sound, NEVER STOP showcases the band's range as well as its three distinct personalities. From gentle and melodic to fierce and abstract, from swing to 80's techno, NEVER STOP is tied together by a group sound that embraces diversity as strength. Ten years in, The Bad Plus is here to stay."- The Bad Plus

Continue reading "The Bad Plus are at Village Vanguard through 1/2 (New Years Eve included) ++ other dates"

Dave Brubeck is playing the Blue Note in NYC Friday, Saturday and Sunday (11/26-11/28). Reserved tables are sold out, but first come, first served bar tickets are available for all the shows. You can also catch him at Tarrytown Music Hall on December 3rd.

The jazz pianist legend will turn 90 years old on December 6th which is the same day TCM will premier "In His Own Sweet Way," a Clint Eastwood-produced documentary on his life.

(via)

The Undead Jazz Festival is happening this weekend with Saturday and Sunday shows at (Le) Poisson Rouge, Sullivan Hall and Kenny's Castaways. Single-day tickets and two-day passes are still on sale.

A mix with some of the artists is up on Bandcamp. The full lineup with set times, a poster for the fest and group rosters are below...

Continue reading "Undead Jazz Festival this weekend "

by Andrew Frisicano

John Hollenbeck @ The Bitter End for Winter Jazz Fest 2010 (more)

The sixth Winter Jazz Festival in January brought some of the city's best jazz musicians to five Greenwich Village venues. With that lead in, the inauguaral Undead Jazz Festival will be happening in three of the same venues - (Le) Poisson Rouge, Sullivan Hall and Kenny's Castaways - on June 12th and 13th. Tickets for one night and two-night passes are on sale.

The lineup - almost perfectly configured to complement Winter Jazz Fest - includes Happy Apple (sideproject of the Bad Plus' David King), pianist Matthew Shipp, trumpeter Dave Douglas & Keystone (his cinema-scoring/inspired sextet), drummer-composers Dan Weiss and John Hollenbeck (who both appeared with different groups in January) and many more. The initial lineup is posted below...

Continue reading "Undead Jazz Festival (June 12-13 in NYC)"

Rocks Off Concert Cruises are not the only way to see live music on a boat in NYC. Bargemusic, a much less punk rock series of shows, kicks off its 'Jazz Thursdays' series tonight, 4/29, with music from Foldersnacks (Terrence Mcmanus, Guitar; Tyshawn Sorey, Drums; Jesse Elder, Piano, Keyboard and Vocals; Zack Foley, Vocals; Aidan Carroll, Bass). The barge, which also hosts classical shows, is parked in the East River under the Brooklyn Bridge on the Brooklyn side, Ticket info is here. The rest of the schedule is below...

Continue reading "Bargemusic hosts jazz & classical shows on the East River"

We mentioned how Tortoise's upcoming NYC show on June 23rd is part of the CareFusion Jazz Festival (June 17th-26th). Well, the full lineup for that fest has been released, and it's posted below. It varies from local acts like banjo-led, rapidfire metal-improv Seabrook Power Plant to Brazilian bossa nova legend João Gilberto. Sun Ra Arkestra directed by Marshall Allen, Darcy James Argue's Secret Society, Punch Brothers, Jason Moran with Mary Halvorson and Ron Miles, and McCoy Tyner Quartet with Ravi Coltrane, Esperanza Spalding and Francisco Mela (free at the SummerStage!) are some of the others. The full schedule is below...

Continue reading "CareFusion Jazz Festival lineup (João Gilberto, Tortoise, Sun Ra Arkestra, McCoy Tyner, Ravi Coltrane & more)"

By Andrew Frisicano

Jenny Scheinman & Jason Moran @ Winter Jazz Fest @ LPR

Winter Jazz Fest 2010 brought a diverse lineup of contemporary jazz to six Greenwich Village venues on Friday, January 8th and Saturday, Jan. 9th. The sheer number of compelling acts in one place made the fest a great primer for anyone interested the current state of the scene (a topic many of the reviews have addressed). By all accounts it was a big success, with an engaged and diverse crowd turning out. The gigs I went to were all well-attended, mostly-standing affairs (NY Times reports 2,500 attendees at the fest's sold-out Saturday night). The tight schedule (short 40-minute sets) and the closeness of the venues gave a definite festival atmosphere to the shows (like the LES during CMJ). Though some venues had lines waiting to get in (like the cozy Zinc Bar), it was still totally possible to see who you wanted to with a little planning. At each show I managed to find spots close to the stage as the previous crowd shuffled to their next destination.

On Saturday I got a late start and still caught six sets: Jenny Scheinman & Jason Moran at LPR, Claudia Quintet with Gary Versace at the Bitter End, Vijay Iyer Trio at LPR, and Mary Halvorson, Rudresh Mahanthappa and Tyshawn Sorey's bands, all trios, at Kenny's Castaways.

Tonight (1/19) you can catch Vijay Iyer and some of the other Winter Jazz Fest names (Lionel Loueke, Dr. Lonnie Smith) at (Le) Poisson Rouge's jazz-based Haiti benefit concert. The lineup (with special guests TBA) includes organizers Groove Collective, DJ Logic, Bernie Worrell, Roy Hargrove, Yatande Bwakaiman Vodou Drums and Swiss Chris, plus Loueke with Richard Bona, Smith and Iyer. Tickets are on sale. Proceeds go to Haiti Action, Hands Together, The Lambi Fund of Haiti and Grassroots International.

Benefits are also happening this month at City Winery and The Bell House.

Pictures of the above-mentioned WJF acts, videos and more words about the music are below...

Continue reading "Winter Jazz Fest 2010 in pics & words ++ LPR jazz Haiti Benefit (with some of the same people) tonight"

by Andrew Frisicano

DOWNLOAD: Opsvik & Jennings - Windswept (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Opsvik & Jennings - Anchor Lane Parade (MP3)
DOWNLOAD: Opsvik & Jennings - September and Starry-eyed (MP3)

Dave Douglas...

FONT (Festival of New Trumpet music) hosts Forward Flight, a four-night fest of diverse cross-genre jazz, chamber pop and classical, at Abrons Arts Center from Wednesday, January 13th to Saturday, January 16th. Last night was the opening benefit night which featured brass innovator and composer Dave Douglas, trumpeter and fest honoree Wilmer Wise and "a gathering of special surprise guests."

Tonight (1/14) Wise leads new chamber arrangements of Ornette Coleman works. Then Friday (1/15), the fest hosts an eclectic bill: chamber pop group Opsvik & Jennings pairs with electro-acoustic trumpeters Ignite a Noise Trumpet Trio (who also use iPhones, Wiimotes and more), Thrill Jockey jazz from Chicago Underground Duo (Rob Mazurek and Chad Taylor, whose new album Boca Negra , just came out on the label), and folk group The Low Anthem with special appearance by Dave Douglas. Full fest passes and individual tickets are on sale.

The tracks above are from Opsvik & Jennings's latest, A Dream I Used to Remember, which came out on the Loyal labelin 2009. A stop-motion video of Low Anthem's song "Charlie Darwin" is below.

Drummer Chad Taylor and another of his groups, Circle Down (with pianist Angelica Sanchez and bassist Chris Lightcap), will be at Jazz Gallery for two sets on January 14th. Tickets are on sale. The band plays again at The Stone on January 29th.

A full schedule and videos are below...

Continue reading "FONT Music's Forward Flight Fest is underway (Dave Douglas, Opsvik & Jennings, Low Anthem, & more)"

by Andrew Frisicano

William Parker Quartet

New York Guitar Festival, with shows between January 8th and February 4th, has already been mentioned here in a few different contexts. The "Silent Film/Live Guitars" portion is certainly a big highlight, with one-off performances by Bon Iver's Justin Vernon and Steve Kimock, David Bromberg and Marc Ribot, Alex de Grassi and James Blackshaw, and the fest closers Chicha Libre and Gyan Riley. Tickets are still available for all but the Vernon/Kimock show.

There's more on the schedule too. World Financial Center Winter Garden hosts a free opening show on Friday, January 8th with Hindustani slide guitarist Debashish Bhattacharya. There are also theme nights, with Barbes holding Django [Reinhardt] A Go Go (1/24) and 92nd Street Y hosting a Bach Guitar Marathon (1/31).

And LPR has two shows for the fest as well - a night headlined by James Blackshaw (with Max Ochs, Ben Hall, and Nick Jonah Davis too) on January 26th (tickets) and a previously mentioned show with the stellar pairing of Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog and Skeleton$ (possibly in Big Band form). A video of the Skeletons Big band from their December show at the Stone is below. Tickets for Marc Ribot/Skeletons show are on sale.

(Le) Poisson Rouge is also one of the main spots for the NYC Winter Jazz Festival this Friday and Saturday, when it hosts Jenny Scheinman & Jason Moran, Vijay Iyer Trio, Darcy James Argue's Secret Society and others. Other Village venues are well-stocked with talent too (and getting better - Saturday's Sullivan Hall lineup just added William Parker Quartet). Tickets to day one and two (or a two-day pass to both) are still on sale.

Iyer is also at the Stone this weekend, on Sunday (1/10), as is Tyshawn Sorey, who plays there Friday (1/8) (and plays the Winter Jazz Fest on Saturday).

While on the topic of Iyer, a few other excellent, top-of-their-game, consistently original pianists have shows in the same week (could be called the 'inadvertent piano fest'). McCoy Tyner Trio with special guest Gary Bartz are at Highline Ballroom on Friday, January 8th on a latin-tinged bill with Francisco Mela's Cuban Safari, Jon Batiste Band and Alfredo Rodriguez. Tickets are still on sale.

Ethan Iverson of the Bad Plus has a show at LPR, where he'll open with a solo "cocktail" piano set, with The Respect Sextet on Tuesday, January 12th. Tickets are on sale.

Pianist Brad Mehldau, whose new Jon Brion-produced album is due February 23rd, plays two solo sets at Highline Ballroom on January 14th, as a benefit for JazzReach. Tickets are on sale.

The full schedule for the NY Guitar Fest and videos are below...

Continue reading "NY Guitar Fest, Winter Jazz Fest & a bunch of great piano shows kick off Friday - updated schedules, venues & dates"

by Andrew Frisicano

DOWNLOAD: Charlie Hunter - High Pockets and a Fanny Pack (MP3)

Charlie [Hunter] has wrapped up the recording of his next record titled 'Gentlemen, I Neglected To Inform You You Will Not Be Getting Paid.' The lineup includes Eric Kalb (Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, John Scofield) on drums, Curtis Fowlkes (Jazz Passengers, Lounge Lizards, Bill Frisell) and Alan Ferber (Don Byron, Kenny Wheeler) on trombone, and Eric Biondo (Antibalas, TV On The Radio) on trumpet! The official street date for the new album is January 12th!

Eric Biondo, who plays with Charlie, is also a member of Antibalas, who are continuing their Thursday night residency at Knitting Factory Brooklyn into 2010. They're on the schedule for January 7th (tix), 14th (tix), 21st (tix), and 28th (tix). Members of Antibalas play in the Broadway musical Fela!, which is currently selling tickets into June 2010 (we're rooting for it in light of the news that 10 Broadway shows are closing this month alone)...

...[Fela!]producer Stephen Hendel knows that developing audiences for Fela! isn't going to be easy: He needs to sell three times as many seats a week as he did off-Broadway. So he's enlisted rapper Jay-Z and superstars Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith to lend their names as producers. He hopes Fela! will become a hot ticket, like it was off-Broadway.

"Suddenly, we were just sold out," he says. "Celebrities calling every day, world-famous musicians. We had no tickets. We'd squeeze them in."

Jones says he's already hearing good word of mouth when he stands at the back of the theater.

"It's a fun evening," he says. "Even with all the things that go down in that second act, I heard some people describing it as 'uplifting' the other day. Uplifting? Well, it ends with people bringing coffins into the theater, but I guess that's ... I've also heard people say, 'It made me want to go out and be an activist!' Well, that's good." [NPR]

All Charlie Hunter tour dates and album info are below...

Continue reading "Charlie Hunter kicks off Brooklyn residency (w/ new album), Antibalas extends theirs (while Fela! continues on Broadway)"

by Andrew Frisicano

Happy Holidays! I take on more than I can handle. That results in a lot of unposted content. In the name of catching up, while also taking it easy during this final/first week of the year, here's some of that lost material.

Tyshawn Sorey

Since the well-documented "fall" of The Shank, things have been pretty quiet at 98 Bayard St, Brooklyn, NY. For two weekends in September though, there was noise in the form of the fifth annual New Languages Festival. Eighteen acts comprised of some of the city's top jazz composers and improvisers played over six nights - from the lauded big band project led by Darcy James Argue (who recently blogged about the influence on him of another big band leader, Bob Brookmeyer) to saxist Tim Berne to Jessica 6, fronted by ex-Hercules & Love Affair singer Nomi Ruiz.

The pictures here are from the space's Thursday, Sept. 24th show with Little Women (featuring the dueling, deconstructed saxes of Travis Laplante and Darius Jones), the Mario Robbins/Pete Pavone/Tyshawn Sorey trio (drummer Sorey took apart his instrument too) and fest organizer Jackson Moore's Septet (with three drumsets going at once). Pictures and videos from both weekends are below...

Continue reading "pics & video from the jazz at New Languages Festival 2009"

by Andrew Frisicano

The Bad Plus will be playing a six-show run at the Village Vanguard to end the year (and start the next). The band plays two sets a night from Tuesday, December 29th to Sunday, January 3rd. Their New Year's eve show is a bit different - a $125 ticket (which includes a $25 drink minimum) covers both sets. NYE will also be broadcast on WBGO (88.3 FM) on Toast of the Nation (as part of NPR's Live at the Village Vanguard series). Tickets are on sale.

TBP pianist Ethan Iverson checks in regularly on his Do the Math blog - his own year-end lists have included so far a rundown of Classic Crime Stories, "Recent Improvisations (and) In Praise of the Independent Label," and "11 Canonical AAM Performances".

It looks like the band will keep a fairly busy in 2010 too - they're scheduled into February with shows (including one on February 8th at Pomona, NJ's Stockton PAC). Videos and all tour dates are below...

Continue reading "The Bad Plus playing New Year's run @ Village Vanguard & other dates"

by Andrew Frisicano

two of these three guys will be there (one w/ Jenny Scheinman, also on the cover)

NYC's Winter Jazz Fest will be happening Friday, January 8th and Saturday, January 9th at a handful of Village venues. Both nights include more than a few worth-while acts (Darcy James Argue's Secret Society, Jamie Saft's Whoopie Pie, Vijay Iyer Trio, Jenny Scheinman & Jason Moran, the late-night triple-play of Mary Halvorson, Rudresh Mahanthappa's Indo-Pak Coalition and Tyshawn Sorrey Guitar Trio). Tickets for Friday-only and Saturday-only are on sale, and two-day passes are available too. The full schedule is below...

Continue reading "NYC Winter Jazz Festival - January 2010 @ various venues "

by Andrew Frisicano

Hercules & Love Affair @ MHOW in August (more by Sara Skolnick)

Hercules & Love Affair's Andy Butler was one of the many DJs at the Electric Zoo Festival that happened over Labor Day weekend. At the fest he was billed as himself, but on September 26th he'll be DJing as H&LA at MoMA MiXX, a new series of dance parties at the museum.

MoMA MiXX uniquely pairs together major artists with world-renowned musicians or DJs, with each featured performer spinning a set of music that night. The Agnes Gund Garden Lobby will be transformed into a dance floor, and MoMA's Donald B. and Catherine C. Marron Atrium will serve as a lounge area complete with bars. The money raised benefits the exhibition programming for The Museum of Modern Art and P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center.

Tickets for each event are $75 per person (or $200 for the first three events), and include an open bar.

Also on the way, the museum is hosting Between Worlds, an evening-length "pop spectacle" performance by Fischerspooner on November 1st. Tickets TBA. (MoMA is also still running Looking at Music: Side 2, and will be showing a Spike Jonze retrospective with No Age in October.)

Hercules & Love Affair played two live shows in NYC in August. At them, they debuted their new current (but probably not permanent) lineup of Shaun Wright, Aerea Negrot, Kim Ann Foxman, Mark Pistel and Andy Butler.

In the past, Hercules & Love Affair's lineup prominently featured singer Nomi Ruiz. More recently, she's been playing with Jessica 6. They opened for CocoRosie's return-to-NYC show at the beginning of September. Coming up, they're opening for Japanese psych rock band Yura Yura Teikoku at the Music Hall of Williamsburg on September 18th. Then the next night (Sept. 19th), they play as part of the New Languages Festival, which runs for six nights (starting Thursday, Sept. 17th) on two weekends at McCarren Hall in Brooklyn (on 98 Bayard St, an address that might sound familiar). Tickets are available at the door only.

For Japan's Yura Yura Teikoku, the MHOW is one of three upcoming US dates they have scheduled. The other two are opening for Yo La Tengo on Tuesday (9/15) and Wednesday in Vermont and Boston. Their new album "Hollow Me", which includes their recent EP "Beautiful", is out September 14, 2009 on DFA's Death From Abroad label (which helps explain the Jessica 6 connection). Album tracklist and NYC show flyer below.

The whole lineup for the jazz-based New Languages Festival, which "attempts to provide a panoramic view of 21st century jazz in New York City," is pretty diverse and spectacular. It includes Akoya Afrobeat, which matches the sound of Fela Kuti almost note for note (and integrates some of his songs into their rep), drummer Mike Pride's From Bacteria to Boys combo (who recorded a live session for WFMU in April), a set led by noted improviser and avant-jazz composer Tim Berne, and an opening night performance by Darcy James Argue's Secret Society, whose debut, Infernal Machines, came out in May on New Amsterdam Records.

The full schedule of shows and all tour dates are below...

Continue reading "Herc & Love Affair/Fischerspooner playing MoMA, Jessica 6 playing w/ Yura Yura Teikoku & New Languages Fest (lineup)"

Newport's jazz festival - which this year has been christened George Wein's CareFusion Jazz Festival 55 - once again will bring some of the music's biggest and most popular practitioners to Fort Adams State Park in Rhode Island. But buried within this weekend's schedule, and relegated to a smaller stage, is a trio making a once-in-a-lifetime appearance in our neck of the woods: a free-jazz group called By Any Means.

The trio of alto saxophonist Charles Gayle, bassist William Parker, and drummer Rashied Ali play with a potency and urgency that can make your hairs stand on end. They also just happened to have made one of the greatest albums in free jazz, a 1993 date called "Touchin' on Trane,'' a collection of tunes inspired by, rather than composed by, John Coltrane. (For contractual reasons, the album was released under the artists' individual names rather than by By Any Means.) In 2008, more than 20 years after it formed, By Any Means finally released a proper album, a superb two-CD set called "Live at Crescendo'' that was recorded at a club in Sweden.

Now, for the first time, the New York-based trio will play a date in New England, at one of the most revered events in jazz lore - the Newport jazz festival.

It's not as though By Any Means has been touring extensively and merely skipped by us through the years. Free jazz is an acquired taste, sort of a professional jam session, and even its most popular artists draw relatively small crowds. By Any Means has performed only sporadically - disbanding for years at a time before regrouping - and even in a good year these guys play together only five or six times.

Though the trio claims to have no leader, Ali, 75, is its senior and most famous member. He played with Coltrane during the saxophonist's final years, most notably on the groundbreaking duo album "Interstellar Space,'' on which Ali made his mark as a drummer who eschewed keeping time and instead improvised completely independent of structure.
[Boston Globe - August 7, 2009]

Continue reading "Rashied Ali, RIP"

by Andrew Frisicano

Cecil Taylor & McCoy Tyner...

Born Dec. 11, 1938, [McCoy] Tyner made his name as a member of the legendary John Coltrane Quartet in the 1960s. Since then, he has brought his distinctive playing style, and his compositions, to dozens of records on which he leads his own bands.

[What's his secret?]

Tyner says the secret is simple: Drink carrot juice.

"Well, I like carrot juice," he says. "I have a juice machine at home that helps. Carrot juice is real good for you. Carrot and celery. Don't forget celery." [NPR]

We previously reported that Tyner's Lincoln Center shows in May would be his last NYC gigs for a while, and though according to his website that's still true, Tyner will bring his Trio (bassist Gerald Cannon and drummer Eric Kamau Gravatt plus guest saxist Gary Bartz) to the Highline for one two-set night.

Another Hall-of-Fame level jazz great, Cecil Taylor, will play as part of the series too. He'll perform solo on Tuesday, August 25th (two sets also).

The series mixes those legends with a slew of younger but equally impressive acts like the The Bad Plus, Matthew Shipp, and the Benevento/Russo Duo, who are all playing the series.

Tickets to all the shows are on sale now.

The Piano Series' full schedule, which includes non-jazz pianists too, is posted below...

Continue reading "Highline Ballroom Piano Series - 11 shows @ the NYC venue"

Since the closing of LES spot Tonic in 2007, The Stone has been one of the venues that's attempted to fill the void left by the experimental-music-friendly space.

Like Tonic did, The Stone frequently brings on guest curators (not coincidentally Stone founder John Zorn was one of Tonic's most regular hosts and played at Tonic's final show). Now, with guitarist Grey Gersten's monthlong May curatorial run ending Sunday, May 31st, former Tonic co-owner Melissa Caruso Scott comes out of booking retirement to take the reigns in programing the first two weeks of June at The Stone.

Speaking about her choices Scott said, "These artists played some of my favorite Tonic shows and I can't wait to see them again." Her picks include Japanese musician Yuka Honda, who's also playing a Summerstage show with Mike Watt, guitarist Charlie Hunter, Elysian Fields, Vernon Reid, Joan as Polcewoman, cellist Erik Friedlander, and more. Her full schedule is posted below.

Speaking of Friendlander, he plays on Yoko Ono's new DON'T STOP ME! EP (out June 9th Via iTunes Exclusive Digital Download), and you can also catch him live on June 5th along with saxophone player Colin Stetson at the Abrons Art Space Recital Hall. The show is presented by The Manhattan New Music Project, and tickets are on sale.

Before the time of both Tonic and The Stone, the original Knitting Factory on Houston Street featured an ecclectic mix of avant and experimental music (frequently with Zorn and others). The co-founder of that venue, show promoter and current owner of City Winery Michael Dorf, will curate the second half of the June at The Stone.

Acts on his schedule include Shilpa Ray & Her Happy Hookers (who have completed their Pianos residency and are also playing Citysol), Ethan Iverson (of the Bad Plus) with saxist Tim Berne, and Marc Ribot, the guitarist who's had considerable presence at each of the aforementioned venues -- gigging regularly at the Knit on Houston St, getting arrested for protesting the closure of Tonic, and hosting several nights of his 55th-birthday retrospective at The Stone in mid-May.

Check out the full June schedule for The Stone, below...

Continue reading "Tonic owner returns, joins City Winery's Michael Dorf to curate John Zorn's club The Stone in June - full lineup"