Avant Music News

From NYTimes.com:

BASSDRUMBONE (Sunday) Nearly 30 years ago the bassist Mark Helias, the drummer Gerry Hemingway and the trombonist Ray Anderson first began knocking about together as BassDrumBone. A few years ago they released a taut update, “The Line Up” (Clean Feed), that affirmed the haleness of their rapport. At 8:30 p.m., Cornelia Street Café, 29 Cornelia Street, West Village , (212) 989-9319, corneliastreetcafe.com; cover, $10, with a $6 minimum. (Chinen)20091204

JAMES CARNEY GROUP (Tuesday) “Ways & Means” (Songlines) is the artfully layered new album by the keyboardist and composer James Carney, who reunites with several of its contributors here: the trombonist Josh Roseman, the bassist Chris Lightcap and the drummer Mark Ferber. At 9:30 p.m., 55 Bar, 55 Christopher Street, West Village , (212) 929-9883, 55bar.com; $10. (Chinen)20091204

DAVE DOUGLAS QUINTET (Tuesday through Thursday) The trumpeter Dave Douglas has led a handful of different bands in recent years, but this one — with Donny McCaslin on tenor saxophone, Uri Caine on piano, James Genus on bass and Clarence Penn on drums — may be the closest to his core. The group, last documented on a live recording made in 2006, seems predisposed to make its Village Vanguard return into an event. (Through Dec. 13.) At 9 and 11 p.m., Village Vanguard, 178 Seventh Avenue South, at 11th Street, West Village , (212) 255-4037, villagevanguard.com; cover, $20, with a $10 minimum. (Chinen)20091204

ERGO (Sunday) The trombonist Brett Sroka, the keyboardist Carl Maguire and the drummer Shawn Baltazor make up this atmospheric collective, which takes full advantage of electronic programming and cross-genre appropriation. The band performs in celebration of its intentionally spooky new album, “Multitude, Solitude” (Cuneiform). At 6 p.m., Downtown Music Gallery, 13 Monroe Street, between Catherine and Market Streets, Chinatown , (212) 473-0043, downtownmusicgallery.com; free. (Chinen)20091204

GERRY HEMINGWAY QUINTET (Friday) Texture is often more of a priority than tempo in Gerry Hemingway’s drumming, and his compositions reveal a fruitful fascination with polytonality. In this quintet he plays with a longtime collaborator, the tenor saxophonist Ellery Eskelin, as well as the multireedist Oscar Noriega, the guitarist Terrence McManus and the bassist Kermit Driscoll. At 9 and 10:30 p.m., Cornelia Street Café, 29 Cornelia Street, West Village , (212) 989-9319, corneliastreetcafe.com; $10, with a $6 minimum. (Chinen)20091204

? MICROSCOPIC SEPTET (Saturday) A few years ago the complete output of this high-spirited outfit was reissued by Cuneiform, thwarting any notion that jazz in the 1980s was strictly a conservative affair. Here the group draws partly from “Lobster Leaps In” (Cuneiform), a new release stocked with music by two diabolical resident composers, the pianist Joel Forrester and the soprano saxophonist Phillip Johnston. At 10 p.m., 92YTribeca, 200 Hudson Street, at Canal Street , (212) 601-1000, 92y.org/92ytribeca; $18 in advance; $20 at the door. (Chinen)20091204

? MATTHEW SHIPP AND WILLIAM PARKER (Monday) Mr. Shipp, a pianist of restless and ruminative energies, has an excellent solo album, “4D” (Thirsty Ear), due out next month. He draws on some of the same strategies here, but the presence of Mr. Parker — a powerfully dynamic bass player, and a longtime rhythm-section partner — should provide some rich additional context. At 8 and 10:30 p.m., Blue Note, 131 West Third Street, Greenwich Village , (212) 475-8592, bluenote.net; cover, $15 at tables, $10 at the bar, with a $5 minimum. (Chinen)20091204

JEN SHYU (Friday and Saturday) Ms. Shyu, a vocalist well accustomed to experimental tensions, presents a new commission, “Raging Waters, Red Sands,” for an ensemble that includes Ivan Barenboim on clarinet, Mat Maneri on viola and Chris Dingman on vibraphone. At 9 and 10:30 p.m., Jazz Gallery, 290 Hudson Street, at Spring Street, South Village , (212) 242-1063, jazzgallery.org; $15; $10 for members. (Chinen)

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