Avant Music News

From NYTimes.com:

THE BLOOM FESTIVAL (Friday and Thursday) This monthlong series, running Thursday and Friday nights, turns the spotlight on female artists, and specifically those upholding against-the-grain ideals. On Friday the event’s namesake, the soprano saxophonist Jane Ira Bloom, leads a restless trio with the bassist Mark Helias and the drummer Bobby Previte; Thursday’s program will feature words by Sarah Deming and a burlesque performance by Peekaboo Pointe. At 9 and 10:30 p.m., Tea Lounge, 837 Union Street, near Sixth Avenue, Park Slope, Brooklyn, (718) 789-2762, tealoungeny.com; suggested donation, $10 to $20. 20090604

FREESTYLE MUSIC SERIES (Sunday) This installment of the durable avant-garde series, now on the Lower East Side, begins at 7 p.m. with Radio I-Ching, a collective ensemble. It also features a trio consisting of the saxophonist Jim Hobbs, the guitarist and bassist Joe Morris and the drummer Luther Gray (at 8:30) and the French Contraband Quartet, featuring the bassist François Grillot and the cellist Daniel Levin (at 10). Local 269, 269 East Houston Street, at Suffolk Street, Lower East Side, (917) 656-1587, myspace.com/thelocal269; $5. (Chinen)20090604

? SOREN KJAERGAARD, ANDREW CYRILLE AND BEN STREET (Tuesday) Mr. Kjaergaard, a Danish pianist, revisits some of the terse and ruminative music from “Optics” (ILK), an album released last year; his American partners then and now are Mr. Cyrille, an imposingly creative drummer, and Mr. Street, a resourceful and versatile bassist. At 8 p.m., Issue Project Room, 232 Third Street, third floor, Gowanus, Brooklyn, (718) 330-0313, issueprojectroom.org; $15. (Chinen)20090604

KIRK KNUFFKE (Wednesday) A trumpeter of sharp and open-ended perspective, Mr. Knuffke features his own compositions in a working quartet with Brian Drye on trombone, Reuben Radding on bass and Jeff Davis on drums. In separate sets, Mr. Drye and Mr. Knuffke also perform in a group called Bizingas, and Mr. Davis leads a quintet that includes Mr. Knuffke. At 9 p.m., Goodbye Blue Monday, 1087 Broadway, near DeKalb Avenue, Bushwick, Brooklyn, (718) 453-6343, goodbye-blue-monday.com; donations accepted. (Chinen)20090604

HAKON KORNSTAD (Monday, Wednesday and Thursday) Mr. Kornstad is a Norwegian tenor saxophonist with a quietly incandescent tone, a patient air and an arsenal of extended techniques. On Monday he performs in a trio with the bassist Eivind Opsvik and the drummer Gerald Cleaver; on Wednesday and Thursday he appears with Wibutee, a credibly contemporary electro-jazz ensemble. Monday at 9:30 p.m.and Wednesday at 9 p.m., Nublu, 62 Avenue C, between Fourth and Fifth Streets, East Village, nublu.net; cover, $5 on Monday, $10 on Wednesday. Thursday at 10:30 p.m., Monkey Town, 58 North Third Street, between Kent and Wythe Avenues, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, (718) 384-1369, monkeytownhq.com; cover, $8, with a $10 minimum. (Chinen)20090604

OLIVER LAKE ORGAN QUARTET (Friday and Saturday) The incisive alto saxophonist Oliver Lake has a soulful new album, “Makin’ It” (Passin’ Thru), featuring a trio with Jared Gold on Hammond B-3 organ and Johnathan Blake on drums. Here Mr. Lake expands to a quartet, enlisting Mr. Gold, along with the trumpeter Freddie Hendrix and the drummer Bill McLellan. Friday at 9 and 11 p.m. and 1 a.m., Sweet Rhythm, 88 Seventh Avenue South, at Bleecker Street, West Village, (212) 255-3626, sweetrhythmny.com; cover, $15, with a $10 minimum. (Chinen)20090604

? STEVE LEHMAN OCTET (Monday) The alto saxophonist Steve Lehman pursues an abstract lyricism informed by myriad traditions. Here he celebrates the release of a superb octet album, “Travail, Transformation & Flow” (Pi), with selfless improvisers like the trumpeter Jonathan Finlayson and the tenor saxophonist Mark Shim. At 6:30 p.m., Le Poisson Rouge, 158 Bleecker Street, near Thompson Street, Greenwich Village, (212) 505-3474, lepoissonrouge.com; $15. (Chinen)20090604

MAT MANERI QUARTET (Monday) Mat Maneri is a violist with an elastic approach to pulse and pitch. Here he presents new music for a well-attuned group with Craig Taborn on piano, Garth Stevenson on bass and Randy Peterson on drums. At 8 p.m., the Stone, Avenue C and Second Street, East Village, thestonenyc.com; cover, $10. (Chinen)20090604

? ROPEADOPE 10TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION (Wednesday) Doubling as a benefit for the producer Scotty Hard, who was paralyzed in a car accident last year, this show features an all-star coterie of groove players, along with a handful of guests. The house band for the evening is serious: John Medeski on keyboards, Charlie Hunter on guitar, John Ellis on saxophones, DJ Logic on turntables and Billy Martin on drums. At 9 p.m., Sullivan Hall, 214 Sullivan Street, between Bleecker and West Third Streets, Greenwich Village, (212) 477-2782, sullivanhallnyc.com; $20 in advance, $25 on the day of show. (Chinen)20090604

? VISION FESTIVAL (Tuesday though Thursday) The leading avant-garde jazz festival in this country — and, as a consequence of the cancellation of the JVC Jazz Festival this summer, the most substantive jazz event of any kind in New York City — starts next week with the usual wild profusion of must-sees. Among the wildest is an evening-long tribute to the alto saxophonist and Sun Ra Arkestra bandleader Marshall Allen, on Wednesday; and an all-star quartet led by the free-jazz drummer Sunny Murray, on Thursday. Start times vary from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., with festivities running through midnight; a full schedule is at visionfestival.org. (Through June 15.) Abrons Arts Center, 466 Grand Street, at Pitt Street, Lower East Side, (866) 811-4111, henrystreet.org; $25; $20 for students (Chinen)