Music listings – 4/1 through 4/7

1. Ambient-Chaos SPECIAL APRIL FOOL’S DAY Event

Date: Monday, April 1, 2013
Time: 7:30pm – 11:30pm
Venue: Spectrum (121 Ludlow, Second Floor, New York, NY, 650-400-5100)
Ticket: $10-20 dollar floating donation
Genre: crazy music

Robert L. Pepper (PAS) and Damien Olsen present: Ambient-Chaos Night – A SPECIAL APRIL FOOL’S DAY Event. Short but sweet 10-15 minute sets! The event starts early. So please be there by 7:30 to settle in and enjoy the frequencies.

Performing Acts/schedule of appearance:

1) redgreenblue
2) Jazzfakers (Solo Sets)
3) Kerwin Williamson
4) David Grollman
5) Krystal Grant
6) Ron Anderson
7) Carey Burtt
8) Glenn Cornett and Robert Pepper
9) Luke Schwartz (guitar) + Vasu Panicker (keyboards)

2. Passover Strange with Stew

Date: Monday, April 1, 2013
Time: 9:30pm
Venue: Barbes (376 9th Street, Brooklyn, NY)
Ticket: $10
Genre: musical music

It’s a Stew concert disguised as a seder. Or a seder disguised as a Stew concert. Or a little of both.

Following in the footsteps of Duncan Sheik and Spring Awakening, L.A.’s Stew (who’s released albums both solo and with his band, The Negro Problem) made the transition from the pop-rock scene to Broadway in 2008. The show for which he wrote the book and score, Passing Strange, was not as commercially successful as Spring Awakening, but from a musical point of view, it’s an even better, very funny, wildly inventive gem about shaping your identity. Backed by a rocking quartet that includes co-composer Heidi Rodewald on bass, Stew himself acts/sings the narrator, leading us through the coming of age of his hero, Youth (Daniel Breaker), from Southern California to Amsterdam to Berlin and back. Recorded live, this album captures the score’s energy and depth. The songs can be hard-hitting (“Merci Beaucoup, M. Godard,” “Berlin: A Black Hole with Taxis”), but Stew writes particularly lovely ballads, like the heartbreaking “Arlington Hill,” “Keys,” “Come Down Now” and “Work the Wound,” which gains power as it builds up to an angry climax. This is a great score that deserves to be heard. —Elisabeth Vincentelli

3. Frank London’s Shekhina Big Band

Date: Monday, April 1, 2013
Time: 8pm
Venue: The Stone (is located at the corner of Avenue C and 2nd Street)
Ticket: $10
Genre: klezmer and big band jazz

Only in New York can you find 21 musicians who are all fluent in modern Jazz, free improvisation, traditional Jewish wedding music, Afro-Cuban salsa, and latin jazz. All of these elements coexist in Frank London’s biggest and boldest project to date – the Shekhinah Big Band. Two great traditions, klezmer and big band jazz, come together in one huge project that promises ground breaking music of exquisite intensity and awesomely ecstatic fun.

London’s original klezmer jazz compositions have been re-interpreted and re-imagined by a coterie of writers, many of whom are in the band. The personnel – a who’s who of the radical jewish music world – promises to make the Shekhinah Big Band the hottest new band on this or any scene.
Line up: Greg Wall, Marty Ehrlich, Matt Darriau, Zach Mayer, Paul Shapiro, Doug Wieselman, Jessica Lurie (saxes) Justin Mullens, Steven Gluzband, Ronald Horton, Pam Fleming, Rob Henke (trumpets) Curtis Hasselbring, Jacob Garchik, Matt Haviland, Brian Drye (trombones) Yoshie Fruchter (guitar) Anthony Coleman (piano) Uri Sharlin (accordion) Brian Glassman (bass) Roberto Rodriguez (drums) Renato Thoms (percussion)

4. Humanist

Date: Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Time: 11pm
Venue: The Shrine (2271 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd, NY)
Ticket: donation
Genre: Hip Hop from France/Burkina Faso – 11pm-12am

HUMANIST is a french artist from Burkina Faso who takes us on a trip from the West world to Africa by means of a sincere and thoughtful rap accompanied by a warm and melodious flow that becomes richer with digital (Dj’ing, MPC, electro…) as well as acoustic tones (Kora, Peul flute, balafon…) inviting us to dance and think, or simply arouse our senses. HUMANIST tells us the story of his life with an African wizard’s sensitivity without choosing the casy way out of saintliness and victimization, always with a positive state of mind : the hip hop state of mind.

5. Ben Wikelman Trio

Date: Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Time: 9:30pm
Venue: Terraza 7 (4019 GLEANE Street, Elmhurst, New York 11373, 718-803-9602)
Ticket: $10
Genre: jazz/latin
Ben Winkelman is an award-winning jazz pianist and composer from Melbourne, Australia currently living in New York City. Ben’s jazz compositions draw on a wide range of influences, including Afro-Cuban and Brazilian music, stride piano and early jazz and 20th century classical music. Some make use of claves (Cuban rhythmic cells) in odd meters. Since 2005 Ben has released three critically acclaimed albums of his compositions with his trio on the Jazzhead label.
Line up: Ben Wikelman / Piano, Ben Vanderwal / Drums and Sam Anning/Bass

6. Ralph Irizarry & Timbaláye

Date: Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Time: 9pm
Venue: Fat Cat (75 Christopher Street, New York, New York 10014)
Ticket: $10
Genre: latin
Ralph Irizarry is well known as one of the world’s most “swinging” timbaleros, whose distinctive playing style has made an indelible mark on those artists with whom he has performed. Born in Spanish Harlem of Puerto Rican parents, Ralph is self-taught, learning to play from listening to his brother’s music albums and sneaking into nightclubs at the age of 16. While still a teenager, Ralph’s family returned to Puerto Rico, where he gained his first professional experience with groups such as La Terrifica, and sitting in with El Gran Combo, Sonora Ponceña and many others… Line up:
Ralph Irizarry – Timbal
Sebastian Nickoll – Conga
Adan Perez – Piano
Israel Cedeño – Bass
Richie Viruet – Trumpet
Roman Filiu – Sax
Hommy Ramos – Trombone

7. The Sarah Bernstein Quartet

Date: Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Time:  8pm
Venue: The Roulette (509 Atlantic Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11217)
Ticket: $15
Genre: jazz/improv

The Sarah Bernstein Quartet performs compositions that mine the characteristic interplay of structure and freedom found in jazz, while offering glimpses of conceptual and textual aspects that form a bridge to Bernstein’s other works and projects. Here the focus stays on the musicians’ engagement with the material and the moment, through individual and interactive improvisation. Line up: Sarah Bernstein – violin,
Kris Davis – piano, Stuart Popejoy – bass and Ches Smith – drums

8. Allen Lowe – Music For Every Occasion

Date: Tuesday, April 3, 2013
Time:  10pm
Venue: The Roulette (509 Atlantic Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11217)
Ticket: $15
Genre: jazz

Music for Every Occasion: Some Pieces of New Jazz presents selections of Allen Lowe’s new works. Lowe’s specialty is American song, from standards to blues, gospel, ragtime, minstrel tunes, and free jazz. New compositions include All The Blues You Could Play By Now if Nicholas Payton Was Your Cousin; B. Bopstein’s Famous Hipster Medley; The Seven Foot Policeman; A Ragtime Nightmare; and The History of the American Ballad.  This is a continuation of his long-term anthology of reinterpretations of American song forms.

Lowe brings a small band to Roulette, including the trumpeter Randy Sandke, pianist Lewis Porter, bassist Kevin Ray, guitarist Ray Suhy, tuba player Christopher Meeder, and drummer Lou Grassi. The new program is called Music For Every Occasion: 20 Pieces of New Jazz, and it covers the range of Lowe’s prior and newer work, from blues and gospel re-writes to neo-bop, open improvisational/new music forms, country music, rock and roll references, Afro-Caribbean influences, and both very early and middle period jazz.

9. JC Maillard’s “Grand Baton” with Ari Hoenig

Date: Thursday, April 4, 2013
Time: 8pm & 9:30
Venue: ShapeShifter Lab (18 Whitwell Pl, between Carroll St & 1st St,Brooklyn, NY 11215, ph: 646-820-9452)
Ticket: $25 each set
Genre: nu jazz

JC Maillard on the SazBassand and Ari Hoenig on drums with special guest JD Walter on vocals. Grand Baton is the perfect mix of electronica, world and rock music. They borrow from the original drum beats that produced the greatest variety of styles from the Caribbean over to the rest of the World. In the Caribbean started the Latin music of Cuba, Santo Domingo, Puerto Rico, Trinidad, and the Reggae (and its succession, drum n’bass, dub…), and the Zouk and Socca, and Calypso, and Kompa, all together producing Reggaeton, Dancehall, Dubstep… out of the Drum!

10. Ilhan Ersahin’s WONDERLAND feat. Husnu

Date: Friday, April 5, 2013 2013
Time: 1:00am
Venue: Drom (85 Avenue A, NY, NY 10009, Ph: 212- 777-1157)
Ticket: $30
Genre: jazz
“A collision-free mix between electronica, jazz, and oriental music with rich melodies that reveal the intrinsic magic of each instrument.”
Ilhan Ersahin, saxophone instrumentalist, composer and music producer of Turkish origin, born in Sweden and living in New York. While he is influenced primarily by American post-boppers, Erşahin has also absorbed the essentials of reggae, hip-hop, and pop in addition to Middle Eastern folk music. The profound impact of these diverse influences is clearly evident in his musical expressions. Unlike many other instrumentalists of his generation, Erşahin is writing for a trio of sax, bass and drums-one of the most challenging instrumental formats in jazz-while also putting out some very strong hip-hop charts as well as leading a killer post modern jazz quintet. Erşahin’s “Wonderland“, recorded in Istanbul and New York comes forward as the vigilant reflection and expression of ties with Istanbul and his interest in Turkish music. A magical togetherness is evoked through the collaboration of musicians from Turkey and New York. “Wonderland” traveled through Turkey and Europe for Berlin Jazz Festival, Cologne Stadtgarten and Kopenhagen Bimhuis.
Hüsnü Uysal is born in Istanbul and he has been playing the guitar since he was 16 years old. He lost his heart to pop and rock music style. In Turkey he was mostly known as the guitarist of the famous jazz rock formation the Kombo Band who played with popular Turkish artists as well in Turkey as in the Netherlands.

11. Stone meets Sewelson

Date: Friday, April 5, 2013 2013
Time: 7pm
Venue: The Vagabond Cafe (7 Cornelia St / Just off West 4th)
Ticket: t.b.a.
Genre: jazz

Stephanie Stone-piano/singing and Dave Sewelson-bari sax/talking

12. Collapse Quartet

Date: Saturday, April 6, 2013
Time: 9pm
Venue: Spectrum (121 Ludlow, Second Floor, New York, NY, 650-400-5100)
Ticket: t.b.a.
Genre: electric guitar soundscapes and improv

Collapse Quartet is a sonic exploration of the infinite possibilities of four electric guitars. Channeling groups such as the Fred Frith guitar quartet and Robert Fripp’s various ensembles, Collapse uses multiple sounds to create songs that have a sense of melody, texture and humor. Guitarists Ty Citerman, Eyal Maoz, Yoshie Fruchter and Jonathan Goldberger are all accomplished composers and improvisers in their own right, and combine forces in this unique, and forwardthinking ensemble.