DOORS @ 7:30 / SHOWS @ 8PM, UNLESS POSTED OTHERWISE
RSS
2017
-
Thu05Jan2017
Ben Goldberg's Invisible Guy // Chris Cochrane with special guest Marc Ribot Jan 5
After a busy year of playing in numerous projects, some of which were Collapsible Shoulder, Marc Ribot’s Young Philadephians, BEE LINE with Billy Martin and Kato Hideki and a new trio with Gordon Beeferman and Kevin Shea, Chris Cochrane will settle in at the Owl for a night of performing his songs, solo and with Special Guest Marc Ribot. -
Fri06Jan2017
Jenna Nicholls , Jason Harrod and Larry Gallagher Jan 6
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Bringing her original songwriting with flashes of the 1920’s / 1930s jazz age, Jenna performs her latest works from her forthcoming release.
Jason Harrod’s songs are cinematic travelogues, filled with quirky narrative detail and propelled by a honey-dipped tenor. He lives in Brooklyn and has been performing for over 20 years
-
Sat07Jan2017
Syrian Refugee Benefit Jan 7
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donationwith Haleh Liza, Juliet Rabia Gentile, Adam Maalouf, Oren Bloedow, Brittany Anjou and Zafer Tawil and More!
-
Sun08Jan2017
CANCELED FOR SNOW Open Ground: Amino Belyamani & INGA Jan 8
SORRY DUE TO SNOW THE FLIGHT FROM LA IS CANCELED> PLEASE WATCH CALENDAR for rescheduled dates.
Open Ground Presents Amino Belyamani – piano
Born and raised in Casablanca, Morocco, Amino has been based in New York since 2009. Amino’s music reflects the diversity of his influences – complex african rhythms, arabic melodies, western classical music, jazz and electro-acoustic music. One can witness this richness in the various ensembles Amino leads and co-leads in New York – the critically acclaimed Dawn of Midi, the microtonal and hypnotic SSAHHA, the traditional Ewe ensemble from Ghana – Bedstuy Ewe, and the traditional gnawa music ensemble – Innov Gnawa. Amino has performed with world renowned artists such as Albert “Tootie” heath, Charlie Haden, Alfred Ladzekpo, Houman Pourmehdi, Hamid el Kasri, Hassan Hakmoun, Dimi Mint Abba, and many others.INGA
Sam Gendel – guitar/voice/saxophone
Richard Sears – piano
Shahzad Ismaily – bass
Craig Weinrib – drums -
Wed11Jan2017
School of Tristano with Eric Rasmussen, Nate Radley, Dave Ambrosio & Matt Wilson
-
Thu12Jan2017
GAVAGAI feat. Justin Boening, Beth Lisick 1/12/2017
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
GAVAGAI is a monthly performance series curated and hosted by poet Danielle Blau that brings you poetry and fiction readings scored with original live music by composer-improviser-pianist David Cieri and composer-improviser-bassistMike Brown, with other skilled improvisers (horn-players, cellists, violinists, vocalists, who knows?) often dropping in onstage as surprise guest-musicians. About the Curators (whose recent collaboration at Carnegie Hall can be seen here):
David Cieri is a true artist. Fearless on the piano, a combination of virtuosity, sensitivity and curiosity, he is constantly discovering new ways to express complex emotions through music that has served as the backbone of our films. – Ken Burns
This is real music, not trapped by boxes, definitions and genres, but creating its own style. Cieri delivers beautiful moods…honest, imaginative, fearless. – John Zorn
David Cieri began playing the violin at the age of three, but switched to the piano at the ripe old age of six. He has studied with members of the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra and with ECM recording artist Art Lande, and he has performed his original compositions at such venues as Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. Cieri’s film-scoring work includes Ken Burns’ The Vietnam War (with Trent Reznor and Yo-Yo Ma, Florentine Films, in post-production), The Roosevelts: An Intimate History (Florentine Films, 2014), The Address (Florentine Films, 2014), Prohibition (with Wynton Marsalis, Florentine Films, 2011), Baseball: The Tenth Inning (Florentine Films, 2010) and the Emmy-winning National Parks (Florentine Films, 2008), Barak Goodman’s Emmy-nominated The Emperor of All Maladies (Ark Media, 2015), and a short directed by George Lucas for The Academy of Arts and Sciences called “The Heart of the Matter” (2014). His original score for Raymond De Felitta’s Booker’s Place: A Mississippi Story was listed for an Oscar nomination in 2013.
Danielle Blau’s Rhyme and Reason: Poets and Philosophers on the Questions that Matter is forthcoming from W.W. Norton. She won first place for her poetry in the 2015 multi-genre Narrative 30 Below Contest, and her chapbook mere eye was selected for a Poetry Society of America Chapbook Award and published in 2013 with an introduction by D.A. Powell. Blau’s poems, short stories, articles, and interviews have also appeared and are forthcoming in such publications as The Atlantic online, The Baffler, Black Clock, The Harvard Review, The Literary Review, Narrative Magazine, The New Yorker’s book blog, The Paris Review, Ploughshares, The Saint Ann’s Review, The Wolf, and the Argos Books poetry anthology Why I Am Not a Painter. A graduate of Brown University with an honors degree in philosophy, and of NYU with an MFA in poetry, she teaches at the City University of New York.
This Month’s Guests:Justin Boening, Beth Lisick
-
Fri13Jan2017
Lacy Rose, Colin Fullerton and Alaina J. Ferris Jan 13
7:30 doors $10 suggested donation
Join Lacy Rose, a classically trained vocalist, composer, and performer who regales listeners with tales of magic, myth, tragic, and eternal love, for a special concert at The Owl. This performance will feature works from her newly composed song cycle “Songs of Remembering and Forgetting” as well as an introductory performance of musical serenades by Colin Fullerton on classical guitar.When he first heard Neil Young’s “Rockin’ In The Free World” at the age of four, Colin Fullerton knew he would be a guitarist. Since taking up the instrument at six, he has received numerous accolades as a classical musician and performed throughout the United States and Southern Europe. The son of an actor, his playing is characterized by a heightened sense of drama and narrative, and he communicates through his guitar with a striking rhetorical sincerity. With his recent move to Brooklyn, Colin is revisiting his root inspirations through two innovative, popularly-influenced collaborations with his friends Lacy Rose and Ryan Dodge.
Alaina J. Ferris -
Sat14Jan2017
Ann Gillespie's 'Peggy Sue’s of Walnut' / Dear Georgiana Jan 14
6:30 doors $10 suggested donation
Ann Gillespie is a playwright and performer who lives in Brooklyn, New York. Ann’s darkly comedic and nuanced writing for theater and film emphasizes movement, ambiguous moral dilemmas, and strong female characters. Plays include “Crossing” (voted best in show, From The Hip Theatre festival), “B in Oblivion” (commissioned by The Krane Theatre), “Terminal Moraine” (commissioned by Lost Girls Theatre Company), “Validating the Shit out of Each Other” (MicroTheatre Miami) and “Choreographing a Rape Scene to go into a Feminist Play” (workshopped at Florida International University Alternative Theatre Festival 2016, short-listed by the Eugene O’Neill Festival; staged readings at GableStage Theatre for South Florida Theatre League and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art) Ms. Gillespie’s short play “BENCH” was performed at the Jay Sharp Theater in the Playwrights Horizons building as part of the Samuel French Off Off Broadway Short Play Festival 2014. That same year, Ann also performed in an original play she wrote, “Was it Love or Just Dancing” produced at the RADA Festival in London. In 2015 Ann went back to the RADA Festival for a staged reading of her play “Bunnies Inside Her,” performed by Whistlestop Theatre. The company revived their performance of this full-length again in London in October 2015 in The Bloomsbury Festival.
www.anngillespieplaywright.com
Born in Alabama but having spent the last ten years in New York, Lauren Balthrop identifies as a New Yorker. Her new collection of songs is deeply personal and introspective and is largely influenced by the songwriting of Carole King.
Lauren has played in bands such as Balthrop, Alabama, Elizabeth & the Catapult, The Bandana Splits, and Ximena Sariñana. In the last few years, she has been a backing vocalist for Bob Weir, Kevin Morby, Benjamin Booker, Lucius and Sara Bareilles. She is also the director of the Brooklyn ladies choir, Sirens of Brooklyn. When she’s not performing or writing, she spends most afternoons as a music educator teaching kids guitar, ukulele, piano and the art of songwriting.
-
Thu19Jan2017
Ned Rothenberg' In Cahoots' CD release// Dolunay and Sharq Attack Jan 19
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested DonationIn Cahoots isNed Rothenberg-reedsMark Feldman-ViolinSylvie Courvoisier – piano
DOLUNAY plays an array of original compositions alongside renditions of Turkish and Rumeli standards. The music of Dolunay (Turkish for “full moon”) infuses classic and contemporary traditions with an urban grit that can only be found in New York City’s confluence of musical and cultural forces.SHARQ ATTACK is a Brooklyn based ensemble playing original music composed by oudist Brian Prunka, as well as traditional favorites from the Middle East. With Marandi Hostetter, 5 string violin; Brian Prunka, oud; John Murchison, double bass and Philip Mayer, percussion. -
Fri20Jan2017
Night of the Long Knives w/ Jeremiah Cymerman, Ed Pastorini, Oren Bloedow, Simon Hanes and more Jan 20
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
-
Sat21Jan2017
Michael Leonhart & Mauro Refosco Jan 21
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
-
Sun22Jan2017
Open Ground: Jan 22
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested DonationOpen Ground Presents:Manuel Schmiedel Trio | Ari Chersky Trio + strings###
Manuel grew up in southern Germany and moved to Berlin at age 19 to fully immerse himself into its exceptionally diverse and vital music scene. He became one of Berlin’s most sought after pianists and has performed extensively at jazz clubs and festivals all over Europe, South America and the United States. As part of the Open Ground Series at The Owl, Manuel will be making his NYC trio debut.Manuel Schmiedel – pianoRick Rosato – bassCraig Weinrib – drumsAri Chersky is a Brooklyn based Guitarist/Composer. With the addition of Viola and Cello to his trio, his “string band” further explores his interests in American improvised music, western imagery, and escapism in it’s many forms.Ari Chersky – Guitar
Joanna Mattrey – Viola
Christopher Hoffman – Cello
Ross Gallagher – Bass
Craig Weinrib – Drums
-
Thu26Jan2017
Rema Hasumi "Billows Of Blue" CD Release Jan 26
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Rema Hasumi – piano/voice
Masa Kamaguchi – bass
Randy Peterson – drums“Billows of Blue” was recorded in June 2016, after a year of searching for her own sound, in the free-leaning jazz piano trio with the added presence of the voice. With a series of compositions Rema wrote for this project, the meeting of the music with the trio was natural and convincing, in the hands of master improvisers Masa Kamaguchi and Randy Peterson. The record will be the fourth release of the new Brooklyn-based record label, Ruweh Records.
Born and raised in Fukuoka, Japan, Rema Hasumi is an experimental pianist, vocalist, producer and writer now based in Brooklyn.Improvisation, the presence of poetry and automatism are the essential parts of her performances.
Influenced by a somewhat esoteric line-up of pianists, such as Alice Coltrane, Sun Ra, Masabumi Kikuchi, Annette Peacock and Cecil Taylor, Rema performs with her unique expression of harmony and phrasings, yet with clear references to the rich tradition of Jazz.
Her debut record, “UTAZATA” was released in 2015. In the album, she performed with Todd Neufeld, Thomas Morgan, Billy Mintz, Ben Gerstein and Sergio Krakowski, featuring improvisational interpretations of Japanese traditional, ritual, and gagaku songs.
“Utazata is an intimate, delicate, austere and very personal work. In it, Rema Hasumi – without grand gestures nor pompous declamations – expresses enormous respect for her history, her culture and its roots.” -Sergio Piccirilli for El Intruso
-
Fri27Jan2017
Mary Halvorson's Reverse Blue Jan 27
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donationwith Chris Speed- saxophones and clarinet; Eivind Opsvik- bass and Tomas Fujiwara- drums
-
Sat28Jan2017
靡靡之音 featuring Oren Bloedow, Ross Gallagher and Sam Levin Jan 28
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Mi Mi Zhi Yin is a new improvising band featuring Oren Bloedow, Ross Gallagher and Sam Levin -
Thu02Feb2017
Elliott Sharp and Doug Wieselman solos&duo Feb 2
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
E# will present electroacoustic improvisations with guitar and electronics including music from Momentum Anomaly
Doug Wieselman will be playing his solo clarinet project “From Water”,
compositions based on what he has heard from bodies of water, incorporating live looping.He has worked with many artists including Anohni, John Lurie, Laurie Anderson, Lou Reed,CocoRosie, Steven Bernstein, Anthony Coleman and Martha Wainwright.
-
Fri03Feb2017
Julian Cubillos and Evan Vidar Feb 3
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
-
Sat04Feb2017
靡靡之音 featuring Oren Bloedow, Ross Gallagher and Sam Levin Feb 4
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation Mi Mi Zhi Yin is a new improvising band featuring Oren Bloedow, Ross Gallagher and Sam Levin -
Sun05Feb2017
Open Ground: Lisanne Tremblay's Ecdyses & SiSiSiSi Feb 5
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested DonationOpen Ground Presents: Lisanne Tremblay’s Ecdyses & SiSiSiSi8pm
Lisanne Tremblay’s Ecdyses
LT – violin | Liberty Ellman – guitar | Gerald Cleaver – drums9pm
SiSiSiSi
Caleb Curtis Wheeler – alto saxophone
Caroline Davis – alto saxophone
Curtis Macdonald – alto saxophone
Charlotte Greve – alto and baritone saxophone$10 donation
Described as an “imaginative and agile Québécoise violinist” by JazzTimes, New York-based Lisanne Tremblay has shared the stage with outstanding artists such as Greg Osby, Danilo Pérez, Devin Gray, and many others. Pioneering the rare feld of modern jazz violin, she is an instructor at McGill University and a recipient of several artistic grants from the Canada Council for the Arts and the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec. Tremblay’s distinctive approach captured the attention of many through her debut album “Violinization,” which was released in 2015 on Greg Osby’s Inner Circle Music label.
SiSiSiSi is a quartet made up of alto saxophonists Caleb Curtis, Caroline Davis, Charlotte Greve, and Curtis MacDonald, performing both original music and pieces by Messiaen and Schumann.
Saxophonist Caleb Curtis was born and raised in Ann Arbor, MI to parents that valued creativity and happiness. His strong and flexible sound has made him an in-demand sideman for many groups including the Captain Black Big Band and the George Gee Swing Orchestra. A founder of the Brooklyn quartet Walking Distance, Caleb plays with commitment in each musical situation. He is a lifelong vegetarian and a graduate of William Paterson University and Michigan State University.
Curtis Macdonald is a saxophonist, composer and producer who has received several commissions to score modern dance and ballet worldwide. Curtis has released three albums as a bandleader, Community Immunity (2011), Twice Through The Wall (2013), and most recently, Scotobiology—the study of darkness, which is inspired by the effects of artificial light on living beings.
Caroline Davis, originally born to Swedish-British parents in Singapore, now resides in New York. Her distinct sound and energy has brought her to many outfits as a side-woman, including the Billy Kaye Ensemble, Materials and Their Destiny, Pedway, and Orso. Her original music has been featured on her own quintet, Whirlpool, and Maitri records.
Charlotte Greve is a New York-based alto saxophonist and composer originally from Germany. With a unique concept of tone and composition, she is making a mark on both the Brooklyn and German jazz scenes. As a bandleader and composer Charlotte has released 5 albums under her own name – 4 of them with the Lisbeth Quartet and one with her Brooklyn based band Wood River.
-
Fri10Feb2017
Ray Rizzo Presents: Tyrone Cotton, Steve Sallett and Julia Patinella Feb 10
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
-
Sat11Feb2017
Chocolate Genius Feb 11
7:30 Doors $15.00 in adv / $18 at door
-
Thu16Feb2017
Dana Lyn and Kyle Sanna Feb 16
-
Fri17Feb2017
Joy Askew solo (w/ the La La Las)
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Joy Askew, former keyboardist and vocalist for Laurie Anderson, Peter Gabriel, Joe Jackson, Jack Bruce, Rodney Crowell and more, is back at The Owl Music Parlor- her favorite venue in Brooklyn!She recently finished her album “Queen Victoria” which features a Big British Brass Band.She will be performing Solo and with guests the “La La Las” (Abby Ahmad, Katie Mullins & Elizabeth Ziman), playing songs from Queen Victoria and newer ones. -
Sat18Feb2017
Jacob Sacks Chamber Quartet Feb 18
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested DonationJacob Sacks Chamber Quartet is : Jacob Sacks – piano, Miranda Sielaff – viola, Kristi Helberg – violin, Mike McGinnis – clarinet
-
Sun19Feb2017
Open Ground Feb 19
7:30 doors /8pm $10 Donation SuggestedOpen Ground Presents:
8pm
Roman Filiu Quartet
RF – alto saxophone
Christopher Hoffman – cello
Martin Nevin – bass
Craig Weinrib – drums
9pm
Recabarren – Menares -Vázquez CD Release: Desde la lluvia
Rodrigo Recabarren – drums
Pablo Menares – bass
Yago Vázquez – piano
Doors: 7:30 | $10 donation
Roman Filiu
After graduating from the Higher Institute of Art in Havana, Filiu joined to the well-known band Irakere, lead by Chucho Valdes, from 1997 to 2005. In the 8 years he spent with them, Filiu not only became an experienced and respected musician but also he travelled around the world. In the U.S Irakere performed at the Carnegie Hall and The Chicago Symphony Hall, among other important venues. Filiu has played with other important musicians such as Omara Portuondo, Issac Delgado, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Dafnis Prieto, the Buena Vista Social Club, Henry Threadgill, and David Virelles, among others.
In 2010 he recorded his album Musae( Dafnison Music) (Best Jazz Album in the Cubadisco International Fair 2013 in Havana, Cuba) in New York, along with outstanding musicians David Virelles, Reinier Elizarde, Marcus Gilmore, Dafnis Prieto and Adam Rogers. Roman Filiu has been praised by the critics both for his soloing abilities as well as his compositions. Nowadays, he is an active performer and composer around the New York City area. His growing interest for the interdisciplinary arts has brought him to reconsider the connections between graphic design, poetry and music, all within the scope of spontaneous composition.
Recabarren – Menares -Vázquez
They emigrated to New York at different times in the last decade. In this city the jazz musicians of the planet congregate, attracted by the history, the mystic, the academic formation in the universities and the musical life around the nightclubs. So it was with drummer Rodrigo Recabarren, bassist Pablo Menares and pianist Yago Vázquez, jazz musicians, immigrants and residents. The latter a Spanish musician, while the first two are Chilean. It is a trio of three leaders that is presented then as Recabarren, Menares, Vázquez. And they are the names behind the first disc of contemporary jazz that publishes the stamp CHT Müsik, directed by Christian Hirth. It is titled “Desde la lluvia”, was produced by Hirth himself and recorded in sessions at the CHT Studios on May 24 and 25 by engineer Gonzalo González. Originally, the trio Recabarren, Menares and Vasquez emerged as the rhythmic basis of a parallel project of greater reach, also formed in New York and already has two recordings published: Beekman Quartet. In “Desde la lluvia”, a disc with a focus on what the specialists call modern mainstream, the influences are diverse, and the authorship shared, although it is the Spanish Yago Vázquez that stars in the repertoire with eight compositions, including the “Prologue “,” Interlude “and” Epilogue “. “We wanted this to be a unitary work, from beginning to end, and that is why it is posed as an account with an introduction, and intermediate and an end,” says Recabarren.
-
Wed22Feb2017
Gavagai: Angelo Nikolopoulos and Valerie Oisteanu & more Feb 22
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested DonationGAVAGAI is a monthly performance series curated and hosted by poet Danielle Blau that brings you poetry and fiction readings scored with original live music by composer-improviser-pianist David Cieri and composer-improviser-bassistMike Brown, with other skilled improvisers (horn-players, cellists, violinists, vocalists, who knows?) often dropping in onstage as surprise guest-musicians. About the Curators (whose recent collaboration at Carnegie Hall can be seen here):
David Cieri is a true artist. Fearless on the piano, a combination of virtuosity, sensitivity and curiosity, he is constantly discovering new ways to express complex emotions through music that has served as the backbone of our films. – Ken Burns
This is real music, not trapped by boxes, definitions and genres, but creating its own style. Cieri delivers beautiful moods…honest, imaginative, fearless. – John Zorn
David Cieri began playing the violin at the age of three, but switched to the piano at the ripe old age of six. He has studied with members of the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra and with ECM recording artist Art Lande, and he has performed his original compositions at such venues as Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. Cieri’s film-scoring work includes Ken Burns’ The Vietnam War (with Trent Reznor and Yo-Yo Ma, Florentine Films, in post-production), The Roosevelts: An Intimate History (Florentine Films, 2014), The Address (Florentine Films, 2014), Prohibition (with Wynton Marsalis, Florentine Films, 2011), Baseball: The Tenth Inning (Florentine Films, 2010) and the Emmy-winning National Parks (Florentine Films, 2008), Barak Goodman’s Emmy-nominated The Emperor of All Maladies (Ark Media, 2015), and a short directed by George Lucas for The Academy of Arts and Sciences called “The Heart of the Matter” (2014). His original score for Raymond De Felitta’s Booker’s Place: A Mississippi Story was listed for an Oscar nomination in 2013.
Danielle Blau’s Rhyme and Reason: Poets and Philosophers on the Questions that Matter is forthcoming from W.W. Norton. She won first place for her poetry in the 2015 multi-genre Narrative 30 Below Contest, and her chapbook mere eye was selected for a Poetry Society of America Chapbook Award and published in 2013 with an introduction by D.A. Powell. Blau’s poems, short stories, articles, and interviews have also appeared and are forthcoming in such publications as The Atlantic online, The Baffler, Black Clock, The Harvard Review, The Literary Review, Narrative Magazine, The New Yorker’s book blog, The Paris Review, Ploughshares, The Saint Ann’s Review, The Wolf, and the Argos Books poetry anthology Why I Am Not a Painter. A graduate of Brown University with an honors degree in philosophy, and of NYU with an MFA in poetry, she teaches at the City University of New York.
This Month’s Guests:Angelo Nikolopoulos and Valerie Oisteanu
-
Thu23Feb2017
Evil Hour Evening Reading w/ Lance Scott Walker and more Feb 23
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested DonationEvil Hour Evening Reading w/ Lance Scott Walker, Anna Godbersen, Donald Nicholson-Smith, Peter Spagnuolo, Joan LeMay, Omar Columbus and Dr. Edward Machtinger -
Fri24Feb2017
Boxcutter Cabaret Feb 24
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
A night of High Art, Low Concept night of slow-moving picture shows, fast-moving puppet shows, and semi functional technology of the middle ages, all in 2 and occasionally 3 dimensions. A cabaret to make us laugh and/or cry about the state of everything, full of instantly gratifying puppet shows for a fiscally conservative and morally decaying society.Featuring: The Various shows of the BoxCutter Collective:
– “The Banks are Made of Marble” by Semi-Upright Culture Workers Collective: A 25 Minute handpuppet show staring the great Judy as she navigates solutions for being poor, evicted, and dealing with dental problems in NYC. Classic puppetry in our modern times.– Tales from Killgore Trout: by Better than Never Theater: Performed on a scrolling cranky. A picture and shadow show of one of the great stories of Killgore Trout, by Kurt Vonnegut.And much more, music, cantastorias and other shinnanigans to get us through the times…Also: With Special Guest Performer, TBAThe BoxCutter Collective is made up of a group of puppeteers, bar tenders, union organizers, carpenters, musicians, painters, and general trouble makers who have been working together in various forms for the last 10-15 years. Include puppeteers from Bread & Puppet, People’s Puppets of Occupy Wall St., Semi-Upright Cultural Workers Collective, RPM Puppet Conspiracy, Great Small Works, The Rude Mechanical Orchestra and many others… -
Sat25Feb2017
Moodswing Orchestra
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Moodswing Orchestra is Ben Perowsky, Glenn Patscha and Oren Bloedow
-
Thu02Mar2017
Marta Sanchez //Aimee Niemann and Louis Cohen Mar 2
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Combining 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’s latest recording, “Partenika”, was selected as one of the best 10 CD of 2016 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. The Quintet will be presenting the new material that will be included on their next CD.
“It’s an ambitious record by a strong new group” Ben Ratliff for The New York Times
Line up:
Roman Filiu: alto saxophoneJerome Sabbagh: tenor saxophoneMarta Sanchez: pianoRick Rosato: bassDaniel Dor: drums
Aimee Niemann and Louis Cohen are a violin – guitar duo whose music combines ambient textures and noisey harmonies to create twisting soundscapes and fleeting moments of reflection”
-
Fri03Mar2017
Matt Darriau’s Yo Lateef - March 3rd
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Matt Darriau’s project inspired by the music and legacy of Yusef Lateef, the great multi-reedists and improvised music innovator. Lateef was one of the first in the jazz community to bring world sounds and instruments into improvised music. Matt has had a 30 year career making parallel music in jazz, Balkan, klezmer and world musics, (Ballin’ The Jack, Paradox Trio, The Klezmatics). This group is a nod to Lateef’s musical innovations and esthetic through original compositions and classic Lateef material.Matt Darriau – reeds, kaval, wood flutesPeck Allmond – trp, euphonium, wood flutesArthur Kell – bass
Steve Johns – drumsMez Row – Keys“For the doctor- the perception of “in” and “out” begins with an inclusion in space and at the same instance the perception is that of being away from or not being in the normal or usual space” -Yusef Lateef
-
Sat04Mar2017
Amino Belyamani/ The Good Owls/ Maitri March 4
Jazz pianist Amino Belyamani is a founding member of Dawn of Midi, among many other credits.
The Good Owls
The Good Owls are Jake (bass) and Becca Leckie (voice/guitar), a husband-and-wife duo who play songs inspired by Pennsylvania farm country, bourbon, old friends, cross country road trips and hurricanes. Originally formed in Baltimore in 2012, they released their first record, The Hours Between in 2014, and wrote a set of new songs as they traveled across the country from San Francisco to their new home in Brooklyn. They will perform a set of original music as a quartet with drums and piano.
Maitri
Translated from Sanskrit, Maitri (”my tree”) is an unconditional friendship and acceptance towards oneself that in turn extends to the greater outside world and its people. This group was formed by Caroline Davis (voice/woodwinds) to embrace both the hardship and ecstasy of life through song, and it is now a collective songwriting outlet for both herself and Ben Hoffmann (voice/keyboards). Incorporating a heavy dose of soul and R&B, Maitri also draws upon indie influences to create a unique sound in the Brooklyn musical landscape. -
Sun05Mar2017
Open Ground: Romain Collin, Eden Ladin, Miro Sprague Mar 5
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested DonationDescribed by NPR host Jon Weber as “a visionary composer, an extraordinary jazz pianist and a very bright young rising star in the jazz world”, and touted by the Boston Globe as being “among the leading lights of a new breed of jazz players”, Romain Collin continues to develop “a highly personal and contemporary vision” (A Blog Supreme, NPR), combining the tradition of improvisation with sound designing, and classical music. Having just released his third record, Press Enter (ACT), described by the New York Times as a “winning new album” and hailed by Jazz journal, UK as an “absolute masterpiece”, Collin keeps developing “a unique voice…a crystal clear vision” (UK VIBE), making his mark on the New York scene, as well as internationally.Miro Sprague is a pianist, composer, and bandleader known for his
dynamic performance style and inspiring creativity. A native of
Western MA, Miro is based in New York City and has toured the United
States, Europe, Japan and the Middle East, working with artists like
Matt Wilson, Karrin Allyson, Jerry Bergonzi, Steve Cardenas, Adam Cruz
and Ed Howard among others. Miro is a graduate of the Manhattan School
of Music and the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, where he had the
opportunity to learn from many jazz masters including Wayne Shorter,
Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, Jimmy Heath, Lewis Nash, Jason Moran,
Stefon Harris and Hal Crook. Miro leads his own trio and quintet and
frequently performs solo concerts. He has released four studio albums
including his latest release: “Blue Dreaming”.Eden has performed, toured and/or recorded with artists such as Wallace Roney, Avishai Cohen (bass), Ari Hoenig, Myron Walden, Avishai Cohen (trumpet), Antonio Sánchez, Antoine Roney, Darren Barrett, Kimberly Thompson, Mike Clark, Joel Frahm, John Ellis, Eli Degibri, Bill McHenrey, Omer Avital, Mark Guiliana, Dayna Stephens, Donny McCaslin, Gilad Hekselman and Eric Harland to name a few. He played in some of the top venues in NYC and constantly touring in festivals and venues across the USA, Europe and Asia. -
Thu09Mar2017
GAVAGAI feat.Rachel Eliza Griffiths, Kimiko Hahn, Edward Hirsch, March 9
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested DonationGAVAGAI is a monthly performance series curated and hosted by poet Danielle Blau that brings you poetry and fiction readings scored with original live music by composer-improviser-pianist David Cieri and composer-improviser-bassistMike Brown, with other skilled improvisers (horn-players, cellists, violinists, vocalists, who knows?) often dropping in onstage as surprise guest-musicians. About the Curators (whose recent collaboration at Carnegie Hall can be seen here):
David Cieri is a true artist. Fearless on the piano, a combination of virtuosity, sensitivity and curiosity, he is constantly discovering new ways to express complex emotions through music that has served as the backbone of our films. – Ken Burns
This is real music, not trapped by boxes, definitions and genres, but creating its own style. Cieri delivers beautiful moods…honest, imaginative, fearless. – John Zorn
David Cieri began playing the violin at the age of three, but switched to the piano at the ripe old age of six. He has studied with members of the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra and with ECM recording artist Art Lande, and he has performed his original compositions at such venues as Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. Cieri’s film-scoring work includes Ken Burns’ The Vietnam War (with Trent Reznor and Yo-Yo Ma, Florentine Films, in post-production), The Roosevelts: An Intimate History (Florentine Films, 2014), The Address (Florentine Films, 2014), Prohibition (with Wynton Marsalis, Florentine Films, 2011), Baseball: The Tenth Inning (Florentine Films, 2010) and the Emmy-winning National Parks (Florentine Films, 2008), Barak Goodman’s Emmy-nominated The Emperor of All Maladies (Ark Media, 2015), and a short directed by George Lucas for The Academy of Arts and Sciences called “The Heart of the Matter” (2014). His original score for Raymond De Felitta’s Booker’s Place: A Mississippi Story was listed for an Oscar nomination in 2013.
Danielle Blau’s Rhyme and Reason: Poets and Philosophers on the Questions that Matter is forthcoming from W.W. Norton. She won first place for her poetry in the 2015 multi-genre Narrative 30 Below Contest, and her chapbook mere eye was selected for a Poetry Society of America Chapbook Award and published in 2013 with an introduction by D.A. Powell. Blau’s poems, short stories, articles, and interviews have also appeared and are forthcoming in such publications as The Atlantic online, The Baffler, Black Clock, The Harvard Review, The Literary Review, Narrative Magazine, The New Yorker’s book blog, The Paris Review, Ploughshares, The Saint Ann’s Review, The Wolf, and the Argos Books poetry anthology Why I Am Not a Painter. A graduate of Brown University with an honors degree in philosophy, and of NYU with an MFA in poetry, she teaches at the City University of New York.
This Month’s Guests:Rachel Eliza Griffiths, Kimiko Hahn, Edward Hirsch,
-
Fri10Mar2017
Fieldings / Caitlin Pasko Mar 10
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Fieldings came to life in 2014 in the industrial Sydney suburb Marrickville with a handful sample-ripe recordings made in Garageband. Now based in Queens, they have also piqued local interest, playing the Sofar Sound series and being featured as a rising local act by The Deli. Live, Fieldings is a five-piece feat. the rubbery off-kilter rhythm section of John Zinder (bass) and Alex Fitzpatrick (drums), as well as ambient synth/guitar of Melodie Stancato and Paul Weintrob.
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’ — out March 10 — came out of a headspace where different kinds of loss are collected and confused together: loss of love and loss of life.
-
Sat11Mar2017
Elysse // Innov Gnawa - March 11
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Elysse is a Brooklyn-based vocalist and composer who creates cinematic, genre-bending music. After receiving her BA in English Literature from Princeton University at the age of 19, Elysse has subsequently spent her time in NYC exploring wide-ranging sounds and styles while performing in jazz, folk, indie-soul, and psychedelic salsa groups. She’s taken cues from these many influences to develop an eclectic, yet fundamentally emotive songwriting style propelled by her passion for words and imagery. In the Fall of 2016, she released “Eve,” a lush dreamscape that marks her debut single as a solo artist. Elysse’s debut EP is set to arrive in early Summer 2017.
Innov Gnawa is a young musical collective dedicated to exploring Morocco’s venerable gnawa music tradition in the heart of New York City. Formed in the summer of 2014 by Moroccan expat Samir LanGus, the group draws on the considerable talents and expertise of Hassan Ben Jaafer, a Maâlem, or master gnawa musician, originally from Fes, Morocco. Under the guidance of Ben Jaafer, Innov has delved deep into the roots and rituals of gnawa music, and 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 Barbès.
For the uninitiated, gnawa music is the ritual trance music of Morocco’s black communities, originally descended from slaves and soldiers once brought to Morocco from Northern Mali and Mauritania. Often called “The Moroccan Blues”, gnawa music has a raw, hypnotic power that’s fascinated outsiders as diverse as writer/composer Paul Bowles, jazz giant Randy Weston and rock god Jimi Hendrix. The music is utterly singular, played on an array of unique instruments — from the lute-like sintir that the Maâlem uses to call the tune, to the metal qarqaba (castinets) with which the kouyos (chorus) keep time and pound out clattering, hypnotic rhythms.
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 this traditional repertoire, and add their own, contemporary spin with additional African and Latin percussion. Taken as a whole, this exciting new outfit works hard to fuse a centuries old North African tradition with the pulse and attitude of New York City.
Official music video for “Hammadi”
-
Thu16Mar2017
Musette Explosion Mar 16
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Musette Explosion by Reuben Radding\
Paris in the early 20th century was a cosmopolitan melting pot, like New Orleans or New York. A true “musette explosion,” musical and cultural, was taking place. Paris was “in the throes of explosive growth as poor migrants flocked in. Where people of all classes rubbed shoulders, places of amusement multiplied … Cafés, clubs, brothels, and dance halls were the crucibles in which were forged new musical forms.”1 The original bagpipes (“musettes”) of the French Auvergnats were replaced by the Italians’ accordions, but gave their name to the new style of music; Roma guitarists and violinists brought in Eastern European and Spanish influences; American GIs introduced jazz, the banjo, and drums. German and Polish waltzes, polkas, and mazurkas were also in the air. This trio, with its unique instrumentation, continues the “explosion” through its new interpretations, sonic surprises, and original compositions.
WILL HOLSHO– USER began playing accordion in the late 1980s when a friend gave him a musty old squeezebox as a surprise. He now performs all over the world as an accordionist, improviser and composer. Will has played for many years with violinist Regina Carter and appears on her last two albums. He has toured and recorded with clarinetist David Krakauer, pop visionaries Antony and the Johnsons, and improvisers Han Bennink & Michael Moore. As a freelance accordionist, he has appeared on a wide range of recordings and live concerts. http://www.willholshouser.com
Tuba player MARCUS ROJAS has played in a wide variety of musical contexts, and is internationally recognized as one of the most accomplished and unique voices on his instrument. He has worked with artists ranging from David Byrne and Paul Simon to the Metropolitan Opera, downtown luminaries such as John Zorn and Marc Ribot, reggae stars Sly & Robbie, and jazz legends Lionel Hampton and Lester Bowie. Marcus was a central figure in composer Henry Threadgill’s ensembles and collaborated with trumpeter Steven Bernstein and guitarist David Tronzo in the trio Spanish Fly. He has appeared on hundreds of recordings from the labels Black Saint, Tzadik, Sony, Shanachie, Thirsty Ear, and many more.
Growing up, guitarist/banjoist MATT MUNISTERI was the only kid on his block in Brooklyn who played bluegrass banjo; a freewheeling and virtuosic guitarist, he currently gets to work with a wide variety of artists at the top of their game across the jazz and American roots music spectrum. When not working on his own projects his primary sideman gigs for the last few years have been playing with violinist Mark O’Connor’s Hot Swing; Steven Bernstein’s Millennial Territory Orchestra; and with the singer Catherine Russell. Matt’s debut CD Love Story wound up on several critics’ “Best Of” lists, and garnered the number two slot on Amazon’s Top Ten Jazz CDs of The Year (2003). His latest CD, Still Runnin’ Round in the Wilderness: the Lost Music of Willard Robison, has also met with rave reviews. Matt has been featured on France’s ARTE television, profiled in Downbeat magazine, honored with Acoustic Guitar Magazine’s Editor’s Choice award, and been the subject of several broadcasts on NPR.
-
Fri17Mar2017
Eva Salina & Peter Stan / Jay Rodriguez & Sounder Mar 17
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Eva Salina & Peter Stan
Old Songs, New WorldA stunning duo with effortless chemistry, Eva Salina & Peter Stan bring their playful, dynamic energy to vintage Balkan Romani songs. In February 2016, Eva released LEMA LEMA, her brass-studded breakout tribute to Romani legend Šaban Bajramović. Recorded in New York and Serbia, LEMA LEMA and Eva have received praise from and appeared on NPR, WNYC, fRoots, Songlines, Transglobal World Music Chart, and hit #2 on CMJ’s New World & Jazz Radio Charts.
Eva’s new album with Peter Stan, currently underway, is a portrait of one of Romani music’s most poignant, powerful women, and will be released in 2017 on Vogiton Records. Eva and Peter are available internationally during the 2017-2019 season for performances, residencies, and workshops.
Find out more about Eva Salina and Peter Stan via: http://evasalina.com
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAqQ5KW2uBA
-
Sat18Mar2017
Closed for Private Event Mar 18
-
Sun19Mar2017
Open Ground: Ethan Braun, Chris Dingman Trio
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested DonationOpen Ground Presents:
8pmEthan Braunfeaturing:Brendan Randall-Myers – electric guitarFay Kueen – voiceAnn Hung – bass clarinetJeff Stern – vibraphoneYevgeny Yontov – pianoJo Whang – celloEthan Braun – piano, compositions9pmChris Dingman Triofeaturing:
Keith Witty – bass
Tim Keiper – drums
Chris Dingman – vibraphone, compositionsdoors @ 7:30. $10 donation.###Chris Dingman is among the most celebrated composers and sought-after vibraphonists of his generation. Hailed by the New York Times as a “dazzling” soloist and a composer with a “fondness for airtight logic and burnished lyricism,” his integrative approach to composition lends his music a fluidity and accessibility that transcends genres and has earned him praise as “an extremely gifted composer, bandleader, recording artist, and much sought-after sideman.” (Jon Weber, NPR).
Dingman has collaborated and performed with some of the greatest musical minds, including Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, and Anthony Braxton. His long-standing collaborations include cutting edge artists such as Ambrose Akinmusire, Steve Lehman, Jen Shyu, Tyshawn Sorey, Jimmy Greene, Ingrid Jensen, Fabian Almazan, Garth Stevenson and many others.
Composer Ethan Braun comes from Los Angeles, California. His work embraces transient, neglected sounds of the classical canon, exhibiting a range from improvisatory to rigorously notated, from songful to textural.
Braun has written music for the Albany Symphony (New York), Shanghai Symphony (China), the Asko|Schönberg Ensemble(Netherlands), the Ictus Ensemble (Belgium), Slagwerk Den Haag(Netherlands), the Yale Percussion Group (New Haven, Connecticut), and Ensemble Synaestesis (Vilnius, Lithuania) to name a few. In addition to his work in concert music, Braun has released two EPs of electroacoustic music with experimental music label Khalija records in LA, and performed with the free improvisation group Out of Your Head. Current commissions include works for New York Youth Symphony (New York, New York), the NAMES ensemble (Salzburg, Austria), and the Brendan Faegre Edge Ensemble (The Hague, Netherlands), and he is in the midst of a collaboration with Sam Gendel (INGA) for orchestra.
-
Thu23Mar2017
Jennifer Kimball / Alec Spiegelman / Hannah Read
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Alec Spiegelman is a Brooklyn-based singer, composer, arranger, & multi-instrumentalist specializing in woodwinds.
He is a member of the band Cuddle Magic. As a sideman, on stage and in studio, he’s worked with numerous creative songwriters including Amanda Palmer, Anais Mitchell, Pokey LaFarge, and Will Sheff. He’s arranged and performed the wind instruments on countless recordings, among them three albums by The David Wax Museum, and Kristin Andreassen’s Gondolier. He’s produced recordings for Jennifer Kimball (formerly of The Story), Anna & Elizabeth, and the conceptual multi-media artist Jack Early. His musical-comedy project (with Kelly Roberge), Ronald Reagan – Boston’s Premier 80s Pop Saxophone Duo, has shared comedy stages with Eugene Mirman, Kristin Schaal, and Reggie Watts. His early musical education included lots of improvising in the jazz tradition (broadly defined), formal studies with Steve Lacy and Ran Blake, and a thorough (informal) grounding in r&b saxophone best-practices (a la Junior Walker) directed by Doo Wop survivor Little Joe Cook.
Born and raised in Scotland, and now based in Brooklyn, NY, Hannah Read is a versatile musician widely recognized on the International stage. She is known for her fiddle playing, songwriting, composing and was recently described as one of “the finest singers of the day” in the UK’s MOJO magazine. Hannah spent her childhood between Edinburgh and the Isle of Eigg (a remote island off the west coast of Scotland) followed by musical studies in Paris and Boston. These very different places and landscapes have shaped and influenced her sound, which can be clearly heard through her original music. With one solo album – ‘Wrapped in Lace’ – and another to be released in 2017, Hannah is also involved in projects both sides of the Atlantic, including the critically acclaimed British supergroup ‘Songs of Separation’. She records and plays regularly with many New York based bands and musicians including Ember Isles, Jefferson Hamer and John Fatum.
Singer/songwriter Jennifer Kimball is celebrating the indie release of her new cd, Avocet. Produced by Alec Spiegelman (Cuddle Magic, Pokey LaFarge) who also arranged the songs, Avocet is Kimball’s first solo release in ten years. Perhaps best known for her early work in the duo The Story, Kimball is a crackerjack songwriter with three solo albums and numerous collaborative records to her name. In 2015 she produced HARK, the debut record for the collaborative holiday music ensemble Wintery Songs in Eleventy Part Harmony which she founded in 2010. She is an active member of the vibrant Boston songwriter community and has contributed background vocals to over sixty albums for, among others, David Wilcox, Kris Delmhorst, Rose Cousins, Patty Larkin and Peter Mulvey. She is currently on tour with Alec Spiegelman on bass clarinet/keyboards/vox and Deni Hlavinka on keyboards/vocals. -
Fri24Mar2017
Charlie Burnham / Ali Dineen/ Robinson & Rohe Mar 24
7:30 doors /8pm $10 Donation Suggested
Charles Burnham (born 1950; also known as Charlie Burnham) is an American violinist and composer. He has a unique highly imaginative style[1] that crosses genres, including bluegrass, delta punk,[2] free jazz, blues, classical and chamber jazz.[3] He often performs with a wah-wah pedal. He initially became renowned for his work on James “Blood” Ulmer’s Odyssey album. The musicians on that album later performed and recorded as Odyssey the Band, sometimes known as The Odyssey Band. He was also a member of the String Trio of New York, and currently plays in the 52nd Street Blues Project, Hidden City, We Free StRings, Improvising Chamber Ensemble[4] and the Kropotkins.
Ali Dineen is a singer, multi-instrumentalist and visual artist based in Brooklyn, NY. She performs original acoustic folk music, as well as songs from U.S. folk traditions, and incorporates historical and sociopolitical commentary into her shows. Her music is personal and also political, and explores the intersections of personal stories with larger histories. On this special occasion, she will be joined by friends and collaborators to present the full orchstration of her original music. Featuring Hannah Sassoon (cello), Eleonore Weill (voice and recorder), Jake Shulman Ment (violin), Zoe Christianson (clarinet), Richie Barshay (percussion), and Amy Carrigan (voice).
Jean Rohe and Liam Robinson met a decade ago through their love of participatory music-making
and American folk song. Their cowritten songs are inspired by the traditions they hold dear and
shine with elegant vocal harmonies and detailed arrangements for guitar, banjo, and accordion.
Whether in small clubs or on festival stages, Robinson & Rohe’s performances are intimate
gatherings in which listeners are invited to share in the music-making.
Acclaimed songwriters and performers in their own rights, Jean and Liam bring with them a
wealth of creative experience: Liam was a cast member in the Tony Award-winning play,
“Warhorse” and recently music directed the hit Off-Broadway folk opera “Hadestown” by
songwriter Anaïs Mitchell. He routinely tours with the Becca Stevens Band. Jean’s songwriting
has won accolades from the Independent Music Awards, ASCAP, and the Montreux Jazz Festival
vocal contest. This year, her song “National Anthem: Arise! Arise!” was published in the latest
edition of the popular songbook Rise Up Singing and she was a Troubadour finalist at the 2016
Telluride Bluegrass Festival.
-
Sat25Mar2017
Hank Roberts & Friends // Caroline Davis Mar 25
with Sarah Bernstein – violin, Shoko Nagai – piano, Hank Roberts – cello, Satoshi Takeishi – percussion
Mobile since her birth in Singapore, composer, saxophonist, and educator Caroline Davis now lives in Brooklyn, New York. After making her mark on the Chicago jazz community during her 8-year stint, she moved to New York in 2013, and has proven to be an active leader and sidewoman in the national jazz scene. Her debut album, Live Work & Play, was featured on All About Jazz’s best releases, and she was named one of JazzTimes’ Best New Artists in the 2012 Expanded Critics’ Poll. Her second album, Doors: Chicago Storylines, was just released as an audio documentary that uniquely sets stories from Chicago’s jazz scene from the 80s and 90s alongside her original music. This year, she was named one of DownBeat’s rising stars in the alto saxophone category.
-
Thu30Mar2017
.michael. / Hollow Ground / Wishbone Ensemble 3/30
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation8:00-8:30 .michael..michael. is a clarinet/guitar duo that plays sometimes instrumental love songs and sometimes non-instrumental love songs, often about or told from the perspective of a person named Michael, no relation to the band or its members.8:45-9:30 Hollow GroundKind of a gloomy vibe type thing. Featuring Ryan Beckley (guitar) Carmen Rothwell (bass) Jason Burger (drums)9:45-10:30 Andy Clausen’s Wishbone EnsembleClausen’s “The Wishbone Suite” was commissioned by King County 4Culture, and recorded for Table & Chairs Music in 2011. The 19-movement suite for chamber jazz ensemble of clarinet, accordion, piano, trombone and drums embodies Clausen’s playful and vivid musical outlook. In the jazz tradition, compositionally crafted folk-like motifs act as springboards for the ensemble’s improvised material. While the traditional concept of the jazz solo is seldom present in Clausen’s works, improvisatory counterpoint and conversations abound in his music, creating innovative opportunities for his band-mates to assert their personal voices. Featuring Andy Clausen (trombone) Michael Sachs (clarinet) Mitch Lyon (cello) Addison Frei (piano) Jason Burger (drums) -
Fri31Mar2017
Peter Gordon & Abraham Gomez-Delgado // Ben Goldberg Quintet 3/31
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Composer, performer and bandleaders Peter Gordon and Abraham Gomez-Delgado will present a concert of solo performances at The Owl on March 31 at 8p
The Eje is an instrument that was created to allow one musician to play all the parts of a Latin ensemble simultaneously. Abraham Gomez-Delgado will perform original compositions and improvisations on this instrument. “Playing solo ‘ensemble music’ is as much about exploring the group as it is exploring the individual.” Abraham Gomez-Delgado is a Puerto Rican/Peruvian composer, educator and visual artist based in Brooklyn, New York.
Peter Gordon will interweaving saxophone, piano and electronics with fragmented spoken narratives. This is latest installment of Gordon’s ongoing series of solo “tone poems” and will includes work-in-progress segments of a new album.
“Last and perhaps Leased. Molto Adagio with some grease on it, and three people named Ben.”Ben Goldberg – clarinetJohn Ellis – tenor saxophoneMichael Coleman – keyboardsBen Allison – bassBen Perowsky – drums -
Sat01Apr2017
Apfelbaum, Rojas, Baptista April 1
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Peter Apfelbaum/Marcus Rojas/Cyro BaptistaThree luminaries of contemporary music with highly personal sound worlds and much history together meet for the first time in a trio setting. Drawing on several eras of technology, they will explore songs and sonic combinations which were previously thought unimaginable.Peter Apfelbaum (saxophones/flute/keyboards/percussion) Marcus Rojas (tuba, tubapercussion)Cyro Baptista (percussion, vocals, homemade instruments) -
Tue04Apr2017
Robert Stillman, Eliot Krimsky, Tom and Lee 4/4
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation1. Robert Stillman
Robert Stillman is a saxophonist from the northeast United States. His music juxtaposes the archaic with the futuristic, incorporating influences of Folk Americana, Jazz, Minimalism, and experimental electronic music to create a sound described by the Guardian as “lending an avant-garde shimmer to pre-modern American sounds.” He has released eight albums of his own work, the most recent of which Rainbow (Orindal Records) received critical acclaim from publications such as Mojo, Other Music, and Aquarium Drunkard. He has performed his music at venues and festivals internationally, sharing bills with bands such as Deerhoof, Dirty Projectors, Black Dice, and Yo La Tengo, and worked with a wide variety of musicians, including Luke Temple (Here We Go Magic), Kit Downes, Hello Skinny, and Bat for Lashes, as well as visual artists such as Mark Garry, Sara Magenheimer, and the Borbonesa publishing group.2. Eliot Krimsky
Eliot Krimsky is a composer and songwriter, co-founder and lead singer of the band Glass Ghost, keyboardist, and media artist.
3. Tom & Lee
A spirited duo (Tom Csatari & Levon Henry) that splits the difference between the folk and jazz genres, exploring the nooks of old American songs as well as new explorative original songs inspired by the likes of Mississippi John Hurt, Bob Dylan, Thelonious Monk, John Fahey and Duke Ellington — all the while maintaining a spirit of risk and adventure. -
Wed05Apr2017
Michael Holt and Friends
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested DonationMichael Holt with Zoe Guigueno
Michael Holt writes beautiful, moving songs in the creative, sophisticated pop tradition started by the late Beatles and carried on by Joni Mitchell, XTC, Jeff Buckley, Elliott Smith, Rufus Wainwright, and Radiohead. His newer piano songs deal with the spiritual/social/environmental crises of our time. Tonight he’ll be joined by up-and-coming double bass player Zoe Guigueno.
-
Thu06Apr2017
Dolunay and Sharq Attack 4/6
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested DonationDOLUNAY plays an array of original compositions alongside renditions of Turkish and Rumeli standards. The music of Dolunay (Turkish for “full moon”) infuses classic and contemporary traditions with an urban grit that can only be found in New York City’s confluence of musical and cultural forces.SHARQ ATTACK is a Brooklyn based ensemble playing original music composed by oudist Brian Prunka, as well as traditional favorites from the Middle East. With Marandi Hostetter, 5 string violin; Brian Prunka, oud; John Murchison, double bass and Philip Mayer, percussion. -
Fri07Apr2017
Sam Levin and Dia Luna April 7th
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested DonationSam Levin created this band to find expression for his personal vision of the combination of math, melody and rich guitar sounds. He strives to find the right balance between clarity and mystery. What is beautiful that is not also strange? The songs are from an EP to be released Spring 2017. The band features a trio including Kirk Schoenherr on bass and Shaun Lowecki on drums.
DIA LUNA is a Brooklyn Brujita who plays with the alchemy of music and memory. With simple song structures and a velveteen voice, DIA LUNA explores the sexy mess of being alive. Drawing on inspirations like Nina Simone, Joni Mitchell, and James Blake, her elegant piano based songs deal with the internal world of the unseen, using electronic flourishes and the voice as a method of describing emotional landscapes in music the way Anais Nin would describe them in writing. The resulting sound is honest, and vulnerable, and haunting. 
-
Sat08Apr2017
Jen Shyu with special guest Cha Seungmin April 8
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Born from Taiwanese and East Timorese immigrant parents, 2016 Doris Duke Artist Jen Shyu is an acclaimed vocalist, composer, multi-instrumentalist, dancer, producer, and Fulbright scholar. She has performed her music at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and other prestigious venues around the world. For this special performance, Shyu will perform part of her newest solo work, “Nine” (working title), a solo ritual music drama, through both narrative and abstract, integrative music-movement methodologies via the voice, Taiwanese moon lute, gayageum, piano, and electronics. Shyu will sing in languages including Indonesian, Javanese, Taiwanese, Mandarin, Tetum, Korean, and English. This mythical work is inspired by Shyu’s 12-plus years of study of traditional music from four specific countries: epic storytelling (Pansor i ) and East Coast shaman music (DongHaeAhnByeolShinGut), both from Korea; music from sub-districts Aileu and Ataúro from East Timor; Hengchun Folk Song with moon lute from Taiwan; and Ledhekan, which combines Javanese dance with improvisational singing (Sindhenan) from Indonesia. “Her voice, a wonder of technical control and unrestrained emotion, tells a story dotted with well-researched facts and wild poetic allusions. She claims both as her truths.” – Wall Street Journal
For this performance, Jen will be joined by her close friend and collaborator, Cha Seungmin, a young master daegeum artist (Korean bamboo transverse flute) and current Asian Cultural Council Fellow.
-
Sun09Apr2017
Evil Hour Evening Reading: Translations April 9
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested DonationTranslations is the second installment of Evil Hour Evening Reading, a live reading series named after the 1962 Gabriel Garcia Marquez novel that foreshadows the political climate of the United States 65 years later. We are in evil hour. Writers reading their work in this edition are Kaiama L. Glover, Liesel Schillinger, Kim Barker, Magus Magnus, and Stefanie Sobelle. Hosted by Lance Scott Walker.
KAIAMA L. GLOVER is Associate Professor of French and Africana Studies at Barnard College, Columbia University and author of Haiti Unbound: A Spiralist Challenge to the Postcolonial Canon (Liverpool University Press 2010). She has published articles in The French Review, Small Axe, Research in African Literatures, The Journal of Postcolonial Writings, and The Journal of Haitian Studies. She is an editor at numerous publications, and has translated Frankétienne’s Mûr à crever (Ready to Burst), René Depestre’s Hadriana dans tous mes rêves (Hadriana in All My Dreams), and Chauvet’s Danse sur le volcan (Dance on the Volcano). Professor Glover has been the recipient of fellowships and awards from the Fulbright Foundation, the Mellon Foundation, The New York Public Library, the PEN/Heim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Humanities, and she is a regular contributor to The New York Times Book Review.
LIESL SCHILLINGER is a New York–based critic, translator, and moderator. She worked at The New Yorker for more than a decade and became a regular critic for The New York Times Book Review in 2004. Her articles and essays have appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, New York, The New Republic, The Washington Post, Vogue, Foreign Policy, The London Independent on Sunday, and many other publications. Her recent translations include the novels “Every Day, Every Hour,” by Natasa Dragnic (2012, Viking), and “The Lady of the Camellias,” by Alexandre Dumas, fils (Penguin Classics, 2013). Her most recent book is Wordbirds (Simon & Schuster).
KIM BARKER was the South Asia bureau chief for The Chicago Tribune from 2004 to 2009, based in New Delhi and Islamabad. Her book about those years, “The Taliban Shuffle: Strange Days in Afghanistan and Pakistan,” was developed into the film “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot.” Barker is now a metro reporter at The New York Times, specializing in investigative reporting and narrative writing. Ms. Barker was an investigative reporter at ProPublica, writing about campaign finance and the fallout from the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision.
MAGUS MAGNUS is a native of Los Angeles, California now based in Washington, D.C. His books include The Re-echoes (Furniture Press Books, 2012), Idylls for a Bare Stage (twentythreebooks, 2011), Heraclitean Pride (Furniture Press Books, 2010), and Verb Sap (Narrow House, 2008). He founded Poets Theater and lectures on “Poetic Ways of Knowing” (poetry at the birth of Western philosophy, with focus on the pre-Socratics), performance techniques of the Idyll (art of the poetic monologue), and most recently, considerations towards a prospective Canon of the Free Spirit. Several of his poems and an Idyll appear in the latest two editions of Pearson Longman’s English anthology textbook, Literature.
STEFANIE SOBELLE is the associate editor of fiction at the Los Angeles Review of Books and an associate professor of English at Gettysburg College. Her book The Architectural Novel is forthcoming from Oxford University Press, and her criticism has been published in Bookforum, the Financial Times, BOMB, Words Without Borders, Jacket2, and the Review of Contemporary Fiction.LANCE SCOTT WALKER is a native of Galveston, Texas and has written for Houston Chronicle, Houston Press, Local Houston, Red Bull Music Academy, Thrillist, Vice, Wondering Sound, Fader, Free Press Houston, OutSmart, Texas Music, Dazed And Confused, GOOD, USA Today and RollingStone.com. He is the author of Houston Rap (Sinecure, 2013) and Houston Rap Tapes (Sinecure, 2014), both collaborations with photographer Peter Beste, and the host of Houston Rap Tapes Radio and Evil Hour Evening Reading. He lives in New York.
-
Wed12Apr2017
Blaise Siwula & Luciano Troja April 12
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Blaise Siwula as been involved with the arts for most of his life. He began studying the alto sax at the age of 14 in middle school and following explorations of drama, poetry, architecture, visual art (a B.F.A. and an M.F.A.) and a quick stint to Europe he arrived in NYC in 1989 with his family and an alto sax.
Incorporating traditional musical scoring techniques and visual/graphics with spontaneous composition he has been honored to perform across the USA Canada, Great Britain, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Denmark, Germany, Romania, Poland, Croatia, Morocco, Japan, Portugal, Mexico, Slovenia, Denmark, South Korea and Austria.
Notable musicians/composers collaborations include: Cecil Taylor, Tan Dun, Peter Kowald, Perry Robinson and Katsuyuki Itakura
Although primarily an alto saxophonist his current instrumentation includes: tenor/sop sax, bass/alto/sop clarinet and reed flutes Recordings are available on: CIMP, Cadence Jazz Records, SLAM, Konnex and NoFrillsMusic.Multi-saxophone threat Blaise Siwula thrives in a world where the outré is routine. His musical language is based on bold explorations of tonality and structure, with unconventional concepts of musical ground.” Terrell Holmes New York Jazz Record Dec, 2016
-
Thu13Apr2017
GAVAGAI feat.Jay Deshpande, Natalie Shapero, Rachel Hadas April 13
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested DonationGAVAGAI is a monthly performance series curated and hosted by poet Danielle Blau that brings you poetry and fiction readings scored with original live music by composer-improviser-pianist David Cieri and composer-improviser-bassistMike Brown, with other skilled improvisers (horn-players, cellists, violinists, vocalists, who knows?) often dropping in onstage as surprise guest-musicians. About the Curators (whose recent collaboration at Carnegie Hall can be seen here):
David Cieri is a true artist. Fearless on the piano, a combination of virtuosity, sensitivity and curiosity, he is constantly discovering new ways to express complex emotions through music that has served as the backbone of our films. – Ken Burns
This is real music, not trapped by boxes, definitions and genres, but creating its own style. Cieri delivers beautiful moods…honest, imaginative, fearless. – John Zorn
David Cieri began playing the violin at the age of three, but switched to the piano at the ripe old age of six. He has studied with members of the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra and with ECM recording artist Art Lande, and he has performed his original compositions at such venues as Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. Cieri’s film-scoring work includes Ken Burns’ The Vietnam War (with Trent Reznor and Yo-Yo Ma, Florentine Films, in post-production), The Roosevelts: An Intimate History (Florentine Films, 2014), The Address (Florentine Films, 2014), Prohibition (with Wynton Marsalis, Florentine Films, 2011), Baseball: The Tenth Inning (Florentine Films, 2010) and the Emmy-winning National Parks (Florentine Films, 2008), Barak Goodman’s Emmy-nominated The Emperor of All Maladies (Ark Media, 2015), and a short directed by George Lucas for The Academy of Arts and Sciences called “The Heart of the Matter” (2014). His original score for Raymond De Felitta’s Booker’s Place: A Mississippi Story was listed for an Oscar nomination in 2013.
Danielle Blau’s Rhyme and Reason: Poets and Philosophers on the Questions that Matter is forthcoming from W.W. Norton. She won first place for her poetry in the 2015 multi-genre Narrative 30 Below Contest, and her chapbook mere eye was selected for a Poetry Society of America Chapbook Award and published in 2013 with an introduction by D.A. Powell. Blau’s poems, short stories, articles, and interviews have also appeared and are forthcoming in such publications as The Atlantic online, The Baffler, Black Clock, The Harvard Review, The Literary Review, Narrative Magazine, The New Yorker’s book blog, The Paris Review, Ploughshares, The Saint Ann’s Review, The Wolf, and the Argos Books poetry anthology Why I Am Not a Painter. A graduate of Brown University with an honors degree in philosophy, and of NYU with an MFA in poetry, she teaches at the City University of New York.
This Month’s Guests:Jay Deshpande, Natalie Shapero, Rachel Hadas
The Freewheel Trio is a twenty-first century string band that hails from Denver, CO. Through the kaleidoscope of bluegrass, old-time, classical, jazz, and world music, the group’s clever melodies and harmonies serve as a springboard for virtuosic improvisation.
-
Fri14Apr2017
Rema Hasumi // Neufeld•Morgan•Weiss
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested DonationRuweh Records Presents : Rema Hasumi // Neufeld • Morgan •Weiss
8pm Rema Hasumi – piano + voice
Stomu Takeishi – bassFlin van Hemmen – drums9:30pm Todd Neufeld – guitar
Thomas Morgan – bass
Dan Weiss – drums
Pianist and vocalist Rema Hasumi’s latest album “Billows Of Blue” that featured Masa Kamaguchi on bass and Randy Peterson on drums was described on All About Jazz as ” “stories” that sound like tales drifting out of a dream land: untethered to time and place, free-flowing and graceful, strikingly pretty, sometimes spooky, and starkly rendered” by Dan Mcclenaghan. Rema has studied with pianists such as John Hicks, George Cables and Amina Claudine Myers. Her performance is also influenced strongly by Annette Peacock, Jen Shyu, Jeanne Lee, among many others. This performance will constitue the musical first meeting with the great electric bassist Stomu Takeishi.
Guitarist Todd Neufeld “creates a tonal footprint like no other.” Hishighly metaphorical approach to the instrument has found him acollaborator of such musicians as Masabumi Kikuchi, Tyshawn Sorey, LeeKonitz, Tony Malaby, Gerald Cleaver, Samuel Blaser and many others.Tonight he’ll be joined by greats Thomas Morgan and bass and Dan Weisson drums, both musicians he’s shared a long standing relationship.They’ll be playing original material from Neufeld’s upcoming debutalbum on Ruweh Records, as well as under-played standards fromrepertoire Neufeld and Morgan have long mined. -
Sat15Apr2017
Brian Marsella's Trio de Flail April 15
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Brian Marsella– pianoReid Taylor- bassCharles Goold- drumsTrio de Flail is the rhythm section of the NYC quintet The Flail. The Flail has been performing its unique expression of jazz since 2001 when the members met at the New School and became friends. The Flail has released 5 albums to date, their latest being, Not Dead…Yet, released February of this year on Marsella’s label, Red Palace Records. Marsella has appeared on over 40 albums and is most known for his work with legendary Brazilian percussionist Cyro Baptista (as a member of Cyro’s Beat the Donkey and Banquet of the Spirits) and New York avant-garde icon John Zorn (including appearing on 12 TZADIK releases). Marsella also performs with Sun Ra Arkestra leader, Marshall Allen in the project UB313 and is a member of numerous other jazz and world music groups.Marsella’s compositions, and those particularly for The Flail, are episodic and storytelling in nature.“I’d pay good money to see these guys play.”— Jazz legend Kenny Barron“… it’s a band of impressively sound rapport.”— Nate Chinen, New York Times‘I was very knocked out by [Marsella’s] piano solo…with lots of block chords and rapid two-handed unison playing that was reminiscent of the late great Phineas Newborn, Jr…” – Bob McWilliams (Kansas Public Radio)Vinnie Sperrazza will follow with Jacob Sacks on piano and Chet Doxas on tenor saxophone.
-
Sat15Apr2017
Vinnie Sperrazza, Chet Doxas & Jacob Sacks April 15
9:30 Sharp $10.00 Suggested Donation -
Sun16Apr2017
Open Ground: Ethan Iverson 4/16
7:30 Doors suggested donation: $10-15Ethan Iverson has asked two vital elder statesmen to join him for this one-off excursion into common-practice repertoire. For many years David Williams was always to be found with Cedar Walton and Billy Higgins. Victor Lewis is celebrated for his long term relationships with Woody Shaw, Stan Getz, Bobby Watson, Kenny Barron, and Carla Bley. They are both currently at the peak of their powers, and this is a rare chance to see them in action in an intimate trio setting.
-
Thu20Apr2017
Kim Anderson with Vilray 4/20
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Kim Anderson is a composer, songwriter, singer, and multi-instrumentalist whose music walks the line between many genres, incorporating the lyrical intimacy and warmth of folk songs with the delicate, detailed instrumental arrangements of chamber music. Her current live band adds a warm backdrop of electric guitar, accordion, bass, drums and rich vocal harmony.
Vilray (vill-ree) is a working musician raised in Brooklyn who sings, whistles, and plays guitar all around NYC, accompanied by bassist and fellow whistler Damon Hankoff. His music is a combination of originals and covers, a leisurely stroll through the varieties of swing music played in the 1930s, 40s and 50s, both jazz and country.
http://www.vilraysings.com
-
Fri21Apr2017
Rosita Kess // Ed Pastorini and Elysse April 21
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested DonationRosita Kess
” Dark nomadic worldly folkloric sound ”
“I love living in a constant state of motion and I think my music reflects this. I have a little Argentinian blood and the very first compositions I fell in love with were old recording by Mercedes Souza and Ariel Ramirez that my grandmother used to play in the house. Tango; it ‘s the music of the immigrants, it reflects their profound sense of loss and longing for the people and places they left behind. It was born in African‐Argentinian dance venues where Polkas, Mazurkas, Waltzes were mixed with the popular Habanera from Cuba and the Candombe rhythms from Africa. These are the major influences in my music.”
rositakess.com
http://www.rositakess.com/music/
Elysse is a Brooklyn-based vocalist and composer who creates cinematic, genre-bending music. A graduate of Princeton University at the age of 19, Elysse has subsequently spent her time in NYC exploring wide-ranging sounds and styles while performing in jazz, folk, indie-rock, and psychedelic salsa groups. She’s taken cues from these many influences to develop an eclectic, yet fundamentally emotive songwriting style propelled by her passion for words and images. In the Fall of 2016, she released “Eve,” a lush dreamscape that marks her debut single as a solo artist. Elysse’s debut EP is set to arrive in early Summer 2017.
Stanton Swihart, All Music Guide, on Ed Pastorini: “A glorious cacophony of disjointed but somehow still euphonious dissonance.”
-
Sat22Apr2017
Elizabeth Ziman Apr 22
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
-
Sun23Apr2017
Irene Fitzgerald-Cherry & Emile Blondel Apr 23
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested DonationAustralian-American violinist Irene Fitzgerald-Cherry is an active freelancer in the New York City area and across the US. She is a member of the Hudson Valley Philharmonic and substitutes regularly with the California Symphony and Las Vegas Philharmonic, in addition to playing with the New Hampshire Music Festival. Irene has performed chamber music with Robert Walters of the Cleveland Orchestra, David Goldblatt of the San Francisco Symphony, and Sara Trobäck and Claes Gunnarsson of the Gothenburg Symphony. She graduated summa cum laude from NYU Steinhardt with a BM in Violin Performance and Linguistics, as well as receiving an MFA from the Swedish National Orchestra Academy in Gothenburg, Sweden, and an Artist Diploma from the San Francisco Academy Orchestra. Irene teaches piano and violin lessons privately and for the Brooklyn Performing Arts Center, City Strings & Piano, and Music to Your Home.
Emile Blondel collaborates regularly with musicians, dancers and artists of all mediums. He received BM and MM degrees from the North Carolina School of the Arts under the guidance of Eric Larsen. In 2001 he moved to France, studying at the Ecole Normale de Musique Alfred Cortot. While in Paris Emile was awarded a residency at the Cite International des Arts. Orchestral appearances include the Richmond Symphony, the Durham Symphony and the Heritage Chamber Orchestra. Emile was named a 2010 Kenan Performing Arts Fellow at Lincoln Center Education and most recently created the music for Marcel and Man Ray, which premiered in the 2016 Lalapalooza! festival of new puppet theater at St Anne`s Warehouse. He is currently on faculty at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, a teaching artist with National Dance Institute and performs with the multidisciplinary performance group Artists by Any Other Name.
-
Thu27Apr2017
Sebastien Ammann & Color Wheel Apr 27
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested DonationActive since 2012, Color Wheel creates a world of sound in the moment that is continously in movement, looking simultaneously to the past and to the future. While rooted in improvised music, jazz and classical music, the music recalls at times Ornette Coleman, John Cage, Paul Bley or Anton Webern. Color Wheel released their first record on Skirl Records in February of 2017.
Michaël Attias – alto saxophone
Sebastien Ammann – piano, composition
Noah Garabedian – bass
Gerald Cleaver – drums -
Fri28Apr2017
Persian Music Ensemble & Camila Celin & Roshni Samlal April 28
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested DonationPersian Music Ensemble offers global music infused with the lyrical poetry of Rumi and Hafez, as well Persian Ghazals, Turkish Illahis, Arabic and Persian folk songs.April Centrone is a versatile performer of drumset in the genres of hard rock, jazz, funk, world, progressive and avante-garde. Her other trademark is as a performer and educator of the riqq (Arabic tambourine), as well as the darbekkeh (goblet drum) and frame drum. For almost ten years, she was student of master Lebanese/Palestinian percussionist, Michel Baklouk Merhej, and studied Arabic music and its other instruments, including the ‘ud (Arabic lute), buzuq (Arabic ‘saz’) and violin. She has performed with renowned Arab artists such as Marcel Khalife, Ziad Rahbani, Bassam Saba, Charbel Rouhana and Najib Shaheen. Centrone is the executive director and co-founder of the New York Arabic Orchestra.
Juliet Rabia Gentile is a student of sufism, writer and performance artist. She is a spiritual representative of her teacher Shaykha Fariha Fatima of the Nur Ashki Jerrahi Sufi Community. Juliet has led prayer ceremonies at various venues throughout New York City including: the U.N. General Assembly, Riverside Church, Barnard College, Cathedral St. John the Divine, New York Open Center, Union Theological, Auburn Seminary, Museum of Jewish Heritage and One Spirit Learning Alliance. Juliet is a vocalist in several ensembles including American Sufi Project, Adam Maalouf and The Tribe, I Guillari di Piazza, and Red Union. She also teaches Sufi Sema (whirling) both privately and in groups in NYC.
Amin Sarshar is originally from Hamadan, Iran and has performed with various ensembles. He was also classically trained to sing Persian ghazals under the Persian Dastagh system. He received his PHD in mechanical engineering at Stevens Institute of Technology.
Camila Celin & Roshni Samlal~
Classical Indian Music SetCamila Celin began playing guitar at age nine. For several years, she has been doing intensive studies in the Indian sarod, in Kolkata with sarod player Sougata Roy Choudhury and in New York with sitar maestro Pandit Krishna Bhatt. In 2009 she was nominated for a Grammy for best world music album in collaboration with slide guitar maestro Debashish Bhattacharya. She has been an active performer in her native Colombia, the U.S. and India. Camila has composed music for several films, for theater as well as for commercials and lives between New York City and Kolkata, India.
Roshni Samlal is a New York–based tabla player who hails from the West Indies, where she was initiated into the ancient tradition of Indian classical music by her vocalist father. She has continued her tutelage in the Benares style of tabla playing under Shri Tapan Modak and is currently a student of the epic Farukhbad exponent, Pt. Anindo Chatterjee. While her passion is Indian classical tabla, she has played folk, jazz, and other genres. Samlal has performed at notable local venues such as Pianos, The Knitting Factory, The Bitter End, The Shrine, and Tea Lounge.
-
Sat29Apr2017
Hank Roberts Sextet // Brandon Lopez Trio 4/29
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested DonationHank Roberts Sextet
with Brain Drye, Dana Lyn, Mike McGinnis, Jacob Sacks, and Vinnie Sperrazza. -
Thu04May2017
Alison K Hunt & Patrick Foley May 4
7:30 pm $10.00 suggested donation
Alison Kendra Hunt with Patrick FoleyAlison Kendra Hunt is a singer, songwriter and guitarist who lives in Brooklyn. She performs in both solo and collaborative projects. More recently, writing lyrics and singing vocals on a track for Hamacide’s Mighty Little Machine album.Playing guitar, Los Angeles-based Patrick Foley accompanies her as he methodically weaves in and out, in perfect harmony. Foley is a former member of the Brooklyn band, Multitudes.Together they perform songs known for their honesty and openness, with lyrics that touch the heart.“Hunt combines delicate vocals and subtle guitar strokes to create a collection of heartbreaking songs that embrace melancholy and personal affliction. …Hunt’s music slowly unravels to expose thread-bare emotions of an extremely personal nature.” Chad Radford, Creative Loafing – Atlanta -
Fri05May2017
Zoe Guigueno, Alec Spiegelman // Trees Take Ease
7:30 pm $10.00 suggested donationBC-bred, Brooklyn-based music maker Zoe Guigueno will be debuting a set of instrumentals and songs inspired by first mothers, second mothers, third mothers, the Rockies, Manitoba, Bed-Stuy, and the James Farley Post Office. While Zoe is usually found in a corner playing upright bass, tonight she will sit at the piano, accompanied by Alec Spiegelman on alto sax, nylon-string guitar and voice
.
Alec Spiegelman, Brooklyn-based singer, composer, arranger & multi-instrumentalist will perform a set of relatively new songs on classic themes like love, television-punditry, and the college application process.
Alec Spiegelman is a member of the band Cuddle Magic. As a sideman, on stage and in studio, he’s worked with numerous creative songwriters including Amanda Palmer, Anais Mitchell, Pokey LaFarge, and Will Sheff. He’s arranged and performed the wind instruments on countless recordings, among them three albums by The David Wax Museum, and Kristin Andreassen’s Gondolier. He’s produced recordings for Jennifer Kimball (formerly of The Story), Anna & Elizabeth, and the conceptual multi-media artist Jack Early. His musical-comedy project (with Kelly Roberge), Ronald Reagan – Boston’s Premier 80s Pop Saxophone Duo, has shared comedy stages with Eugene Mirman, Kristin Schaal, and Reggie Watts. His early musical education included lots of improvising in the jazz tradition (broadly defined), formal studies with Steve Lacy and Ran Blake, and a thorough (informal) grounding in r&b saxophone best-practices (a la Junior Walker) directed by Doo Wop survivor Little Joe Cook.
“[Alec Spiegelman is] a very gifted clarinet, flute and bass clarinet player … He’s quite a guy” – Bob Brookmeyer
“Musicians and night-club proprietors lead complicated lives …” – The New Yorker
Trees Take Ease is the solo project of Brooklyn-based songwriter and guitarist Stephen Becker. Equal parts whimsical and wistful, TTE bridges the gap between songs and soundscapes, giving listeners something melodic to hum along to and something thoughtful to digest. Have a seat, relax, fall asleep, it’s ok.
-
Sat06May2017
Pam Jam I : Pamelia Stickney and Simone Dinnerstein (duo) May 6
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Pamelia Stickney (theremin) + Simone Dinnerstein (piano) 8pm
a rare opportunity to get to hear us together in the wonderfully intimate and cozy setting of the owl. in the air i forecast some bach, satie, glass, maybe messiaen… ooo!
-
Wed10May2017
Ali Dineen / Joanna Sternberg / Eleonore Weil & Jake Shulman-Ment May 10
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation -
Thu11May2017
GAVAGAI May 11
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested DonationGAVAGAI is a monthly performance series curated and hosted by poet Danielle Blau that brings you poetry and fiction readings scored with original live music by composer-improviser-pianist David Cieri and composer-improviser-bassistMike Brown, with other skilled improvisers (horn-players, cellists, violinists, vocalists, who knows?) often dropping in onstage as surprise guest-musicians. About the Curators (whose recent collaboration at Carnegie Hall can be seen here):
David Cieri is a true artist. Fearless on the piano, a combination of virtuosity, sensitivity and curiosity, he is constantly discovering new ways to express complex emotions through music that has served as the backbone of our films. – Ken Burns
This is real music, not trapped by boxes, definitions and genres, but creating its own style. Cieri delivers beautiful moods…honest, imaginative, fearless. – John Zorn
David Cieri began playing the violin at the age of three, but switched to the piano at the ripe old age of six. He has studied with members of the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra and with ECM recording artist Art Lande, and he has performed his original compositions at such venues as Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. Cieri’s film-scoring work includes Ken Burns’ The Vietnam War (with Trent Reznor and Yo-Yo Ma, Florentine Films, in post-production), The Roosevelts: An Intimate History (Florentine Films, 2014), The Address (Florentine Films, 2014), Prohibition (with Wynton Marsalis, Florentine Films, 2011), Baseball: The Tenth Inning (Florentine Films, 2010) and the Emmy-winning National Parks (Florentine Films, 2008), Barak Goodman’s Emmy-nominated The Emperor of All Maladies (Ark Media, 2015), and a short directed by George Lucas for The Academy of Arts and Sciences called “The Heart of the Matter” (2014). His original score for Raymond De Felitta’s Booker’s Place: A Mississippi Story was listed for an Oscar nomination in 2013.
Danielle Blau’s Rhyme and Reason: Poets and Philosophers on the Questions that Matter is forthcoming from W.W. Norton. She won first place for her poetry in the 2015 multi-genre Narrative 30 Below Contest, and her chapbook mere eye was selected for a Poetry Society of America Chapbook Award and published in 2013 with an introduction by D.A. Powell. Blau’s poems, short stories, articles, and interviews have also appeared and are forthcoming in such publications as The Atlantic online, The Baffler, Black Clock, The Harvard Review, The Literary Review, Narrative Magazine, The New Yorker’s book blog, The Paris Review, Ploughshares, The Saint Ann’s Review, The Wolf, and the Argos Books poetry anthology Why I Am Not a Painter. A graduate of Brown University with an honors degree in philosophy, and of NYU with an MFA in poetry, she teaches at the City University of New York.
This Month’s Guests
-
Fri12May2017
Oren Bloedow Trio w special guest Charlie Burnham 8:30 pm // Julia Patinella at 10pm
8pm Doors!some music to drink wine to
-
Sat13May2017
Historical Fiction: Doveman, Zsela Kuti, Steve Sallet, Sam Cohen and Friends May 13
7:30 Doors $15.00 Ticket -
Thu18May2017
Zach Nestle-Patt Group , .michael, Smiley & Crowell
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation -
Fri19May2017
Kompromat with Ben Perowsky, Oren Bloedow and Simon Hanes May 19
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation -
Sat20May2017
Akie Bermiss solo // Mother Octopus May 20
7:30 pm $10.00 suggested donation.
Akie Bermiss is a pianist, composer, and singer living and working in Brooklyn, NY. He is a graduate of Bard College with degree in music composition. While there he also studied American Music (read: tin pan alley, broadway musicals, and jazz) and writing (read: wrote some bad poetry and called it good). To his friends, he is considered a musical snob of the highest order; to his enemies — a musical charlatan of the basest variety. Among other things he is also the author of a children’s book (“I Hate to Be Sick” — out on Scholastic), a lover of science fiction and fantasy novels, a huge fan of cigars, and he takes his bourbon: neat.Akie Bermiss is a Brooklyn native raised by former-activists & educators in a musical household full of jazz and politics. He began singing in church, moved it to school for a while, and then took it up as a career.Since graduating from Bard College, Akie has moved back to New York City and made a name for himself with his signature sound – a voice that blends R&B, Jazz, Hip Hop, and Funk effortlessly. Akie has unique skills in composing and songwriting, and, not least, great ability to work with and enhance the sounds of other musicians and singers.He is currently touring with Lake Street Dive, he has recorded and performed with FutureSoul band Aabaraki, the Screaming Headless Torsos, Miri Ben-Ari (the Hip Hop Violinist), Rap sensation Soul Khan, and he also works with his own band, the Akie Bermiss Trio.We can honestly say that this full blood musician brings soul and musicianship of the highest caliber to each one of his projects, and he is actually quite the comedian..
Mother Octopus is the bald-headed musical stepchild of violinist-composer Dana Lyn. Joining her in this project are guitarist Ty Citerman, cellist Clara Kennedy, clarinetist Mike McGinnis and drummer Vinnie Sperrazza. About their 2013 release “Aqualude”: “Stunning in its beauty, yet remarkable in that it includes the dark colors of the mosaic chips as well.” George Harris, Jazz Weekly. -
Sun21May2017
PLG Arts/Open Ground present: The Rhythm Method String Quartet and The Choir Invisible May 21
6:30 doors $10 suggested donationPLG Arts Festival Presents:The Rhythm Method String Quartet at 7pmopen ground presents:The Choir Invisible 9pmCharlotte Greve – alto saxophoneChris Tordini – bassVinnie Sperrazza – drums -
Thu25May2017
Jake Sherman // Relatives // Michael Rocketship May 25
7:30 doors $10.00 Suggested DonationJake Sherman, a New York City based singer/songwriter also known for his virtuosity as an organist and pianist, makes music that embraces a vast array of sensibilities, leading his audience through a world of wonderment. Featuring Kyle Miles (bass) and Jason Burger (drums).
www.thejakesherman.comRelatives, 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, they perform regularly in both cities. Over the years, they have pared down and turned inward, exploring what can be done with less.
www.relativesmusic.comMichael Rocketship (née Coleman) brings a varied experience to his songs. From playing marathon cocktail piano gigs to screeching noise shows in dirty basements, he’s heard a few things. His songs are often a series of vignettes strung together, wry observations on daily life often tinged with sadness at the knowledge that it’s all passing us by so quickly. The band varies from solo synthesizer to 10 piece chamber ensemble. For this special night at the Owl, Rocketship has assembled a supergroup of friends including Andrew Conklin (guitar), Kurt Kotheimer + Rob Adkins (double basses), Jake Fiss (alto sax), Matt Nelson (tenor sax) and Nick Lyons (clarinet).
www.michaelcolemanmusic.com -
Fri26May2017
Pam Jam II: Pamelia Stickney trio with Stuart Popejoy & Gerry Gibbs May 26
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested DonationMay 26 – trio with Stuart Popejoy (keys) and Gerry Gibbs (drums) and P.S. (theremin + processing)
three freaks unite! Gerry and Stuart have not yet played together but my last time in town playing with them, i thought, holy sheet, i wanna hear where we take it. they’re both composers + improvisers with golden ears, instincts, versatility and… humor! things i recall listening to or jamming to with these doods nerding out – weather report, mahavishnu orchestra, herbie & the headhunters, arthur blythe, contortions, brahms, sinatra, earth wind & fire. -
Sat27May2017
Pam Jam III : Pamelia Stickney & Sugarlife May 27
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested DonationMay 27– Pamelia Stickney w/ Sugarlife + special guests 8pm
It’s a celebration and if you dont know why, you’ll probably figure it out by being there! everything from extremely disciplined to completely out of control… written and improvised… because it’s such a special day, there’ll be some special peeps there who i’m gonna have to call up to play… and it’s my last concert on the east coast for a while, come out to say ciao ciao!
Sugarlife is Christian Dautresme (voice) , Stuart Popejoy (keys), Danny Tunick (drums) and whenever i’m in town, i always make a point to play with them!
something funny, something scary, something below the earth’s crust at any moment will spew out. heavenly voices, hellish grooves, hedonist harmonies.
-
Sun28May2017
CLOSED May 28
7:30 doors $10.00 Suggested DonationSorry due to ill health and related/ we’re positioning this show. Owl will be closed tonight!🙁
Henry Fraiser’s “Hank And Friends”!“we’re gonna play some make ‘em ups!” – Henry Fraser
ANONYM!
“quiet music for loud people”
-
Thu01Jun2017
Briggan Krauss String and Reed Quartet June 1
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
“CLAP” is a suite of seven compositions for the Briggan Krauss String and Reed Quartet which was premiered in December 2016 at the Chapel Space in Seattle Washington. This performance will feature an East Coast version of the quartet.
Briggan Krauss – alto saxophone and guitar
Sara Schoenbeck – bassoon
Wayne Horvitz – piano and electronics
Kenny Wollesen – drums and percussion -
Fri02Jun2017
Alfred Kpebsaane + Brittany Anjou's BEWAA + Michael Eaton's Individuation June 2
7:30 doors $10.00 Suggested DonationMichael Eaton’s IndividuationMichael Eaton – saxophone/CompositionsBrittany Anjou – vibraphoneBrad Whiteley – pianoShareef Taher – drumsDaniel Ori – bassPianist/percussionist Brittany Anjou leads NYC musicians through the traditional funeral and social dance music of Ghanaian xylophone from the upper west region of Ghana. Sissala master xylophonist Alfred Kpebsaane, who she studied with while a student of Bernard Woma at the Dagara Music Center in Medie, Ghana, will guest star.
8pm Michael Eaton Individuation Quintet
Modern jazz with minimalist/postminimalist + world music influences
Suggested donation of $10 supports the artists 100%Michael Eaton – saxophones/compositions
Brittany Anjou – vibraphone
Brad Whiteley – piano
Shareef Taher – drums
Daniel Ori – basswww.MichaelEatonMusic.com
https://destinyrecords.bandcamp.com/album/individuation9:30pm Ghanaian master xylophonist Alfred Kpebsaane + Brittany Anjou’s
BEWAA: Traditional Ghanaian Xylophone
Suggested donation of $10 supports the artists 100%Pianist/percussionist Brittany Anjou brings together a cadre of her
Brooklyn based BEWAA project musicians to perform the traditional
funeral and social dance music of Ghanaian xylophone from the upper
west region of Ghana with her mentor of ten years, Ghanaian master
xylophonist Alfred Kpebsaane as special guest artist.Alfred Kpebsaane – gyil
Brittany Anjou – piano/vibraphone/gyil
Michael Eaton – saxophone
Mara Rosenbloom – piano/keys
Dawn Drake – bass
April Centrone – drums/percussion
Sean Dixon – drums/percussionAlfred Kpebsaane’s album, Te Songtaar is available to stream on Soundcloud.
https://soundcloud.com/user-580301139/sets/alfred-kpebsaane-te-songtaar-the-northern-solohitter
https://soundcloud.com/brittany-anjou/sets/bewaa-ghanaian-xylophone-live-at-the-firehouse-space-brooklyn
https://brittanyanjou.bandcamp.com/album/bewaa-vol-i
https://brittanyanjou.bandcamp.com/album/bewaa-vol-iii-the-threesome-sessions
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FS5OZmjMDQ -
Sat03Jun2017
Coffee, feat Glenn Patscha, Ben Perowsky and Oren Bloedow // Robert Boston & Daniel Carter June 3
7:30 doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Daniel Carter and Robert Boston frequently collaborate, playing both as a duo and in the Ballast Quartet, an experimental improv group with piano/synth, horns, electric bass, and drums. Daniel Carter is an American free jazz saxophone, flute, clarinet, and trumpet player active mainly in New York City since the early 1970s. A review of a recent recording describes Carter’s timbre as “an almost Lee Konitz-like cool.” Robert Boston is a pianist who regularly performs free jazz, contemporary classical, rock and electronic music. -
Sun04Jun2017
Open Ground: Martin Nevin Quintet Jun 4
7:30 doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Roman Filiu – alto saxophone
Kyle Wilson – tenor saxophone
Sam Harris – piano
Craig Weinrib – drums
MN – bass / compositionsIn the days following this concert, Martin will be recording his debut album as a leader. This performance will preview the compositions and the band before they go into the studio. Martin attended Manhattan School of Music, where he studied bass with Jay Anderson and David Grossman, and composition with Michael Patterson. Since then he has performed and/or recorded with notable artists such as Ethan Iverson, Albert “Tootie” Heath, Greg Osby, Jason Moran, Ambrose Akinmusire, and Aaron Parks, in venues across the U.S and abroad. Martin currently resides in New York City where he continues to compose, teach, perform and record.
-
Thu08Jun2017
-
Fri09Jun2017
Loosie, Du.0, Loud Relations June 9
7:30 doors $10.00 Suggested Donationhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TViRzuvEask
It’s Gemini season and the shows are not what they seem. Featuring chamber music by Du.0, dance by Loud Relations, poetry reading by Sarah Edwards and Rami Karim, and songs by Loosie at The Owl Music Parlor in Prospect Lefferts Gardens, Brooklyn.
8PM – Du.0 – Charlotte Munn-Wood & Aimee Niemann, violinists & professional noisemakers [chamber music / new music / old music]
9PM – Loud Relations – Sophie Bromberg and Lindsey Weaving. They make movement based work for you to watch. ✨ [dance / movement / weirdness]
10PM – Loosie – “Fever Dream Pop” from Brooklyn. Intimate and vulnerable pop songs of drummer-songwriter Alex Kirkpatrick come up for air beneath a slurry of rich and dense textures from shoegaze and improvised music. Anxiety, addiction, and alienation through technology are packaged with healthy doses of feeling-yourself, love for companions, and the good kinds of growing pains. [indie / sperimental / rock friend]
Sarah and Rami will read in between sets. -
Sat10Jun2017
Elysian Fields with special guest Dia Luna June 10
7:30 Doors $15.00 Adv / $18.00 Doorhttps://www.venuepilot.co/events/12970/orders/new
Hot on the heels of their latest release, Ghosts of No, Jennifer Charles and Oren Bloedow are hard at work on new material. Here’s a chance to hear the new songs live, in the intimate environment of The Owl Music Parlor! Featuring Matt Johnson, Jonno Linden & Simon Hanes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLEhs86urK4
DIA LUNA is a Brooklyn Brujita who plays with the alchemy of music and memory. With simple song structures and a velveteen voice, DIA LUNA explores the sexy mess of being alive. Drawing on inspirations like Nina Simone, Joni Mitchell, and James Blake, her elegant piano based songs deal with the internal world of the unseen, using electronic flourishes and the voice as a method of describing emotional landscapes in music the way Anais Nin would describe them in writing. The resulting sound is honest, and vulnerable, and haunting.
-
Sun11Jun2017
Open Ground: Michael Attias June 11
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
MICHAËL ATTIAS NERVE DANCE QUARTETMichaël Attias: alto saxophoneAruàn Ortiz: pianoJohn Hébert: bassNasheet Waits: drums“On Nerve Dance, Attias has assembled an ideal ensemble to wield concepts of structure space and risk, and forges a potent relentlessly unpredictable energy …. A glorious group enterprise.”Britt Robson for JAZZTIMES -
Thu15Jun2017
Richard Sears June15
7:30 doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Sears – Nevin – FlouzatRichard Sears – pianoMartin Nevin – bassGuilhelm Flouzat – drums+Sam Gendel – alto saxophoneThe Sears – Nevin – Flouzat trio is comprised of three bandleaders and composers based in Brooklyn (Sears/Nevin) and Paris (Flouzat). The trio debuted in February 2017, touring through Spain, France, and Italy. This performance marks their first New York appearance, for which they will be joined by Los Angeles based multi-instrumentalist, Sam Gendel, of INGA. -
Fri16Jun2017
Moist Paula's Bliss Station / Smokey Hormel's Secret Family June 16
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Moist Paula’s Bliss StationMoist Paula – saxophoneDaniel Fabricatore – upright bassChris Eddleton – drums
Smokey’s Secret FamilySmokey Hormel is not only a versatile guitarist, he is considered a liner note legend, having played guitar on several award winning records by a wide range of artists including Adele, Beck, Johnny Cash, Neil Diamond and Tom Waits (to name a few). His band “Secret Family” features twangy surf guitar, 3 world class percussionists, deep tuba grooves and a collection of songs that includes Mississippi field hollers, Caribbean dancehall, 50’s African Rumba, and Brazilian “Forro”David Hofstra is on Tuba and bass, and the world famous Meia Noite on congas. -
Sat17Jun2017
Steve Bernstein's Millenial Territory Orchestra (7:30) Dervisi (10pm) June 17
7:00 doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Steve Bernstein’s Millenial Territory Orchestra
The awesomely dark and mysterious songs and dances of the old-time Greek Rembetika underworld, originally performed by the hashish clans, gangsters and pimps of a now vanished Mediterranean subculture and the Greek bouzouki songwriters who mythologized it… YOU WILL ALL DANCE in ODD METERS because ODD IS GOD, baby!
Background:DERVISI perform a contemporary version of acoustic GREEK GANGSTA BLUES…A repertoire derived from REMBETIKA and related Greek popular music.They are actually a small sect of New York musicians of Greek extraction who have stumbled into a time warp-They inhabit, when performing, a parallel world, where they present these songs asexpressions of their lifestyle, based on their affinity for sitting around their TEKE (clubhouse) imbibing certain specialherbal remedies that they acquire in the course of their Import-Export activities…The core of DERVISI isGEORGE “BARBA YIORGI” : Vocals, Tzoura (small trikordo bouzouki) and guitarSTELIO “HOMEBOY STEVE” ANTONAKOS: Guitar and vocalsPETER “PETROS” DERVISI: Greek Baghlama and dumbek“Dervisi Recreate a Shadowy World of Gangsters, Underground Revolutionaries and Hash Smoke”… New York Music Daily
-
Sun18Jun2017
Kenny Warren (8) / Cataclysmic Commentary (9) // For The Love of Flamenco (10) June 18
7:30 doors $10.00 Suggested DonationOpen Ground presents:
8pm
Kenny Warren Quartet
JP Schlegelmilch – piano
Noah Garabedian – bass
Satoshi Takeishi – drums
Kenny Warren – trumpet/compositions
9pm
CATACLYSMIC COMMENTARY
Ben Cohen, tenor saxophone
Eli Wallace, acoustic piano
Dave Miller, drums and percussionTrumpeter and composer Kenny Warren brings his new album Thank You for Coming to Life to Whirlwind – with close friends and empathetic colleagues JP Schlegelmilch (piano), Noah Garabedian (bass) and Satoshi Takeishi (drums) – in a program of six self-penned tracks that flare with character and eclecticism. Hailing from Denver, Colorado and now an integral part of the New York improvised music scene, Warren’s multifarious collaborations include Ben Stapp’s Zozimos, Andy Biskin’s 16 Tons, Slavic Soul Party; and in addition to two album releases with his folk-jazz songwriting project Laila and Smitty, he has duetted with guitarist Jeremiah Lockwood, fellow Whirlwind artist and pianist Bobby Avey and tenor saxophonist Tony Malaby.
Cataclysmic Commentary is a malleable and dynamic new trio of improvising musicians based in New York City. Living in a world of rapidly changing political and socio-economic permutations, they were founded with the premise of integrating these socio-political narratives into their work, sculpting every set according to the particular challenges of the time rather than relying on an established book of rote rehearsed material. This manifests in a diversity of repertoire from completely free improvisation, to compositions by members of the ensemble, to pieces by select influential musicians, to folk songs from around the world. All of the works directly relate to and portray a response to the challenges of our current epoch. Cataclysmic Commentary bring awareness and attention to the challenges faced as inhabitants of Planet Earth through a chameleon approach that is ever exploring, asking questions, and adapting accordingly through their music.
FOR THE LOVE OF FLAMENCO is Julia Patinella, Andreas Arnold and Guy Mintus -
Thu22Jun2017
Levon Henry and Friends June 22
7:30 doors $10.00 Cover
-
Fri23Jun2017
Charmaine Lee Trio, Chris Childs & Anonym Jun 23
7:30
The Charmaine Lee Trio will include John McCowan (cl) and Zach Rowdan (bs)
ANONYM!
“quiet music for loud people” -
Sat24Jun2017
Lacy Rose and Alaina J Ferris June 24
7:30 doors $15.0 ticket (see link for online sales)
Alaina Ferris and Matt Schlatter
Lacy Rose and Colin Fullerton
Schlatter & Ferris are hosting an intimate sneak peak concert for their debut EP, ‘This is a Photograph.”
~Doors @ 7:30
~Lacy Rose @ 8:30 w/ guests Colin Fullerton & John Albert Harris
~Schlatter & Ferris @ 9:30 w/ guests Lacy Rose, Brent Arnold, & Colin FullertonTickets $15 in advance, cash at the door
~ includes a digital download of EP upon release. -
Sun25Jun2017
Time of the Season with Adam Minkoff, Oren Bloedow, Ben Perowsky and Brad Whiteley June 25
7:30 doors $10.00 Suggested DonationIn this special concert Adam Minkoff, Oren Bloedow, Brad Whitely and Ben Perowsky will play and sing songs in whose title the word ‘Time’ appears.
-
Thu29Jun2017
The Universal Thump June 29
7:30 doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
The Universal Thump: Single Release Show for ‘Catsachusetts’, inspired by a story by Mike Birbiglia. https://
gretagertlergold.com/the- universal-thump – A melodic (at times orchestral) pop band led by Australian expat singer-songwriter and pianist, Greta Gertler Gold and drummer/ producer, Adam D Gold. They have been performing together since 2008, have collaborated with a huge array of artists from the pop, classical, jazz and musical theatre worlds, produced an acclaimed Benefit Concert in tribute to George Harrison’s album ‘All Things Must Pass’ at The Bell House in 2010, and recorded their most recent EP ‘Walking the Cat’ at Abbey Road Studios in 2015. They are thrilled to be performing at The Owl for the first time, and will be joined by Josh Camp (keyboards) and Ian Riggs (drums) plus more Special Guests. -
Fri30Jun2017
Standard Candle // Lucia Stavros and Maria Neckam June 30
7:30 doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Standard Candle is music originally written by Chris Morrissey for The Jazz Gallery’s 2015 Residency Commission. The songs span from freewheeling to meticulous and explore themes like the end of the world and love.
Grey McMurray-guitar and voice
Josh Dion-drums, synth and voice
Nick Videen-alto saxophone and voice
Chris Morrissey-electric bass and voice
Maria Neckam is an Austrian-born, now Brooklyn-based singer and songwriter, who has made a name for herself as a highly unique and versatile voice. She has been praised by the press — from the New York Times to NPR’s “A Blog Supreme,” and Le Monde in France — as a “trailblazer,” and “natural wonder.”
http://www.marianeckammusic.
com/ Lucia “Loosh” is a harpist turned rock vocalist superBitch of indie band Green and Glass. Loosh’s solo project suggests musical catharsis’ importance equals that of H2O.
-
Sat01Jul2017
Chocolate Genius Inc. Jul 1
7:30 $15 adv/ $18 door
-
Wed05Jul2017
Brooklyn Raga Massive *Weds in July* Jul 5
7:30“Woven by Anjna Swaminathan”
https://www.brooklynragamassive.org/ for more information
-
Thu06Jul2017
Elevator Party / The Peekaboos Jul 6
7:30 doors $10.00 Suggested DonationElevator Party was born in South Brooklyn, NY, September 2016. The concept was to form an exciting band of neighborhood people with similar musical aspirations. Since September, the band has been writing and developing their genre bending sound, exploring elements from 70’s funk/rock, Nigerian Afro-beat music, English 80’s pop music, hip-hop and experimental jazz.
With Audrey Casey holding down drums and vocals, Eric Biondo on trumpet and synth, Ricky Quinones on lead guitar and vocals. the band is currently recording their debut album due out spring 2017. Some of the band members have performed/recorded with TV on the Radio, The Monkees, Antibalas, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Charlie Hunter, Passion Pit, Foals, Holy Ghost, Alicia Keys, India Ariie, Sade, Castle Black, Luther Vandross, Angelique Kidjo, Luther Vandross, Superhuman Happiness, Nathaniel Rateliff and The Night Sweats and Unknown Mortal Orchestra.
http://instagram.com/elevatorpartynychttps://m.facebook.com/profile.php?id=266278623828765&tsid=0.5425528688821387&source=typeaheadhttps://soundcloud.com/elevatorparty/alltheriches
The Peekaboos play rocksteady, the Jamaican music that came after ska, but before reggae, in the late 60s. Bassist Rob Jost fronts this outfit, characterized by 3 part harmonies, horns and a deep danceable groove.
personnel:
Rob Jost: bass, vocals
Michelle Casillas: vocals
Robert DiPietro: drums, vocals
Oren Bloedow: guitar
John Deley: Organ
Jesse Neuman: trumpet
Michael Blake: tenor saxophone
Briggan Kraus: alto/bari saxophones
????:trombone
-
Fri07Jul2017
Christ Van Voorst Jul 7
7:30 doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Hear + Now
Hear + Now is a curated set of music exploring both the contrasts and similarities between composed modern classical music and improvisation. The concert begins with van Voorst’s original compositions for chamber trio, followed by improvised music for jazz quartet.
Personnel:
Jeremy Viner, clarinet, saxophone
Dov Manski, piano
Julia Biber, cello
Allan Medford, drums
Chris van Voorst, bass and compositions
-
Sat08Jul2017
Ghost Note Ensemble / Months of Indecision Jul 8
Ghost Note Ensemble (Oakland, CA)
Weaving music from Hungarian, Moldavian, Ukrainian, and Jewish folk traditions into a tuneful time traveled tapestry; a requiem for borders of future past.
Months of Indecision (Olympia, WA)
Combining elements of americana, country, and soul, Months of Indecision deliver a contemporary sound, yet maintain the candor and clarity of great folk musicians. While performing, Months of Indecision bare themselves with a rare and forthright innocence; it is a treat to be invited into the lives of these talented strangers. -
Wed12Jul2017
Brooklyn Raga Massive *Weds in July* Jul 12
7:30https://www.brooklynragamassive.org/ for tickets and information
-
Thu13Jul2017
Jabari Brisport Cabaret // Mike McGinness w Sachs, Ambrosio,Sperrazza Jul 13
Cabaret at 7:00, band at NineCome on out to support Brooklyn’s own Jabari Brisport as he hosts a fundraising cabaret: Jabari’s Big Green Revue. Featured performers will include Starr Busby (People’s Champs), Jillian Walker (SKiNFoLK, Ars Nova), Dan Zimberg, Dylan Neely, and Victoria Frings. MC’d by the hilarious Emma Tattenbaum-Fine, this will be a great night to mingle with local artists and activists, and to support Jabari’s city council campaign. Tickets available at http://www.jabari2017.nyc/
theowl 
McGinness, Sperrazza, Ambrosio and Sachs are stalwarts of the Owl Scene and New York music in general.
-
Fri14Jul2017
Sylvie Courvoisier with Nate Wooley Jul 14
7:30 doors $10.00 Cover
-
Sat15Jul2017
Glenn Patscha & Friends Jul 15
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
-
Wed19Jul2017
Brooklyn Raga Massive *Weds in July* Jul 19
7:30https://www.brooklynragamassive.org/ for tickets and information
-
Thu20Jul2017
Dida Pelled // Seungmin Cha and JunYi Chow Jul 20
7:30 doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
New York–based Israeli guitari
st 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) Seungmin Cha
Emerging as one of the most influential experimental Daegeum(Korean transverse bamboo flute) artists, Seungmin Cha was trained in traditional music and its discourse. A graduate of the School of Music at Seoul National University, Ms. Cha has developed her career as a solo Daegeum artist, the director of her music ensemble Shiro as well as composer. She is performing both solo and in bands as part of the indie music scene of Seoul’s Hongdae neighborhood. Her performances incorporate traditional (jeongga and minyo), indie, experimental elements. You can see the evolution of Gugak (Korean traditional music) through her as a traditional music performer, who is at the same time, a contemporary composer and independent musician in the underground scene. She received a prestigious Asian Cultural Council fellowship in 2016 and is currently living in NYC until October with ACC’s support.
JunYi Chow
New York-based Composer, Multi-instrumentalist and Improviser. Chow’s music has been lauded by Financial Times for its “skilful contrasts in both volume and texture”. His interest in music explores the indefinite possibilities of tone colour and sound, in merging music of East and West. March 2017, he received the grand prize of Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra International Composition Competition. His current project is “Stillness in Queens”, a collaborative cross-disciplinary work with video artist Karen Y. Chan and is partly funded by Queens Council On The Arts. He is currently the Composer-In-Residence of Teng Company (Singapore) and Vivo Experimental Orchestra (Malaysia). -
Fri21Jul2017
Ben Perowsky Quartet with Ben Monder, Chris Speed & Matt Penman Jul 21
7:00 doors $10.00 Suggested Donation -
Sat22Jul2017
Ed Pastorini, Glespy, Relatives Jul 22
7:00 doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
-
Sun23Jul2017
Ronald Reagan - Boston's Premiere 80s Pop Saxophone Duo with special guest Pete Galub and more Jul 23
7:30 doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Ronald Reagan – Boston’s Premiere 80s Pop Saxophone Duocomes to theThe Owlfor a reunion performance and celebrationfeaturingthe comedians Mehran Khaghani and Jono Zalayand songwriter Pete Galub -
Wed26Jul2017
Brooklyn Raga Massive *Weds in July* Jul 26
7:30https://www.brooklynragamassive.org/ for tickets and information
-
Thu27Jul2017
Ochion Jewell and Friends / Jerm Boor Jul 27
7:30 doors $10.00 Suggested Donation4.5 ☆ Downbeat Magazine4.5 ☆ All About JazzTop ten list 2016: Patrick Jarenwattananon, NPRTop ten list: Cadence Magazine
Having met at CalArts – where studies ranged from Ghanaian Ewe and Persian classical music to improvisation with Charlie Haden and composition with Wadada Leo Smith – and moved to Brooklyn together in 2009,l, Qasim Naqvi, and Sam Minaie explore a wide diversity of free and structured improvisational settings. Their 2016 album, VOLK (with quartet member Amino Belyamani and special guest Lionel Loueke) was widely heralded for blending folk elements around the world through a wide array of dynamic settings, ranging from free jazz, traditional jazz, contemporary/new music, rock, North African, and several others, while emphasizing “emotional depth, breadth, and dynamic exhilaration” (Bud Kopman, All About Jazz).
Jerm Boor is a fingerstyle guitarist whose tunes fall obliquely within the so-called American Primitive style. As a lyricist, he tacks toward the formal, then fills it with focus until it drips. Boor resides in Colorado, where he teaches philosophy, literature and Ancient Greek. -
Fri28Jul2017
So Brown/ Four O'Clock Flowers
7:00 doors $10.00 Suggested Donation -
Sat29Jul2017
Hite/ Ron Shalom / Bot Jul 29
7:30 doors $10.00 Coverron shalom:b o t is the solo project of rubblebucket bassist daniel mcdowell. -
Wed02Aug2017
pia raymond benefit with Katie Scheele and friends
-
Thu03Aug2017
closed for summer schedule
-
Fri04Aug2017
J. Pavone String Ensemble / Dina Maccabee
7:30 doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
J. Pavone string ensemblewith special guest Nick PodgurskiJessica Pavone and Robby Kraft (violas)Sarah Bernstein and Dina Maccabee (violins)Nick Podgurski (synth)
Dina Maccabee -
Sat05Aug2017
John Deley and friends play music from New Orleans Aug 5
7:30 doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
-
Thu10Aug2017
Ali Dineen and friends featuring Slow Pony from Nola Aug 10
7:30 doors $10.00 Suggested Donation -
Fri11Aug2017
closed for summer schedule aug 11
-
Sat12Aug2017
Seungmin Cha & Ami YAMASAKI Aug 12
7:30 doors $10.00 Suggested Donation Seungmin ChaAmi YAMASAKI is a vocalist and cross-media artist from Tokyo. With primal vocals and movement, Yamasaki explores the relationship between us and our universe. Her art explores a fundamental question: “How does the world construct itself?” For her, the asking of this question is a love letter to life itself, more important than any answers that it yields. As a vocalist, Yamasaki has collaborated with psychedelic rock icon Keiji Haino, provided original music for choreographer Makoto Matsushima and appeared the stage “Buring shadow of a Man” directed by Yasunori Ikunishi.
http://amingerz.wixsite.com/ami-yamasaki
-
Thu17Aug2017
Robinson & Rohe Record Release Party
7:30 doors tickets $12.00 advance/ $15.00 at door
8pm Sessie JAmes (Stephanie Coleman and James Shipp)9pm Robinson & Rohe (w/ guests Hannah Read – fiddle and Christopher Tordini – bass)
10pm Zabumbananas (Zabumbananas)
In their debut record, “Hunger”, Robinson & Rohe’s detailed arrangements and keenly crafted lyrics push at the edges of what Americana and folk music can accomplish. Over the course of the record, they turn the genre in on itself, pushing 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.
The combined effect of razor-sharp lyric writing and melodies make “Hunger” feel like an urgent message delivered in a patient, studied hand. Throughout, the sounds of guitar, banjo, violin, and bass all work to elevate the duo’s sweeping vocals—at turns muscular and ethereal. There’s a spacious quality to their harmonizing, as they deliver lyrics that feel as vast and rich as the American landscapes they sing about.
-
Fri18Aug2017
closed for summer schedule aug 18
-
Sat19Aug2017
An Afternoon Benefit for Pia Raymond (City Council) w Katie Scheele and friends
4pm $20/advance $25 at doorhttps://www.nycvotes.org/campaigns/PiaRaymond/contributions/new
On Saturday, August 19th, hear some of PLG’s finest musicians as they come out to play in support Pia Raymond, our NYC council 40th district candidate.
Featuring a wide repertoire of music performed by Charlie Burnham (Oddessy the Band, 52nd St. Blues Porject) on violin, Kallie Ciechomski(Osso String Quartet) on violin/viola, Savannah Clare Gordon (Soprano),Mike Lormand (WeatherVest, International Contemporary Ensemble) on trombone, Jeremy Powell (Eddie Palmieri, Arturo O’Farrill, Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra), Katie Scheele (Threeds Oboe Trio, Anthony Braxton’s Tri-Centric Orchestra) and many more!
-
Sun20Aug2017Sun03Sep2017
closed for summer schedule aug 20 - Labor Day
Enjoy Your Summer!
-
Thu07Sep2017
Dana Lyn's Mother Octopus
7:30 doors $10.00 Suggested Donation -
Fri08Sep2017
Foxy Johnsons & Zolaband Sept 8
7:30 doors $10.00 Suggested DonationZolaband is a five-piece group based in New York City that plays original music influenced by folk-rock, and jazz. Rebecca Zola is the bandleader, composer, and vocalist of Zolaband, and hails from Lexington, Massachusetts. The other band members include Kalia Vandever on trombone, Lee Meadvin on guitar, Nick Dunston on bass, and Connor Parks on drums.
Brooklyn-based singers Kim Foxen and Mel Johnston are The Foxy Johnstons, a soul-folk duo. Singing together since childhood, their musical and on stage chemistry is unique. Both songwriters with their own distinct style, the two layer the sounds of lush and soulful harmonies into everything they create.
-
Sat09Sep2017
Allegra Krieger // Dida Pelled Sept 9
7:30 doors $10.00 Suggested DonationNew York–based Israeli guitari
st 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) 
A contemporary folk singer, songwriter, tree planter, art model, waitress, and cave dweller inspired by a life lived transiently and freely; with songs regarding her travels and the relations that have come and gone within them.
-
Sun10Sep2017
Open Ground Presents: The Brothers Garabedian / Herbie Coleman Project Sept 10
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested DonationOpen Ground Presents:8pmThe Brothers Garabedian Band:Noah Garabedian – bassRaffi Garabedian – tenor saxophoneElias Stemeseder – pianoJimmy Macbride – drumsOriginally from Berkeley, California, Noah and Raffi Garabedian grew up playing music together from an early age. The brothers have worked extensively as side-men with Ravi Coltrane, Jorge Rossy, Ralph Alessi, Dayna Stephans, and Myron Walden to name a few. They have also led their own projects; Noah’s Big Butter And The Egg Men, and Raffi’s own trio as well as Brass Magic. Now they bring their compositional styles to The Owl with their new quartet project.9pmHerbie Coleman ProjectAlex LoRe – alto saxophoneNick Sanders – pianoMartin Nevin – bassKenneth Salters – drumsThe Herbie Coleman Project pays homage to the more obscure music of Herbie Nichols, Ornette Coleman, and Carla Bley, among others. The program will also feature original compositions by the members of the band.
-
Thu14Sep2017
closed - no show Sept 14
-
Fri15Sep2017
Charlie Burnham Sept 15
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation -
Sat16Sep2017
Yotoco Sept 16
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
“Yotoco’s music defies categorization. It 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 danceable. Yotoco’s music may be hard to classify- but it is very easy to party to.”
-
Sun17Sep2017
Open Ground: Matt Aronoff / Mariel Roberts & Ada Jeon duo Sept 17
7:30 doors $10.00 Suggested DonationBassist and composer Matt Aronoff has been praised for his “musicianship at the highest level, paired with an incredibly emotional connection with the crowd” (Jazz Advocate). He has been deeply involved in the NY music community since 2006, when he graduated from Manhattan School of Music and began touring with Grammy-nominated singer Luciana Souza. Well known for being, “greatly sensitive, with huge ears and a feel for accompaniment” (All About Jazz), Matt has been consistently playing, recording and touring with many of New York’s greats. He is also proud to be a Teaching Artist through Carnegie Hall’s Weill Institute.
9pm*
Mariel Roberts – cello
Ada Jeon – piano
Alfred Schnittke, Cello Sonata no. 1
Olivier Messaien, Louange à l’Éternité de Jésus from Quartet for the End of Time
Thomas Ades, Excerpts from Lieux Retrouves
Ludwig von Beethoven, Cello sonata no. 5 in D Major
“Trailblazing” cellist Mariel Roberts (Feast of Music) is widely recognized as a deeply dedicated interpreter of contemporary music. Recent performances have garnered praise for her “technical flair and exquisite sensitivity” (American Composers Forum), as well as her ability to “couple youthful vision with startling maturity”. (InDigest Magazine). Roberts’ work emphasizes expanding the technical and expressive possibilities of her instrument through close relationships with innovative performers and composers of her generation. Her passion for collaboration and experimentation has led her to premiere hundreds of new works by both emerging and established artists.
As an avid chamber and solo musician, Ada Jeon has performed extensively throughout the U.S. at venues such as the Chicago Cultural Center, Zipper Hall (Colburn), Colgate University, the Harris Theatre for Music and Dance, Ravinia, Spectrum, and BargeMusic. In addition to her busy performing schedule, Ada performs at countless community retirement homes and schools. In the past, she has given recitals at the Moulin d’Ande Académie Internationale (France), Tel-Hai International Masterclasses (Israel). Upcoming projects include a commission of new works with oboist Erin Lensing with a focus on women composers. She currently resides in New York City where she is working as a freelance musician and music teacher
*proceed from this performance will be donated to UNICEF
-
Thu21Sep2017
Sylvie Courvoisier and Mary Halvorsen Sept 21
7:30 doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
-
Fri22Sep2017
Brandon Lopez, Ingrid Laubrock & Tom Rainey // Sarah Bernstein Quartet
7:30 doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Sarah Bernstein – violin/composition
Jacob Sacks – piano
Stuart Popejoy – electric bass
Satoshi Takeishi – drumsSarah Bernstein Quartet performs new compositions plus works from recent album “Still/Free”. Showcasing Bernstein’s distinctive approach to post-tonal and polyrhythmic composition, the music flows effortlessly from minimalist melody to breathtaking be-bop to free jazz, deconstructed by open improvisation and sonic exploration.
“Violinist Sarah Bernstein plays some of the most thoughtfully compelling music of any New York artist. Blending fearless jazz improvisation, indie classical acerbity and the occasional detour in the direction of performance art, her sound is distinctly her own.” – New York Music Daily
-
Sat23Sep2017
Shape King // Jason Burger Trio // Lau Noah
7:30 doors $10.00 Suggested Donation -
Thu28Sep2017
Mi Mi Zhi Yin (w Alec Spiegelman) and Taylor Ashton Sept 28
7:30 doors $10.00 Cover
Taylor Ashton -
Fri29Sep2017
Alena Spanger • Little Mystery • Renata Zeiguer Sept 29
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
-
Sat30Sep2017
Relatives Fall Residency: Last Saturdays at the Owl Sept 30
7:30 doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Relatives – Ian Davis and Katie Vogel – met upon arrival to New York City in 2007 and have been singing and writing together since. Over the years, we have been paring down and turning inwards, exploring what can be done with less. This fall marks our ten year anniversary as a band and the release of our second full-length record, Weighed Down Fortune (November 7, 2017). In celebration we will be curating a series of four shows where we will perform duo alongside featured musicians/poets/performers at the Owl Music Parlor on last Saturdays this fall.
W Special Guests Lacy Rose and Joanna Sternberg
-
Sun01Oct2017
Open Ground: James Carney Quartet / Julian Shore Quartet
7:30 $10.00 suggested donationOpen Ground Presents:
8pm
James Carney Quartet
Ravi Coltrane – tenor saxophone
James Carney – piano
Chris Lightcap – bass
Mark Ferber – drums
9pm
Julian Shore Quartet
Dayna Stephens – tenor saxophone
Julian Shore – piano
Or Baraket – bass
Ofri Nehemya – drums“Mr. Carney is a sharp pianist, and a broadly imaginative conceptualist and composer.” – Nate Chinen, The New York Times
Pianist Julian Shore is known for his “deep maturity as a composer and bandleader” (Brian Zimmerman, DownBeat) and has been called “a pianist/composer who beyond the obvious elegance of his playing, has a clear sense of the bigger artistic picture” (Peter Hum, Ottowa Citizen).
-
Thu05Oct2017
Aaron Irwin / GOK Oct 5
7:30 $10.00 suggested donationAaron Irwin Quintet 8-9pm
Aaron Irwin – clarinet
Matthew McDonald – trombone
Emily Wong – horn
Sebastian Noelle – guitar
Dan Loomis – bass
The music consists of pieces composed by Aaron Irwin which are mostly inspired by the twelve published short stories by Breece D’J Pancake. Breece (Dexter John) Pancake (1952-1979), was an American short story author who was a native of West Virginia. He wrote one published book of short stories that was published posthumously after he shot himself at the age of 26. Pancake’s stories lay out a world located in the hills of West Virginia – “the pockets of neglected farm and mining country where people lose their livelihoods, their friends and lovers, their land and their birthrights, but remain stubbornly hewn in place”.
“Through their subtle application of leftfield approaches, they reveal the strain of Weird America running through the project.”– Stewart Smith, Wire
GOK
Ben Gallina – bassAndy O’Neill – drumsMatt Kanelos – pianoMembers of the jazz trio GOK have one grammy collectively. Their others have passed. Their music is a tribute to all of their grammys, alive and deceased. They are also dedicated to the cause of friendship, their own friendships with one another as well as friendship in general. They draw much inspiration from the sense of friendship felt in the music of John Coltrane…others too. The list is long. They plan to continue playing together for as long as they all are alive. -
Thu05Oct2017
Svetlana Lavochkina Reading
6:30
Join us in welcoming Ukrainian novelist Svetlana Lavochkina in celebration of the release of her first novel in English, Zap.A night and a day away from Moscow by express train, or a day and a night away from the Black Sea by a slow passenger train, Zaporozhye, or Zap, inextricably see-saws between the south and the north, the sublime and the surreal, and the ancient and modern worlds. Shortlisted for the Tibor Jones Pageturner Prize, Svetlana Lavochkina’s Zap is a burlesque family saga whose characters form dynasties embroiled in the polyphonic tragicomedy of relationships and unfulfilled dreams.For her U.S. debut at The Owl, Svetlana will be joined on stage by NYC-based absurdist master Stefan Rak, who will be previewing his Adventures of Bastard and M.E., forthcoming from Whisk(e)y Tit in February 2018. -
Fri06Oct2017
WishWish Rachel Angel & Oct 6
7:30 doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
WishWish is the full band expression of the songs of Brooklyn musician Rachel Housle. With a background as a side person on drums for such acts as Invisible Familiars, the punk and no-wave band NoPop, and the Fahey-inflected rootsy chaos of Uncivilized, Housle brings a wide range of influences to her original composition. Her recently self-released EP, “From a Ceiling” is an exploration into isolation, community, authenticity, and the haunted spaces in-between using nothing but voice, guitar and a four-track tape machine.
Rachel Angel, the Brooklyn songwriter and poetess, writes songs that tell a story with genuine heart and just enough edge to keep the listener on their toes. She moves effortlessly between her folk and country roots and her alt rock adolescence, mixing tender moments with a quick wit that doesn’t take itself too seriously.
Giles Ruby is a dark country duo consisting of Rosalind Lilly and Isaac Gillespie (The Due Diligence). Close harmonies and stark guitars presenting stories of love, loss and the great beyond.
-
Sat07Oct2017
Eszter Balint / Mary Lorson Oct 7
7:30 doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Eszter Balint is a singer-songwriter with three critically acclaimed solo albums, Flicker, Mud and most recently Airless Midnight. Eszter has also appeared as a violinist and/or vocalist on notable recordings by Michael Gira’s Angels of Light and Swans, John Lurie, several compilations by John Zorn and by Marc Ribot.Eszter grew up up as a member of the avant-garde theater company Squat Theatre, and has appeared in starring and featured roles in films by Jim Jarmusch, Woody Allen, Steve Buscemi, alongside David Bowie, and more recently as the star of a six episode arc in Louis CK’s FX show Louie.Eszter is currently at work on a new collaborativon with Stew. (Passing Strange, The Total Bent, Notes of a Native Song, and much more.)“Miss Balint has her own film noir sensibility as a songwriter. She puts arty twists into back alley Americana,… but the cleverness is not the point. She slips inside her characters to project their restlessness and longing.”Jon Pareles, The New York TimesVid link:Mary Lorson began her career with the NYC alt-rock group Madder Rose in the early 90’s. She then made three albums with her group Saint Low, and has continued to develop project albums (including two Piano Creeps discs with Billy Cote and 2011’s BurnBabyBurn with the alt-country trio The Soubrettes), contributions to publications like Esopus and Waywordsandmeansigns, and original film/text/music performance projects (2013’s Cyclonic and 2016’s Signals: a memoir). Lorson‘s 11th full-length CD, Themes From Whatever, will be out in November 2017.
-
Sun08Oct2017
Marco Capelli & Ken Filiano duo Oct 8
7:30 doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
ANSAHMANAnna Garano, guitarAnaïs Alexandra Tekerian, vocalsAnsahman means limitless in Armenian. Without boundaries. Infinite.For the musician, a simple melodic line found in an old book can inspire deep humility and boundless creativity.Worlds are conjured out of a few measures.Anna Garano, the Trieste-base classical and Flamenco guitarist, has arranged a gorgeous repertoire of Armenianand Sephardic songs for voice and Flamenco guitar. She is joined by New York-based Anaïs Alexandra Tekerian of Zulalin this lyrical, poignant fusion of Flamenco and vocals of the Old World.The duo has released its first album, self-titled, through the Fonè label, with the celebrated clarinetist and composerKinan Azmeh featured on three tracks.
Born in Naples – Italy, MARCO CAPPELLI studied classical guitar at the Conservatorio di S. Cecilia in Rome. Supported by a scholarship provided by the Italian Government, he studied with Oscar Ghiglia at the Musik Akademie der Stadt in BASEL – Switzerland, concluding his Konzert-Diplom with a recital featuring a remarkable performance of Le Marteau Sans Maître by Pierre Boulez and Sonata op. 47 by Alberto Ginastera.
He has lead since the middle 90es an extraordinary artistic path, becoming familiar with rigorous written music as well with free improvisation languages: nowadays Marco Cappelli works as contemporary music interpreter, as side musician for other artists’ projects, as well as composer and band leader and with his original music.
The diversity of Marco’s performances is due to a fascinating array of collaborations: Anthony Coleman, Michel Godard, Butch Morris, Franco Piersanti, Jim Pugliese, Enrico Rava, Marc Ribot, Adam Rudolph, Elliott Sharp, Giovanni Sollima, Markus Stockhausen, Cristina Zavalloni, Raiz… and many more.
Ken FilianoKen Filiano performs throughout the world, playing and recording with leading artists in jazz, spontaneous improvisation, classical, world/ethnic, and interdisciplinary performance, fusing the rich traditions of the double bass with his own seemingly limitless inventiveness. Ken’s solo bass CD, “subvenire” (NineWinds), received widespread critical praise. For this and numerous other recordings, Ken has been called a “creative virtuoso,” a “master of technique” … “a paradigm of that type of artist… who can play anything in any context and make it work, simply because he puts the music first and leaves peripheral considerations behind.” -
Thu12Oct2017
Evyl Syl, Ellen O & Secret Sibling Oct 12
7:30 $10.00 suggested donation
Evyl Syl is a vocalist, saxophonist, and composer currently based in NYC. His music is dense with harmony and love. Whether he really is evil or not is up to you.
– Ellen O is a Brooklyn-based producer and vocalist. Originally trained as a classical pianist and composer, she now writes with a vintage MPC and Juno-106, crafting tracks equally inspired by Chicago footwork and dense modernist harmonies. ellen o released her debut album, Sparrows and Doves in 2014 on Brooklyn label Gold Bolus Recordings.
Secret Sibling is an experimental pop band with synths, saxes, vocals, and drums. Their songs feature lyrics ranging from overly sentimental to cold and absurd. The band includes Tomas Cruz (voc), Kim Mayo (voc), Michael Sachs (synths, winds), Sam Decker (synth, winds), Pete Moffett (drums).
-
Fri13Oct2017
Shelley Thomas and Brian Prunka / Orakel Oct 13
7:30 doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
About the Musicians:
Shelley Thomas and Brian Prunka will perform selections from the golden age of Arabic music, paying homage to the great composers and singers in an intimate duo format that draws the listener into the deep connection between the voice and the oud.Shelley Thomas is a professional vocalist, voice coach, percussionist, and composer specializing in Eastern European and Arabic styles. She sings in numerous languages and has taught workshops, recorded, performed and toured nationally and internationally with notable world music artists including Kronos Quartet, Simon Shaheen, Hassan Hakmoun, the New York Arabic Orchestra, Bulgarian Voices Trio, the Brooklyn Youth Chorus, and Black Sea Hotel. Shelley was also featured on Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble’s 2017 GRAMMY-Winning album, Sing Me Home.
Brian Prunka spent his musically formative years immersed in the jazz community of New Orleans and for the past decade has been based in Brooklyn, composing and performing jazz and middle-eastern influenced music with his own projects (such as Nashaz, Sharq Attack and Near East River Ensemble).
Orakel is an electro-acoustic project of kora/oud player Kane Mathis and tabla player Roshni Samlal, who began their collaboration with Brooklyn Raga Massive. Using electronic compositional elements of sound design, field recordings, and drones, they create a new context for traditional elements of Indian classical percussion and kora repertoire.
This performance will be a set of their acoustic music that explores the traditional vocabulary of each instrument. Both kora and tabla traditions contain philosophies of improvising within rhythmic structures; this performance explores the ways in which each tradition’s canon is complementary to the other’s.
-
Sat14Oct2017
Tessa Lark & Michael Thurber, Sam Reider and the Human Hands Oct 14
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
A jazz pianist turned folk musician, Sam has spent the last eight years redefining American roots music on the accordion. His original music draws inspiration from sources ranging from Woody Guthrie to George Gershwin to Ennio Morricone. Sam has been featured on Marian McPartland’s “Piano Jazz” on NPR, the Wall Street Journal, Huffington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, toured in seven countries overseas, and appears regularly at Jazz at Lincoln Center and major festivals nationwide.Sam is co-leader of Brooklyn-based roots band Silver City Bound, which the Huffington Post calls, “Americana at its best.” In 2013 the U.S. Department of State selected Silver City Bound to be cultural ambassadors overseas, and they conducted a six-week tour of China, Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, and Vietnam. In 2016 they went abroad again, this time to Azerbaijan and Istanbul, where they collaborated on a benefit concert with young Syrian, Turkish, Kurdish, Palestinian, and American musicians. Global Citizen’s coverage of the concert is available here.
Sam’s latest project, the Human Hands, presents his unique compositional voice alongside an ensemble of virtuosic bluegrass and acoustic musicians. The sound of the music has been compared to that of the Punch Brothers, David Grisman, and Andrew Bird—an irresistible mixture of bluegrass, gypsy jazz, and mysterious sounds from around the world. In live shows, Sam often incorporates piano, synthesizer and vocals into the instrumentation of the band. With catchy tunes, a fiery pulse, and mind-bending improvisation, Sam and his band put on spontaneous live performances that keep audiences on their toes.
Sam is committed to having a positive impact on his community. Sponsored by Jazz at Lincoln Center, Sam does over sixty concerts and workshops each year at public schools around the country. These performances explore the links between American music and social studies themes like freedom, democracy, and civil rights. Sam’s interest in music and social change began when he planned a benefit concert that raised $15,000 for San Francisco Child Abuse Prevention center. The San Francisco Chronicle ran an article on the front page of the entertainment section, “He’s got rhythm. And for someone his age, plenty of soul, too.”
TESSA LARK & MICHAEL THURBER brings a genre-bending blend of bluegrass, jazz, classical, and original works to life in high-energy performances built on audience interaction, and a fun, welcoming stage presence. Lark & Thurber met as alumni of NPR’s From the Top, and have grown their duo collaboration out of the unique musical variety show series “Thurber Theatre,” which Michael regularly hosts at beloved New York City nightclub Joe’s Pub. Building on the massive success of these intimate and varied musical evenings at Joe’s Pub, Lark and Thurber now offer their signature sound and charisma to venues across North America.
Michael Thurber enjoys a reputation as one of the most versatile young musical talents currently active in New York City. Whether playing bass on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, composing music for the Royal Shakespeare Company, co-founding the smash YouTube channel CDZA, or hosting his “Thurber Theater” variety show at Joe’s Pub, Thurber’s musical voice defies genre and category.
Tessa Lark earns consistent praise from critics and audiences alike for her astounding range of sounds, technical agility, captivating interpretations, and multi-genre programming and performance. In the classical music world, Tessa has earned many of the top competition prizes available to young artists including, among many others: a 2016 Avery Fisher Career Grant, the Silver Medal in the 2014 International Violin Competition of Indianapolis, and a first-place finish in the 2012 Naumburg International Violin Competition.
In their respective careers thus far, Tessa and Michael have had the privilege of collaborating with some of the world’s leading musicians in a wide variety of genres — to name just a few: Mitsuko Uchida, Itzhak Perlman, and Mark O’Connor (Tessa), and Yo-Yo Ma, James Taylor, and Cee Lo Green (Michael).
Lark and Thurber both gained their first musical training at Midwestern institutions; with Michael attending The Interlochen Arts Academy and Tessa participating in the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music’s Starling Preparatory String Project. Tessa went on to study with Miriam Fried at the New England Conservatory, and recently earned her Artist Diploma from The Juilliard School, while Michael also studied at Juilliard.
-
Sun15Oct2017
Ann Gillespie's Bunnies Inside Of Her - *Reading* -Oct 15
8:00 pm doorsAnn Gillespie is a playwright and performer who lives in Brooklyn, New York. While earning her BFA in Drama at Syracuse University, Ann was able to study performance at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London. Ann later went on to earn an MA in Text and Performance from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.
Ann’s darkly comedic and nuanced writing for theater and film emphasizes movement, ambiguous moral dilemmas, and strong female characters. Plays include “Crossing” (voted best in show, From The Hip Theatre festival), “B in Oblivion” (commissioned by The Krane Theatre), “Terminal Moraine” (commissioned by Lost Girls Theatre Company), “Validating the Shit out of Each Other” (MicroTheatre Miami) and “Choreographing a Rape Scene to go into a Feminist Play” (workshopped at Florida International University Alternative Theatre Festival 2016, short-listed by the Eugene O’Neill Festival; staged readings at GableStage Theatre for South Florida Theatre League and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art)
Ms. Gillespie’s short play “BENCH” was performed at the Jay Sharp Theater in the Playwrights Horizons building as part of the Samuel French Off Off Broadway Short Play Festival 2014. That same year, Ann also performed in an original play she wrote, “Was it Love or Just Dancing” produced at the RADA Festival in London. In 2015 Ann went back to the RADA Festival for a staged reading of her play “Bunnies Inside Her,” performed by Whistlestop Theatre. The company revived their performance of this full-length again in London in October 2015 in The
-
Thu19Oct2017
Adam Schneidt / Jeremy Udden Oct 19
7:30 $10.00 suggested donation
Adam Schneit BandAdam Schneit – tenor saxophone, clarinet, songs
Sean Moran – guitar
Eivind Opsvik – bass
Kenny Wollesen – drums
The Adam Schneit Band combines the freewheeling, improvisational spirit of jazz with the visceral energy and melodic directness of rock and folk music. The band released its first album, “Light Shines In,” on Fresh Sound records in December 2016.
“…like songs without a singer…seeking emotional communication, giving space to lyrical ideas.” –Downbeat
Jeremy Udden’s PlainvilleJeremy Udden – alto saxophone, songs
Steve Cardenas – guitar
Eivind Opsvik – bass
Kenny Wollesen – drums
“A richly engrossing project from the Brooklyn-by-way-of Boston saxophonist that finds new ground between jazz, instrumental rock and folk…jazz fans should be taken with this caliber of invention.”(LA Times)“Melodic, ruminative, nostalgic and fresh at the same time.”(SEATTLE TIMES)“Jazz for Wilco fans-a rural vibe that has a dash of a New England starkness to it, even when the aggression takes over.”(VILLAGE VOICE) -
Fri20Oct2017
Fieldings/ b o t /CLEBS Oct 20
7:30 doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
b o t is a brooklyn-based musical collective created in early 2016. in all of its various permutations, b o t is led by an unnamed, enigmatic character of ambiguous gender who appears to be perpetually apprehensive and cynical. being heavily influenced by the contemporary gospel of the late nineties and oughts.
Fieldings is prodocer/songwriter Lucinda Hearn (and often times also friends). Solo Fieldings is like sticks and dirt with a heartbeat. With a band it’s different, but this time you just get the bones. Fieldings first mini-album Soft Tissue is out November 17th.
CLEBS is the mutant brainchild of singer Emilie Weibel and producer/drummer Jason Nazary. A thorough melodicism and paranormal sonic connections make for an uncanny musical experience.
-
Sat21Oct2017
Erik Sanko Oct 21
7:30 doors $15
Erik Sanko
“..could be Paul McCartney’s depressive twin, with a similar reedily sincere voice and ear for tunes”Jon Pareles, New York Times -
Sun22Oct2017
Open Ground: Greg Belisle-Chi Quartet // Ben Monder solo Oct 22
7:30 doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
A musician in the New York City area for over 30 years, Ben Monder has performed with a wide variety of artists, including Jack McDuff, Marc Johnson, Lee Konitz, George Garzone, Paul Motian, Guillermo Klein, Maria Schneider, and Marshall Crenshaw. He also contributed guitar parts to the last David Bowie album, “Blackstar”. Ben conducts clinics and workshops around the world, and has served on the faculties of the New England Conservatory, NYU and the New School. He was the recipient of a Doris Duke Impact Award in 2014, and a Shifting Foundation grant in 2013. Ben continues to perform original music internationally in solo and trio settings, and in a long standing duo project with vocalist Theo Bleckmann. He has appeared on over 200 CDs as a sideman, and has released 6 as a leader: Amorphae (ECM, 2015), Hydra (Sunnyside, 2013), Oceana(Sunnyside, 2005), Excavation (Arabesque, 2000), Dust (Arabesque, 1997), and Flux (Songlines,1995).
Gregg Belisle-Chi is a guitarist and composer in Brooklyn, NY.The Book of Hours is a through-composed piece based on the five movements of the Mass Ordinary, inspired by the history, text, and musical settings throughout western music history. Originally composed for a nine piece chamber ensemble, the piece was re-orchestrated for four improvisers, Belisle-Chi on guitar, Matt Aronoff on bass, Dov Manski on keys, and Michael W. Davis on drums. -
Thu26Oct2017
Innov Gnawa - Oct 26
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
-
Thu26Oct2017
DPCD // Innov Gnawa
DPCD is the work of Chicago singer-songwriter Alec Watson. The music is warm, repetitive meditations on daily ritual, memory, family history, and grey areas of belief and doubt. DPCD is on tour in support of their first full length record “Good Visions.”
Innov Gnawa
-
Fri27Oct2017
Ryan Power w Tredici Baci and Matt Mitchell Oct 27
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested DonationOver the last 1.5 decades, Vermont to Brooklyn based songwriter/producer Ryan Power has tirelessly embarked on the quest to write the definitive song-based music, full of accuracy, refinement, deliberation, and perfectly-placed shifting harmonic puzzles. This show will be in celebration of his new NNA release: They Sell Doomsday. Ryan will perform two sets: one with Matt Mitchell, one with Tredici Bacci. Ryan is looking forward to this.
-
Sat28Oct2017
Relatives Fall Residency: Last Saturdays at the Owl Oct 28
7:30 doors $10.00 Suggested DonationRelatives – Ian Davis and Katie Vogel – met upon arrival to New York City in 2007 and have been singing and writing together since. Over the years, we have been paring down and turning inwards, exploring what can be done with less. This fall marks our ten year anniversary as a band and the release of our second full-length record, Weighed Down Fortune (November 7, 2017). In celebration we will be curating a series of four shows where we will perform duo alongside featured musicians/poets/performers at the Owl Music Parlor on last Saturdays this fall.
WITH Buck Meek, Tyler French, Lau Noah
-
Sun29Oct2017
Are Skwaird and Jeffrey Lewis
7:30 doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
Rebecca Tilles and Rachel Swaner are Are Skwaird, a duo that reimagines old folk tunes and outsider classics through sweet harmonies, curious instrumentation, and an appropriate mix of wistfulness, humor, and charm.
-
Thu02Nov2017
BONOMO / Dora Jarkowski Nov 2
7:30 $10.00 suggested donation
BONOMO FORMED BY LEAD SINGER ADAM BONOMO (PIANO/VOCALS) AND ANDREW RENFROE (GUITAR) IS A FAMILY OF MUSICIANS ON A MISSION TO UNIFY MUSICAL TRADITIONS AND AUDIENCES ALIKE. FORMED IN LATE 2015, BONOMO WAS QUICKLY RECOGNIZED FOR THEIR UNIQUE YET FAMILIAR SONGWRITING STYLE.FOUNDED IN 2015, BONOMO WON FIRST PLACE AT THE CASC SONGWRITING COMPETITION, PLACED IN THE TOP 5 FINALIST IN THE INDIE INTERNATIONAL SONGWRITING COMPETITION, GAVE A DEBUT PERFORMANCE AT LINCOLN CENTER AS A TOP 3 FINALIST IN THE NEW SONG MUSIC COMPETITION, RECEIVED 3RD PLACE AT THE NASHVILLE FILM FESTIVAL, AND WAS A COFFEE MUSIC PROJECT SELECTED ARTIST.ADAM AND ANDREW BEGAN BEEN PERFORMING TOGETHER OVER 10 YEARS AGO. FROM SIDEWALK-JAZZ PERFORMANCES TO LOCAL VENUES, THE TWO CULTIVATED THEIR CHEMISTRY AND UNIQUE STYLE OF SONGWRITING. FUSING THE PRECISE INTENT OF SINGING/SONGWRITING WITH THE FLAVOR OF JAZZ-INFLUENCED GOSPEL FOLK MUSIC, BONOMO RELEASED THEIR DEBUT ALBUM “PHASES” ON FEBRUARY 19, 2017 AT JOE’S PUB IN NEW YORK CITY.
Everything about Dora, the 21 year old Polish-American singer-songwriter, is unconventional. Her whimsical lyrics, soaring melodies, and seeking spirit have the power to change a room. Dora grew up backstage at her mother’s theatre performances on and off broadway, and alongside her sister, Lueza. Lueza, disabled and unable to walk or talk, became a driving force in Dora’s mission to discover alternative ways to communicate through sound and emotion. Dora devotes her music to the possibility that old feelings will be felt as new. -
Fri03Nov2017
Norma // Stratus Quartet, Du.0, Theo Walentiny Nov 3
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation
“Norma was born in 1990 in the south of France, from a harmonica-playing Springsteen-worshiping father and a Beatlemaniac mother. Never picking a side, she refined her growing taste by watching MTV for hours after school, falling in love with Fiona Apple and RnB divas.
Following her 2016 debut EP «Badlands», a fierce introduction to her songwriting, Norma is currently recording her debut album, to be released early 2018.
On stage, Norma appears under her dark curly mane, shifting gracefully from her faithful Firebird to the piano: each song comes unexpected, led by her heady melodies and heartfelt vocals. “ -
Sat04Nov2017
Cassidy Andrews & Akie Bermiss
7:30 doors $10.00 Suggested DonationCassidy Andrews released her debut EP “Through the Dark” in October 2016. Intricate production based on acoustic guitar create texture and dimnesionality that take the listener through a haunting dream. Songs with lyrics such as “Love is only as love does” reveal the honest writing you can expect from Andrews. She can be found sipping whiskey, strumming her electric guitar or picking her acoustic, or even sitting at the piano in all the most intimate New York City venues. Her witty banter onstage draws in the audience with the same authenticity found in her music. Expected to new release new single “What Was Wrong” November 2017.
Akie Bermiss, with his affable disposition, glasses, and healthy do of cascading dreads that drape down to his shoulders, is unabashedly a self-professed nerd to the nth degree. Since early childhood Akie has been an obsessed science fiction aficionado. Yet he does have an artist-friendly façade and has managed to cultivate and live a double-life as a thriving music protégé, pianist, singer/songwriter, composer, arranger and emerging solo artist. Akie kicked off his 2017 touring schedule playing keyboards and providing backing vocals for veteran indie multi-genre band Lake Street Dive’s national concert tour in support of their latest CD, “Side Pony.” The tour was very exciting and included an opening spot in Aspen for Hall & Oates!
Cassidy will be joined November 4th by a special guest for a night of music at Brooklyn’s own Owl Music Parlor, someone who’s became a “household name” for those paying attention to the NYC music scene. Details to come. -
Wed08Nov2017
Howe Gelb Nov 8
7:30 pm $15.00
Howe Gelb’s Future Standards
Began in Amsterdam
ended in New York City
and in between,
was all Tucson
These are ‘Future Standards’ by The Howe Gelb Piano Trio, taking an outsider view of early
gospel and rhythm and blues both part of the American musical socialization that he touched on
with 2006’s ‘Sno Angel’. Now he’s on a jazz-tinged trip, bending the genre, taking it back to his
shack, giving an innovative fine tune in the lean-to garage.
Don’t forget, Gelb is a man who’s done acoustic sets where he sings into the pick up of his
guitar, he’s rocked out with Giant Sand, re-shaped alt-country and has a back catalogue that’s
nothing short of “im-press-ive”. He knows a melody when he plays it.
Now, he’s searching for a way to re-imagine an important genre in the history of songconstruction and, as ever he’s throwing a spanner in the works, making up words “un-em-
barkable” and coming off like Mose Allison on downers, touching on Brubeck’s hand patterns,holding court as a Django-like strummer – Naim Amor – drifts by on an abandoned caboose
almost just out of earshot.
In places on ‘Future Standards’, Gelb duets with the equally laconic Lonna Kelley, it’s Parton and
Porter (Wagoner) at the last chance saloon, all done up in stuffed shirts, uneasy but perfectly
alluring. Gelb’s piano sinks to a pedal-depressed ambience as his cavalier vocal boasts of new
love and faded times, all in the best tradition of the American Songbook that he’s pretty damn
cleverly adding a new volume to.
T’was something less than coincidental that in the same burg Chet Baker ended it, these
sessions began. There in Amsterdam with JB Meijers at the helm, co-producing the first tracks
written for what was about to become a standard practice, assembling a brilliant rhythm section
as well as offering his own signature guitar, JB aptly provided Howe the gumption to spring
board into such uncharted waters with actual charts.
In the end, and only fitting, New York City, concluded these sessions via a visit with Tucsonian
drummer, and Village Vanguard bartender, Arthur Vint.. just spittin’ distance from the original
ripple effect of a cherished Thelonious Sphere Monk.
“This is an attempt at writing a batch of tunes that could last through the ages with the relative
structure of what has become known as “standards”. The likes of Cole Porter and Hoagy
Carmichael done up by Frank Sinatra or Billie Holiday,” suggests Howe. “Julie London had a lot to
do with it.”
These moments of melody framed in rhythm and rhyme along the pathway reproducing the
species, if only to remind us, to validate, to assure; We never choose to fall in love… It’s always
love that chooses us.https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=GJ0S-AzLp7k
Video and link for streaming “Terribly So” a single from Howe’s new release “Future Standards” (Fire Records)
http://www.firerecords.com/howe-gelb-reveals-video-for- terribly-so/
https://soundcloud.com/firerecords/howe-gelb- terribly-so -
Thu09Nov2017
Julia Kent / Doug Wieselman's Trio S Nov 9
7:30
After years of recording and touring as a member of groups including Rasputina and Antony and the Johnsons, Canadian-born, New York City-based cellist and composer Julia Kent began to create her own music, recording at her home studio using layered and processed cello, electronics, and found sounds. She has released four solo records, the most recent being Asperities on UK label Leaf, and has toured as a solo artist throughout North America and Europe, including appearances at Primavera Sound, Meltdown, the Reeperbahn festival in Hamburg, Unsound, and Mutek. She also writes music for film, theatre, and dance.
On Asperities:
“Darkly evocative”
****Mojo
“The finesse and dexterity of these compositions makes “Asperities” her most complete record to date. Essential.”
Drowned in Sound
Trio S is led by Doug Wieselman on clarinets, loops and banjo – with ‘cellistJane Scarpantoni and drummer Kenny Wollesen. This show at the Owl will markthe vinyl release of their new album, “Somewhere Glimmer”. On this new record they continue to explore, with Wieselman’s compositions, themes from sources of water – rivers and streams – and themes from dreams. They have performed as a trio since 2000.Praise for their debut album, Trio S:“It’s three of my favorite musicians, and the music in incandescent”
– Laurie Anderson
“…beautifully languid…the playing here is gently brilliant. The music can work its way into your subconscious to the point where you almost forget you’re listening to it.”
– Dave Mandl, The Wire -
Fri10Nov2017
Lorain, Tenderfoot, Matt Bauer and Prairie Empire Nov 10
7:30 $15.00 at the door
Tenderfoot is the dream-folk project of singer-songwriter Adam Kendall Woods. With an unabashedly romantic, experimental approach to songwriting, Tenderfoot creates a potent emotional landscape that has drawn comparisons to Bright Eyes, Angel Olsen and Perfume Genius. tenderfootmusic.com
Lorain plays lyric-driven, hazy folk-rock, recalling the ghosts of Nashville Skyline era Dylan, and in line with more contemporary artists like Kevin Morby and Cass Mccombs Our forthcoming debut record, Through Frames, inspired in part by Olivia Liang’s Lonely City, is a reflection on isolation in an increasingly crowded and connected world.
Brittain Ashford fronts the Brooklyn-based band Prairie Empire, co-created the BCAT & CTOWN Variety Show, and can be foundperforming in the various basements and bars of New York. She was nominated for a Lucille Lortel Award for her role asSonya in the acclaimed Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, a role she originated at Ars Nova and reprised onBroadway in 2016. She is sporadically touring with Dave Malloy’s Ghost Quartet.
“Matt Bauer conjures a warm yet slightly eerie mood with his banjo driven alt folk. The Greenpoint-via-Kentucky folkster has a gorgeous whispery way with a song.”- Time Out New York -
Sat11Nov2017
Lau Noa, Grey McMurray & Moto Fukushima Nov 11
7:30 $10.00 suggested donationLau 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.Born in Kobe, Japan; based in NYC. six string bass player, composer, mountain dulcimer and shamisen player.
A lifelong musician, Fukushima was named outstanding performer before graduating Sum Cum laude from Berklee College of Music.
Guitarist and singer Grey Mcmurray has been called “puckish”(The New York Times), “sublimely odd”(New York Magazine), “chilling and moving”(Deli Magazine) and “the world’s least obtrusive guitarist”(The Guardian). Recently he has been performing with Colin Stetson’s Sorrow Ensemble, Beth Orton , the American Contemporary Music Ensemble (ACME), Sam Amidon, and in many small places very late at night, finishing up the material for his first solo record.
Click here to Reply or Forward -
Sun12Nov2017
Ali Dineen and Noah Harley Nov 12
7:30 $10.00 suggested donation
Ali Dineen is a singer, multi-instrumentalist and visual artist based in New York City. She performs original music as well as songs from U.S. folk traditions, incorporating historical and sociopolitical commentary into her shows. She believes in the power of narrative to connect people to their histories, themselves and one another. Ali’s music is personal and also political, and explores the intersections of personal stories with larger histories. She has given her musical talents to various projects including the Bread and Puppet Theater. She performs regularly in New York City.
Noah Harley plays traditional and original country and folk tunes, with a wee bit of surf thrown in to keep audiences in deep water. A real, live son of a children’s musician and storyteller, Harley began playing music publicly in Berlin, Germany, as the banjo player in The Cowboy Killers. Since returning to the States, Harley has toured up, down, around, back, and forth across the U.S., with numerous bandidos, including Tik Tok Laboratories, Ommie Wise, and most recently with Spirit Family Reunion. Today he forms one-half, and sometimes one third of The Horse Eyed Men. -
Thu16Nov2017
Harris Eisenstadt's Poschiavo 50
7:30 $10.00 suggested donationPoschiavo 507-8 premieres, third Thursdays at the Owl Music Parlor, from a book of fifty short compositions for small ensembles, written during an August 2017 residency in Poschiavo, CHSara Serpa – voiceAngelica Sanchez – pianoHarris Eisenstadt- drums, compositions
-
Fri17Nov2017
Hannah Read and Keenan O'Meara Nov 17
7:30 $10.00 suggested donation
Keenan O’Meara: “Born in Maryland. Living in Shandaken. Unmotivated naturalist writing songs instead.
-
Sat18Nov2017
Yotoco Nov 18
7:30 Doors $10.00 Suggested Donation“Yotoco’s music defies categorization. It 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 danceable. Yotoco’s music may be hard to classify- but it is very easy to party to.”
-
Thu23Nov2017
CLOSED for the Holiday Nov 23
-
Fri24Nov2017
HANKSGIVING Nov 24
7:30 $10.00 suggested donation
-
Sat25Nov2017
Relatives Fall Residency: Last Saturdays with Vuyo Sotashe and Sara Lucas Nov 25
7:30 doors $10.00 Suggested DonationRelatives – Ian Davis and Katie Vogel – met upon arrival to New York City in 2007 and have been singing and writing together since. Over the years, we have been paring down and turning inwards, exploring what can be done with less. This fall marks our ten year anniversary as a band and the release of our second full-length record, Weighed Down Fortune (November 7, 2017). In celebration we will be curating a series of four shows where we will perform duo alongside featured musicians/poets/performers at the Owl Music Parlor on last Saturdays this fall.
WITH
-
Sun26Nov2017
Dana Lyn & Kyle Sanna / Kinan Azmeh
8pm doors, $10.00 suggested donationHailed as “ground-breaking” by noted folklorist and NEA Award-recipient Mick Moloney and “bursting with creativity” by renowned fiddler Kevin Burke, Dana Lyn and Kyle Sanna connect the dots between their experience as composers and improvisers in New York City’s rich musical community and their deep admiration for traditional Irish music. The duo has collaborated with some of the greatest living interpreters of Irish music, including Martin Hayes and Dennis Cahill, Cillian Vallely, Kevin Burke, and Susan McKeown. Lyn and Sanna have brought their inventive arrangements and nuanced interpretations of traditional music to clubs, festival stages and concert halls throughout the US and Canada. They have taught workshops at the Old Songs Festival, the Catskills Irish Arts Festival, the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival, Wellesley College, the University of Eastern Carolina, The University of Oregon, West Virginia’s Augusta Heritage Center, and were 2015 and 2016 residents at the Avaloch Farm Music Institute in Boscawen, NH. Their second album, “The Great Arc”, is inspired by and concerned with extinct and endangered animal species. The Irish Echo called it “a deep musical work full of lavish, evocative textures” and Grammy-winning singer Susan McKeown called it “sublime”.
KINAN AZMEH
Hailed as a “Virtuoso” and “Intensely Soulful” by the New York Times and “Spellbinding” by the New Yorker, and “Incredibly Rich Sound” by the CBC. His utterly distinctive sound across different musical genres has gained him international recognition as clarinetist and composer. Kinan was recently named composer-in-residence with Classical Movements for the 2017-2018 season.With this New York ensemble, Azmeh strives to reach a balance between classical music, jazz, and the music of his homeland, Syria. Azmeh’s expressive clarinet meets Kyle Sanna’s rustic guitar, soaring at times over the dynamic and volatile backdrop of John Hadfield’s percussion and Josh Myers’ double bass. Each band member has come from varied backgrounds to add their personal flair to this ensemble, resulting in a thoroughly exciting and rewarding listening experience.
Their recent album “Elastic City” has toured the US,Canada, France, England, Germany, Holland, Egypt, Lebanon,and Turkey.
-
Thu30Nov2017
Hands Free / Frikativ Quartet Nov 30
7:30
Frikativ Quartet: Sarah Bernstein, Scott Tixier, Mat Maneri, Tomeka ReidThe Frikativ Quartet presents compositions by Sarah Bernstein for improvising string quartet. Four inventive and soloistic musicians create a sound that taps the orchestral power of string ensembles and the agility of the jazz quartet. With Scott Tixier, violin, Sarah Bernstein, violin, Mat Maneri, viola, Tomeka Reid, cello.
New York based acoustic quartet The Hands Free inhabits a borderless region somewhere between folk song and free improvisation. Comprised of James Moore (guitar/banjo), Caroline Shaw (violin), Nathan Koci (accordion), and Eleonore Oppenheim (bass), all established performers and composers in their own right, The Hands Free brings together a unique and joyful combination of creative voices.
-
Fri01Dec2017
Dia Luna / Töth / Jofridur Dec 1
7:30 $10.00 suggested donation
DIA LUNA is a Bohemian Brujita who plays with the alchemy of music and memory.With simple song structures and a velveteen voice, DIA LUNA explores the sexy mess of being alive. Drawing on inspirations like Nina Simone, Joni Mitchell, and James Blake, her elegant songs oscillate between lush vocal loops, piano, and electronic flourishes. She describes emotional landscapes through sound the way Anais Nin describes them in writing.The result is poetic and powerful pop music that cuts straight to the core of feeling.She lives in a Brooklyn apartment full of altars and trinkets, and she’s awaiting her newest adventure.
Tōth is a new project of brooklyn songwriter Alex Toth. He sings in a style reminiscent of Arthur Russell and plays trumpet and guitar.
JFDR, the latest project from Iceland’s Jófríður Ákadóttir (Samaris, Pascal Pinon, Gangly), is a blend of cyclical guitar parts, soft minimal soundscapes, and poetic wonderings of a journey that ends where it began. Drawing from classical, folk, and electronic backgrounds, JFDR amalgamates the sounds of changing seasons, her voice a current that moves from rough seas to smooth waters. But perhaps JFDR shines the most in her capacity as a wordsmith, employing rich imagery to evoke the subtle emotions embedded in each song. Her first full length album, co-produced with legendary multi-instrumentalist Shahzad Ismaily, was released March 17th 2017. -
Sat02Dec2017
Dida Pelled // Jeremy Gustin & Leo Genovese // Gael Rakotondrabe Dec 2
7:30 $10.00 suggested donation
-
Thu07Dec2017
Ben Goldberg Dec 7
7:30 $10.00 suggested donation -
Fri08Dec2017
Christ Van Voorst / Kim Anderson Dec 8
7:30 $10.00 suggested donation
-
Sat09Dec2017
.michael.XL // Jessica Lurie Dec 9
7:30 $10.00 suggested donation.michael.XL is a Quartet that plays sometimes instrumental love songs and sometimes non-instrumental love songs, often about or told from the perspective of a person named Michael, no relation to the band or its members. We have Michael on the guitar, Michael on the sax/clarinet, Michael (Sam Decker) on tenor sax, and Michael (Jason Burger) on drums.
Seattle and Brooklyn-based Jessica Lurie emerged out of the Seattle 1990’s explosion of jazz, rock and improvisational music. An award-winning multi-instrumentalist, composer, and improviser, Lurie performs on saxophones, flute, electronics and voice. She explores a wide range of musical influences from around the globe as a composer and performer, including folk, funk, rhythmic Eastern European folk music and improvisation-heavy jazz with a dose of free-wheeling avant-groove-meets-grind. She will be performing a diverse set, featuring new compositions and works from her forthcoming CD “Long Haul”, to be released on Chant Records out of NYC.Jessica Lurie Ensemble:Allison Miller – drums, Mazz Swift – violin, Carmen Staaf – piano, Michael Bates – bass, J. Lurie – sax, flute, voice -
Sun10Dec2017
Open Ground Dec 10
7:30 $10.00 suggested donation
Open Ground Presents:Harish Raghavan QuintetImmanuel Wilkins – alto saxophoneJoel Ross – vibraphoneTaylor Eigsti – pianoHarish Raghavan – bass/compositionsJeremy Dutton – drumsIn 2007, Harish Raghavan moved to New York from Los Angeles, and has subsequently become one of the most in-demand bassists of his generation. Harish performs regularly with Ambrose Akinmusire, Charles Lloyd, Taylor Eigsti, Eric Harland, Kurt Elling, and dozens of others. In a concert length program, Harish will be presenting new music for his quintet.$10-15 donation @ the door -
Thu14Dec2017
Folk Fights Back for Racial Justice Dec 14
7:30 $10.00 suggested donation
Folk Fights Back is a musician led organization that seeks to raise awareness for critical issues in today’s political climate and fund organizations actively fighting for social and political change through fundraiser concerts. -
Fri15Dec2017
Levon Henry and Friends Dec 15
7:30 doors $10.00 Cover -
Sat16Dec2017
Allegra Krieger, Sam Reider and Rookin Band
7:30 $10.00 suggested donation -
Sun17Dec2017
Open Ground Dec 17
7:30 $10.00 suggested donation
Open Ground presents:8pmPatrick Wolff TrioPatrick Wolff – tenor saxophoneMartin Nevin – bassAllan Mednard – drums9pmAndré Matos TrioAndré Matos – guitarThomas Morgan – bassBilly Mintz – drums10pmDiana Gameros – voice and guitarPatrick Wolff – clarinetPatrick Wolff is a saxophone and clarinet player rooted in the bebop tradition, with a long history in the New York City jazz scene. He has worked with Matt Wilson, Albert “Tootie” Heath, Peter Bernstein, Grant Stewart, Josh Roseman, and many other jazz greats. Since moving to San Francisco in 2009, Wolff has appeared regularly with Marcus Shelby, Adam Shulman, and Diana Gameros. With four albums released under his name, he is making his mark as a bandleader with a sextet playing his original compositions, and with a classic jazz quartet focused on obscure and forgotten repertoire. http://patrickwolffmusic.com/Guitarist André Matos presents a trio featuring two of his favorite improvisers, the bassist Thomas Morgan and drummer Billy Mintz. New York based and Portuguese native, André Matos has been involved in a wide range of projects in the city and abroad. www.andrematosmusic.comAmong the San Francisco Bay Area’s bustling music scene is singer-guitarist- social activist Diana Gameros, an artist who’s quickly caught the attention of national media as well as acclaimed musicians (i.e. La Santa Cecilia, Natalie Lafourcade, Bebel Gilberto, Taylor Mac, San Francisco Symphony) who’ve been drawn to her singular music and intrigued by her life story. From the age of 13, Gameros has resided in the United States, and for much of that time, she’s been an undocumented immigrant. Now with legal status through a work permit and a green card on the way, Gameros writes a love letter to her homeland with 13 standout renditions of classic Mexican songs on her latest album, Arrullo, in anticipation of soon returning to Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. Gameros independently releases her sophomore album, Arrullo, on November 10, 2017. https://www.dianagameros.com/ -
Thu21Dec2017
Harris Eisenstadt's Poschiavo 50
7:30 $10.00 suggested donationPoschiavo 507-8 premieres, third Thursdays at the Owl Music Parlor, from a book of fifty short compositions for small ensembles, written during an August 2017 residency in Poschiavo, CHSara Schoenbeck – bassoonHarris Eisenstadt- drums, compositions -
Fri22Dec2017
The Lovestruck Balladeers Dec 22
7:30 $10.00 suggested donation
The Lovestruck Balladeers is a newly formed group of longtime musical friends. Their music is an original take on 20s-30s era jazz as well as lesser known styles of music from the beginning of the 20th century. Featuring:
Jared Engel – upright bass
Aaron Jonah Lewis – violin
Dennis Lichtman – clarinet
Dalton Ridenhour – piano
Jake Sanders – guitar -
Sat23Dec2017
An hOWLliday Party w Adam Minkoff, Oren Bloedow, Elizabeth Ziman and Charlie Burnham 12/23
7:30 $10.00 suggested donation -
Thu28Dec2017
Thursday CLOSED for Holiday Schedule 12.28
-
Fri29Dec2017
Brittany Anjou // Dina Macabee //Rachel Housle 12/29
7:30 $10.00 suggested donation
-
Sat30Dec2017
Relatives Fall Residency: Last Saturdays Dec 30
7:30 doors $10.00 Suggested Donationwith Anna RG and Judith Berkson
Relatives – Ian Davis and Katie Vogel – met upon arrival to New York City in 2007 and have been singing and writing together since. Over the years, we have been paring down and turning inwards, exploring what can be done with less. This fall marks our ten year anniversary as a band and the release of our second full-length record, Weighed Down Fortune (November 7, 2017). In celebration we will be curating a series of four shows where we will perform duo alongside featured musicians/poets/performers at the Owl Music Parlor on last Saturdays this fall.
