Avant Music News

In the Times:

DARCY JAMES ARGUE’S SECRET SOCIETY (Wednesday) This postmillennial big band, led by Mr. Argue, an indefatigable young composer, recently released an admirable studio debut, “Infernal Machines” (New Amsterdam). In performance the group balances airtight precision with a good measure of looseness and crackle. At 8:30 and 10:30 p.m., Iridium, 1650 Broadway, at 51st Street , (212) 582-2121, iridiumjazzclub.com; $25 per set, with a $10 minimum. (Nate Chinen)20091119

TIM BERNE AND LOS TOTOPOS (Saturday) Mr. Berne, an alto saxophonist and composer with a taste for coarsely layered frictions, presents a newly minted ensemble here, with Matt Mitchell on piano and electronics, Oscar Noriega on clarinets and Ches Smith on percussion. The band focuses not only on sharp and convoluted new music by Mr. Berne, but also on some rather obscure material written more than 30 years ago by his former mentor, the saxophonist-composer Julius Hemphill. At 8:30 p.m., Roulette, 20 Greene Street, at Grand Street, SoHo , (212) 219-8242, roulette.org; $15; $10 for students. (Chinen)20091119

ELLERY ESKELIN QUARTET (Sunday) Ellery Eskelin is a tenor saxophonist drawn to rhythmic tumult and tonal discord, though he also has his soulful side. In this ensemble he leans on a responsive, stalwart bassist, John Hébert, and two of the most dynamic newer arrivals on the experimental scene: the guitarist Mary Halvorson and the drummer Tyshawn Sorey. At 9 and 10:30 p.m., Cornelia Street Café, 29 Cornelia Street, West Village , (212) 989-9319, corneliastreetcafe.com; cover, $10, with a $6 minimum. (Chinen)20091119

LISA MEZZACAPPA (Sunday and Monday) Ms. Mezzacappa is a bassist and composer based in the San Francisco area and rooted in a rugged approach to experimentation. On Sunday night she leads the promising East Coast edition of a signature band, Bait & Switch, with Ellery Eskelin on tenor saxophone, Mary Halvorson on guitar and Ches Smith on drums. On Monday — appearing first in a bassist-bandleader trifecta, before groups led by John Hébert (at 9 p.m.) and Sean Conly (at 10:30 p.m.) — she presents Soft Pitch, a trio with the guitarist Chris Welcome and the drummer Mike Pride. Sunday at 8:30 p.m., Zebulon, 258 Wythe Avenue, near Metropolitan Avenue, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, (718) 218-6934, zebuloncafeconcert.com; no cover. Monday at 7:30 p.m. Local 269, 269 East Houston Street, at Suffolk Street, Lower East Side , (212) 228-9874, rucma.org; cover, $10 per set; $15 for the night ($7 and $12 for students.) (Chinen)20091119

? PAUL MOTIAN OCTET + 1 (Friday through Sunday) A luminous and mysterious post-bop ensemble that consists of two contrasting pairs of improvisers (the saxophonists Chris Cheek and Bill McHenry, and the guitarists Steve Cardenas and Ben Monder); a couple of welcome stabilizers (Jerome Harris and Thomas Morgan, both bassists); a pair of wild cards (the violist Mat Maneri and the pianist Jacob Sacks); and a wily mastermind (Mr. Motian, on drums). At 9 and 11 p.m., Village Vanguard, 178 Seventh Avenue South, at 11th Street, West Village , (212) 255-4037, villagevanguard.com; cover, $25, with a $10 minimum. (Chinen)20091119

? 28 HOURS OF INNOVATIVE ART (Friday and Saturday) Organized by Arts for Art, the nonprofit behind the Vision Festival, this avant-garde marathon — scheduled to run from 6 p.m. on Friday through midnight on Saturday — will focus on performance and participation, weaving together music with movement, art and conversation. That’s the idea, anyway; participating artists include the percussionist Milford Graves, the saxophonists John Zorn and Charles Gayle, the trombonists George Lewis and Josh Roseman, and the pianists Matthew Shipp and Connie Crothers. Clemente Solo Vélez Cultural Center, 107 Suffolk Street, at Rivington Street, Lower East Side , (212) 260-4080, visionfestival.org; $30 per day; $20 for students; $50 for all 28 hours. (Chinen)

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