Avant Music News

In the Times:

ADOBE PROBE (Saturday) The alto saxophonist Tim Berne presides over this typically oblique ensemble but entrusts a lot of decisions to his collaborators: the multireedist Chris Speed, the trumpeter Shane Endsley, the guitarist Mary Halvorson, the pianist Matt Mitchell, the bassist John Hebert and the drummer Gerald Cleaver. At 8 p.m., the Stone, Avenue C and Second Street, East Village, thestonenyc.com; cover, $10.

HAN BENNINK AND DAVE DOUGLAS (Wednesday) About a decade ago the eminent Dutch drummer Han Bennink made a frisky duo record with the clever and industrious trumpeter Dave Douglas. For this engagement the two artists, hailing from separate generations but similar aesthetic regions, match wits with an additional partner, the bassist Matt Penman. At 8 and 10 p.m., Club Midway, 25 Avenue B, near Third Street, East Village, (212) 253-2595, clubmidway.com; $15 per set. (Chinen)

STEVEN BERNSTEIN’S MILLENNIAL TERRITORY ORCHESTRA (Monday) “We Are MTO” (Mowo) is the brashly exuberant recent studio album from this serious little big band, led by the trumpeter and arranger Steven Bernstein. Its sound would seem to be too big for this room, but stranger things have happened. At 10 p.m., 55 Bar, 55 Christopher Street, West Village, (212) 929-9883, 55bar.com; cover, $10. (Chinen)

BRASS NIGHT AT IBEAM (Friday) Rich Johnson, who organized this themed evening, performs in the first of two groups, We Never Saw This Coming, alongside his fellow trumpeters Russ Johnson and Kirk Knuffke (at 8 p.m.). The second group is a free-blowing duo consisting of the trombonist Chris McIntyre and the multireedist Charles Waters. At I-Beam Music, 168 Seventh Street, between Second and Third Avenues, Gowanus, Brooklyn, ibeambrooklyn.com; suggested donation, $10.

? BROOKLYN JAZZ UNDERGROUND FESTIVAL (Friday through Sunday) This plucky series, a production of the collective known as the Brooklyn Jazz Underground, showcases two or three working bands a night, each worthwhile. Of particular note are the quartets led by the violinist and violist Tanya Kalmanovitch (Friday at 7:30 p.m.) and the bassist Anne Mette Iversen (Saturday at 7:30); Cuarteto Ibérico, a signature group of the bassist Alexis Cuadrado (Sunday at 7:30); and the Alan Ferber Nonet, featuring the compositions of Mr. Ferber, a trombonist (Sunday at 11:30). At Smalls, 183 West 10th Street, West Village, (212) 252-5091, smallsjazzclub.com; cover, $20 per set. (Chinen)

MAT MANERI GROUP (Saturday) Mat Maneri is a violist with an elastic approach to pulse and pitch. Here he enlists the bright, exacting trumpeter Dave Ballou, the stalwart bassist John Hebert and the texture-minded drummer Randy Peterson. At 10 p.m., the Stone, Avenue C and Second Street, East Village, thestonenyc.com; cover, $10. (Chinen)

? NYC WINTER JAZZFEST (Sunday) This smorgasbord, now in its fifth year, coincides with the Association of Performing Arts Presenters conference, which means added incentive for a strong set and an extra opportunity to browse among them. Festivities begin around 6 p.m. and end well into the wee hours; three stages will run concurrently in three nearly adjacent Greenwich Village clubs. Highlights are too numerous to list, but a few to keep in mind would be By Any Means, a free-jazz trio spearheaded by the bassist William Parker (at 7:40); the Bandwagon, a mutable combo led by the pianist Jason Moran (at 8); the Marco Benevento Trio, an outfit led by a groove-leaning keyboardist (at 10:20); and, for an additional charge, the Watts Project, featuring music by the drummer Jeff (Tain) Watts for a cohort that includes the trumpeter Terence Blanchard and the bassist Christian McBride (at midnight). Various locations; $25 for showcase pass, $45 including the Watts Project. For more information, winterjazzfest.com. (Chinen)

? CRAIG TABORN (Sunday and Tuesday) Mr. Taborn, a keyboardist with kaleidoscopic vision and a keen attunement to atmosphere, programmed this month at the Stone, with head-turning results: every night includes something irresistible. On Sunday he allows himself a solo performance, on piano and reed organ (at 8 p.m.), and then a duo set with the alto saxophonist Tim Berne (at 10), a regular foil. On Tuesday he conjures the electrostatic feel of his outstanding and largely overlooked 2004 album, “Junk Magic” (Thirsty Ear), with help from the multireedist Chris Speed, the violist Mat Maneri, the bassist Erik Fratzke and especially the drummer David King. At 8 and 10 p.m., the Stone, Avenue C and Second Street, East Village, thestonenyc.com; cover, $10 per set. (Chinen)

WORDS AND MUSIC (Wednesday) The words in this venture, first attempted here a year ago, will be spoken by Charles Simic and Robert Pinsky, former poets laureate of the United States; the music rests with Vijay Iyer on piano, Lonnie Plaxico on bass and Andrew Cyrille on drums. If the poets can relax into the situation, and if Mr. Iyer can call on his experience with the spoken word, the results will suggest something other than two disciplines peering at each other over a divide. At 7:30 and 9:30 p.m., Jazz Standard, 116 East 27th Street, Manhattan, (212) 576-2232, jazzstandard.net; cover, $25. (Chinen)