DOORS @ 7:30 / SHOWS @ 8PM, UNLESS POSTED OTHERWISE
RSS
2019
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Thu03Jan2019
Matt Shipp and Michael Bisio Jan 3
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
“The interaction of Shipp and Bisio by now has become a wonder. They intertwine around themselves in brilliant ways—“
gapplegatemusicreview.blogspot.com/2015/02/matthew-shipp-trio-to-duke.html“Floating Ice is a revealing portrait of two master
improvisers engaged in spontaneous discourse,…” Troy
Collins allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=42745#.UD4GZM8yaPL“It’s free-jazz, but full of melody, and every sound counts.” (****) – John Fordham, The Guardian
guardian.co.uk/music/2012/dec/13/matthew-ship-floating-ice-reviewhere’s the duo page : http://michaelbisio.com/duo/shippbisioduo.shtml
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Fri04Jan2019
Danny Fox Trio / Melissa Mary Ahern Jan 4
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Danny Fox- pianoChris van Voorst van Beest- bassMax Goldman- drumsFormed in 2008, the Danny Fox Trio, featuring pianist Danny Fox, bassist Chris van Voorst van Beest, and drummer Max Goldman, is a true working band hailed for reinventing the classic piano trio format with genre-defying, uniquely personal original music. Whether holed up in a Brooklyn basement rehearsing or touring around the country crammed into a sedan, the trio has spent countless hours developing a rapport that’s immediately palpable in their music. Described as “cool but not modish” (New York Times), the band mixes tight ensemble playing with highly interactive, attuned improvisation. Drawing on influences as varied as Ellington, Bartok, and The Meters, the music can switch gears at any moment yet remains cohesive thanks to strong motivic development and rigorous arrangements that challenge the traditional roles of the piano trio instruments. Having received critical acclaim for the albums “The One Constant” (Songlines) and “Wide Eyed” (Hot Cup), the trio released their third album “The Great Nostalgist” (Hot Cup) in 2018.Melissa Mary Ahern began generating buzz last week surrounding her feature on the release of Sufjan Steven’s 2007 rarity “Lonely Man of Winter” out on vinyl 12/7 via Asthmatic Kitty. Though the artist has been frequenting the New York and Berlin music scenes for many years and has worked with acts such as Lucius, Jonah Smith and Oh Cassius! this is her first formal release. “Next To You” is the first single off of Ahern’s 2019 forthcoming album produced by Doveman — the producer behind albums by Sufjan Stevens, St. Vincent, Rhye, Norah Jones and many more. “Next To You” marries Ahern’s folk-pop roots in the timeless themes of love and love lost. -
Sat05Jan2019
Relatives, fern maddie, Julian Cubillos Jan 5
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
fern maddie is a banjoist, singer- songwriter, and artist living off-the-grid in N’Dakinna (Northern Vermont). Fern’s work is inspired by ancestral memory, ritual practice, and joyful intimacy with the rhythms of the land. Fern cultivates interactive, multimedia performances (healing spaces) which weave together history, ecology, folklore, and traditional music.
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Sun06Jan2019
Stardrum/Crews/Rocketship, Charlotte Greve, Dina Macabee Jan 6
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Stardrum/Crews/RocketshipWritten and improvised music for synthesizers and drums.Dina MaccabeeDina Maccabee is a violinist, violist, composer, and vocalist originally from California. Working both inside and outside song forms, she combines experimental and traditional approaches to string instruments with electronic processing to create multi-layered sonic and emotional explorations.Charlotte Greve/Simon JermynCharlotte sings and plays alto saxophone and Simon plays baritone guitar. -
Mon07Jan2019
Meshell Ndegeocello Presents: Jake & Abe + Venus (feat. Samora Pinderhughes & Jack De Boe ) Jan 7
7:30 pm $15 online/$18 door
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Thu10Jan2019
Treya Lam and Ashni Jan 10
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Treya Lam is a classically trained multi-instrumentalist and songwriter whose cinematic songs and ethereal vocals are built on Nina Simone-inspired piano, meditative guitar and lush chamber arrangements. Treya’s debut album Good News was created entirely by women – headed by Kaki King who produced and released the record on her label. It debuted to a sold out crowd at Joe’s Pub followed by a nationwide tour Fall 2018. Lam seeks out extraordinary venues and has performed original music at the Prospect Park Bandshell, American Museum of Natural History, Town Hall, Garfield Park Conservatory, MOCA museum and the New York Public Library.Ashni is a queer, first-generation Indian American singer and a songwriter with soulful melodies, powerful lyrics and rhythmic current, heavy with jazz and R&B influence. Her relationship with the stage began with classical North Indian dance, Kathak; the sound and movement remain an inspiration. As the child of Indian immigrant parents, she grew up listening to her father’s records and her mother’s voice. Weekends began with music from Amjad Ali Khan, Zakir Hussain, and old-school Bollywood. When she wasn’t dancing, Ashni studied western classical piano and began discovering the incredible voices of jazz and soul – Ella Fitzgerald, Ray Charles, Billie Holiday – in contrast and equal reverence to the newer artists of R&B, hip hop and soul.The two met in and are currently active members with the Resistance Revival Chorus. -
Fri11Jan2019
Siobahn Sung/ Chris Van Voost Double Trio Jan 11
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Siobahn and Friends present “Then and Now and Then Again”: a collection of stories about falling in and out of love in New YorkChris Van Voorst’s concert will feature through-composed chamber works played by one trio, each followed with an improvised response by the second trio.
Jeremy Viner, clarinet
Zach Lapidus, piano
Tara Hanish, cello
Kyle Wilson, Saxophone
Chris van Voorst, bass and compositions
drums, tba -
Sat12Jan2019
Emily Hope Price / Elizabeth and Oren // Seaside Girls Jan 12
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Emily Hope Price is a New York cellist, singer/songwriter, film composer, arranger, performer, and illustrator. She is an active composer, solo performer, teacher, coach, and freelancer in New York City and performs world-wide and on national television (SNL, Late Night With Seth Meyers) and regularly performs and collaborates with artists and musicians including Roger Waters, D’Angelo, Sting, Alex Lacamoire (Hamilton), Ani DiFranco, Pete Seeger, Kishi Bashi, Josiah Johnson (Head in the Heart), Pete Lalish (Lucius), Father John Misty, Haim, and Devotchka. Her current solo work resonates with cinematic intensity and imagery – using songwriting, voice, effects pedals, and multi-track composition. Outside the music world, she produces two art-performance web series: Darling, Please Understand and Look, Honey, I Know. She will be publishing a book of her illustrations – Backhanded Illustrated: odd drawings of painfully honest, strange looking people who may or may not represent actual events which may or may not have occurred.Elizabeth and Oren are Owl Family stalwarts who will share songs and singing in this assorted set, with sidekicks Spencer Murphy and Sean Dixon.
Seaside Girls is a collective improvising ensemble that combines electronics with instrumental composition. Drawing on the influences of Boards of Canada, Brian Eno, Paul Motian, and Alice Coltrane, the group aims to create a blend of ambient electronica and spiritual jazz. Its members are:
Danny Fisher-Lochhead – alto and soprano saxAri Chersky – guitar & electronicsRoss Gallagher – bassRJ Miller – drums -
Thu17Jan2019
Ray Rizzo, Tyrone Cotton, Jefferson Hamner & Julia Patinella Dec 17
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
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Fri18Jan2019
Jamie Saft Trio / Hank Roberts Trio Jan 18
7pm • $10.00 Suggested DonationJamie Saft will be performing w Brad Jones and Bobby Previte
Hank Roberts with Vinnie Sperrazza and Jacob Sacks
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Sat19Jan2019
Ochion Jewell Quartet // So Brown Jan 19
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
With Qasim Naqvi, Sam Minaie and Amino Belyamani
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Thu24Jan2019
Closed for Winter Schedule Jan 24
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Fri25Jan2019
James Shipp, Taylor Ashton and Jean Rohe Jan 25
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
JAmes Shipp is a vibraphonist, percussionist, synthesist and songwriter based in Brooklyn, New York. His music is a reflection of decades of performing and touring with jazz bands, Brazilian bands, singer-songwriters and shouty/semi-nude European dance troupes, with Randy Newman and Tom Lehrer on shuffle in the back of his mind. His songs often have the architecture of jokes, and they bob and weave between social satire and explorations of misery and triumph, often with catchy beats and pretty chords. When JAmes is not performing his own music in NYC he can be found performing with Anat Cohen, Jean Rohe, Banda Magda, and Christina Courtin.James’ band at the Owl shall be:
Chris Parker – guitarMike LaValle – bass/synthAynsley Powell – drums -
Sat26Jan2019
Andy McLeod & Rachel Meirs / Anna RG Jan 26
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Andy McLeod is an experimental musician and gardener based out of Fredericksburg, VA. His primary instrument is the acoustic guitar, but he incorporates many instruments into his original tunes, improvisations, and interpretations of the works of others. With quite a bit of work under his belt already, including a record on the estimable Dying For Bad Music label, it will be exciting to see him continue to explore, expand, and refine his already heady sound and approach. In his own words, “Mug Hummies” is a mix of acoustic drone music and fingerstyle guitar adaptations of traditional gospel hymns (with a Hawaiian tune thrown in), with all instrumentation performed and arranged by Andy himself.
Anna Roberts-Gevalt is a multi disciplinary artist working in Brooklyn, moving outwards from her immersion in folk music.
She’s toured the last seven years with her project with ballad singer Elizabeth LaPrelle, playing at the Newport Folk Festival, Big Ears, NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert, and Carnegie Hall. Smithsonian Folkways released their third record The Invisible Comes to Us, was heralded by the New Yorker as “a radical expansion of what folk songs are supposed to do.”
She was guest curator of traditional music at the Big Ears Music Festival in Knoxville; and has been a fellow at The MacDowell Colony, Virginia Center for Creative Arts, Berea College Traditional Music Archive, Bang on a Can’s Found Sound Nation.
Recently, she’s performed and collaborated with a wide range of musicians, including Cleek Schrey, Ellen Fullman, Timo Andres, Susan Alcorn, and Grey McMurray.
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Thu31Jan2019
Closed for Winter Schedule Jan 31
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Fri01Feb2019
Meshell Ndegeocello Presents: Ryan Sawyer, Otto Hauser and Tomas Fujiwara Feb 1
7:30 Doors $15.00 at door (Cash Only)
MESHELL NDEGEOCELLO PRESENTSI BELIEVE IN THE DRUM
THE DRUMMER HAS THE ABILITY TO CHANGE NOT ONLY THE TEMPO
AND VOLUME OF A SET
A DRUMMER CHANGES THE BAND
A DRUMMER CAN CHANGE THE MOOD
A DRUMMER CAN MAKE YOU WANT TO MOVE YOUR BODY
A DRUMMER CAN MAKE YOU LEAVE THE ROOM
BUT IVE ALSO COME ACROSS DRUMMERS WHO CHALLENGE
THE NORM & EXPECTATIONS OF THE INSTRUMENT
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Sat02Feb2019
Richard Sears Trio ft. James Watson Feb 2 9:30 pm
9:00 pm door $10.00 Suggested Donation
Richard SearsRichard Sears – pianoMasa Kamaguchi – bassRJ Miller – drumsJames Watson – visual projection -
Sat02Feb2019
Elysian Fields 8:00 pm Feb 2
7:30 Doors SOLD OUT
Pink Air, the eleventh album from the distinctive and idiosyncratic New York cult band Elysian Fields, is a post-apocalyptic rock & roll joyride, touching on themes as far-reaching as natural disasters and global warming (the menacing, carnal “Storm Cellar”), life under a narcissist would-be dictator (“Philistine Jackknife”), the loss of human heritage (the dystopian sci-fi of “Karen 25”), vulnerable families falling through the social safety net (“Household Gods”), and meditations on time, friendship, loss, and mortality (“Time Capsule,” “Star Sheen”). Despite its mordant tone, the record never feels heavy handed, its mood lightened with infectious hooks and doses of humor and satire.
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Thu07Feb2019
Ana Egge / Kaiser Cartel Feb 7
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation -
Fri08Feb2019
Danton Boller 5tet / Drinking Bird w Eli Rojas and friends Feb 8
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Danton Boller – bass
Josh Roberts – drums
Seamus Blake – saxophone
Yusuke Yamamoto – vibraphone
Jeremy Wilms – guitarDRINKING BIRD is Eladio Rojas (drums), Jacob Matheus (guitar), and Tree Palmedo (trumpet), three improviser/composers who collectively and separately have played with jazz orchestras, folk singers, emo bands, and pop stars. Together, they bring a sensitive, melodic, and eccentric approach to original compositions, group improvisations, and covers ranging from Thelonious Monk to Elliott Smith to John Williams.
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Sat09Feb2019
Arnan Raz, Caitlin Pasko, Julia Easterlin Feb 9
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Influenced by the legacy of jazz masters such as Lester Young, Stan Getz, John Coltrane, as well as Charles Lloyd and Joe Lovano, The Arnan Raz Quintet succeed to create an experience full of emotion and spontaneity. With deftly-constructed solos that are congruous to the compositions in both their melodic and intuitive nature, the audience is presented with a versatile sonic palette of emotions; at times tempestuous and stirring, at other times quiet and shy.
Arnan Raz – SaxEyal Hai – SaxScott Colberg – BassKofi Hunter – PercussionJoel Mateo – DrumsCaitlin Pasko is a weaver of dreamy elegiac music for voice and piano. Musically her songs drift and float like the work of Satie or Debussy; lyrically they’re clear, simple meditations on tenderness and heartbreak. Pasko’s style is built on this tension: between the looseness of the Impressionists and the simplicity of modern songwriters. The songs on her new album Glass Period came out of a headspace where different kinds of loss are collected and confused together: loss of love and loss of life. The album chronicles Pasko’s shifting mental state as she lives through the sudden and unexpected passing of her father as well as a painful break-up, which took place not long after. On Glass Period, we find a small chapel to personal grief. -
Sun10Feb2019
Canary (a play reading) by Ann Gillespie 2pm Feb 10
1:30 doors
CANARY
Two individuals – hungry for love, but lost in their own skin – flirt, tease and play with each other. But both are smart enough to know that sometimes getting drunk on another person is just an escape from yourself. This dark, comic, romantic play looks at how men and women articulate their wants: and whose voice is trusted with authority on this. “In A World” meets “Lost in Translation”. A new play that will leave you laughing, sighing and excited to talk!
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Thu14Feb2019
Valentines Day w Christian Antonio Medrano, Dida Pelled and Melissa Mary Ahern 2/14
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
“Songwriter from Texas living in Brooklyn. Constant river, collected habits, sleeved influences. Annunciated redemption, communal time.”Melissa Mary Ahern began generating buzz last month surrounding her feature on the release of Sufjan Steven’s 2007 rarity “Lonely Man of Winter” out on vinyl 12/7 via Asthmatic Kitty. Though the artist has been frequenting the New York and Berlin music scenes for many years and has worked with acts such as Lucius, Jonah Smith and Oh Cassius! this is her first formal release. “Next To You” is the first single off of Ahern’s 2019 forthcoming album produced by Doveman — the producer behind albums by Sufjan Stevens, St. Vincent, Rhye, Norah Jones and many more. “Next To You” marries Ahern’s folk-pop roots in the timeless themes of love and love lost.New York–based Israeliguitarist and vocalist Dida has a particular talent for storytelling. Whether it be a jazz standard, a scorching blues number, an old country ballad, or a heartfelt original “Dida sings in a voice sometimes playful, warm, resonant, no frills. She sings the words, giving them their meaning, their weight, with perfect diction and charm.” (Jazz Hot, France) -
Fri15Feb2019
Bad History Month,Sam Tallmadge, Allegra Krieger, Feb 15
7:30 Doors $12.00 Admission
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Sat16Feb2019
Krystle Warren, Green and Glass, Kim Anderson 2/16
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Paris-based Kansas City native Krystle Warren is a singer songwriter of uncompromising quality and extraordinary gifts, with a substantial international performing career to match. Her collaborators include Rufus Wainwright and Teddy Thompson among many others. Her Owl appearance is a rare opportunity to glimpse this top-echelon artist in such an intimate setting.
Kim Anderson] has cultivated a mix of of introspective songwriting, superbly composed orchestrations, pristine vocals and cross-genre influenced rhythms on her freshman album sure to please even the most discerning music listener…she offers unfiltered talent and her promise as an up-and-coming artist shines as brightly as the promise of summer, just around the corner.” –Medium.com
http://kimandersonmusic.com
Born in Brooklyn apartments and suspended in air by harp, synthesizer, winds, Green and Glass makes songs that move deliberately through the soul. Green and Glass released their first EP in 2015 with Brooklyn cassette label Very Special Recordings, and their debut full length record is in post production.
https://www.facebook.com/greenandglass/
https://greenandglass.bandcamp.com/
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Sun17Feb2019
Open Ground w Noah Garabedian and Matt Marantz Feb 17
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
8pmNoah Garabedian Quartetft.Luke Marantz – pianoJimmy MacBride – drumsMatt Marantz Quartetft.Richard Sears – pianoRick Rosato – bassKush Abady – drums -
Thu21Feb2019
Sandy Bell / Alice Bierhorst Feb 21
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Sandy Bell is a songwriter, singer and musician who currently calls Woodstock, NY home. She has moved through a vibrant and textured musical constellation, playing most notably with the eternally brilliant Jeff Buckley, and contributed vocals on the Mercury Prize nominated ‘Bat for Lashes’ album. While Sandy’s music is expressionistic and lush, she is most interested in the ‘cathartic transmutation of grief into song’.
A review of her most recent record by music journalist Alex Green honored the album by saying:
‘When I Leave Ohio is beautiful, resonant work that’s stark and painful, oddly comforting and deeply, deeply sad. Sandy Bell’s songs have such poetic precision and crushing emotional exactitude, her work is nothing short of staggering.’
Alice Bierhorst is a visionary singer and songmaker. Ethereal and earthy, tender and tough, her music draws upon classical music, 60’s and 70’s pop, roots rock, Tin Pan Alley, and dreamy indie folk. Debussy, Kate Bush, Burt Bacharach, Carole King, Nick Drake, Brian Wilson, Judee Sill can be discerned in the mix. A voice clear and plaintive, airy and grounded, full of wonder, tenderness and love.https://www.sandybell.com/ -
Fri22Feb2019
Gabriel Kahane Feb 22
7:30 door SOLD OUT
Singer-songwriter and composer Gabriel Kahane takes over the Owl Music Parlor for a two-night residency with special guests, to be announced.
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Sat23Feb2019
Gabriel Kahane Feb 23
7:30 door SOLD OUTSinger-songwriter and composer Gabriel Kahane takes over the Owl Music Parlor for a two-night residency with special guests, to be announced.
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Thu28Feb2019
Lesley Mok's Living Collection // Tomoko Ozawa Feb 28
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
“The living collection” is a phrase that describes the zoos, botanical gardens, and museums of the city. These places, made of tiny creatures and organisms, have inspired a sense of wonder and deep mystery in the way they collectively function to create a balanced ecosystem. The Living Collection aims to build an ecosystem of its own—one in which each member activates compositional material, learns to find a center within multiple relationships, and creates new forms and cycles as it unfolds.
The band will feature:David Leon, flute/alto saxophoneYuma Uesaka, clarinet/tenor saxophone
Kalun Leung, trombone
Sonya Belaya, piano
Florian Herzog, bass
Lesley Mok, drums/compositionsTomoko Ozawa quartet:Yoav Eshed – guitar
Rob Taylor – bassNoam Israeli – drumsTomoko Ozawa – vox & piano -
Fri01Mar2019
Grey McMurray/ Shahzad Ismaily and Timo Andres 3/1
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
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Sat02Mar2019
Steph Richards and James Carney Mar 2
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Steph Richards Take The Neon LightsAfter her “spellbinding” (NPR) debut trumpeter Steph Richards follows up with Take The Neon Lights (Birdwatcher records). An avant/jazz expedition of grit and brilliance, this project is takes sounds of NYC and explores a spontaneous prose of ugly beauty. Featuring Steph Richards (trumpets) Oscar Noriega (sax, bass clarinet) James Carney (piano), Sam Minaie (bass) and Andrew Munsey (drums).Steph Richards is a trumpeter whose “skillset explodes every category,” (Take5, WBGO), having “steadily established herself as one of the most engaging experimentalists” (Free Jazz Collective). She has recorded with pioneering artists ranging from Henry Threadgill, Anthony Braxton and John Zorn to St. Vincent and Yoko Ono and her own works have premiered on stages at Carnegie Hall, the Blue-note and Lincoln Center and been featured across the US, Mexico, Canada and Europe. Her debut record Fullmoon (Relative Pitch Records) was hailed as a “bold pronouncement” (New York Times) and voted on multiple “Best of 2018” year end lists. Her much anticipated upcoming record, Take the Neon Lights (Birdwatcher Records) comes out in March 2019 and has been included in the 2019 New York Times Playlist, and categorized as “ingenious” by Nate Chinen’s Take Five. Richards is a Yamaha artist.James Carney, piano/compositionsDezron Douglas, bassGerald Cleaver, drums -
Sun03Mar2019
Open Ground: Vinnie Sperrazza's Pilot House //Adam Kolker and Steven Cardenas Mar 3
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation8pmVinnie Sperrazza’s Pilot HouseSoprano saxophonist Sam Newsome, pianist Angelica Sanchez, and drummer Vi9pm Adam Kolker and Steven Cardenas Long-time musical partners Adam Kolker (saxophone) and Steve Cardenas (guitar) will be appearing in a rare and intimate duo setting, performing compositions of their own as well as by Monk, Ornette and others.nnieSperrazza comprise the group Pilot House. Assembled by Sperrazza, the group’s focus is ontotal improvisation, synthesizing the various musical languages spoken in the group andcreating an ever-evolving group sound. This is their second show.9pmAdam Kolker and Steven CardenasLong-time musical partners Adam Kolker (saxophone) and Steve Cardenas (guitar) will be appearing in a rare and intimate duo setting, performing compositions of their own as well as by Monk, Ornette and others. -
Mon04Mar2019
Jim Black Trio CANCELED
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Thu07Mar2019
Mike Robinson / Emma Frank 3/7
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Depending on when you walk in on a song, Emma’s music might sound like folk, jazz, even R&B. It’s music that never stays put, full of moving parts, shifting tempos, and winding melodies. Her songs are journeys of self-discovery, framed by insightful lyrics and her warm, gossamer voice that songwriter Leif Vollebekk described as “like leather on silk.”
Born and raised outside of Boston, Massachusetts, Emma Frank moved to Montreal in 2006 to study literature at McGill University. It’s there that she began performing regularly, releasing two critically acclaimed albums under her own name on the Montreal-based label, The 270 Sessions and performing with art-pop ensembles like She’s Got a Habit and Malcolm Sailor’s Songs for Voice and Brass. After coming to New York in August of 2015 to perform in Franky Rousseau and Dominic Mekky’s chamber opera “April”, Emma decided to move to Brooklyn. It’s there that she penned the songs on her latest release, “Ocean Av”. The music was realized by collaborating and working with the pianist Aaron Parks, and features Rick Rosato on bass, Jim Black on drums, Franky Rousseau on guitar and production. Her fourth album, Come Back, on Montreal label, Justin Time, features Aaron Parks, Franky Rousseau, Tommy Crane and Zack Lober, and is due out early 2019.
Written and recorded in moments on and off the road, Clevidence exudes the on-the-go nature of its maker, Mike Clevidence Robinson. An in-demand collaborator, Robinson is rarely in one place for very long; when not on the road as a former member of The Jeff Austin Band, he can be found performing throughout NYC, producing, or recording for others out of his home in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn. A testament to Robinson’s multifaceted-ness, Clevidence showcases his many forms on guitar, pedal steel, mandolin, banjo, and bass while also delivering his recorded debut as a vocalist and songwriter.
The record spans as wide a breadth lyrically as it does sonically, exploring transition and growth while embracing influences from and features an all-star list of fellow Brooklynites Emma Frank, Alex Hargreaves, Dave Speranza, John Fatum, Zosha Warpeha and Libby Weitnauer. It was produced by Joseph Valentine and recorded at Robinson’s home in Brooklyn, NY.
Growing up for the first five years of his life on a sailboat in The Caribbean, Robinson is no stranger to a life in transit. His parents would dock at the various islands, exposing him to a vast array of cultural influences that have underpinned his work and provided a unique perspective that few of today’s songwriters can call upon. At age six, the family migrated to Boulder, Colorado where was introduced to “mountain” music, citing Tony Rice as an early influence. Robinson began learning guitar from his father, an active local musician, and eventually joined his band for weekly performances around Boulder, adopting the lifestyle of a professional musician at an early age. At eighteen, Robinson moved to New York City to study music and soon became ingrained in the city’s vibrant acoustic music scene where he has become an in-demand multi-instrumentalist. His debut EP, Clevidence, is a bold step forward as a songwriter and frontman.
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Fri08Mar2019
Ryan Dugré / Lau Noah / Will Graefe Mar 8
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Ryan Dugré is a guitarist and multi-instrumentalist based in Brooklyn, NY. March 8th is the album release show for The Humors, his second record under his own name. Recorded once again with Sam Owens (Sam Evian) at Figure 8, this follow up to his 2016 debut Gardens takes his minimal, precisely arranged webs of fingerpicked guitar and incorporates layers of synthesizer, piano, drums, and strings.Lau Noah (Spain 1994)is a Brooklyn based storyteller. She has recently found the deepest way to express her tales in the harmonic tapestry that a guitar and a voice, intertwined, create.
Through several musical influences and four languages that bring widely diverse qualities to the music, Noah travels from multi instrumentalist, film scorer, composer to writer, painter and teacher with the endeavor of using Art as a shelter where the colors of the dark and the light naturally reconcile. -
Sat09Mar2019
Scree, Adeline Hotel, Alena Spanger 3/9
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
The members of Scree are like ripples in the water, mostly still with one motion setting off every other motion. It’s beautiful because like ripples, the sounds don’t care about being pretty or constructive, but they’re always true. Truly following their own consequences. A band can only do this if all the musicians are mostly still, mostly quiet, always listening, always with courage to follow the ripples where they lead.
Alena Spanger is a singer/pianist/songwriter from the balsam forests of Maine, now based in Brooklyn. Weaving together angular art-pop songcraft, unorthodox vocalizations, and intricate arrangements that turn from baroque complexity to visceral immediacy on a dime, Spanger’s songs construct their own elaborate and immersive worlds. With her previous band—Tiny Hazard, and in her new music, Spanger explores the less familiar nooks and crannies of timbre and of psyche. As Dusted Magazine noted, “Spanger sings to provoke, not to comfort.”
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Mon11Mar2019
Nandi Rose Plunkett, anna rg, Zubin Hensler March 11
7:00 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Nandi Rose Plunkett is a singer, songwriter, and producer who leads the project Half Waif. Over the past six years, Half Waif has created a bold and unique sound that melds pop and folk songwriting styles with experimental production and arrangements rendered in electronic brushstrokes. Influenced by Nandi’s Western Massachusetts upbringing as the daughter of an Indian refugee mother and an American father of Irish/Swiss descent, Half Waif’s songs are forever searching to understand what it means to be truly “home.” The project has released two EPs and three albums, the most recent being 2018’s Lavender, released via Brooklyn-based label Cascine. Since its release in April, the album has received widespread critical acclaim, with Pitchfork calling it “A striking album of beautifully rendered and deeply layered synth-pop” and NPR commenting that “Plunkett writes songs that travel profoundly inward – asking questions about who we are and how we relate to each other – over beds of electronic instrumentation that expand and recede like ocean tides.” It’s that kind of reflection of nature that has led Nandi to relocate from Brooklyn to the Hudson Valley, where she finds inspiration in the nature around her every day. Maybe she’s found a home after all. (photo by Tonje Thilesen)
anna rg is a multi media story oriented artist. she will share a set of new original songs, sonic experiments on the banjo, and some re workings of ancient ballads.her recent record with her longtime collaboration “anna & elizabeth” was called “a radical expansion of what folk songs are supposed to do.” she has worked with musicians of many beautiful stripes, including timo andres, ellen fullman, susan alcorn, jim white, benjamin lazar davis and glen hansard, and spent many years as the apprentice of fiddle and banjo traditions in appalachia. she has performed at carnegie hall, the big ears festival, the newport folk festival, and has played fiddle in many kitchens.Zubin Hensler is a composer and recordist living in Brooklyn, NY. He spends his time working on albums, designing sounds for various forms of media, and performing with his brilliant friends. For this show he’ll be sharing some new personal music for analog synthesizers, recorded samples, and his voice. (photo by Michael George)
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Thu14Mar2019
The Yale Slavic Chorus / Relatives / Carmen Rothwell Mar 14
7:00 Doors, $10.00 Suggested Donation
The Yale Slavic Chorus is a performance group comprised of women from a variety of cultural and academic backgrounds who share a common passion for Slavic music. The Chorus sings a diverse repertoire that spans the traditions of Bulgaria, Russia, Ukraine, and Georgia, among others. Though many members of the Chorus are not native speakers of Slavic languages, the Yale Slavic Chorus works extensively with native folk musicians and vocalists to practice accurate pronunciation and style. Founded in 1969, we are Yale’s oldest women’s vocal ensemble. Although primarily an undergraduate group, the Slavs, as we are affectionately known around Yale’s campus, also include other members of the Yale community. The Slavic Chorus has always been dedicated to maintaining musical vigor and excellence, seeking to empower women through song.
Relatives – Ian McLellan Davis and Katie Vogel – met upon arrival to New York City in 2007 and have been singing and writing together since. In August 2018, they released their latest record, Strange We Fall, on Figure & Ground Records. For this performance, they will be playing as a full band, joined by bassist, Dandy McDowell (b o t) and drummer, Jason Burger (Witchduck).
Carmen Rothwell is an upright bass player whose current musical projects include Brooklyn-based bands Scree (with Ryan Beckley and Jason Burger), TRIO (with Andrew D’angelo and Allan Mednard) and VALES (with Asa Horvitz). She also has a solo recording project called Parenthetical Girl.
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Fri15Mar2019
The Ives of March w Maya Bennardo and Karl Larson 3/15
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
The Ives of March is an annual event hosted by Maya Bennardo and Karl Larson to celebrate the exhilarating and eccentric music of Charles Ives.
Program:This year the artists will be presenting “the biggest one yet … two sets with each set containing two sonatas, so that by the end of the evening you will have heard all four sonatas!”Violinist Maya Bennardo is an active performer and teacher living in Brooklyn, NY. Maya is passionate about opening the dialogue between composers and performers, and is devoted to performing music of the present. She is a founding member of the violin/viola duo andPlay, an ensemble that works to commission new works and perform lesser-known pieces for their instrumentation. She has worked with new music ensembles such as Ensemble Signal, ensemble mise-en, Nouveau Classical Project, Hotel Elefant, Contemporaneous, Mimesis Ensemble, and [Switch~ Ensemble]. She graduated from NYU with a Master of Music and the Oberlin Conservatory of Music with a Bachelor of Music. She studied with Gregory Fulkerson at both institutions.Brooklyn-based pianist Karl Larson is a specialist in the music of our time. Consistently presenting adventurous programs, Larson regularly performs across the United States. Recent performances of note include appearances at EMPAC, the Guggenheim Museum, and MoMA. Karl has collaborated with many highly regarded members of his field. He frequently performs with his trio, Bearthoven, and has also recently appeared with the Bang on a Can All-Stars, Ensemble Signal, and the American Composers Orchestra. Larson has released recordings on Cantaloupe Music, New Focus Recordings, and GALTTA Media, and he holds a DMA in Contemporary Music Performance from Bowling Green State UniversityNew England based cellist, Zan Berry, is a passionate and creative musician who weaves together diverse musical interests in his work as a performer and teacher. He tries to perform the works of living composers as much as possible. He has participated in music festivals, including Bang on a Can, New Music on the Point, and Fresh Inc and has played with members of the JACK Quartet, Bang on a Can All Stars, and Fifth House Ensemble. Zan currently holds the Urban Musical Fellowship at Community MusicWorks, a non-profit organization based in Providence, RI that builds a cohesive urban community through free musical performances and educational programs. -
Sat16Mar2019
Oren O'Blivion & The Back to Bed Gang w special guest Ed Pastorini 3/16
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Oren O’Blunder Buss is a founding member of the band Elysian Fields and has played guitar or bass with scores of notables in the music scene. His personal songwriting focuses on relationships and reflects his liking for folk, rock, pop, blues, classical, avant garde, jazz and world music. He will be joined by Ollabelle /The Lumineers’ Byron Isaacs on bass, Jonno Linden from the Catapult on guitar and Sam Levin on drums.
Special Guest Ed Pastorini has appeared many times on John Schaefer’s show on WNYC among many possible points of reference. He studied piano with Lenny Tristano but loved Beefheart and The Beatles more than jazz. His mordant, incisive lyrics and consummate musicianship are one in a million, but his modernistic and unique compositional and poetic language stamp him as an even rarer specimen.
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Sun17Mar2019
Open Ground: Miles Okazaki & Matt Mitchell / Anna Webber's Rectangles Mar 17
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation8pmMiles Okazaki – guitarMatt Mitchell – piano9pmAnna Webber’s Rectangles
Anna Webber – tenor saxophoneMarc Hannaford – pianoAdam Hopkins – bassMark Ferber – drumsMiles Okazaki is a NYC based guitarist originally from Port Townsend, a small seaside town in Washington State. His approach to the guitar is described by the New York Times as “utterly contemporary, free from the expectations of what it means to play a guitar in a group setting — not just in jazz, but any kind.” His sideman experience over the last two decades covers a broad spectrum of approaches (Kenny Barron, John Zorn, Stanley Turrentine, Dan Weiss, Matt Mitchell, Jonathan Finlayson, Jane Monheit, Amir ElSaffar, Darcy James Argue, and many others). He was seen prominently with Steve Coleman and Five Elements from 2009-2017. As a leader Okazaki has released four albums of original compositions over the last 12 years and is an artist on the Pi Recordings label. He has also released a six album recording of the complete compositions of Thelonious Monk for solo guitar, published a book Fundamentals of Guitar with Mel Bay, has taught guitar and rhythmic theory at the University of Michigan for five years, and holds degrees from Harvard University, Manhattan School of Music, and the Juilliard School.
Anna Webber’sRectangles is a band that exists in order to play Rectangles 3, a set-length modular composition that flits seamlessly between group improvisation and highly-structured written material.Webber is a 2018 Guggenheim Fellow. She has additionally been awarded grants from the Shifting Foundation (2015) and residencies from the MacDowell Colony (2017), theMillay Colony for the Arts (2015), and the Brush Creek Foundation for the Arts (2014). In 2014 she won the BMI Foundation Charlie Parker Composition Prize as a member of the BMI Jazz Composers’ Workshop. Webber is originally from British Columbia.
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Thu21Mar2019
closed 3/21
Shuttered for Spring Solstice.
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Fri22Mar2019
Carlos Truly, Elysse, Cale Hawkins 3/22
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Elysse is a Brooklyn-based vocalist and composer who crafts cinematic, genre-bending songs. While pursuing an MA in Culture Studies at NYU, Elysse discovered her penchant for songwriting, taking cues from such artistic influences as Antonio Carlos Jobim, Stevie Wonder, and Joni Mitchell to cultivate a panoramic yet intimate style spanning a vast spectrum of idioms from psychedelic soul to chamber pop, all anchored in her passion for poetics and the written word.
Carlos Truly is Carlos Hernandez
Brooklyn native, writer, singer, producer.
Toured the world with his band Ava Luna
“A soul man deconstructing soul men” -NY Times
“An intelligent, almost-too-ambitious maestro who over time has learned how to embrace playfulness.” -Pitchfork
“The glasses, the non-flashy threads, the meek geek look still works, kind of in a McLovin kind of way” -Fader
Produced, Arranged, or Co-wrote for: Sneaks, Mr Twin Sister, Wiki, Nadine, Frankie Cosmos, Eartheater, Speedy Ortiz. -
Sat23Mar2019
Michael Rocketship and friends 3/23
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested DonationFirst SetJosh Crumbly, solo bassSecond SetYuka Honda (Eucademix), solo keys/electronicsThird SetDrawings:Michael Coleman – piano/synthJay Gandhi – bansuriZosha Warpeha – violinYuka Honda – electronicsJosh Crumbly – bassShahzad Ismaily – percussionRocketship and friends will be playing pieces based on ink drawings by SF-based comic artist Rimble. ‘The drawings will be mostly of natural things. There will be text and some musical notation as well.’ -
Sun24Mar2019
Mariel Roberts, Shy Bully & F$F 3/24
7:00 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Shy Bully- Nathaniel Morgan, Jason Nazary, Jessica Pavone, Jamie BranchF$F- Dustin Carlson and Brad Henkel. -
Wed27Mar2019
Martin Nevin 3/27
7:00 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Martin Nevin is a Brooklyn based composer and bassist. He will be performing music his album “Tenderness is Silent” in addition to newer compositions.
“Overflowing with heavy, yet enchanting lyrical invention, this music – that Mr Nevin also likens to a series of slow-moving visuals – compels the listener to also follow along with a keen sense of narrative…it feels as though one is on a hot-line to the composer’s original source of inspiration. And it is this sense of glowing expressive candour that makes this an album to die for.” -Raul da Gama
Martin Nevin- bass and compositions
Ari Chersky-guitar
Kyle Wilson- tenor saxophone
Christopher Hoffman- cello
Craig Weinrib- drums
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Thu28Mar2019
Midwood / Ali Dineen March 28
7:00 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Led by violinist Jake Shulman-Ment, Midwood is a contemporary klezmer/rock celebration of freedom and the Jewish tradition of wandering and migration. This new supergroup, featuring some of the most exciting young performers on the international world music stage, seamlessly traverses borders through original compositions, expansive improvisations on traditional melodies, and heart-wrenching re-imaginings of Yiddish folk songs. Their debut album on Chant Records, Out of the Narrows, draws from deep Eastern European Jewish roots to explore the power of love, movement, and wilderness to transform the human mind and heart.
Jake Shulman-Ment – violin
Yoshie Fruchter – guitar
Richie Barshay – drums
Eleonore Weill – vocals, hurdy gurdy, flutes -
Fri29Mar2019
Tommaso Gambini // Marta Sanchez 3/29
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Tommaso Gambini
“The Machine Stops”Author Edward Morgan Forster wrote “The Machine Stops” in 1909. Through the eyes of protagonists Vashti and Uno, he envisioned a dystopian future in which humans rely on a universal machine to provide for their needs and to interact with each other. Drawing inspiration from the novel, Gambini reflects on how the internet and social media are impacting our time.
Tommaso Gambini, Guitar
Manuel Schmiedel, Piano
Ben Tiberio, Bass
Adam Arruda, DrumsMarta Sanchez Quintet:Alex Lore: alto saxophoneKyle Wilson: tenor sxophoneMarta Sanchez: pianoSimon Wilson: bassDaniel Dor: drumsCombining elements of rock, pop, jazz, classical and experimental music, Marta’s tunes are rhythmically complex but strongly melodic. Music that tell stories by integrating folk elements with the harmonic sophistication and spontaneity of jazz.
The Quintet is presenting new music that will be recorded this summer. Their last CD, “Danza Imposible” (2017), released by Fresh Sound Records, had a great reception. The New York Times said about it “It features eight tunes she wrote explicitly for her two-saxophone quintet that dance with an unruly grace. It’s glimmering, propulsive music, with hints of elegiac Spanish folk song, cool jazz from the 1950s and the Romantic modern jazz of the 1990s”
The Quintet’s previous recording, “Partenika”, was selected as one of the best 10 CD of 2015 by Ben Ratliff for The New York Times. The Jazz Journalist Assotiation, Downbeat and All Music also included this work among their best jazz recordings of the year.
“It’s an ambitious record by a strong new group” Ben Ratliff for The New York Times
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Sat30Mar2019
Haley Zoller, .michael., You Bet & Horn Horse Mar 30
7:30 doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Haley Zoller is a folk musician from New England.
Matt Norman (Horn Horse) uses brass, percussion, electric percussion, keyboards, Garageband and iTunes to try to record and perform music that expands on the fertile tradition of the soundtrack genre.
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Sun31Mar2019
Open Ground: Luke Marantz and Gabriel Zucker Mar 31
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation8pmLuke Marantz – “Embers” Album Release – solo piano9pm
Gabriel Zucker – piano
Matteo Liberatore on guitar
“Among the best young American jazz pianists” (NPR) Luke Marantz is a pianist, composer, amateur photographer and person from Dallas, Texas currently living in Brooklyn, New York. Born to a musical family, his studies started at an early age with piano, voice, saxophone and visual art. He attended the Booker T. Washington high school for the Performing and Visual Arts and upon graduating moved to Boston, Massachusetts to attend the New England Conservatory of Music and upon graduating moved to New York City.As a leader and a sideman he has traveled the world playing and recording music. His debut record, “Embers”, is a collection of original works and improvisations for solo piano. It was recorded on his favorite piano.
Gabriel Zucker is a pianist, composer, and multi-instrumentalist from New York, whose work combines maximalist compositions with the progressive improvisation of New York’s creative music scene. His music has received two ASCAP composition awards, and was awarded 4.5 stars in Downbeat. A Yale graduate and Rhodes Scholar, Zucker has performed throughout New York at such venues as Carnegie Hall and the Jazz Gallery as well as in 18 countries around the world.
“On a night when technical proficiency and musical insight were in abundance, Zucker’s rendering of Rzewski’s Squares took things to the next level, creating the illusion of the music itself speaking, rather than a player interpreting a score.”
— David Wright, New York Classical Review -
Thu04Apr2019
Melissa Ahern, Dida Pelled and Nat Osborn
Melissa Mary Ahern began generating buzz last week surrounding her feature on the release of Sufjan Steven’s 2007 rarity “Lonely Man of Winter” out on vinyl 12/7 via Asthmatic Kitty. Though the artist has been frequenting the New York and Berlin music scenes for many years and has worked with acts such as Lucius, Jonah Smith and Oh Cassius! this is her first formal release. “Next To You” is the first single off of Ahern’s 2019 forthcoming album produced by Doveman — the producer behind albums by Sufjan Stevens, St. Vincent, Rhye, Norah Jones and many more. “Next To You” marries Ahern’s folk-pop roots in the timeless themes of love and love lost.
Singer, guitarist and songwriter Dida Pelled returns to the Owl with her signature set of odd and wondrous songs that reaffirm why we love music.
One of the first people to take note of Dida’s abilities and promise was trumpet player and producer Fabio Morgera who put together her first recording project. The album ‘Dida Plays and Sings’ was released on the quality Italian label ‘Red Records’ in 2011 and boasts two of today’s jazz greats on the bill, Roy Hargrove and Gregory Hutchinson. ‘All About Jazz’ chose the album as one of the best albums of that year and asserts that “Pelled’s warm voice possesses an emotive quality that’s simultaneously soothing and intoxicating, and her guitar playing, which is built on her round sound, strong comping skills and soulful single note solo lines, places her in a category all her own.” (All About Jazz)
Dida’s album ‘Modern Love Songs’ was recorded by Grammy-winning engineer Helik Hadar and includes Sam Yahel on organ. The album was released in Israel and in the US in May 2015 and is available at stores in Italy and Japan as well. The Album was released in France on September 14th 2015 and Dida celebrated the release with shows at Nancy Jazz Festival and Sunside Jazz Club in October 2015.Nat Osborn “writes smart, punchy tunes that blend old-school Gershwin-era song craft with decidedly modern sensibilities” (Popdose). Largely known as the leader of the international touring act the Nat Osborn Band, he’s also a compelling and accomplished solo performer. Osborn was born in and lives in New York City. His style is, like New York, an eclectic mix of influences. One can expect to hear a unique blend of old school soul, inventive jazz inflected piano playing, and tinges of funk, blues, and classical music all centered around smart, catchy pop songs and a powerful and captivating voice. Nat has performed on television and in celebrated festivals in a dozen countries. He currently plays keyboards in and music directs the soulful rock band Sister Sparrow + the Dirty Birds. He’s also an active and avid film scorer with films.
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Fri05Apr2019
The Westerlies, Typical Sisters and Secret Sibling April 5
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
The Westerlies are a New York-based brass quartet comprised of childhood friends from Seattle: Riley Mulherkar and Chloe Rowlands on trumpet, and Andy Clausen and Willem de Koch on trombone. Formed in 2011, the self-described “accidental brass quartet” takes its name from the prevailing winds that travel from the West to the East. “Skilled interpreters who are also adept improvisers” (NPR’s Fresh Air), The Westerlies explore jazz, roots and chamber music influences to create the rarest of hybrids: music that is both “folk-like and composerly, lovely and intellectually rigorous” (NPR Music). Sought-after collaborators, The Westerlies are featured on recordings by Fleet Foxes, Common, Vieux Farka Touré, and Dave Douglas, and have performed at such wide ranging venues as Coachella, The Hollywood Bowl, Red Rocks, Newport Jazz Festival, Newport Folk Festival, and Carnegie Hall.westerliesmusic.com
Hungry Ghost, the title of Typical Sisters’ new album from Outside in Music, refers to the Chinese Buddhist idea of a being whose appetites cannot be sated. In 2019, when smartphones are essentially a human appendage, governments are corporatized and the media cycle never rests, it’s a concept that all but defines our reality.
Consider, then, this thoughtful, immersive music by guitarist Gregory Uhlmann, bassist Clark Sommers and drummer Matt Carroll as a kind of antidote—the yang to our 21st-century yin, or, as Carroll puts it, “optimism amidst impulse.” With the melodic and structural focus of rock or folk, a sense of musicianship and interplay rooted in jazz, and production aspects that pull from experimental music and DJ culture, Hungry Ghost is equally distinctive and evocative. In these reflective soundscapes, one can hear the maverick jazz guitar of Bill Frisell, Marc Ribot and Jakob Bro; the krautrock of Can and the post-rock of Tortoise; the ambient fusion that begins with Miles’ In a Silent Way and ’70s ECM LPs; the sun-faded scores of Ennio Morricone and Ry Cooder; the psychedelic funk of Khruangbin; Reich-ian minimalism; and more.“Throughout the process of making this music, we intended to establish a kind of balance within each atmosphere,” Sommers explains. “In life, our goal is to find these systems of balance.”
SECRET SIBLINGSecret Sibling is an experimental pop band featuring the music of Michael Sachs. Its got synths, saxes, clarinets, vocals, and drums. Lyrics range from sentimental emo to cold and absurd. Personnel includes Kim Mayo(voc), Tomas Cruz (voc), Michael Sachs (synths, winds), Sam Decker (synth, winds), Peter Moffett (drums) -
Sat06Apr2019
Dina Maccabee, Kaethe Hostetter & Out of Sight of Land 4/6
7:00 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
California native Dina Maccabee is a sought-after collaborator as a violist and vocalist, currently a member of Julia Holter’s critically acclaimed touring and recording group. She began devising her current set for solo viola, electronics and voice in 2015, and she is especially curious about modal string music and cyclical semi-improvised structures.
Kaethe Hostetter is a 5 string electro-acoustic violin player who splits her time between Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and wherever her projects take her. As a child, she was exposed to traditional musics of all kinds – Mexican, Cajun, Balkan, Klezmer, Albanian – and a passion for virtuoso folk music has stayed a theme in her life throughout. It is no surprise, then, that Kaethe is well versed in Ethiopian music, leading to the creation of the successful groove outlet Debo Band, of which she was a co-founder in Jamaica Plain, MA, 2006. Currently in Addis, she has focused her energy now on her project QWANQWA, which is an experimental/traditional band with traditional instruments using effects pedals. Her myriad influences have resulted in a unique approach and sound, showing incredible technique, musicality, and the influence of a rich tapestry of genres and cultures. Tonight Kaethe will be performing her works for solo electric violin, which are influenced by her time in Ethiopia.
Out of Sight of LandVariously called “beautiful, hypnotic” (Weird Canada), and “highly intriguing” (Birds of Canada), the music of New York-raised, Montreal-matured composer Damon Hankoff treads lines between minimalist textures, ancient choral sonorities, and folk sensibilities. The most recent iteration of his project entitled Out of Sight of Land features bassist Brian Dolphin and vocalist Kim Anderson. (outofsightofland.com) -
Sun07Apr2019
Open Ground: Seth Trachy / Noa Fort 4/7
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
8pmSeth Trachy’s ZygmonSeth Trachy – tenor saxophoneGlenn Zaleski – pianoPablo Menares – bassFelix Lecaros – drums9pmNoa Fort TrioNoa Fort – pianoSatoshi Takeishi – bassKenneth Jimenez – drumsSaxophonist and composer Seth Trachy brings his quartet to the Owl to present a set of Cameroonian Baka music adapted for jazz quartet. Rhythmic and melodic content from recordings of the Baka forest people serve as the framework for a dynamic and surprising set of compositions played by this band made up of Chilean musicians Pablo Menares on Bass and Felix Lecaros on drums in addition to Glenn Zaleski on piano. -
Thu11Apr2019
Wayne Tucker / Lau Noa April 11
7:30 Doors $10 suggested donation
Wayne Tucker – Trumpet & VocalsMiles Tucker – Tenor SaxHila Kulik – PianoTamir Shmerling – BassDiego Ramirez – DrumsLau Noah (Spain 1994)is a Brooklyn based storyteller. She has recently found the deepest way to express her tales in the harmonic tapestry that a guitar and a voice, intertwined, create.Through several musical influences and four languages that bring widely diverse qualities to the music, Noah travels from multi instrumentalist, film scorer, composer to writer, painter and teacher with the endeavor of using Art as a shelter where the colors of the dark and the light naturally reconcile. -
Fri12Apr2019
Shelley Thomas // Charlie Burnham Trio Apr 12
7:30 doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Shelley is a professional vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, producer & composer specializing in Balkan and Mediterranean music. She sings in over fifteen languages with disarming fluidity, authenticity and emotion, syncretizing methods absorbed from different world musics which she has studied extensively. She has taught workshops, recorded, performed and toured internationally with world-class artists including Yo-Yo Ma’s Silkroad, The Knights, Kronos Quartet, Simon Shaheen, Hassan Hakmoun, Bassam Saba & the New York Arabic Orchestra, and many more.
Current highlights include feature on Yo-Yo Ma and Silkroad’s GRAMMY-Winning album, Sing Me Home, with vocal ensemble Black Sea Hotel (2017 Best World Music Album) and the trio’s Fall ‘18 Sweden Tour;soundscape vocals for Panorama Festival’s 360 ARK Dome; and Yale Repertory Theater’s “Skin for Skin” Workshop. Recent performances include Ragas Live Festival, Lund Choral Festival, Stallet Stockholm, Santa Fe’s San Miguel Mission, BRIC, Le Poisson Rouge, Jalopy, SoFar Sounds, Alwan for the Arts, Havana World Music Festival, NY Sephardic Music Festival, Rural Route Film Festival, Prototype Festival, Chicago’s Old Town School of Folk Music, Toronto’s Small World Music Center, and Fete de la Musique Beirut.
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Sat13Apr2019
Ali Dineen & Feral Foster // Eva Salina & Peter Stan Apr 13
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
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Sun14Apr2019
Open Ground: Raf Vertessen Quartet, Caleb Wheeler-Curtis April 14
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
8pmRaf Vertessen QuartetAnna Webber – tsAdam O’ Farrill – tpNick Dunston – bRaf Vertessen – ds / compositions9pmCaleb Wheeler-Curtis TrioCaleb Wheeler-Curtis – alto saxophoneRashaan Carter – bassMark Ferber – drumsBrooklyn, NY based GRAMMY nominated saxophonist Caleb Curtis “lives at the junction of rigorous preparation and willingness to explore.” (Jazz Speaks) His playing and compositions are informed by a constantly searching, at times introspective, brash and melodic. In addition to band-leading, Caleb is a core member of Walking Distance (Sunnyside Records). Their new album, Freebird feat. Jason Moran (Sunnyside Records), has been widely praised by The New York Times, DownBeat Magazine, Bandcamp (best of September 2018), JazzTimes and others. The New York Times wrote that “[Walking Distance] tears into the new stuff it has created, sounding ageless”, that the music is “utterly fresh”, and selected it as one of the 20 best jazz recordings of 2018. For this set, Curtis is joined by bassist Rashaan Carter and drummer Mark Ferber for a set of improvised music.
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Thu18Apr2019
Sam Harris // Sonya Belaya Apr 18
7:00 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Sam Harris, pianoMartin Nevin, bassCraig Weinrib, drums“Is it a brilliantly assembled suite of compositions for trio, or a loose, 30-minute improvisation? Either way, it’s low, dark and beautiful. And it feels like a guarantee that we’ll be talking about the pianist Sam Harris for a long time.”– Giovanni Russonello, on HARMONY, for New York Times“Sam Harris has some different ideas about how a piano trio works. His new recording, HARMONY, documents them. I’m proud to have been one of his teachers. Go hear this.”– Jason Moran“ The group taps into something so basic and profound that I find it impossible to ignore and deeply satisfying to get lost within.”– Peter MargasakSonya Belaya is a Russian-American pianist and singer. Her work centers around personal narratives that create intimate spaces for exploration of suffering, growth, and the human condition.
Her upcoming release “Songs My Mother Taught Me”, written for an octet of flexible instrumentation, tells the story of her mother’s sudden disappearance in 2014. Touching on themes of loss, motherhood, and creative identity, the music serves as a vulnerable exploration for healing and self understanding. At the Owl, she will be performing an intimate, pared down version of this song cycle.
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Fri19Apr2019
Michael Rocketship and friends 4/19
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donationwith
Carmen Rothwell SoloKaty the KyngMichael Coleman’s Similes(MC – synth, Carmen Rothwell – bass, Kenny Wollesen – vibes) -
Sat20Apr2019
Fieldings & Caitlin Pasko April 20
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
FIELDINGS
Fieldings is Brooklyn-based (Australian born) producer/songwriter Lucinda Hearn, with Paul Weintrob (guitar) and Alex Kirkpatrick (percussion).Fielding’s latest album Soft Tissue explores vulnerability through gauzy dream pop: imagined death, anxiety, skin, memories of being a kid, seeking oblivion to numb. Its textures wash over and pull at you, from the tense icy piano of Northern Lights, to the scatter-fuck fragility of Soft Jewels.
Soft Tissue was written and recorded between fall 2015 and summer 2017, while songwriter Lucinda Hearn found a new home and new band in NYC. It’s woozy with the loneliness and uncertainty of that time, only showing its soft underbelly from around corners.
CAITLIN PASKO
Caitlin Pasko is a weaver of dreamy elegiac music for voice and piano. Musically her songs drift and float like the work of Satie or Debussy; lyrically they’re clear, simple meditations on tenderness and heartbreak. Pasko’s style is built on this tension: between the looseness of the Impressionists and the simplicity of modern songwriters.The songs on her new album Glass Period — the first to be released under her own name, and her first full length release since 2010 — came out of a headspace where different kinds of loss are collected and confused together: loss of love and loss of life. The album chronicles Pasko’s shifting mental state as she lives through the sudden and unexpected passing of her father as well as a painful break-up, which took place not long after.
On Glass Period, we find a small chapel to personal grief. There’s a chapel’s sense of calm, of refuge from the world, but also its starkness, its lack of cover from fear, its welcoming of the large and the small. There are small terrors that we must occasionally sit with for a while, which can be their own source of strength. There is air and there is time. This feeling, and the open space the album creates, stems partly from the liquid phrasing of Pasko’s voice and piano playing, but it’s also largely the result of the elegant production treatments by producer/composer Henry Terepka (Zula, LEPT).
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Thu25Apr2019
James Carney April 25
7:30 doors $10.00 Suggested DonationOscar Noriega, woodwindsJames Carney, piano/compositionsMark Helias, bassMark Ferber, drums -
Fri26Apr2019
Julia Patinella solo // Los Mochuelos Apr 26
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Julia Patinella is a multilingual singer currently living between Sevilla, Spain and Brooklyn, NY. After years of immersion as a Flamenco singer in southern Spain, as well as a life-long dedication to the oral traditions of her ancestor’s native Sicily, Julia has developed several original musical projects in Spanish, Italian / Sicilian and English, that draw from her roots, her experience as a first-generation American female, and urgent socio-political themes. In her performances, she brings forth an expansive repertoire steeped in history and Mediterranean folk traditions, and a rich, guttural voice that carries the raw emotions of protest, the longing for freedom, and the uncompromising commitment to sing every note with soul.
LOS MOCHUELOS. Los Mochuelos plays Vallenato music from the caribbean region of Colombia. Vallenato is the mix of African rhythms, American melodies, and Spanish poetry. Vallenato was the form for transmission of messages by traveling juglares and today is the mayor popular folkloric music of Colombia. Los Mochuelos is composed of Harold Rodriguez on Accordion/Vox (Alma Mia), Christian Rodriguez on Caja/Vox (Cumbia River Band, Cumbiamba NY), Sebastian Lopez Bass/Vox (Yotoco), Juan Pablo Gonzalez (Parada Vallenata) and Gabo Tomasini (Bioritmo/Yotoco)
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Sat27Apr2019
Mi Mi Zhi Yin plays The Doors 4.27
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Mi Mi Zhi Yin (‘Decadent Music’) is a project dedicated to great exponents of decadent music, recreated by Owl Stalwarts Oren O’Blivion and friends.
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Sun28Apr2019
Vanisha Gould // Ludovica Burtone 4.28
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
8pm
Vanisha Gouldft.
Ludovica Burtone – violin
Chris McCarthy – Piano
Dan Pappalardo – Bass9pm
Ludovica Burtone’s Sparks
Delaney Stockli, violin
Dan Lay, viola
Augustin Uriburu, cello
Marta Sanchez, piano
Matt Aronoff, bass
Nathan Ellman-Bell, drumsCalifornia native Vanisha Gould came to New York in 2015 and is quickly making a name for herself on the Jazz scene. With a voice rooted in Jazz and Blues, she tells stories of love and love lost. Inspired by Billie Holiday, Joni Mitchell, Nina Simone and Nat King Cole, Vanisha has cultivated a voice of her own.
Violinist, improviser, and composer Ludovica Burtone has performed worldwide as both a soloist and chamber musician. Classically trained with a master of arts in violin performance, she moved from Italy to the States to pursue and complete a diploma in jazz composition and immerse herself in different musical styles. Sparks is the amalgamation of these experiences, bringing together strings with the rhythm section. Mixing the classical with the Brazilian tradition, enriched with colors of jazz and improvisation, the band performs a mix of originals and arrangements.
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Thu02May2019
Simon Jermyn & Ben Goldberg // The Last Kind Words Band, May 2nd
7:30 doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Ben Goldberg – clarinetSimon Jermyn – guitarRyan Ferreira – guitarThe Last Kind Words Band areOren Bloedow, Ben Goldberg and Ali Dineensinging and playing old blues and jazz tunes. -
Fri03May2019
Ian Turner & Keren Or-Tayar, J. Hoard, Arnan Raz May 3
7:30 doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
NYC based artist, J. Hoard, is a new stitch to the essential fabric of the city- its music scene. In one performance you are given the core of the Black church and allure of The Great White Way. His original compositions easily shift in genre to communicate his unlimited imagination in songwriting. His credits include Chance the Rapper, Brasstracks, and hip-hop royalty Jean Grae & Quelle Chris and a host of jazz/experimental artists such as Sonnymoon, Javier Santiago, and Meshell Ndgeocello.Influenced by the legacy of giants like Lester Young, Stan Getz and Warne Marsh, as well as the innovations of Mark Turner, Arnan Raz and his quintet create a refreshing fusion of the traditional and modern jazz. While clearly introducing/implementing elements of American and Israeli folk music, this band, in it’s classic instrumentation of tenor sax, alto sax, piano, bass and drums, definitely has a ‘New York’ sound.
With solos that successfully match the compositions in their extremely melodic and intuitive nature, the quintet delivers an energetic yet elegant performance, projecting both unity and harmony.
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Sat04May2019
Lily Henley and Friends feat Dean, Elise Leavy and more May 4
7:30 doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
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Thu09May2019
Allison de Groot & Tatiana Hargreaves w Taylor Ashton 5/9
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Allison de Groot & Tatiana Hargreaves
Allison de Groot and Tatiana Hargreaves, two women on the forefront of American traditional music, join forces in this powerful new duo.Their reverence for the people and music that has come before them provides a platform on which they build their own musical vocabulary. With banjo, fiddle, and voice, Allison (Molsky’s Mountain Drifters) and Tatiana (Laurie Lewis) seek out unusual repertoire that catches their ear and inspires them to explore the boundaries of the tune. Their debut album showcases a strong new voice that is both reflective and dynamic.Allison has toured all over the world with various groups, performing at venues such as Trafalgar Square in London, Newport Folk Festival and other major festivals across the US and Canada. She combines love and passion for old-time music, technical skill and a creative approach to the banjo. Allison has immersed herself in American roots music through festivals such as the Appalachian String Band Festival in West Virginia, making pilgrimages to musical communities in North Carolina and participating in the acoustic music scene in Boston, MA. For more information about Allison, visit www.allisondegroot.com
Since releasing her first solo album “Started Out To Ramble” in 2009, Tatiana has toured and performed with musicians such as Dave Rawlings, Gillian Welch, and Michael Daves. From being the second woman to place first at the Clifftop Appalachian Fiddle Contest, to her bluegrass fiddling on Laurie Lewis’ GRAMMY-nominated album The Hazel And Alice Sessions, Hargreaves shows a musical fluency that flows between old time and bluegrass worlds with ease. For more information about Tatiana, visit www.tatianahargreaves.coYoutube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZHALs07-v8Best,
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Fri10May2019
Kami Maltz Record Release w Emma Frank & Josh Turner May 10
7:30 doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Brooklyn based Kami Maltz brings the resonance of her native Israel, the passion of her second home, Argentina, and a decidedly New York electronic vibe to her performance. With a smooth voice and her autoharp, Kami conjures a sensuous combination of folk and indie elements, with an added touch of cotton-candy, pop embellishments.
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Sat11May2019
Michael Rocketship and friends 5/11
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation 
Lina Tullgren SoloLina Tullgren lives in Queens. She makes songs, with 3 releases of varying sizes out in the world to date: an EP of sparse solo music, a full length of rock band music and a 7″ of electronic pop songs written with friend and collaborator NTHNL. She’s released all of this music via Captured Tracks, toured the US and Europe and continues on her quest with a new album in the works for 2019.Eliot Krimsky SoloBest known for his work as the frontman and co-founder of the band Glass Ghost, Krimsky has performed extensively in the U.S., Canada, Europe and Mexico. He has shared stages with Deerhoof, Dirty Projectors,and Sharon Van Etten and collaborated with the likes of Meshell Ndegeocello, Here We Go Magic, Shearwater and members of Xiu Xiu over the last decade. His new album Wave in Time features his distinctive falsetto voice—alongside sprawling, cinematic ambience and incisive, hook-heavy electronic pop—singing of fear, despair, humanity, and hope. These are powerful, affirmative anthems of and for this moment. A Sundance Composers Lab finalist, Krimsky has written numerous film scores including Supergirl, which had it’s PBS premier in 2016.Michael Rocketshipw/Renata Zeiguer/guitarAustin Vaughn/drumsNate Brenner/bass—
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Thu16May2019
Closed for this night May 16
sorry there is no programming tonight but please join us tomorrow and Saturday for some wonderful music!
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Fri17May2019
Damon Smith, Allegra Krieger and Drinking Bird May 17
7:30 doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Damon Smith is a Northeast based pianist, songwriter, and improviser. He’s a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music and performs as a sideman and performer with the legendary “Losers Lounge” series at Joe’s Pub (2014 onward). He started his career at the Paul Green School of Rock, performing and touring with artists such as Jon Anderson of Yes and Napoleon Murphy Brock of Frank Zappa’s band. He recently self released his second album, “God of the Grid,” in March 2019. Listen here: https://damonsmithmusic.bandcamp.com/album/god-of-the-grid
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Sat18May2019
bot, Kalbells and Erica Eso 5.18
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
In all of its permutations, b o t (/bät/) is led by an unnamed character who appears perpetually apprehensive and cynical. Being heavily influenced by the contemporary gospel of the late nineties and oughts, b o t ‘s sound lends itself to being a sincere kind of off-centered, but soulful pop.
Kalbells is the solo project of Kalmia Traver (Rubblebucket). The debut album Ten Flowers was released by NNA 2017 and coproduced by Ryan Power. The live ensemble features Sarah Pedinotti (Liptalk, Okkerville River) on bass & vocals, Angelica Bess (Body Language, Erica Eso) on keys and vocals, and Dandy McDowell (Bot, Amen Dunes, Renata Zeiguer) on drums & vocals. Kalbells has toured supporting And The Kids, Lake Street Dive and Chrome Sparks. A second album is currently in the works.
Erica Eso began as the solo avant pop project of Weston Minissali (Cloud Becomes Your Hand,VaVatican) in 2014 during a 2 year stint living in between the Shawangunk and Catskill Mountains in the Hudson Valley, NY. While the songs may appear, at first glance, as basic pop melodies and song structure, that familiarity is used as a pallette to experiment, critique and subtly distort. Last year, Erica Eso expanded to a 5-piece live band to released their acclaimed sophomore album entitled ‘129 Dreamless GMG’ on NNA.
instagram: @morekalbellstwitter: @annakalmiafacebook: @kalbells -
Sun19May2019
Open Ground : André Carvalho & SLUGish Ensemble May 19
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
André Carvalho Group – Album ReleaseOskar Stenmark – trumpetJeremy Powell – saxophoneAndré Matos – guitarAndré Carvalho – double bassRodrigo Recabarren – drumsSteven Lugerner’s SLUGishSteven Lugerner – Bass Clarinet & Baritone SaxophoneGregg Belisle-Chi -guitarCaili O’Doherty – PianoMartin Nevin – BassMichael W. Davis – DrumsInspired by the amazing masterpiece by Hieronymus Bosch – “The Garden of Earthly Delights” – bassist : André Carvalho presents his third album as leader. André wrote a Suite that serves as an invitation for a journey. Shifting between softness and harshness, simplicity and complexity, harmony and conflict, the music flows between landscapes inspired by the triptych.
The Suite wanders between antagonistic dichotomies like improvised vs. composed music, influenced by Jazz and Contemporary music.Visiting from California, SLUGish Ensemble is an amoeba-like band under the direction of composer & multi-instrumentalist Steven Lugerner. Their music utilizes traditional acoustic instruments to create layers of pocketed-grooves and melodies that blur the lines between pop, rhythm & blues, jazz improvisation and minimalism. SLUGish Ensemble’s debut album was named one of “The Best Jazz Albums of 2018” by Bandcamp, while Jazziz Magazine describes the album as “Northern California’s less extravagant answer to LA’s thriving crossover jazz-scene… original, earnest and immediate.” -
Thu23May2019
Wayne Horvitz & Sara Schoenbeck // Hank Roberts May 23
7:30 doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
WHSS DUO is Sara Schoenbeck (Bassoon) and Wayne Horvitz (Piano, Electronics).
Sara Schoenbeck (Bassoon) and Wayne Horvitz (Piano, Electronics) first met as performers at the company style improvisation festival “Time Flies” in Vancouver B.C. in 2000.They have been frequent collaborators ever since in The Gravitas Quartet, Some Places Are Forever Afternoon, and numerous improvised collectives and performances. They are dedicating their long time collaboration to duo spaces of original music and improvisation. A study of the crossroads where texture and extended technique meet with and support the expression of melody and song. -
Fri24May2019
Jean Rohe/ Dana Lyn and Kyle Sanna
7:30 doors $10.00 Suggested Donation 
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Sat25May2019
Julian Lage & Jorge Roeder / Margaret Glaspy May 25
7:30 Doors
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Thu30May2019
Akie Bermiss Trio featuring Candice Corbin May 30
7:30 Doors $15 adv. /$18 door
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Fri31May2019
Elysian Fields 5.31
7:30 Doors $15 adv. /$18 door
photo: Michael Lavine
Jennifer Charles and Oren Bloedow are the writers who make up the critically-acclaimed, little known (at least in their own country) band that formed in New York in the late ’90s and went on to develop a cult following of faithful fans around the world. After a dalliance with a major label for their first album in 1996, Elysian Fields recorded their second full-length with Steve Albini, generating a response from the label that had the band asking to be released from their contract. They went on to forge a path outside of the mainstream, recording with a number of independent labels over the years, most recently for Microcultures in France and Ojet in the US. Jennifer and Oren are also known for their work outside of Elysian Fields, recording two albums of Sephardic diaspora music on John Zorn’s Tzadik label under the name La Mar Enfortuna.
Jennifer was part of the supergroup Lovage along with Dan the Automator and Mike Patton, and has appeared on countless recordings, including those of French stars Jean-Louis Murat and Wax Tailor, and experimental composer JG Thirlwell. She has also maintained a career in theater alongside music, with leading roles in numerous Off-Broadway productions over the years, including the Pultizer Prize-winning “Angel’s Bone” in 2017. Oren has served as a secret musical weapon for a host of artists, from Meshell Ndegeocello to Anohni. He was the bassist for the legendary New York band Lounge Lizards, and guitarist for the original Broadway production of Fela! in 2010. Jennifer and Oren have also composed together for theater and dance pieces, and their music has appeared in television, film, and commercials around the world. Elysian Fields regularly tours in Europe, where their most loyal following can be found in France. They are “musicians’ musicians,” attracting esteemed players from around the world to sit in with their live sets. In late 2018, they released their 11th album Pink Air, a post-apocalyptic rock & roll joyride which New York Music Daily called, “Another dark lyrical masterpiece from Elysian Fields… One of the half-dozen best albums to come out in 2018.”
With Sam Levin (drums) and Danton Boller (bass).
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Sat01Jun2019
Markus Schwartz & Lakou Brooklyn Quartet CD Release Party June 1
7:30 Doors $15.00 online/ at door
Lakou Brooklyn Quartet celebrate the release of their second Soundkeeper Recordings CD, “Kay Say”. Recorded in a church dating from 1864, the mesmerizing sounds of music from Haiti blend with the sophisticated jazz sensibilities of the players and soulful vocals to create sounds both heart-wrenching and life-affirming. Kay Sa was recorded “live” (for the microphones) in a single session.Featuring: Markus Schwartz: Haitian Rada & Petwo drums, cajon, ride cymbal, miscellaneous hand and foot percussion, vaksinn (bamboo horn), vocals, Monvelyno Alexis: electric guitar, lead vocals, percussion, Bobby Raymond: contrabass, vaksinn, percussion, vocals, and Godwin Louis: soprano saxophone, alto saxophone -
Thu06Jun2019
tica douglas, WishWish & Rosie Lilly June 6
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
tica douglas is a singer-songwriter from portland, maine now based in queens, ny. armed with songs both elegiac and healing, and a mind concerned with new ways of meaning-making, tica offers their perspective as a divinity scholar and queer non-binary person navigating the realms of life.WishWish sews together folk-inflected introspection and off-kilter punk spirit with melodies that call upon an unmistakable pop sensibility. Unusual phrases made to feel natural help bring to life the images and fragments held within the songs, obscured into meaning.Rosie Lilly is a singer and songwriter who grew up in Brooklyn. Since performing in the dark country duo Giles Ruby, her self titled music project sails into new territory. With drummer Mark Sperrazza, Rosie’s music blends DIY rock enthusiasm with fierce sensitivity and flowing harmonies. Her debut Single “Trapeze” will be released by Newlywed Records, available on streaming platforms June 6th. -
Fri07Jun2019
Steph Richards Trio// Josh Henderson and Relatives w strings June 7
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
SR will appear with Qasim Naqvi (drums, Dawn of Midi) , Stomu Takeishi (bass, Paul Motion, Threadgill) .
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Sat08Jun2019
Alexis Hightower & The Soulfolk Experience
7:30 tickets $12 online / $15 Door
Alexis Hightower is an L.A native who makes Brooklyn her home. Described as “mesmerizing” (Ebony.com) and “blissful…and imaginative” (Soultrain.com), this multi-tasking talent is inspired by legends Roberta Flack, Stevie Wonder, and Sade, as well as by the contemporary sounds of Meshell Ndegeocello, Angie Stone and Gregory Porter. An Afrofuturist whose work merges acoustic, digital and sampled elements, Alexis is equally comfortable in several genres, having worked as a singer, composer, and/or producer on R&B, dance, hip hop, poetry and jazz tracks.
In 2019, Alexis was commission by Harlem Stages to compose and develop new music for their New Work programs. A veteran of international music festivals in Spain, Austria and beyond, Alexis has graced stages such as the Blue Note, Joe’s Pub, and Ginny’s Supper Club, to sold-out crowds. Alexis’ original music can be heard in the 2018 documentary film The Free Black Women’s Library and her EP and album are available on Spotify and Apple Music. A seasoned leader, arranger and performer, Alexis will play the piano at the Owl and is excited to be be joined by Richie Goods (bass), Teddy Crockett (guitar) and Buddy Williams (drums).The SoulFolk Experience is an astoundingly talented circle of songwriters/multi-instrumentalists legendary in NY Rock, Jazz and Folk circles. Featuring the talents of Maritri Garrett, V. Jeffrey Smith and David Pilgrim, the collective boasts experience with artists such as Barbra Streisand, Paula Abdul, the Five Blind Boys of Alabama, the Indigo Girls, Daryl Hall, Me’shell N’degeocello, and Heather Headley. The Soulfolk Experience or SFX, were nominated “Best Band In Brooklyn 2011” by WNYC, New York’s preeminent public radio station. Individually they have performed on numerous American, European and Caribbean stages. They recently released their second CD compilation, The Soulfolk Experience Volume 2, an immediate success on iTunes, Amazon and after live shows. In addition to group commitments, Maritri has been a featured artist at the 2014 Naacp Image Awards. David recently released a solo album, entitled Longer Here Than There and Jeff is a central contributor to musical projects such as The Family Stand and his solo project, No Plan B. This activity provides creative inspiration for the members and constant buzz that further cements SFX’s reputation as great performers of great songs.
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Sun09Jun2019
PLAY // Or Bareket June 9
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
8pmJacob Sacks – pianoMasa Kamaguchi – bassVinnie Sperrazza – drums9pmOr Bareket, “33” Album ReleaseNitai Hershkovitz – pianoOr Bereket – bassDaniel Dor – drumsPianist Jacob Sacks, bassist Masa Kamaguchi, and drummer Vinnie Sperrazza comprise thegroup PLAY. Founded in 2008, PLAY has toured Europe, recorded 7 acclaimed “songbook”albums for Fresh Sound Records, and is dedicated to consolidating and expanding the art of the jazz piano trio. Tonight the group will be performing the music of John Coltrane.Born in Jerusalem and raised in Buenos-Aires and Tel-Aviv, one of the most in-demand and versatile bassists on the NYC jazz scene is emerging as a bandleader with a unique vision and aesthetic. Winner of the 1st prize at the International Society of Bassists’ jazz competition in 2011, Or’s diverse heritage is clearly present in his music. His approach to improvisation and composition is informed by Mediterranean, Latin- American, and North African folklores, all interpreted through his life-long study and appreciation of the American Jazz tradition.
Or will be bringing his group to the OWL to celebrate the release of “33”, his sophomore album on Enja records
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Thu13Jun2019
Duo Violete (Canada) with Charlotte Munn-Wood June 13
7:00 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Violete:
Émilie Fortin (trumpet) and Laura (violin and viola) are adventurous musicians on their own instruments, and are exploring new sound worlds together as Duo Violete. Formed during a residency at the Banff Arts Centre in Canada, the duo aims to showcase the wide ranging musical possibilities that a trumpet and violin can create together. They will be presenting a program of brand newly-commissioned works for violin, trumpet, and sometimes live electronics by some of their favorite composers. This program will include new pieces by John Mallia (Boston), Bekah Simms (Toronto), Ryan Maguire (Virginia), Lucy Hollier (NYC), Maxime Daigneault (Montreal), and Dan Antoniu (NYC).(Charlotte Munn-Wood will be opening, and percussionist Stuart Jackson will play a second set.) -
Fri14Jun2019
Halo Maud, You Bet, Secret Sibling, June 14
7:30 doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Maud Nadal of Halo Maud comes from Auvergne, where her family of self-taught musicians led her to discover the alto violin and the guitar. In Paris, she grew up to the Anglo-Saxon sounds of PJ Harvey and Cat Power, which inspired her Myra Lee project. While her first instinct was to write in English, the multi-instrumentalist laster discovered she wasn’t indifferent to the work of songwriters like Dominique A, Brigitte Fontaine and many others. By the time she formed Halo Maud at the end of 2014, she had penned her first French song, “Dans la nuit”. Writing without worrying about language, and often combining both, Maud, with help from producer Robin Leduc, developed a sound at once hazy and breezy, hypnotic and reverberant. Halo Maud signed last fall with prestigious London label Heavenly (Saint Etienne, Temples, Baxter Dury, Toy).Youbet is the music of Nick Llobet, performed by Nick and Katie Von Schleicher.
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Sat15Jun2019
Michael Rocketship & friends, featuring Wendy Eisenberg 6/15
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
Wendy Eisenberg: A set of new and some old solo songs , new jazz standards for the postmodern subject
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Sun16Jun2019
The Pointless Forest, Caleb Curtis June 16
7:30 doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
The Pointless Forest plays Harry Nilsson’s “The POINT!”The POINT! follows Oblio, a round headed boy growing up in The Land of Point, a town where everyone and everything must, by law, have a point. When he and his dog Arrow are banished for breaking the Law of the Land they must find out for themselves what the Point really is. Our version of The Point! is a tribute of our admiration to the film, the music, and the man himself: Harry Nilsson. To us, The Point! represents the most concentrated examples of what makes Nilsson Nilsson as well as the pinnacle of George Tipton’s inspired and original arrangements of Nilsson’s songs.Matt Robbins (Vocals, Keys)
Caleb Curtis (Alto Saxophone, Flute)
Paul Jones (Tenor Saxophone, Clarinet)
Rachel Therrien (Trumpet)
Eric Burns (Guitar)
Doug Berns (Bass)
Arthur Vint (Drums) -
Thu20Jun2019
Thworp // Julia Patinella Jun 20
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Thworp is a collective trio consisting of Santiago Leibson on piano, Shawn Lovato on bass, and Lesley Mok on drums. Using composition as a relational framework for improvisatory language, the group is guided by the theory of organized chaos–a process of self-assemblage that is arrived at through repetition and non-linearity.
Julia Patinella is a multilingual singer and songwriter currently residing in Brooklyn, NY. After years of immersion as a Flamenco singer in southern Spain, as well as a life-long dedication to the oral traditions of her ancestor’s native Sicily, Julia has developed several original musical projects in Spanish, Italian, Sicilian and English, that draws from her roots, her experience as a first-generation American female, and urgent socio-political themes. In her performances, she brings forth an expansive repertoire steeped in history and folk traditions, and a rich, guttural voice that carries the raw emotions of protest, the longing for freedom, and the uncompromising commitment to sing every note with soul.
Julia has studied Cante Flamenco at the Fundacion Cristina Hereen de Arte Flamenco in Seville, Spain as a recipient of the American Friends Scholarship in 2011 and 2012. She performs regularly in the U.S., Europe, and Latin America. Past collaborations as vocalist / arranger include Flamenco Nomadico, Flamenco Trio Noche Blanca, Southern Italian Folk Project with her group Quartetto Matapena, Cuban Son with Mi Le lo Lai, traditional Afro – Colombian music with Grupo Chonta, and Classical Arabic music with the New York Arabic Orchestra.
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Fri21Jun2019
Charlotte Jacobs, Hannah Epperson and Relatives June 21
7:30 doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
https://charlottejacobsmusic.com
Charlotte’s musical expression washes over you like waves, and she has been riding those waves for as long as she can remember. Inspired by her travels, from Nepal to Lithuania, throughout Africa and combined with her Northern European roots, Charlotte’s songwriting is eccentric as she merges experimental and abstract qualities with pop elements. She lets strands of Eastern classical, Scandinavian sound, and Intelligent Dance Music leap in, resulting in innovative songs perfect for her acrobatic and beautiful voice.
Her art pop projects include top notch musicians and producers from the worlds of improvised music, synth pop, contemporary classical music, EDM, dance and video.
In her newest EP, Fishtale – out May 31, 2019 and recorded in Brooklyn – she combines her quirkiness with more familiar song formats that best describe this collection as avant pop.
Her designs for these songs began in her bedroom, where she shapes sounds using the instrument of her voice as the primary source of textural samples and loops, fusing this with an electronic synth palette. She then joined forces with producer and engineer Zubin Hensler, who has collaborated with Half Waif, the Westerlies and Hannah EppersonHANNAH EPPERSON
http://www.hannahepperson.ca/
Hannah has been touring Europe solo for the past three years and those who have accompanied her have experienced more than a few adventures. Every single one of her concerts and festivals has its unique moments and singular stories. With her violin, loop pedal, bass synth and voice, Hannah has the ability to get lost in her own sonic worlds without ever leaving her audience behind.Fittingly, her albums Upsweep (2016) and Slowdown (2018) are not conceptualized as a mere succession of individual songs: There are two distinct versions of each piece – one reduced and minimalist (Iris), the other a crystal clear pop interpretation (Amelia). Iris and Amelia stand in clear contrast with each other. The lyrics transport that oscillation between the two characters and merge the real and the surreal, the finite and the infinite. In both versions, Epperson, the Canadian with a US passport, creates a unique soundscape. Assigning a genre is thus a rather difficult task. Conceptionally, however, Hannah Epperson can certainly be called an avant-garde pop artist. Her individuality and restlessness are always met with a profound political and social consciousness. Considering her artistic engagement with images and political issues, Epperson joins ranks with the feminist pop giants of our time.
Born in Salt Lake City and raised in Vancouver – Hannah Epperson is a traveler between worlds, both in an artistic and in a biographical sense. So it comes as no surprise that she now calls the melting pot New York City her home. Hannah draws her inspiration from her travels as well as from frequent collaborations with other musicians and artists from New York. All of these impressions and inspirations come together to form her very unique and refreshing repertoire.
RELATIVES
https://relatives.bandcamp.com/Relatives – Ian Davis and Katie Vogel – met upon arrival to New York City in 2007 and have been singing and writing together since. Now based out of NYC and Providence, we play shows regularly in both cities. Over the years, we have been paring down and turning inwards, exploring what can be done with less.
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Sat22Jun2019
Sam Amidon solo fiddle with Dida Pelled and Melissa Mary Ahern Jun 22
7:30 doors; $12 advance/ $15 door
Sam Amidon, born Samuel Tear Amidon (born June 3, 1981 in Brattleboro, Vermont) is an American folk artist. His parents are folk artists Peter Amidon and Mary Alice Amidon. In 2001, Amidon self-released Solo Fiddle, an album of traditional Irish fiddle instrumentals.[3] Amidon’s first album of songs, But This Chicken Proved False Hearted (2007), was made with longtime collaborator Thomas Bartlett and was initially released on the Los Angeles-based electronic label Plug Research.[4] It was reissued on CD and LP in 2015 by Omnivore Recordings.[5] His second album, All Is Well (2008), was produced, recorded and mixed by Valgeir Sigurðsson at Greenhouse Studios in Iceland and featured orchestral arrangements by Nico Muhly. His third album, I See the Sign (2010), was also produced by Sigurðsson and featured multi-instrumentalist Shahzad Ismaily and orchestral arrangements by Muhly, with guest vocals by Beth Orton. Both albums were released on the Icelandic label/collective Bedroom Community[6] and met with critical acclaim[7] from sources such as Pitchfork, Stylus Magazine and the New York Times, which chose I See the Sign as a top-ten album of 2010.[8]
Amidon’s fourth album, Bright Sunny South, produced by Bartlett and Jerry Boys, was released 14 May 2013, his first on Nonesuch Records. His next album, Lily-O, recorded with a band consisting of Ismaily, Bill Frisell, and Chris Vatalaro, was released on the same label on 30 September 2014. “A hauntingly beautiful new album” according to the New York Times, PopMatters called it “a thing of beauty and wonder, bold and strong”. Amidon’s next album, The Following Mountain, released in May 2017, again on Nonesuch Records, was his first album of original compositions,. Amidon has appeared as a guest artist on albums by Tune-Yards, Glen Hansard, Mx Justin Vivian Bond, Olof Arnalds, The Blind Boys of Alabama, The National’s Grateful Dead Tribute Day Of The Dead, and others.[9] He has also self-published a book, Notes On The Twitterographer.[10]
Brooklyn based singer-songwriters Melissa Mary Ahern and Dida Pelled collaborate for an intimate set of harmonies. Thrilled to be back at The Owl and opening for Sam Amidon, the two will trade sharing their compositions and sing together for an Everly Brothers duet styled evening. -
Tue25Jun2019
Robinson & Rohe Jul 7
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
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Thu27Jun2019
Ali Dineen & Jon Weber / Cemre Necefbas & Clifford Cameron / Jackson Lynch June 27
7:30 doors $10.00 Suggested Donation 
Ali Dineen & Jon WeberSinger & songwriter Ali Dineen and piano mastermind Jon Weber join forces to bring you some of Ali’s most beloved selections from 1920s-1940s jazz as well as some R&B classics! Ali and Jon met while performing at a Billie Holiday tribute night, and are excited to bring you this special duet performance.Jon Weber is a New York City-based jazz pianist and composer whose compositions and performances have met critical and popular acclaim in many countries around the world. He serves as host of Piano Jazz With Jon Weber on NPR. Ali Dineen is a singer/songwriter/musician born and raised in NYC, whose lyrics poetic and deeply personal, and highlight the intersections between personal experience, larger histories, and systems of power.Jackson LynchJackson Lynch is a New Oreans-based singer, guitarist and songwriter frequently found crooning with his band Jackson and the Janks or fiddling with the Downhill Strugglers. A seasoned interpreter of traditional American folk songs, tonight he will perform some of his favorites solo.Cemre Necefbas and Clifford Cameron formed this duo to play their all time favorite songs – which range from Beatles classics to Bowie songs sung in Portuguese, along with a few their original compositions.About Cemre NecefbasBorn and raised in Istanbul, Turkey, vocalist Cemre Necefbas grew up loving music and singing at every chance she got. Cemre received her first national recognition as a jazz vocalist in 2012, when she won 3rd place in the Nardis Young Jazz Voice Competition. In 2013, Cemre moved to New York City upon receiving a scholarship to attend The New School. She recently graduated with two degrees: BFA in Jazz Voice and BA in Contemporary Music. Whether in a duo setting, or fronting a large ensemble, Cemre is a master of creating exciting dynamics within her voice. Cemre is currently based in New York, focusing on writing her original music and performing with various groups around the city.
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Fri28Jun2019
Mirah w special guests Guidon Bear June 28
7:30 door $15 adv/ $18 door
Brooklyn-based Mirah Yom Tov Zeitlyn (b. 1974, Philadelphia) creates incorruptible independent pop music defined by her graceful songwriting and adventuresome recordings. Mirah has released over a dozen solo and collaborative recordings on K Records, Kill Rock Stars and various US domestic and foreign independent labels while touring the United States, Europe, Japan, Australia and New Zealand many times since 1998. Pitchfork has praised her “incredible voice—a versatile coo that can flit from low, sultry tones to high, airy falsetto in one breath.”
Mirah’s 6th full-length solo record, ‘Understanding’ (released September 7, 2018 on Mirah’s own imprint, Absolute Magnitude Recordings) is a conscientious return to her early unconventional recording process. The record embraces the spirited imperfection and rawness inclusive of rough first takes, natural room sounds, and a fair amount of broken equipment. Written and recorded in a time of political and personal upheaval – family illness and the death of a dear friend, all in the shadow of the 2016 presidential election and its aftermath – ‘Understanding’ presents an even hand of political themes, love songs and introspective rallying cries.
Frequent collaborators of the years have included well-known producers Phil Elverum (The Microphones/Mount Eerie), Merrill Garbus (tUnE-yArDs), Eli Crews (The Julie Ruin), Tucker Martine, Guy Sigsworth and Calvin Johnson, songwriters and composers such as Thao Nguyen, Greg Saunier (Deerhoof), Lori Goldston, Susie Ibarra, Jherek Bischoff, Tara Jane O’Neil and Khaela Maricich (The Blow) and visual and media artists such as Anna Oxygen of Cloud Eye Control, Britta Johnson and Ginger Brooks Takahashi.
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Sat29Jun2019
Pamelia Stickney's Transcendental Dissonance Quartet June 29
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Transcendental DissonanceSarah Bernstein – violinStuart Popejoy – piano/keysDanny Tunick – vibraphone“me on theremin + occasional processing and hopefully not too weird blabbathons in between!music- a mixup of messiaen, bartok, ravel, stravinsky, my own work sapping through the cracks “ -
Sun30Jun2019
Dana Lyn' Mother Octopus / Relatives Unknown 30
7:00 doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Brooklyn-based composer Dana Lyn and her quintet Mother Octopus present a suite of music inspired by visual artist Jay DeFeo (1929-89), best known for her painting “The Rose”, a one-ton multi-media monument that was her soul focus for eight years.“Stunning in its beauty, yet remarkable in that it includes the dark colors of the mosaic chips as well.” George Harris, Jazz WeeklyFeaturing Dana Lyn (violin), Mike McGinnis (clarinets), Clara Kennedy (cello), Ty Citerman (guitar) and Patricia Brennan (vibraphone)Relatives Unknown are Alexandra Eckhardt (bass), Dan Lipton (piano) and Konrad Meissner (drums), featuring Rebecca Hall (vocals). The musicians — who have played with Sting, Sara Bareilles, Matt Nathanson, Tracy Bonham and Duncan Sheik between them — bring a rhythmic, textured, improvisatory spirit to pop tunes, jazz standards and anything in between. Their musical explorations with Rebecca Hall transpire over songs by David Byrne, Bjork, Nick Drake, Nina Simone, and Arctic Monkeys. -
Fri05Jul2019
Sfyria, .michael & Ruby
7:30 doors $10.00 Suggested Donation -
Sat06Jul2019
Sami Stevens /// Kenny Warren Trio. Jul 6
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Accompanied by Kazemde George on tenor saxophone, Sami Stevens gives a dynamic, playful performance of original Singer-Songwriter/Jazz/RnB music in this NYC based duo act. Supported by clear, warm tones on her keyboard, Stevens’ voice delivers on minimal arrangements, cutting to the core of her intimate, lyrical writing.
Kenny Warren will appear with Nathan Ellman-Bell on drums & Christopher Hoffman on Cello
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Sun07Jul2019
Megan Burtt / Robison and Rohe Jul 7
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
MEGAN BURTTRocky Mountain raised, and international touring artist, Megan Burtt is a decorated performing songwriter. Since her sophomore release “The Bargain”, she has performed at the legendary Red Rocks Amphitheater, been featured with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, toured Europe, toured across the US, and supported artist like Gregory Alan Isakov, Chris Isaak, Leann Rimes and Marc Cohn. Guitar World calls band leader, Megan Burtt “Pulsing, powerful and lovely. Burtt gracefully manipulates words and melody into a sultry delight.” Burtt is a Rocky Mountain Folks Fest, Kerrville, and Westword Songwriter of the Year. She is currently working on her fourth full-length album in New York City with producer Louis Cato (Stephen Colbert house band, Stay Human).
ROBINSON & ROHEEach razor-sharp songwriters in their own rights, Jean Rohe and Liam Robinson formed their duo Robinson & Rohe five years ago, after nearly a decade of collaboration, as a home for their original songs rooted in American folk tradition. With their debut record, “Hunger,” they push past historical nostalgia to pose open-eyed questions about the traditions we inherit and where we might find hope in a country freighted with an inheritance that is both beautiful and troubling. Their detailed arrangements and telepathic vocal harmonies feel as vast and rich as the American landscapes they sing about. Tonight they share new songs written over the past year with the help from some friends and special guests.
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Thu11Jul2019
Kevin Sun & Levon Henry Jul 11
7:30 doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Kevin Sun & Levon Henry w/ Kalia Vandever, Christian Li, Devin Starks, & Buz DonaldJoint venture between saxophonists Kevin Sun & Levon Henry, collaboratively leading a band of 3 horns + rhythm section through some of their favorite lesser-played #tunes.Kevin Sun – Tenor SaxophoneLevon Henry – Alto SaxophoneKalia Vandever – TromboneChristian Li – PianoDevin Starks – BassBuz Donald – Drums -
Fri12Jul2019
Hoot and Holler/Julia Easterlin Jul 12
7:30 doors $10.00 Suggested Donation 
Born into a musical family, Augusta, GA native Julia Easterlin cites her mother’s singing and her grandfather’s gift of a piano as formative parts of her musical experience.[4] After attending Berklee College of Music on a full scholarship her accomplishments have included giving a Ted Talk as part of the TEDxWomen L.A. event in 2011, being named one of only 20 U.S. Presidential Scholars in the Arts in 2008, and performing at the Stockholm Jazz Festival in 2015. As of fall 2014 she has also played in 10 Sofar Sounds shows.[8]
Known for her looping technique, Easterlin uses primarily a BOSS RC-50 loop station, a Shure SM58 vocal mic, and, sometimes, a floor tom.[9]
Easterlin’s experimental style can be described as a combination of several different musical genres which she came across through her education and upbringing such as jazz, gospel, and Southern folk. She has named Björk and Philip Glass as influences.[4]
In 2017, Easterlin began pushing her music outside the realm of her usual looping and layering with the release of “Light Of A Strange Day” via Six Degrees Records. Featuring baroque pop and Appalachian folk music elements, the acoustic album soars with lyrical expression, focusing on storytelling rather than the twirling and twisting of sound. The result is a whole new kind of musical work for Easterlin which John Schaefer of NPR Music calls “at once lovely and unsettling… a striking debut.” [10]
Hoot and Holler, comprised of Amy Alvey (fiddle, guitar) and Mark Kilianski (guitar, banjo) have been entertaining audiences all over the U.S. since 2013. They specialize in the soulful grit of old time Appalachian mountain music, with their original songs blending seamlessly alongside their traditional repertoire. Their tight instrumentals have been compared to past fiddle and guitar family duos like Pate and Leroy Martin or Doc and Oscar Harper. Both are equally inspired by mountain musicians like Roscoe Holcomb and Ola Belle Reed as they are to revered songsmiths like Gillian Welch and Townes Van Zandt. Instrument swapping is common during a performance between two guitars, banjo and fiddle, and fiddle and guitar. With Asheville North Carolina as their home base, they still travel most of the year and play concert halls and festivals like Old Tone Music Festival, Watermelon Park Bluegrass Festival, and the Blackpot Festival in Lafayette, Louisiana. In November 2018 they were featured artists at the Dorrigo Folk School and Festival in Australia, and 2019 they will tour the U.K. and Germany as part of the Bluegrass Jamboree.
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Sat13Jul2019
Emily Frembgen/ Oren Bloedow & Charlie Burnham Jul 13
7:30 doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Emily Frembgen
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Sun14Jul2019
Spanish Fly Jul 14
7:30 $18.00 adv/$20.00 door
Photo: Scott Friedlander
Spanish Fly is slide guitar wizard David Tronzo, Tuba genius Marcus Rojas and omnivorous trumpeter/arranger Steven Bernstein. They have been playing music together since 1989. The group was formed on 8th avenue somewhere between 39th st and 58 st. A blend of rhythmic grooves, soundscapes, Ellingtonia and Americana, Spanish Fly has been playing beyond genre before there was a genre called beyond genre.
There is also an 80% chance that Hal Willner will be part of the evening’s festivities. Hal produced Spanish Fly’s 1st CD “Rags To Britches”. He may read poetry, present puppetry, or create sonic soundscapes. Or he may not.
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Thu18Jul2019
tango pianist Pablo Estigarribia // Laila & Smitty Jul 18
7:30 doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
http://pabloestigarribia.com
https://kennywarren.bandcamp.com
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Fri19Jul2019
Alexia Avina, Laura Wolf & Alena Spanger Jul 19
7:30 doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Alexia Avina
Alexia Avina ( also of Best Fern) is a Montreal-based artist whose influence is rooted in ambient, folk, and dreampop traditions. Through the use of increasingly minimal, arrhythmic and tempo-based looping as well as ethereal melodic hooks, she balances between spaciousness and restraint. Her debut album Betting on an Island was released in February 2018 on Never Content, and will be followed by her sophomore release All That I Can’t See in March 2019.Press:Stereogum: It’s sometimes acoustic, sometimes electronic, often layered and always exceedingly lush. Betting On An Island is a cohesive soundscape that beckons listeners closer, and once you’ve listened to it a couple of times you’ll feel as if you’re sharing a secret.
Gold Flake Paint: Evocative and tenderly paced, Avina’s new work offers glacial, spacious pop music, a drifting swirl of keys and gorgeous vocals that mostly wanders somewhat aimlessly but is occasionally held in place, little flutters of light that fix the focus momentarily like the unwavering sun suddenly catching on a wave.Bandcamp alexiaavina.bandcamp.comFacebook www.facebook.com/alexiaavinamusicAlena SpangerBio: Alena Spanger is a singer/pianist/songwriter from the balsam forests of Maine, now based in Brooklyn. Weaving together angular art-pop songcraft, unorthodox vocalizations, and intricate arrangements that turn from baroque complexity to visceral immediacy on a dime, Spanger’s songs construct their own elaborate and immersive worlds. With her previous band—Tiny Hazard, and in her new music, Spanger explores the less familiar nooks and crannies of timbre and of psyche. As Dusted Magazine noted, “Spanger sings to provoke, not to comfort.”Bandcamp:Video:Music vid: https://youtu.be/Yjv_veQSuucLaura WolfCellist and singer Laura Wolf Schatz uses live looping,
effect pedals and various instruments to weave a
penetrating world of sound. Having dabbled in classical, ambient, and rock ensembles, her solo project is a playful tribute to her diverse musical roots, deemed “beautifully immersive” and “distinctlyenchanting” by Gold Flake Paint. Her live loop-based performances bridge spacious experimentalism with pop-driven hooks.
Bandcamp:facebook: www.facebook.com/laurawolfmusicinstagram: https://www.instagram.com/laurawolfmusic/ -
Sat20Jul2019
Samoa Wilson, Emma Claye and Ali Dineen Jul 20
7:30 doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Since she was 12 years old, Samoa Wilson has been captivating audiences with a voice the New York Times calls a “sweet, effortless, old-timey” . Raised in the riverbed of traditional North American folk music, she came up in the Boston scene, under the wing of Jug Band and Folk legend, Jim Kweskin. Their latest collaboration is a record of New Orleans tinged jazz to be released in 2020.The Four O’clock Flowers, Samoa’s duo with slide guitar maestro Ernie Papa Vega, has become a staple of the thriving New York City Folk community. Her choice of repertoire makes the difference : torchy and honeyed renditions of haunting little-known tunes, from a woman’s perspective. Drawing deep from the well of traditional material, she poses a modern complaint- saluting the transformation of women’s labor and suffering into triumph. Look out for her newest duo, Fatboy Wilson and Old Viejo Bones, who will be releasing a record in late summer, of rollicking Jug Band chestnuts from the canon and brand new original protest songs.Emma Claye is an up and coming actress, singer, and songwriter based in New York City. As an actress, Emma has performed in various theatre and musical theatre productions in addition to television and film. She’s studied at The New York Film Academy, Stella Adler Studio of Acting, and currently studies under Anthony Abeson. As a vocalist, Emma has performed at various venues from the Kennedy Center to Rockwood Music Hall. In addition to performing, she is also a songwriter. In 2014, she released her first EP, “Arts and Sciences”, a compilation of original pop-soul and R&B songs. She recently released a new single entitled “I Imagine Love” on all major streaming platforms. Emma continues to write new music and perform in New York City, creating meaningful, honest art through music and acting. -
Sun21Jul2019
Tica Douglas / Allegra Krieger Jul 21
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation -
Thu25Jul2019
Brittany Anjou, Evan Tyor, Sincere Gifts Jul 25
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Brittany Anjou is a Brooklyn based composer, pianist, and multi-instrumentalist. Channeling Duke Ellington to Bikini Kill in her solo repertoire, she is one of a few to record and tour with the elusive godmothers of punk, The Shaggs. In 2019, she released her debut album, Enamiĝo Reciprokataj, on Origin Records, to critical acclaim, reaching 125 on the Top 300 Albums of Jazz Week Radio. She is the lead singer of experimental metal punk band Bi TYRANT, and has shared the stage with artists such as Wynton Marsalis, Ernestine Anderson, Clark Terry and Elysian Fields. Starting from the age of twelve Brittany has performed in award winning jazz ensembles throughout the U.S.A., Europe, Africa and the Middle East. She obtained her degree in jazz at New York University under the mentorship of Stefon Harris, Don Friedman, and Ralph Alessi, and graduated while in Ghana studying traditional Ghanaian xylophone at the Dagara Music Center. Anjou was a key support musician in the mid 2010’s revival of 1960s all-girl outsider music band, The Shaggs, and supported Dot Wiggin in the studio recording 2013 album, Ready! Get! Go!. Anjou has directed, arranged, orchestrated, and composed for many artists, including her own ensembles, The Brittany Anjou Trio, L.A.R.C.E.N.Y (25 piece chamber orchestra), Bi TYRANT, Ghanaian Gyil Gala with Alfred Kpebsaane, and BEWAA, her original ensembles featuring Ghanaian xylophone. Currently in residence at the Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmed Cultural Center opera house in Kuwait, she works as a freelance composer, session musician, educator, headliner, and support performer.
https://www.brittanyanjou.com/bio
Evan Tyor is a classically trained baritone with a background in folk, rock, pop, and soul. He plays guitar, bass, piano, drums and various other fretted string instruments.
Sincere Gifts is an art-rock chamber ensemble led by Benben, a friendly hobbit with the voice of an angel. Benben Wigler has made music with artists as diverse as the Indigo Girls’ Amy Ray and Gustav Ejstes of Swedish psych-rock legends Dungen. Sincere Gifts is rounded out by violin virtuosa Camellia Hartman and effervescent accordionist Erica Mancini. Their stripped-down set at The Owl will feature progressive drummer Nicholas DiGregorio. Genre is one of Sincere Gifts’ favorite playthings – fans of jazz, psychedelic and progressive rock, classical crossover, art pop and more will find much to be inspired by.”Praise for Ben Wigler’s compositions:“Full of these loose-flowing drafts of languishing concerns and pleasing ribbons of ethereal majesty that all tumbles with sugar cubes and rose bushes, while still going to the gentlest corridors of psychedelia.” – daytrotter.com
“Deluxe, swirling indie odes… dense with instrumentation and unconventional percussion.” – Stereogum.com” -
Fri26Jul2019
Out of Sight of Land, Dia Luna & Grey McMurray Jul 26
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
California native, DIA LUNA, is a painter, songwriter, and seer. Raised by the light of visionary cultural icons like Nina Simone, Joni Mitchell, Anais Nin, and Bjork, DIA LUNA synthesizes her many parts to create haunting and soulful indie music. She has performed in dive bars and opera houses, Brooklyn venues and LA house parties. She has sat in ceremonies, read tarot on the road, and practiced magic in her railroad apartment. Her latest record, Camellia, is a coming of age story woven from tales of her ancestors, images from opposite coasts, American myths and personal dreams. Camellia explores the possibility of looking all ways at once, holding the self and the other with equal presence, and finding sovereignty in the struggle for wholeness. -
Sat27Jul2019
Lacy Rose & Cassandra Jenkins w string quartet Jul 27
7:30 doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Lacy Rose is a New York based classically trained vocalist, composer and poet. She collaborates regularly with choreographer Coco Karol and composers Sxip Shirey, Alaina Ferris, and John K. Stone. She has opened for and performed with such eclectic artists as Cocorosie, Baby Dee, Dave Malloy, Amanda Palmer, and Osso String Quartet. In August, she made her Mostly Mozart Festival debut in the Schubertiade Remix at Lincoln Center alongside members of the International Contemporary Ensemble. As a composer of neoclassical art songs, Lacy regales her audience with tales of magic, myth, tragedy and love. Maria, her six-part song cycle, explores the inner life and personhood of Gustav Klimt’s muses, Maria “Mizzi” Zimmermann and Maria “Ria” Munk. Rose composed the score for a theatrical adaptation of Dylan Thomas’ screenplay, The Doctor and The Devils, and is currently adapting Clarice Lispector’s The Passion According to G.H. into an opera with director Dara Malina.
New York City based artist and musician Cassandra Jenkins’ vision and scope of influences are broad, idiosyncratic and ever-changing. Her first full-length album, Play Till You Win, released in 2017, followed by last year’s Live in Foxen Canyon, showcase the clarity and smoldering sense of longing conveyed by her “smoky vocals” (NPR) and her ability to “leave an impression with elegantly celestial climaxes and emerald green-glowing guitar work,” (Pitchfork) or as Ben Seretan writes, “one shimmering voice, syrupy sweet as a televangelist on their knees, drawing a dotted line around a calamity you already feel to be happening.” -
Thu01Aug2019
Steph Richards Quartet // Last Kind Words Aug 1
7:30 doors $10.00 Suggested Donation Trumpeter Steph Richards will appear with Joshua White (piano), Stomu Takeishi (Bass) , Gerald Cleaver (drums)
“Richards is one to watch…” –NPR’s
“Steph Richards proved herself a virtuoso of nonlinear trumpet playing”
— Downbeat
“boldly inventive…Steph Richards composes in ways that standard notation could never document…” –The New York Times
“An avant-jazz force to be reckoned with” –Brooklyn Rail
“Steph Richards has become a cutting-edge jazz star in a New York minute”
–Jazz Times
Last Kind Words is an informal meet up of musicians from different backgrounds who have an affinity for the Blues and related music from the early period of recorded sound. They are singer/ multi-instrumentalist Ali Dineen, vocalist/violinist Charlie Burnham (Cassandra Wilson, etc), clarinetist Ben Goldberg (New Klezmer Trio etc) and Oren Bloedow (various) on guitar.
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Fri02Aug2019
SOLD OUT: Armisen & Jabour w 101 Crustaceans Aug 2
7:30 Doors $20.00 online/at doorSOLD OUT
Guitar Improvisation With Strict ParametersFred Armisen and Seth Jabour on guitars. They will keep a clock on stage to make sure that no song will go longer than 2:50. -
Sat03Aug2019
Ana Egge, Taylor Ashton & Caitlin Pasko Aug 3
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Ana Egge with Alec Spiegelman- bass clarinet, synth Scott Colberg- bass and Raphael McGregor- steel
playing songs from her forthcoming release, Is It The Kiss.‘Is It the Kiss”, Ana Egge’s eleventh album, has nine originals and one cover (Diana Jones), and amply displays her singularly soulful singing and songwriting, according to Steve Earle sounding “like she’s telling us her deepest, darkest secrets.” The CD features wind and brass arrangements by multi- instrumentalist/producer Alec Spiegelman (Cuddle Magic) and guest appearances by Iris Dement, Matt Davidson (Twain), Alex Hargreaves and Buck Meek (Big Thief)Born in the last year of the 1980s, Taylor Ashton grew up surrounded by the Pacific Ocean and the old growth rainforests of Canada’s west coast. His songs are inspired by the crooked primeval funk of traditional old-time music, the humor and heartbreak of Randy Newman, the cosmic emotionality of mid-career Joni Mitchell, and the sage vulnerability of Bill Withers. Somehow, he finds a way to make this all work on the clawhammer banjo. He spent most of late teens and early 20s as the frontman of Vancouver-based five-piece Fish & Bird, releasing four albums of heady progressive folk and gracing stages like the Winnipeg Folk fest, the Vancouver Folk Fest, and Glasgow’s Celtic Connections festival. In the past few years he has increasingly spent his days in New York City. His most recent release finds him swapping songs with Grammy-nominated songwriter and guitarist Courtney Hartman, on the pair’s 2018 duo album “Been On Your Side”. The album is an acoustic, stripped-down affair, which Rolling Stone had to admit, “packs a punch in today’s mainstream”. Between other projects, Taylor has also written or co-written songs on albums by Boston’s Laura Cortese, Brooklyn’s Benjamin Lazar Davis, and Nashville’s Rachel Baiman. And after well over a decade of varied and fruitful collaborations, Taylor is excited to finally release his debut solo recording in 2019. Keep your ears peeled…
Caitlin Pasko is a weaver of dreamy elegiac music for voice and piano. Musically her songs drift and float like the work of Satie or Debussy; lyrically they’re clear, simple meditations on tenderness and heartbreak. Pasko’s style is built on this tension: between the looseness of the Impressionists and the simplicity of modern songwriters. The songs on her latest album Glass Period came out of a headspace where different kinds of loss are collected and confused together: loss of love and loss of life. The album chronicles Pasko’s shifting mental state as she lives through the sudden and unexpected passing of her father as well as a painful break-up, which took place not long after. On Glass Period, we find a small chapel to personal grief.
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Sun04Aug2019
Tōth w Mal Devisa & Hannah Mohan Aug 4
7:30 doors; $12 advance/ $15 door
Tōth is a new project of Brooklyn multi-instrumentalist songwriter Alex Toth, known for collaborating and writing with Kimbra, Alexander F, Rubblebucket, Cuddle Magic and others. As Tōth, he presents his most vulnerable songs and performances yet, often sung in a style reminiscent of Arthur Russell, while also adding trumpet and guitar. Forthcoming debut album Practice Magic and Seek Professional Help When Necessary came out May 2019 on Northern Spy Records (worldwide) and Figure Eight (EU/UK). The album is mixed by Andrew Sarlo (Big Thief, Nick Hakim).“The almost frighteningly talented Northampton, Massachusetts musician Deja Carr is the force behind the slightly mysterious project Mal Devisa. Back in 2016, after impressing a whole lot of people with her live shows on the DIY scene, Carr released the deeply impressive debut album Kiid. Since then, Carr appears to have gone through a turbulent period. Earlier this year, she was forced to cancel a tour with Mitski after being hospitalized with an unnamed illness. So we are very happy to report that Carr has returned this morning with an entire new Mal Devisa album, one that she did not announce before releasing.
The new Mal Devisa album Shade and the little Creature — capitalization theirs — showed up suddenly on Bandcamp this morning. It appears to have no label attached and no real cover art. (The Bandcamp page is simply using a live photo of Carr as the art, and I’m not posting it on our site because that’s how websites get sued.) The Bandcamp page claims that the album was recorded in studios in New York and Massachusetts and in Carr’s bedroom, and it includes this cryptic note: “All the folks who work at Young Turks: fUCK You and hire Mack back.” ” – Stereogum
IG @maldevisaOn Hannah Mohan:https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.stereogum.com/1879991/qa-and-the-kids-hannah-mohan-talks-new-album-friends-share-lovers/franchises/interview%3famp=1https://vanyaland.com/2016/07/05/interview-kids-hannah-mohan-album-gender-roles-road-snacks-sinclair/ -
Thu08Aug2019
Hank Roberts sextet // Zosha Warpeha & friends Aug 8
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation 
HANK ROBERTS Sextet is HR – CELLO, BRIAN DRYE – TROMBONE, DANA LYN – VIOLIN, MIKE MCGINNIS – CLARINET AND SOPRANO SAX, JACOB SACKS – PIANO, VINNIE SPERRAZZA – DRUMS
Born in Terre Haute, Indiana, Roberts made his name in the 1980s legendary New York Downtown scene. Faced with a dearth of improvisational cellist mentors or peers, he carved his own path through that fertile ground alongside such frequent collaborators as Bill Frisell, Tim Berne, Marc Ribot and John Zorn as well as Sting, Jeff Buckley, David Sanborn, Mamadou Diabate, Andy Summers, Gary Burton, Marty Ehrlich, Arto Lindsey, Gerry Hemingway, Don Byron, and Julius Hemphill.
He is currently a member of Bill Frisell’s 858 Quartet and Big Sur Quintet, and appeared on the guitarist’s Grammy-winning 2004 release Unspeakable. He’s recorded 10 albums on the ‘Winter & Winter’ label, along with numerable self-released recordings.
Zosha is a violinist, vocalist, and songwriter whose music draws inspiration from a variety of folkloric and improvised traditions.
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Fri09Aug2019
Bohio Music August 9
$15 adv / $20 Door
Bohio music is a world music band comprising two Haitian artists, Riva Nyri Précil and Monvelyno Alexis, who joined forces in 2013.Like Riva and Monvelyno, their music is multidimensional — an engaging mix of Haitian Vodou ritual and folk songs, their own elegant compositions infused with soulful jazz-inflected funky acoustic grooves, with breathtaking Racine, Caribbean and African polyrhythms.Ayiti Nan Kay La (Haiti in the house) consists of 17 original songs in Haitian Creole, English, and French. Each song is a thoughtfully curated combination of Haitian rhythms, traditional Haitian and African instruments, topped with electronic influences and conscious lyricism.On a joint mission to illuminate Haitian culture, this duo’s new album reflects the unique beauty of BOHIO, which means homeland and was the original name of the island of Haiti. Together they serve the world well as self-proclaimed cultural ambassadors “bringing Haitian culture into the light.” -
Sat10Aug2019
Kate Gentile's Find Letter X / Chris Dingman Trio Aug 10
7:30 doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Find Letter X is drummer and composer Kate Gentile’s latest vehicle for unfettered group explorations of new compositional and improvisational terrain. The band features formidable collaborators saxophonist and clarinetist Jeremy Viner, pianist Matt Mitchell, and bassist Kim Cass. For their set at The Owl, the band will focus on the quizzical and introspective points on the aesthetic continuum.
Chris Dingman’s Trio, with Chris Tordini on bass and Allan Mednard on drums, is a platform of exploration for new sonic possibilities. Merging jazz and global influences, the group serves up a strong sense of atmosphere and wonder in the context of trance-inducing grooves and instinctive group rapport, all centered around Dingman’s expansive approach to composition and the vibes.
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Thu15Aug2019
Jon Crompton Record Release //Mike McGinnis Aug 15
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Jonathon Crompton’s Intuit – Album Release Party
Alto saxophonist Jonathon Crompton has formed a star-studded band that features contributions from Ingrid Laubrock and Patrick Breiner on tenor saxophone, augmented by a rhythm section made up of bassist Adam Hopkins and drummer Kate Gentile. On Inuit, his debut release, Crompton explores the expressive potential of his primary instrument within a program of diverse compositions. The album is being described as nimble and rhythmically complex, showing a deft bandleader on the verge.Mike McGinnis PastFuture QuartetJacob Sacks – pianoDave Ambrosio – bassVinnie Sperrazza – drumsSaxophonist/clarinetist Mike McGinnis explores his compositions of the late 90’s with musicians who’ve been digesting the material for over two decades. McGinnis categorizes his music as “Open Stream” because is influenced by too many music streams to fit into one genre. They recorded their debut CD in 1999 for the RKM Music label. -
Fri16Aug2019
Ali Dineen with Marlee Miller and Miriam Elhajli Aug 16
7:30 doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Marlee MillerMarlee Miller is abundantly thrilled to be collaborating with her dearest friend Ali Dineen. Marlee makes art in many forms. She is a black queer performer, dramaturg, puppeteer based in Brooklyn. She draws inspiration for her work from love, dreams, social justice, and the process of exploring identity. She also attributes a large part of her artistic influence to dancing with her chosen family, writing her signature love letters, Nikki Giovanni, and crying while drinking wine in the shower at 2am. She is currently working on a children’s puppet show with Drama of Works, as well as writing a manuscript in which she responds to the work of Audre Lorde.Ali Dineen is an artist, performer, musician, and composer from Jackson Heights, Queens. She performs her original music and songs from the American folk tradition regularly in New York City and across the so-called United States. Ali’s original music draws upon multiple genres/traditions ranging from 1920s American jazz to Eastern European polyphony. Her lyrics are poetic and deeply personal, and highlight the intersections between personal experience, larger histories, and systems of power. Ali teaches adult voice and vocal harmony classes at the Jalopy Theater and School of Music, and assistant directs the Jalopy Chorus with Eva Salina. She also works with various other projects including The Everything Is Fine Theater Company, the Bread and Puppet Theater, and a folk-duo collaboration with Feral Foster. She’s currently recording a new EP.Miriam Elhajli is a Venezuelan-Moroccan-American composer and vocalist whose work is influenced strongly by the folkloric musics of South and North America, modern jazz, and contemporary classical music. A graduate of Berklee College of Music, she currently lives in Brooklyn where she performs (on the side of the road or otherwise), and is a researcher at The Association for Cultural Equity founded by Alan Lomax. Her debut record “Observations” is set to be released in the fall on ESP-disk.
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Sat17Aug2019
Alayisha & Langston & friends Aug 17
7:00 Doors $8.00 adv/ $10.00 Doors
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Sat17Aug2019
Olivia Kaplan w special guest Adam Brisbin 8.17
9:30 pm
Olivia Kaplan is an LA-based songwriter. A keen emotional note-taker, Kaplan’s songs are thoughtful responses to relationships made or observed, and human situations to which she’s borne witness. Her grounded vocals combined with a minimalist approach to instrumentation embody a desolate closeness, capturing the desperation that comes with attempts at modern empathy. Kaplan has released two EPs: God Damn I Miss You (2014) and At the Seams (2018). She and her band have opened for the War on Drugs, Courtney Marie Andrews, Buck Meek, and Gold Star.
Adam Brisbin is a nyc based guitarist currently contributing to several projects including Sam Evian, Buck Meek and Katie Von Schleicher.
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Tue20Aug2019Thu05Sep2019
Closed for Summer Break 8/20 - 9/5
… enjoy your summers! we’ll be seeing you soon.
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Fri06Sep2019
Ilusha Tsinadze / Eva Salina & Peter Stan Sept 6
7:30 doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Singer and guitarist Ilusha Tsinadze was born in Soviet-era Georgia and emigrated to the U.S. at the age of 8. His second album, Yes & No, is a musical conversation between the contemporary sounds of Brooklyn and the traditional music his family left behind in Georgia.
Ilusha has become recognized for his distinct interpretations of Georgia folk music following his first album, Deda Ena (Mother Tongue), the wildly successful single, Mokhevis Kalo Tinao, and tours across the U.S., including a 2018 performance at Carnegie Hall. With a background in jazz and many years spent playing in the NYC music scene, he has found his own voice in the rich musical traditions of his ancestors.
EVA SALINA & PETER STAN are a small and mighty duo of accordion & voice, traveling through Vintage Pop sounds of Balkan Roma communities. Eva & Peter present soulful, expressive and intimate performances full to the brim with stories, history, insight, humor, melancholy and friendship.In their collaboration, Eva Salina & Peter Stan continue and fortify an interrupted legacy of empowered female voices in Balkan Romani (gypsy) music. Amplifying voices of past generations of Romani women musicians while evolving living traditions, Eva & Peter employ tenderness, grace, passion and a commitment to keeping these songs vital and relevant, while inspiring and teaching young people in the Balkans & Balkan diaspora to participate in their heritage. Featured artists at globalFEST 2018 ( “poised, lustrous”—NY Times, 1/15/18), Eva & Peter released their first duo album, SUDBINA 3/30/2018 on Vogiton Records. -
Sat07Sep2019
Utsav Lal / Masters of Fright / Damon Smith / The Cradle Sept 7
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Young Steinway Artist, Indian pianist /composer UTSAV LAL, known as the ‘Raga Pianist’ has set a precedent with his innovative handling of Indian Classical music. Recognized for his creative vision, the 26 year classical & jazz pianist has an impressive career which includes solo performances at global venues like Carnegie Hall-NYC, Southbank Centre-London, Kennedy Center-Washington DC and extensive collaborative work with Irish, Scottish and Indian musicians. With his distinctively unique raga repertoire, Utsav Lal has often been the first on the programming calendar of well- known Indian Classical, Jazz, Silent Film & World Music festivals. Debut album release ‘Piano Moods of Indian Ragas” by label Times Music(2008), Utsav has five subsequent records released including a solo recording of ragas on the world’s first ever ‘Fluid Piano’, released by the Fluid Piano Tuning label ( 2016).Utsav’s unfailing clarity of technique and rhythmic virtuosity showcases itself in his rendition of ragas. Treading the careful line between an ancient tradition and the innate desire for innovation with utmost respect, Utsav Lal’s music is influenced by his guru Ustad Wasifuddin Dagar and also gains inspiration from a vast array of sources such as the Persian piano tradition, the work of Australian minimalist piano trio – The Necks and musicians who sought to expand the expressive capabilities of the piano like Ran Blake, Anthony Coleman, Tsegué-Maryam Guèbrou and Cecil Taylor. His music has a quiet intensity and is acclaimed for its sincerity and depth. More details on www.utsavlal.com
Masters of Fright’s Sammy Weissberg is a multi instrumentalist and composer based out of Brooklyn, NY. He’s collaborated with artists such as The Cradle, Girlpool and Eyes of Love. The other member of the duo is Kana Miyamoto is a New York based flautist, composer and educator originally from Japan. Her group Kanacept released their debut album “spring doze” in January, 2017. She graduated from The Tokyo College of Music and The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music.Damon Isaac Smith is a Northeast based pianist, songwriter, improviser. He’s a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music and performs as a sideman and performer with the legendary “Losers Lounge” series at Joe’s Pub (2014 onward). He started his career performing and touring with artists such as Jon Anderson of Yes and Napoleon Murphy Brock of Frank Zappa’s band. He’s played his original music at the Stone, Highline Ballroom, the Knitting Factory, CBGB’s, and the Bitter End, and as a sideman in festivals such as Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits, and Zappanale. Damon is a founding member of two bands: The Jacobins and Cricket. His debut solo album, “Intimate Machinery,” came out on ERASED! tapes in December 2017.
The Cradle is the creative vehicle of Brooklyn-born-and-based musician/writer Paco Cathcart. The project began in 2013 with a series of process-as-product style recordings on 4-track cassette. These early tapes are as much explorations of the relationship between artist and her means of production as they are collections of songs: the loose pre-written music was a means to the ends of engaging the sonic possibilities of the tape machine, the room, and the objects immediately present. In the proceeding years, The Cradle has evolved from a deliberately experimental recording project, and the moniker now encompasses more traditional singer-songwriter music where a peculiar poetics and sense of story telling come to the forefront, busted, insular electronic music, soundscape and spoken word, and really just whatever else Cathcart finds himself wanting to do in between, including live performance that ranges from solo guitar and voice to noise-and-movement sets to a groove-oriented, mbira-led full-band incarnation. Despite The Cradle’s ever-expanding oeuvre, the original ethos of spontaneity, reactivity and exploration remains the backbone of Cathcart’s work.
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Sun08Sep2019
Market / Little Arcs Sept 8
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
The songwriting project of Nate Mendelsohn, currently accompanied by Natasha Thweatt, Stephen Becker, and Duncan Standish. Songs about family, friends, therapy, Watergate, the NBA, scars from tick bites, bus and train rides, the Spanish Civil War. New album out fall 2019.
Early in 2017, Zach Giberson, Derek Sup and Hannah Levy put their heads together with the intention of creating something new. Coming from backgrounds in jazz, songwriting, classical composition, and folk singing, the three shared a curiosity about using the voice as an instrument. What could they create if the vocal texture took the lead, instead of being a decoration or afterthought? Little Arcs was born. They have since played in venues and living rooms up and down the West Coast, and are currently working on their sophomore EP.
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Fri13Sep2019
Charlotte Cornfield, Taylor Ashton & Cole Kamen-Green Aug 3
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
“You free yourself when you take away the script,” says Toronto songwriter Charlotte Cornfield. “That’s where this record came from, dismantling patterns and embracing the process.” Cornfield’s third full length, The Shape of Your Name, came out on April 5, 2019 via Outside Music imprint Next Door Records. The critically acclaimed album, which has been nominated for the 2019 Polaris Prize, has a more honed studio sound than her scrappier 2016 release Future Snowbird, and for good reason: it was recorded in 5 different sessions over the course of 3 years. The songs are her strongest and most striking to date – contemplative and contemporary, funny and heart-wrenching – and they’ve got that stuck-in-your-head-for-days quality that Cornfield is known for. TheShape of Your Name features a star-studded cast of collaborators including (but not limited to) Grammy-winning engineer Shawn Everett, Broken Social Scene members Brendan Canning, Kevin Drew and Charles Spearin, and Montreal songwriter Leif Vollebekk.Born in the last year of the 1980s, Taylor Ashton grew up surrounded by the Pacific Ocean and the old growth rainforests of Canada’s west coast. His songs are inspired by the crooked primeval funk of traditional old-time music, the humor and heartbreak of Randy Newman, the cosmic emotionality of mid-career Joni Mitchell, and the sage vulnerability of Bill Withers. Somehow, he finds a way to make this all work on the clawhammer banjo. He spent most of late teens and early 20s as the frontman of Vancouver-based five-piece Fish & Bird, releasing four albums of heady progressive folk and gracing stages like the Winnipeg Folk fest, the Vancouver Folk Fest, and Glasgow’s Celtic Connections festival. In the past few years he has increasingly spent his days in New York City. His most recent release finds him swapping songs with Grammy-nominated songwriter and guitarist Courtney Hartman, on the pair’s 2018 duo album “Been On Your Side”. The album is an acoustic, stripped-down affair, which Rolling Stone had to admit, “packs a punch in today’s mainstream”.
Between other projects, Taylor has also written or co-written songs on albums by Boston’s Laura Cortese, Brooklyn’s Benjamin Lazar Davis, and Nashville’s Rachel Baiman. And after well over a decade of varied and fruitful collaborations, Taylor is excited to finally release his debut solo recording in 2019. Keep your ears peeled…
“Taylor Ashton has a rich, compelling voice” – Exclaim! magazine (Canada)
On any given day you may find Cole Kamen-Green improvising in a small club in Brooklyn, circuit-bending a Speak And Spell, or arranging horn parts for pop stars. He is a trumpet player, electronic musician, and composer living in NYC. Kamen-Green is currently involved with a variety of projects including indie band Cuddle Magic, the pop duo mmeadows with Kristin Slipp of Dirty Projectors, and People’s Champs . He, along with The Superpowers Horns, arranged and recorded the horn parts for Beyonce Knowles’ two albums (4 and Beyonce.) Cole will be presenting new solo pieces that feature sounds of choirs, drum machines, obscure synthesizers, soft brass, silence, and sampled city scapes.
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Sat14Sep2019
Prajna Desai & Richard Sears, Curtis+Garabedian+Sperrazza Sept 14
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
The collaborative trio Curtis+Garabedian+Sperrazza finds itself at the crossroads of musical and personal exploration resulting in true band-hood and non-hierarchical playing. Each of the members – Caleb Wheeler Curtis (alto saxophone), Noah Garabedian (bass), and Vinnie Sperrazza (drums) – are integral parts of the creative music community as leaders, collaborators and instigators. The music in this trio is organized but open and expressive, finding opportunity to explore their music through shared values free from expectations and engrained principles. https://www.cgstrio.comPrajna Desai – text and translationRichard Sears – piano and compositionSarah Elizabeth Charles – voiceMariel Roberts – celloSatoshi Takeishi – percussion“Confetti Palace” is a duet based on a translation of “Portrait des Meidosems,” a suite of French prose-poems published in 1949 by Belgian writer Henri Michaux. The poems narrate the life and times of the Meidosems, a mysterious troupe of protagonists who are practically formless and looking for something. Much like Michaux’s, our narrative is also about the Meidosems and their quest. Is it for beauty? Is it for release? The story unravels as a sung-spoken exchange between two interlocutors, Jun and Sora. Jun filters Michaux’s vision of the Meidosems. Sora teases out its tired desire for control. Together, they follow the Meidosems, from a city of sugar, from under a leather sky, to their destination.
Prajna Desai is an art historian and writer of fiction. Her first book of poetry will be published by Planta Baja Press in October 2019. She lives across languages and resides in Brooklyn. Bombay is home.
Richard Sears is a pianist and composer living in Brooklyn. He has received commissions/grants from The Shed (2018), the Aaron Copland Fund (2015) and the Los Angeles Jazz Society (2013), and has worked with the Billy Hart Quartet (ft. Mark Turner and Ben Street), the Muhal Richard Abrams Orchestra, Joshua Redman, Ravi Coltrane, Ralph Alessi, Eric Revis, and others.
Sarah Elizabeth Charles is a rising vocalist/composer based in New York City. Charles has performed at The White House, Carnegie Hall, the first annual Culture Summit in Abu Dhabi, The Kennedy Center, the Bern International Jazz Festival in Switzerland, the Port-au-Prince International Jazz Festival and many more.
American cellist Mariel Roberts is widely recognized not just for her “virtuosic” performances, but as a “fearless explorer” (Chicago Reader) in her field. Her collaborators include some of the most important figures on the contemporary and experimental scene, such as George Lewis, Alex Mincek, Tim Hecker, Nate Wooley, M. Lamar, Patrick Higgins (Zs), Jeffrey Mumford, Eric Wubbels, and Ambrose Akinmusire.
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Sun15Sep2019
Humbird w Paul Spring Sept 15
7:30 Doors
“Everyone knows the character of Eve from the bible, and everyone has
their own ideas about her. But if she was wandering around America in
2019, what the hell would she say?” wonders Siri Undlin of indie-folk band
Humbird. Based in Minneapolis, Minnesota and inspired by the crystalline
chill of the state’s Northern winters, Undlin creates experimental folk
and environmental Americana tinged with the sophistication of classic
orchestral compositions. Her album Pharmakon, out now,focuses on women and the female body in folklore as a poetic way
to explore the human experience. Working with engineer Brian Joseph
(Bon Iver, Sufjan Stevens) and producer Shane Leonard (Field Report),
Undlin’s newest release joins the leagues of masterful indie storytellers. -
Thu19Sep2019
Adeline Hotel, Courtney Hartman & Alec Spiegelman Sept 19
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation 
Adeline Hotel is Dan Knishkowy and friends – described as “wonderfully ragged”, Adeline Hotel is curious blend of adventure and nostalgia, drawing influence from Bert Jansch and Jim O’Rourke. The band is currently working on their 4th LP, “Solid Love”.
With her upcoming release, Ready Reckoner, Courtney Hartman provides the listener with a conduit for self-exploration—a factor that fulfills one of her greatest hopes in sharing the album with the world. “If you listen to any of these songs and step away feeling lifted or carried to a different place, that is a real and true honor,” she says. Born from purposeful self-examination, Ready Reckoner finds Hartman taking the helm as producer transforming her most private ruminations into songs both bracingly intimate and magnificently vast. In that process, the Loveland, Colorado-based artist worked in collaboration with co-producer Shahzad Ismaily (a multi-instrumentalist known for his work with Lou Reed and Tom Waits) and assembled a close-knit community of musicians, including guest appearances from Anais Mitchell and Bill Frisell. Recorded mainly at Figure8 in Brooklyn and mixed by Tucker Martine (Neko Case, My Morning Jacket), Ready Reckoner unfolds in extraordinarily detailed textures, a nuanced yet wholly unpredictable sound equally given to moments of hushed simplicity, improvisatory freedom, and flashes of symphonic splendor.
Alec Spiegelman is a multi-instrumentalist/producer/songwriter in Brooklyn, NY. He stays busy, as a member of Cuddle Magic (“the East Coast’s coolest avant-pop group” – The New Yorker), as an in-demand woodwind player and arranger (on records by Okkervil River, Kevin Morby, Darlingside) and as a sympathetic collaborator with smart songwriters like Ana Egge, Jennifer Kimball, David Wax, Taylor Ashton, and Zoe Guigueno. He keeps up with the news, not for fun, but out of a sense of civic duty. And while concerned about our country, he is cautiously optimistic about the resiliency of our democratic institutions. You can expect songs about that, and girls, on his forthcoming debut solo album, and at this live solo performance, at which he will accompany himself with idiosyncratic finger-style guitar playing on his mother’s old Guild nylon-string.
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Fri20Sep2019
Luggage People, Twig Twig and Fly Magic Sept 20
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Luggage People are
Thomas Heberer – trumpet
Robin Verheyen – saxophones
Sebastien Ammann – piano
Michael Bates – bassBased in Brooklyn, rooted in Berlin, focusing on composed and improvised music: Timo Vollbrecht is what the New York City Jazz Record calls a “luminously-fine” saxophonist-bandleader, whose music is “blessed with rhythmic fluidity and intricate twists.” Acclaimed for his “warm blanket of sound” (JazzThing), he follows a carefully composed musical vision that balances emotional intensity, vivacious energy, and delicate simplicity. FLY MAGIC is his signature ensemble that features Brooklyn-centric stars including Keisuke Matsuno (guitar), Martin Nevin (bass), and Jason Burger (drums). The band has released two albums, tours worldwide and appears at major festivals in Europe, the US, Asia, Australia, the Middle East, and South America. FLY MAGIC organically combine jazz with elements of post-rock, indie, new music, experimental, and instrumental songwriting. Through this confluence of influences, their music transcends the limitation of musical genre. At the Owl Music Parlor, they will present brand-new music, as well as repertoire from their latest album “Faces in Places.”
Jeff Davis – drums -
Sat21Sep2019
Michael Rocketship, Jordan Glenn plus Ryan Ferreira & Clarice Jensen 9/21
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation 
Clarice Jensen is the artistic director of ACME, the American Contemporary Music Ensemble. A graduate of The Juilliard School, she studied with Joel Krosnick, Harvey Shapiro and has taken master classes with many composers such as Milton Babbitt, Elliott Carter and Roger Reynolds. Recording artists she has collaborated with include Jóhann Jóhannsson, Stars of the Lid, Max Richter, and numerous others. Her most recent performances include concerts at The Kings Theatre, Elbphilharmonie (Hamburg), Disney Hall, Benaroya Hall, The Sydney Opera House, Big Ears Festival, Duke Performances, BAM, (le) Poisson Rouge, Roulette, and the Isamu Noguchi Museum. Her debut solo album For this from that will be filled was released on Miasmah records in 2018. www.claricejensen.com
guitarist ryan ferreira was born in santa rosa, california in 1980 – he moved to NY in 2003. he has played with ralph alessi, sam amidon, bill frisell, colin stetson, alarm will sound, chris morrisey, dan weiss, aaron parks, dave king, joachim badenhorst, ted poor and many others. he has been a regular part of tim berne’s bands for the last few years (the latest CHASM – trio with dave king..) and has played / worked on over 40 recordings. recently he recorded for / with david torn (released on ECM), and appears on tim berne’s last two ‘snakeoil’ records – also released on ECM. he released his first solo record in 2011 and currently lives in brooklyn.
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Sun22Sep2019
Open Ground: Harish Raghavan and Savannah Harris 9/22
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Harish Raghavan and Savannah Harrisin conjunction with the Jazz Gallery Mentor Series. -
Thu26Sep2019
Sylvie Courvoisier & Mary Halvorson duo 9/26
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
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Fri27Sep2019
Allegra Krieger // Yotoco + Dados De Dios 9/27
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Allegra Krieger is a Brooklyn based songwriter & composer. With emotive lyricism weaving through explorative harmony, her songs are at once cathartic and compelling. Her first full length LP will be released spring 2020.“Yotoco’s music isn’t salsa, son, cumbia, merengue or psychedelic rock; it isn’t rumba, funk, bomba or plena. It draws from all of those traditions, transcends them, and creates something unique, trippy, and extremely danceable. Sebastian Lopez and Natalia Perez’s vocals are authentic and rootsy. Gabo Tomassini’s conga playing is crisp and well-versed in afrolatin music. Evan Garfield knows exactly when to be understated on the drums, and when to bring the funk. Natalia Perez’s guacharaca completes a rich percussion section, and combined with Sebastian’s strong bass, they keep the group grounded in contagious rhythms. To top things off, Geovani takes us on a mountain journey of traditional puerto rican cuatro. Occasionally, Geovani also takes on bass duties, and we are treated to Sebastian’s accordion, which evokes a traditional parranda in some small town in Colombia, like the town of Yotoco in Valle del Cauca, for which the group is named. Yotoco’s music may be hard to classify- but it is very easy to party to.” – -Ricardo (Tres+Dos) Luiggi -
Sat28Sep2019
Night Fishing w Levon Henry Sept 28th
7:30 doors $10.00 Suggested Donation‘Night Fishing’ is a new monthly series, hosted at the Owl Music Parlor and curated by Levon Henry. Halfway between round-robin and jam-session, the evening will juxtapose solo performances against collective attempts at each others’ music (and maybe some covers too).
Featuring:
Adam Brisbin
Julian Cubillos
Levon Henry
Ivy Meissner
Connor Parks
Linton Smith
Alena Spanger
Trevor Vaz
Renata Zeiguer -
Sun29Sep2019
Open Ground: Matt Mitchell- piano / Jake Charkey - cello Sept 29
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
8pm. Matt Mitchell – solo piano9pm Jake Charkey – cello, & Mir Naqibal Islam – tabla“A pianist of burrowing focus and an indispensable fixture of the contemporary vanguard” – Nate Chinen, The New York TimesMatt Mitchell is a pianist and composer interested in the intersections of various strains of acoustic, electric, composed, and improvised new music. He currently composes for and leads several ensembles featuring many of the current foremost musicians and improvisers, including Tim Berne, Kim Cass, Kate Gentile, Ben Gerstein, Jon Irabagon, Travis Laplante, Ava Mendoza, Miles Okazaki, Ches Smith, Chris Speed, Tyshawn Sorey, Chris Tordini, Anna Webber, Dan Weiss. He is an anchor member of several significant creative music ensembles which integrate composed and improvised music, including Tim Berne’s Snakeoil, the Dave Douglas Quintet, John Hollenbeck’s Large Ensemble, Dan Weiss’s Starebaby, Jonathan Finlayson’s Sicilian Defense, Steve Coleman’s Natal Eclipse, Kate Gentile’s Mannequins, Mario Pavone’s Blue Dialect Trio, Anna Webber’s Simple Trio, Ches Smith’s We All Break, the Dave King Trio, and Quinsin Nachoff’s Flux. He is also among the core performers of John Zorn’s Bagatelles.
Jake studied cello in the Western Classical tradition under Zon Eastes, Paul Cohen, Leopold Teraspulsky, and finally with Norman Fischer at the Shepherd School of music at Rice University in Houston, TX. Seeking to broaden his musical skills and vocabulary after conservatory training, he took an interest in Hindustani music. His studies began in Toronto with the sarangi player, Aruna Narayan, who urged him to adapt Hindustani music to cello rather than learn an Indian instrument. He continued in Los Angeles where he took up intensive training with Jagan Ramamoorthy, a senior disciple of the violin virtuoso Padmabushan Dr. N. Rajam. He completed his M.F.A. at CalArts in Hindustani music under the guidance of Aashish Khan and Swapan Chaudury and with additional instruction on cello and contemporary techniques from Erika Duke-Kirkpatrick. While at CalArts he also incorporated other modalities of improvisation into his playing with Vinny Golia, Wadada Leo Smith, and Charlie Haden. Currently, Jake lives in Brooklyn and performs with Adam Rudolph’s GO Organic Orchestra and is a frequent collaborator with the Brooklyn Raga Massive.An avid student of Tabla, Mir has trained in the traditional guru-shisya style of Indian Classical
music from Pt. Ashoke Paul, disciple of the great tabla guru Pt. Jnan Prakash Ghosh.
Now living and working in New York city, he performs regularly with musicians from a wide
variety of other genres, bringing tabla to Jazz, Middle-Eastern music and other contexts. By
listening, learning and playing with musicians from around the globe, Mir is developing a unique
musical aesthetic bringing together the musical influences of traditional Farukhabad style tabla
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Thu03Oct2019
Pamelia Stickney's Transcendental Dissonance Quartet / Odes and fragments OCt 3
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested DonationTranscendental Dissonance Quartet – Sarah Bernstein,violin; Stuart Popejoy,piano,keyboard,bass; Danny Tunick,vibraphone; Pamelia Stickney, theremin. Interwoven arrangements of Messiaen, Bartok, Boulanger, Ravel, and original work…Transcendental Dissonance, Haptic Harmony in duos, and then the epilogue:ODES & fragments (Chris Mannigan, alto sax; Danny Tunick,marimba; Pamelia Stickney, electronics)perform JATAKAS SUITE. Jatakas are stories that recount the Buddha’s lives in previous incarnations. -
Fri04Oct2019
Arc Iris •acoustic concert• Oct 4
7:30 doors $15.00 online / 18.00 at door (Cash Only)
Providence, RI art pop trio Arc Iris fuses story-based songs with dense electronic and orchestral arrangements. The group, which began as the solo project of Jocie Adams, formerly of The Low Anthem, includes keyboardist and sample artist Zach Tenorio-Miller and drummer Ray Belli. Arc Iris released its acclaimed self-titled debut in 2014 on ANTI/Bella Union. Subsequently, the band toured with artists such as St. Vincent, Jeff Tweedy, and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. The group’s sophomore record, “Moon Saloon,” released on Bella Union in August 2016, represents a natural progression from the first album’s whimsical explorations and energetic diversity. Produced by the group and mixed by electronic producer David Wrench of FKA Twigs and Jamie xx fame, “Moon Saloon” showcases beat-heavy melodies and textural, groove-riding rhythms. Following the release of “Moon Saloon,” the band toured a complete re-imagination of Joni Mitchell’s ‘Blue’. In late 2017, Arc Iris teamed up with Guster’s lead singer, Ryan Miller to form the offshoot band, Bwahaha, and in early 2018, Arc Iris joined Kimbra on her North American tour. Later that year, the trio released back to back records, “Icon of Ego”, on Brooklyn label Ba Da Bing Records, and “Foggy Lullaby”, their re-imagination of Mitchell’s ‘Blue.
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Sat05Oct2019
Closed for a Private Event
See you tomorrow night for Open Ground! thx- Mgmt
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Sun06Oct2019
Open Ground: Lucas Kadish Trio / Nick Dunston Trio 10/6
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation10/6Open Ground PresentsLucas Kadish TrioLK – guitar/compositionsNick Dunston – bassTim Angulo – drumsNick Dunston TrioND – bass/compositionsWendy Eisenberg – banjoKaren Ng – alto sax -
Mon07Oct2019
NOW Ensemble Oct 7
7:00 Doors $18.00 adv /$20.00 at the door
NOW Ensemble is a dynamic group of performers and composers dedicated to making new chamber music for the 21st century. With a unique instrumentation of flute, clarinet, electric guitar, double bass, and piano, the ensemble brings a fresh sound and a new perspective to the classical tradition, infused with the musical influences that reflect the diverse backgrounds of its members. NOW Ensemble has brought some of the most exciting composers of their generation to national and international recognition.
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Thu10Oct2019
Evan Vidar, Ivy Meissner & Relatives Oct 10
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation -
Fri11Oct2019
Very Good, Alena Spanger & Wish Wish 10/11
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Very Good is an 10 piece theatrical Chamber-rock ensemble, performing the songs and ideas of vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Sean Cronin. Equally influenced by Leonard Cohen, Bjork, Shostakovich, Duke Ellington, and Eugene Ionesco, the band slips between different styles while maintaining its own evocative and timeless sound. October 11th is the digital release show for Very Good’s highly anticipated new album: Adulthood. In celebration, the band promises to put on a show unlike any other. The band’s leader and mastermind, Sean Cronin, has never been satisfied just putting on a regular “rock show”, and over the years his work with Very Good has developed an entire universe, unique to itself in its theatricality, spontaneity, and dadaist aesthetic. At a Very Good show, the audience’s perception of performance is constantly challenged… you may find the music coming from behind you, the band conspiring to ridicule the leader, and always a healthy dose of nonsense, played by clarinets, multiple drums, violin, tuba, guitars, and multiple vocalists. For this particular performance, Cronin has recruited actors from the experimental theater group Caborca to depict absurdist scenes between songs, as well as dance company Konverdgdans to physically represent some of the emotionally complex messages of Cronin’s songwriting. The performance of the band, itself, is in constant metamorphosis, sometimes a small folk band, sometimes an ever expansive orchestra. “Adulthood” will prove to be a journey to somewhere far far from where we beganAlena Spanger is a singer/pianist/songwriter from the balsam forests of Maine, now based in Brooklyn. Weaving together angular art-pop songcraft, unorthodox vocalizations, and intricate arrangements that turn from baroque complexity to visceral immediacy on a dime, Spanger’s songs construct their own elaborate and immersive worlds. With her previous band—Tiny Hazard, and in her new music, Spanger explores the less familiar nooks and crannies of timbre and of psyche. As Dusted Magazine noted, “Spanger sings to provoke, not to comfort.”This duo incarnation of WishWish puts their existing songs against a whole new, pared down backdrop, and explores new material written specifically with this collaboration in mind. Rachel Housle and Sean Cronin ride the line between the familiar and the abstract, retooling the simplicity of catchy melodies for their own, slightly-warped, ends. Drawing upon the outsider folk of Michael Hurley, the familiar, yet uneven phrases of Elyse Weinberg, and the bouncy, dissonant softs and louds of the Pixies, this duo questions what makes a folk song while challenging classic songwriting conventions to a headstand contest. -
Sat12Oct2019
Kenji Herbert & Christian Li EP Release w Secret Sibling and Julia Easterlin Oct 12
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Secret Sibling is an experimental pop band featuring the music of Michael Sachs. Its got synths, saxes, clarinets, vocals, and drums. Lyrics range from sentimental emo to cold and absurd. Personnel includes Kim Mayo(voc), Tomas Cruz (voc), Michael Sachs (synths, winds), Sam Decker (synth, winds), Pete Moffett (drums).The music of Li + Herbert inhabits an aesthetic space somewhere between ambient electronic music and jazz improvisation. Long-time collaborators Christian Li (piano & synths) and Kenji Herbert (electric guitar) explore each other’s compositions with a richly detailed sonic imagination. Their debut EP Soramoyo, recorded in one afternoon by producer Charlie Van Kirk, covers abstract atmospherics to memorable melodies and seeks to evoke the contemplative expanse of the sky. -
Sun13Oct2019
Open Ground: Devin Grey Trio /Gabriel Zucker Oct 13
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
8pmDevin Gray TrioRalph Alessi – trumpetAngelica Sanchez – pianoDevin Gray – drums/composition9pmGabriel Zucker – piano/electronicsBrooklyn drummer Devin Gray is an in-demand sideman, also leading his own groups: “Dirigo Rataplan” featuring Ellery Eskelin, Dave Ballou, and Michael Formanek, and “RelativE ResonancE” featuring Chris Speed, Kris Davis, and Chris Tordini. His newest trio, featuring masters Ralph Alessi (trumpet) and Angelica Sanchez (piano), will be going into the recording studio this fall.Gabriel Zucker presents Confession, a solo set for piano, voice, and electronics, combining sonic exploration, indie songwriting sensibility, and pianistic virtuosity. Confession was developed over the course of ten performances in Europe and Asia this summer. -
Thu17Oct2019
Brian and Marandi from Sharq Attack, Rubycon, and Kéren 10.17
7:30 Doors, $10.00 Suggested Donation
An explorer of the human experience and the mysterious forces of life, Keren is a multidimensional songstress and channel for the soul and for the senses, combining elemental textures with sultry and powerful story telling.
Rubycon raises the noise floor under dancing feet, opening portals of perception with an oceanic sway. Romantic vocals croon messages of unity, rebellion and revelry over lush synths, toothy guitars and bouncy beats. Feat: Ian Turner, Eric Lane and Daniel Dor -
Fri18Oct2019
Emma Frank / Simon Jermyn Trio / SiMoN Oct 18
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation 
Emma Frank
Simon Jermyn will appear with Chris Lightcap, bass and Jim Black, drums.
Osaka-born SiMoN’s music is described as “inspired music,” by Stereolab’s Laetitia Sadier, and is a delightful addition to the local bill. Tamada’s work is a lo-fi mashup of different elements of stylistic pop. Recent single, “Beautiful Love” (2018) is a slow, ballad-esque jam with jazzy guitar chords and filtered vocals. Yuichiro Tamada has been actively pursuing music his whole life. In his early teens, he played in numerous alternative rock bands, and eventually began SiMoN in 2004. Since then, he has played over 900 shows, all over the world. Tamada has shared stages with artists likes Dinosaur Jr.,Phoenix,Cloud Nothings,The Raveonettes,Rhye,Nina Persson of The Cardigans, and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah.
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Sat19Oct2019
Ruth Garbus with Kalbells Oct 19
7:30 doors; $12 advance/ $15 door
I go back to Ruth’s music over and over again. She has the best, weirdest chord changes, the catchiest and most exotic melodies and lyrics, distilled over what I imagine to be many months and years.
To me her songs reaffirm the power of music itself and its basic elements – big and small intervals placed just so in time, the play of sound and meaning in words, parts put together without force or artifice. Ruth is one of my favorite singer-songwriters ever.
– Chris Cohen
The title of Ruth Garbus’ second record, Kleinmeister, translates to “Little Masters,” a German term for a group of 16th-century artists who produced prints from miniscule, labyrinthine engravings. Viewing their work half a millennium later, one is awed by the patience of such handmade precision. Such is the experience of listening to Garbus’ music, the intricacies of which inspire a similar quiet reverence.
-Quinn Moreland for Pitchfork
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Thu24Oct2019
Ali Dineen, Kristi White, Mehta & Chowdhury Oct 24
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation 
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A NIGHT OF SONGS AND SHADOWSJoin us for an evening of original music by Ali Dineen, shadow puppet crankies and folk songs by Kristi White, and Baul music by Pavi Mehta and Polash Chowdhury.Kristi WhiteShadow puppet extroidonaire and singer from Toronto, ON brings a collection of her newest crankies, stories told through moving shadow images and song.Baul Music by Pavi Mehta & Polash ChowdhuryMusicians and spiritual practicioners Pavi & Polash will share songs and stories of the Baul musical and spiritual tradition from West Bengal, India. Baul is a remarkable tradition and practice, and we are lucky to have these two here to share with us.Ali Dineen with bandAli will perform her original songs with Amy Carrigan (vocals), Hannah Sassoon (cello) and Richie Barshay (percussion). -
Fri25Oct2019
Tica Douglas, Starcrossed Losers & Joanna Sternberg Oct 25
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation 
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Sat26Oct2019
Serena Jost // Yotoco Oct 26
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
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Thu31Oct2019
Elise Leavy, Lily Henley, Aidan Scrimgeour & Jenny Herzog & Sam Talmadge !! Oct 31
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
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Fri01Nov2019
Lau Noah, Jake Sherman and Subtext, Nov 1
7:30 Doors, $10.00 Suggested Donation 
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Sat02Nov2019
Night Fishing w Levon Henry Sept 28th
7:30 doors $10.00 Suggested Donation 
‘Night Fishing’ is a new monthly series, hosted at the Owl Music Parlor and curated by Levon Henry. Halfway between round-robin and jam-session, the evening will juxtapose solo performances against collective attempts at each others’ music (and maybe some covers too).
Featuring:
Adam Brisbin
Julian Cubillos
Levon Henry
Ivy Meissner
Connor Parks
Linton Smith
Alena Spanger
Trevor Vaz
Renata Zeiguer -
Sun03Nov2019
Cancelled: Jenifer Jackson Nov 3
SORRY ALL – JENIFER IS RESCHEDULING FOR ANOTHER TIME T B D – please WATCH THIS SPACE!
Sultry Memory from PATHS https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBj7pAxFu80
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Thu07Nov2019
Jeremy Wilms / Dana Lyn Nov 7
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation -
Fri08Nov2019
The Ladles, Taylor Ashton Nov 8
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
The Ladles have three part female harmony perfected – but their sound is more than that… They are an amalgamation of their respective histories and influences, blending Swing, Old-Time, Folk, Pop and Choral music into a sound all their own. With sophisticated arrangements, they create a dreamy otherworldly atmosphere that draws audiences in and demands attention. They quiet noisy bars and liven up staid concert halls. The Ladles are Katie Martucci, Caroline Kuhn, and Lucia Pontoniere.
After touring Canada for several years and releasing four albums with alt-folk outfit Fish & Bird, Taylor brought his clawhammer banjo, his guitar, and his rich baritone voice to New York City to sing songs about things that are hard to say and to make unexpected juxtapositions seem like the most natural thing in the world.
http://taylorashton.com
@taylrashtn -
Sat09Nov2019
Anna Rg Variety Night Nov 9
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donationartists from a number of disciplinesgather for one nightof music + poems + films (+ pie)and celebrating the premiere of
“JEANO” a short film by peter coccoma / inspired by the song of the same title, recorded by anna & elizabeththe artists
anna rg / is a musician & sculptor
dina maccabee / composer & performing artist
grey mcmurray / guitarist extraordinaire who just released his long awaited solo record on figure8 records
jarrett gilgore / baltimore based saxophonist & plays in many groups including heart of the ghost, with luke stewart&ian mccolm
jonah king / artist & filmmaker / https://jonahking.info
peter coccoma / filmmaker & musician / https://www.pierrexoxo.com/
rahul nair / boston based musician whose music draws from the American avant-garde tradition to connect auditory perception, ritual, meditation, and spatial awareness.
sarah passino / poet, editor & recent winner of the rona jaffe award in writing
valerie hsiung / poet & performer, author of you & me forever (action books) -
Sun10Nov2019
Open Ground. Open Ground Presents: Tomoko Omura / Roberto Giaquinto Nov 10
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
8pmTomoko Omura QuartetTomoko Omura – violinGlenn Zaleski – pianoPablo Menares – bassMark Ferber – drums9pmRoberto Giaquinto QuartetChris Cheek – saxophone
Glen Zeleski – piano
Rock Rosato – bass
Roberto Giaquinto – drums -
Thu14Nov2019
Ali Dineen, Mamie Minch and Dawn Landes Nov 14
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Ali Dineen has been performing her original music and songs from the American folk tradition in New York and across the United States for the past several years, drawing upon music ranging from 1920s American jazz to Eastern European polyphony. Her lyrics are poetic and deeply personal, using narrative to draw connections between personal experience and larger histories. Audiences across the country have been captivated by her breathtaking voice and the power of her songs’ messages. When not performing her original music, Ali also works with various projects including the Crimson Ragdolls and Bread and Puppet Theater, and works as a music educator. She is based in New York City.
Dawn Landes is a Nashville based singer-songwriter whose music you might have heard if you watch The Good Wife, House or Gossip Girl. Along with releasing five albums since 2005 (and an EP inspired by yé-yé, ‘60s French pop music), she’s collaborated with the likes of Sufjan Stevens, Norah Jones and composer Nico Muhly. She has appeared with the Boston Pops, the NYC Ballet and on the TED main stage. Dawn’s most recent LP “Meet Me at the River” (Yep Roc) was recorded with legendary producer Fred Foster (Roy Orbison, Dolly Parton). She’s currently writing the songs for a new musical called ROW about the first woman to row across the Atlantic Ocean, in development with Williamstown Theater Festival.
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Fri15Nov2019
Allegra Krieger, Color Collage & Georgia Sackler Nov 15
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation -
Sat16Nov2019
Julia Easterlin // Innov Gnawa Nov 16
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation 
Innov Gnawa is a Grammy-nominated musical collective dedicated to exploring Morocco’s venerable Gnawa music tradition in the heart of NYC. Formed in the summer of 2014, the group draws on the considerable talents and expertise of Hassan Ben Jaafer, A Maalem, or master Gnawan musician, originally from Fez, Morocco. Ben Jaafer is accompanied by Amino Belyamani and Ahmed Jeriouda, along with a brotherhood of guest musicians, all playing the karkabas, metal castanets whose staccato sound is said to represent the shackles and chains of slaves. Under the guidance of Ben Jaafer, Innov Gnawa has delved deep into the roots and rituals of Gnawan music and has made a big splash in NYC, playing some of the city’s most prestigious rooms including Lincoln Center, Music Hall of Williamsburg, Brooklyn Bowl, and the storied backroom of Brooklyn’s Barbes. Innov Gnawa has also collaborated and shared the stage with such luminaries as Bonobo and Antibalas. Hailed by Brooklyn Magazine as one of the “5 Bands You Need to Know” in Brooklyn’s Arabic music scene, Innov Gnawa make great use of a traditional repertoire and add their own contemporary spin with additional African and Latin percussion. This exciting new outfit fuses a centuries old North African tradition with the pulse and attitude of NYC.
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Sun17Nov2019
Open Ground: Ethan Braun / Christopher Hoffman Quartet Nov 17
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
8pm
Ethan Braun – piano, electronics
Tariq Al-Sabor – voice9pm
Christopher Hoffman Quartet
Christopher Hoffman – cello
Bryan Carrott – vibes
Rashaan Carter – bass
Craig Weinrib – drums -
Thu21Nov2019
Christ Van Voorst // Dana Saul cd release Nov 21
7:30 doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Miniatures and improvisationsFeaturing- Jeremy Viner, clarinetTara Hanish, celloZach Lapidus, pianoKyle Wilson, tenor saxophoneChris van Voorst, bass and songsDANA SAUL – CD RELEASEPianist Dana Saul presents music from his debut album Ceiling.Adam O’Farrill, trumpetKevin Sun, tenor saxophonePatricia Brennan, vibraphoneDana Saul, pianoWalter Stinson, bassMatthew Honor, drums -
Fri22Nov2019
Brittain Ashford & Advance Base Nov 22
7:30 Doors $15 adv/ $18 doors
Brittain Ashford starred in the 2017 Broadway hit, Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812, as well as Dave Malloy’s Off-Broadway song-cycle, Ghost Quartet.She’s put out two albums with her own band, Prairie Empire, and has just released a new solo album of re-tooled show tunes, “run through a David Lynch filter,” called Drama Club. Of Ashford’s voice, The New York Times said: “Delicate and defiant… the kind of husky ethereality that can stop you in your tracks.”***Advance Base is the solo project of Chicago, IL singer/songwriter Owen Ashworth (formerly of Casiotone for the Painfully Alone). Using a two-handed arsenal of electric piano, Omnichord, samplers, effect pedals & drum machines, Ashworth builds minimalist, heavy-hearted, & nostalgia-obsessed ballads around his conversational baritone. The warm, electronic sound of Advance Base has been described as “lo-fi,” “depressed” & “weirdly uplifting.” . -
Sat23Nov2019
CD release show: Miles Okazaki's Trickster + Lesley Mok Trio & Charlotte Jacobs Nov 23
7:30 Doors, $10.00 Suggested Donation
8 PM: Guitarist-composer Miles Okazaki has a head for intricate structure and elegant convolution, and his best outlet so far has been Trickster, a band with two fellow alumni of Steve Coleman’s Five Elements. Along with that dynamic duo — bassist Anthony Tidd, drummer Sean Rickman — there’s a spot in the matrix for piano. On the group’s 2017 self-titled debut, that role belonged to Craig Taborn; on The Sky Below (Oct. 31, Pi Recordings) it falls to Matt Mitchell, who’s well equipped to flip tricks into treats. Trickster is best understood in both cerebral and visceral terms. On the one hand, it’s a delivery system for some proudly intricate and idiosyncratic compositions, the byproduct of a deeply rigorous mind. On the other hand, it’s a go-for-broke quartet, capable of shifting the ground underfoot without ever losing its balance.” – Nate Chinen, “Take Five” (WBGO)
9 PM: Drummer-composer Lesley Mok brings together Anna Webber and Mark Hannaford to present a set of new music inspired by the unique timbral explorations of this ensemble.
10 PM: Charlotte Jacobs developed a passion for sound and lyric composing during her training as a vocalist. her background in jazz determines the sense of harmony and melody in her compositions.
the arrangements are largely electronic, vocal-based and even cinematic. For her solo work, Charlotte creates more room for storytelling and sound texture by slightly letting complex harmony fade, drawing inspiration from the repertoires of Scandinavian soundmakers, avant pop and eastern cultures. In the past two years, she has assembled a melancholy-infused anglophone and dutch-language repertoire. In 2017 she started to record her first solo album together with zubin hensler (twig twig, half waif, fleet foxes) ‘Fishtale EP’ was released in 2019 and features Hannah Epperson. Charlotte is currently working on a collection of new songs and therefor is working with a variety of artists with roots in jazz, avant garde, IDM and classical music. She will appear with drummer and composer Raf Vertessen. -
Sun24Nov2019
Marta Sanchez Quintet CD Release Nov 24
7:30 doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Marta Sanchez: piano, Chris Cheek: tenor sax, Alex Lore: alto sax, Martin Nevin: bass, Daniel Dor: drums.Marta Sanchez Quintet will be celebrating the release of their new CD “El Rayo de Luz” on Fresh Sound Records. Pianist Marta Sanchez’s follow-up to her critically acclaimed releases “Partenika” (2015) and “Danza Imposible” (2017) is her new album “El Rayo de Luz” (2019, Fresh Sound). Her unique vision for her quintet – celebrated by the New York Times (10 best albums of 2015), NPR’s Fresh Air, DownBeat Magazine and many others – is further developed and explored in her new music on “El Rayo de Luz”. Marta’s highly evocative music is textural, visual, and constantly surprising with invention and wit. Her new album features Chris Cheek, Roman Filiu, Rick Rosato and Daniel Dor.
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Fri29Nov2019
Pamela Mendez & Dida Pelled Nov 29
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Pamela Méndez is a Songwriter and DIY Artist from Bern, Switzerland. Her music is an eclectic mix of pop, psychedelic soul, and electronic music translated into guitars, drum machines and her raw and versatile vocal performance. Promoting self-love through reflecting societal and personal values. Pamela is currently in New York working on her third record together with Tim Walsh from “The Stepkids ” (Stones Throw). It is our pleasure to host her fist US Show ever!
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7oHWQvo4m8YEQqZSKUOAmJ?si=C5lfqAeoS9qKmgf1c2Lsvg
https://www.instagram.com/pamelamendezmusic/New York-based Israeli guitarist and vocalist Dida has a particular talent for storytelling. Whether it be a jazz standard, a scorching blues number, an old country ballad, or a heartfelt original “Dida sings in a voice sometimes playful, warm, resonant, no frills. She sings the words, giving them their meaning, their weight, with perfect diction and charm.” (Jazz Hot, France)
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Sat30Nov2019
Akie Bermiss Trio Nov 30
7:30 Doors $15 adv. /$18 doorhttps://venuepilot.co/events/30224/orders/new
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Sun01Dec2019
Vortex // Amirtha Kidambi Dec 1
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
8pmVortexShoko Nagai – piano, processingSatoshi Takeishi – percussion, electronics9pmAmirtha Kidambi – voice, electronicsMatteo Liberatore – guitar“MORPHOSIS” is the latest music offering from Shoko Nagai and Satoshi Takeishi’sduo, Vortex. Their continuation in exploration of sound and composition/improvisation has beenevolving over the years. Each project is based on a specific story line to represent theprocess of their music making. In this series of compositions, they explore how the energy will flow and transform between different musical styles and dynamics. And connect them to portray a story of “becoming”..“They give their all, whether the music is passing through a becalmed, inward phase, orwhether it’s arcing up to a pinnacle of beautiful excess.”( Time Out, New York )Amirtha Kidambi has premiered works by pioneering composers including AACM founder and pianist Muhal Richard Abrams’, premiering his Dialogue Social Roulette in 2013, Robert Ashley’s CRASH at the Whitney Biennial in 2013, Darius Jones’ The Oversoul Manual at Carnegie Hall in 2014, electronic composer Ben Vida’s work Slipping Control for voice and electronics with Tyondai Braxton at the Borderline Festival in Athens, Greece in 2014 and William Parker’s Soul of Light in 2017. Recent recordings include William Parker’s Voices Fall From the Sky (2018), the debut recording of Mary Halvorson’s Code Girl (2018) and Ingrid Laubrock’s Contemporary Chaos Practices (2018). Kidambi has been commissioned by the Jerome Foundation, receiving the Emerging Artist Commission in 2014 and Artist-in-Residence in 2018, through Roulette in Brooklyn.
Amirtha earned an M.A. in Ethnomusicology from Columbia University, an M.M. in Voice and Musicology at CUNY Brooklyn College and a B..A. in Voice from Loyola Marymount University. She currently serves on the faculty for the New School, teaching music history courses and heading a large scale curriculum development project.
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Thu05Dec2019
I Sang to you and the Moon, Good Intentions, ruby Dec 5
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
I Sang to You and the Moon (with Chelsea Crabtree, Kirk Knuffke, and Sam Weber) is Gregg Belisle-Chi’s song cycle based on the poetry of Carl Sandburg, featuring a chamber ensemble of guitar, vocals, trumpet, and bass. The music explores approachable tonalities and melodies while following the contours of the words and their own peculiarly winding logic. The songs are uniformly beautiful, powerful, and memorable, whether exploring the more eerie suite-like cinematic moods of “Dream Girl” or the dusty, elemental trance state of “Bringers.”ruby is a Brooklyn-based free-folk duo made up of violinist/composer/singer abby swidler and singer/composer kim mayo. Brought together by friendship, a shared passion for collaboration, a deep love for lyric-writing, and an experimental approach to the composing and recording process, ruby was officially born when abby and kim challenged each other to fully write and arrange one song each day for a week, which culminated in creating a piece collaboratively on their last day. Through this process, in getting to peek so intimately into each other’s songwriting instincts, and in turning their own and each others’ songs over in their hands like the stone they’re named for, they realized that their musical sensibilities complemented each other, and that they wanted to keep exploring songwriting together. Their week of writing every day together birthed the seed for a collection of songs that they are preparing for their first recording, which they plan to release this coming winter. -
Fri06Dec2019
Night Fishing w Levon Henry Dec 6th
7:30 doors $10.00 Suggested Donation 
‘Night Fishing’ is a new monthly series, hosted at the Owl Music Parlor and curated by Levon Henry. Halfway between round-robin and jam-session, the evening will juxtapose solo performances against collective attempts at each others’ music (and maybe some covers too).
Featuring: Julian Cubillos, Buz Donald, Ivy Meissner, Levon Henry, Maru Pabon, Linton Smith, Alena Spanger and more! -
Sat07Dec2019
Joan As Police Woman † moved for LARYNGITIS † Dec 7
7:30 PM no tickets available
Joan Says:
Good morning all! Appallingly I have acute laryngitis and have been ordered by my doctor to be silent for several days. The final Joanthology show will be postponed till December 28th. The Owl will refund any tickets that cannot be used. Original tickets for tonight’s show will be honored. Please accept my tacit apologies and feel my whispers of love!
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Sun08Dec2019
Lauren Balthrop & Jason Bemis Lawrence Dec 8
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Lauren Balthrop, a folk-pop singer songwriter hailing from Nashville, has a crystal-fueled voice. Her newest single Your Time Will Come is an upbeat pop song with a relatable message, one of unrelenting hopes and dreams. The single arrives almost exactly one year after her debut album This Time Around and features Pete Lalish the guitarist from Lucius on guitar, Jesske Hume from the Felice Brothers on Bass and Jason Bemis Lawrence from the Building on drums. Her debut album, released late last year on Nashville’s own, Tone Tree Music is a dreamy pop album, produced by Josh Kaufman (Bob Weir, The National, Hiss Golden Messenger, Josh Ritter). The album described by Audio Femme as “the bittersweet sensation of a person, a moment, a time in your life disappearing” is beguiling in its honesty, rich in dark sonic beauty and above all, devilishly playful.
Since the album’s release, Balthrop has been busy on tour with Kevin Morby, and in the past she has also worked with Bob Weir, Benjamin Booker, Elizabeth & the Catapult, Dawn Landes, Ximena Sariñana and more. She was also a member of the excellent doo-wop trio Bandana Splits, and in 2013 Balthrop released an album under the name Dear Georgiana winning attention from Stereogum who called her songs “absolutely lovely”.
Jason Bemis Lawrence is a Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter also known as a drummer and multi-instrumentalist in such bands as Dean and Britta, Jesse Marchant, Caithlin De Marrais, Heather Woods Broderick, and The Building. His debut album “Another Hotel Hallway” came out in late 2018. For The Rabbits calls it “a debut album well worth shouting about.”
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Thu12Dec2019
Ed Pastorini & Bearthoven Dec 12
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Ed Pastorini is a NYC songwriter, composer, pianist, and guitarist best known for his band 101 Crustaceans. He has recorded or performed with Elysian Fields, Beth Orton, Joan As Police Woman, Johnny Society, Najma Akhtar, Church of Betty, Graham Maby, M. Ward, Badly Drawn Boy, and Bruce Springsteen.
He wrote of this performance, “Ed’s gonna probably make a spontaneous mixture depending on his state of mind – using at least piano and voice. This may include songs or song fragments, compositions, standards, popular songs from the 1800’s and unplanned noises. Tempos may move glacially at times – or the whole time, depending on his . . . etc.”
Bearthoven [ \’bâr-toh-vən\ ] is a piano trio creating a new repertoire for a familiar instrumentation by commissioning works from leading young composers. Karl Larson (piano), Pat Swoboda (bass), and Matt Evans (percussion) have combined their individual voices and diverse musical backgrounds, coming together to create a versatile trio focused on frequent and innovative commissioning of up-and-coming composers. Bearthoven is rapidly building a diverse repertoire by challenging composers to apply their own voice to an instrumentation that, while common amongst jazz and pop idioms, is currently foreign in the contemporary classical world.
Formed in 2013, Bearthoven has quickly established themselves as a forerunner in the New York City contemporary music scene. Commissioning over 30 new works in their first six seasons, the trio has created its own diverse repertoire ranging from the driving, post-minimal voices of Michael Gordon, Ken Thomson, and Shelley Washington to the atmospheric and abstracted offerings of Sarah Hennies, Scott Wollschleger, and Anthony Vine. Bearthoven’s commitment to collaboration and innovation has garnered both critical and peer acclaim and has led to featured performances on notable series including the MATA Festival, the Bang On a Can Marathon, the Music/Sound Series at EMPAC, the Princeton Sound Kitchen, and the Ciclo de Conciertos de Música Contemporánea in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The group’s debut album Trios was released on Cantaloupe Music in May of 2017. Their second album, American Dream, features the works of Scott Wollschleger, and was released in February of 2019 on the same label. Bearthoven will perform two of their most recent commissions by Scott Wollschleger and Katherine Balch.
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Fri13Dec2019
Cassandra Jenkins, 0 Stars, and Winston Cook-Wilson Dec 13
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
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Sat14Dec2019
Richard Sears Quartet ft. Billy Hart / Melvis Santa & Ashedi Dec 14
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Richard Sears Quartet
Roman Filiu – saxophone
Richard Sears – piano
Martin Nevin – bass
Billy Hart – drumsPianist and composer Richard Sears has appeared with the Billy Hart Quartet (ft. Mark Turner and Ben Street), the Muhal Richard Abrams Orchestra, Joshua Redman, Ravi Coltrane, Ralph Alessi, Eric Revis, and many others. In 2018, Sears was commissioned by The Shed (NYC) to create “Should I Lose You”, a staged work for piano, electronic musical score by Ethan Braun, and video by Clara Cullen. Sears has also received commission and support from the Aaron Copland Fund (2015) and the Los Angeles Jazz Society (2013) for composing and recording his 2016 release, “Altadena”, featuring the legendary drummer Albert “Tootie” Heath. “Altadena” earned 4 stars in DownBeat Magazine, and was named “one of the best releases of 2016” by AllAboutJazz.com. His latest release, Iron Year (2018), features long-time collaborators, Roman Filiu and Martin Nevin, who will also be a part of tonight’s performances.
Melvis Santa & AshediMelvis Santa – voice, pianoRafael Monteagudo – percussionAfro-Cuban music can transform time and consciousness with its multilayered polyrhythms and hypnotic chants. It can take us out of our ordinary state of mind and invoke the spirits of the Afro Cuban pantheon of orishas. Singer, composer, artivist, bandleader, actress, educator and 2018 GRAMMY nominee, Melvis Santa presents her project Ashedi (“invitation” in Lukumí, the Yoruba language adaptation in Cuba). In an extended duo setting, she leads on piano and vocals, and fronts a full percussion section of sacred batá drums and jazz drums played by Cuban master percussionist Rafael Monteagudo.
MELVIS SANTA is a singer, composer, actress, and arts advocate from Havana, Cuba. Melvis made a splash in the music scene at age 14 when she formed the all-female vocal quartet Sexto Sentido. The ensemble won the 2001 JoJazz Competition and were dubbed by master Chucho Valdes ‘the best vocal quartet in the last 30 years.’ Years later Melvis spread wings and appeared as lead vocalist of Cuban seminal fusion band Interactivo, collaborating with Roberto and Bobby Carcasses. Based in New York since 2014, she continues to make a mark as a performer and as an educator, teaching Afro-Cuban music and dance workshops and masterclasses at NYU, YALE University, UArts, Tulane University, among others. Melvis has collaborated with the who’s who of the jazz and Latin communities such as Andy Bey, Xiomara Laugart, Steve Coleman, Omara Portuondo, Buenavista Social Club, Maqueque, Steve Coleman, Bill O’Connell, Arturo O’Farrill, Team Cuba de La Rumba, and Munequitos de Matanzas.
RAFAEL MONTEAGUDO is a Latin Grammy nominee drummer, percussionist, and composer. His styles focus on jazz, funk, fusion, Latin jazz, and Afro-Cuban. Classically trained drummer from Havana most prestigious conservatories, Mr. Monteagudo had the opportunity to work with some of the best-known Cuban jazz and folkloric groups while in Cuba, including Calle 42, Eddy Mesa, Jazz Quartet Carisma and the Conjunto Folklórico of the University of Havana. Arrived in the US in 2000, Rafael has performed at prestigious venues and music events such as Lincoln Center, Central Park Summer Stage, Blue Note, the Smithsonian Institute, The Kennedy Center, Aspen Jazz Fest, the Caramoor Jazz Festival, among others. He has toured with Yosvany Terry, Michele Rosewoman and The Pedrito Martinez Group among others, including iconic songwriter and producer Desmond Child. Most recently Rafael appeared at a tribute concert to Eddy Palmieri and the late Randy Weston as part of ECM pianist David Virelles ensemble.
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Sun15Dec2019
Special Afternoon Event: The Wit and Wisdom of Albert "Tootie" Heath Dec 25 4pm
4:00pm $20.00 Suggested Donation
The Wit and Wisdom of Albert “Tootie” HeathSuggested Donation: $20
Albert “Tootie” Heath made his recording debut on John Coltrane’s first album as a leader, “Coltrane”, released on Prestige in 1957. Growing up in Philadelphia during a historically vibrant time, Tootie came of age playing with the likes of Bobby Timmons, McCoy Tyner, and Jimmy Garrison, as well as his older brothers Jimmy and Percy. Tootie lived in New York and Denmark through the the 60’s, and continued to make history working with Thelonious Monk, Nina Simon, Wes Montgomery, Dexter Gordon, and many others.In 1969, Tootie joined Herbie Hancock’s band and recorded The Prisoner; during this year he recorded a debut album as a leader, Kawaida, which features the poetry of his nephew, James Mtume, as well as performances by Hancock, Don Cherry, and Ed Blackwell. During the 70s, 80, and 90s, the Heath Brothers was a top draw at the festivals and in the clubs worldwide; Tootie was also a first call for statesmen like Benny Golson and Cedar Walton. In recent years, Tootie’s activity has often included a host of relatively younger musicians including Jeb Patton, David Wong, Ethan Iverson, Ben Street, Richard Sears, and Emmet Cohen. Currently, Tootie lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He is 84 years old.
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Sun15Dec2019
Open Ground: Pilot House (w Vinnie Sperrazza, Ethan Iverson & Sam Newsome) Roman FIliu & Musae Dec 15
7:30pm Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Roman Filiu Sextet
David Virelles- piano
Craig Weinrib-drums
María Grand- tenor sax
Mauricio Herrera- Percusion
Guitar -TBA
Román Filiu- alto sax, compositionsPilot House
Vinnie Sperrazza – drums
Sam Newsome – saxophone
Ethan Iverson – pianoRomán Filiú and Musae presents:Okàn: El Libro De Las AlmasNew York-based Roman Filiú has been a saxophonist, bandleader, composer for over 20 years. Born and raised in Santiago de Cuba, he has played, recorded, and toured worldwide with a great variety of artists. He is currently a member of Henry Threadgill´s Ensemble Double Up, and leads several groups himself such as Quarteria, which features David Virelles, Ralph Alessi, Matt Brewer, Dayna Stephens, Yusnier Sánchez, and Craig Weinrib as well as the Roman Filiú Quartet with Billy Hart, David Virelles, and Thomas Morgan.Among his many collaborations, Román has played in Chucho Valdés´Irakere (Grammy Award nominated Babalú Ayé, Grammy Award winning New Conceptions), has been the musical director of David Murray´s Big Band and has played with outstanding musicians Andrew Cyrille, Gonzalo Rubalcaba (Grammy Award nominated Antiguo), Steve Coleman Dafnis Prieto, Milford Graves, Miguel Zenón, Doug Hammond, Nasheet Waits, Michele Rosewoman, Omara Portuondo, Marcus Gilmore, Lázaro Ross, Alain Pérez, Iván Melón Lewis, Román Díaz, Damion Reid, Pablo Milanés, Liberty Ellman, Stephan Crump, Pepe Rivero, Adam Rogers, Rez Abassi, Roy Hargrove, and Chano Domínguez to name a few.
The musician has been a recipient of the Jazz Gallery Commission Series, the Langnau Jazz Fest Artist in Residence, the Chamber Music America New Jazz Works Award, and the Lucas Artist Residency. He has established himself as a prominent and innovative composer through his work for numerous small ensembles and has written pieces for string quartet, solo piano and saxophone quartet. Roman has also released the albums Blowin’ Reflections and Musae, which were praised by the press for their quality and depth.
Okàn: El libro De Las Almas has made possible thanks to the support of Chamber Music America New Jazz Works 2016 program with generous funding from the Doris duke Charitable Foundation
Soprano saxophonist Sam Newsome, pianist Ethan Iverson, and drummer Vinnie Sperrazza comprise the group Pilot House. Assembled by Sperrazza, the group’s focus is on total improvisation, synthesizing the different musical languages spoken in the group and creating an ever-evolving group sound. This is their fourth show.*** -
Thu19Dec2019
Ilusha Tzinadze & Julia Patinella Dec 19
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation -
Fri20Dec2019
Gaya Felsheim Schorr, Kalia Vandever & Eva LawittsAllegra Krieger Dec 20
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Gaya Feldheim Schorr, Kalia Vandever, and Eva Lawitts play in a trio comprised of voice, trombone, and bass respectively. The three Brooklyn-based musicians bring their voices together through improvisation, poetry, and songwriting. With their use of various pedals and effects, Feldheim Schorr, Vandever and Lawitts are pushing the envelope of their instrument’s idioms, creating lush, meditative soundscapes.Allegra Krieger is a Brooklyn based songwriter & composer. With emotive lyricism weaving through explorative harmony, her songs are at once cathartic and compelling. Her first full length LP will be released spring 2020. -
Sat21Dec2019
An Howliday Extravanganza with Oren B, Elizabeth Ziman, Akie Bermiss, Adam Minkoff, Charlie Burnham, Alec Spiegelman, and more! Dec 21
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
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Sun22Dec2019
Evil Hour Evening Reading Dec 22
7:30 doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
curated by Lance Scott Walker
featuring Tod Ashley, Quincy Flowers & JB Roté
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Thu26Dec2019
closed
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Fri27Dec2019
Ali Dineen and friends Dec 27
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation -
Sat28Dec2019
Joan As Police Woman w Oren Bloedow Dec 28
7:30 PM no tickets available 
Joan Wasser, known by her stage name Joan As Police Woman, is an American musician, singer-songwriter and producer. She began her career playing violin with the Dambuilders and played with Black Beetle, Antony and the Johnsons, and Those Bastard Souls. Since 2004 she has released her solo material as Joan As Police Woman. She has released five regular studio albums, one EP, a number of singles and a collection of covers.[1] Throughout her career, she has regularly collaborated with other artists as a writer, performer and arranger.
An brief solo set from Joan’s old Black Beetle bandmate Oren Bloedow will open the night.