From Touching Extremes:
DANIEL LEVIN QUARTET – Live At Roulette
ANTHONY BRAXTON / JOËLLE LÉANDRE – Duo (Heidelberg Loppem) 2007
NOAH CRESHEVSKY – The Twilight Of The Gods
In the Times:
Caramoor (Friday, Saturday, Tuesday and Thursday) The adventurous string quartet Ethel kicks off the weekend on Friday, playing works by Terry Riley, Philip Glass, Phil Kline and Mark Stewart. On Saturday Will Crutchfield conducts Bellini’s “Norma” in concert, with Angela Meade in the title role and Keri Alkema as Adalgisa. Enticing recitals follow: the violinist Midori on Sunday afternoon and the stylish pianist Vassily Primakov on Thursday evening. Friday, Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 4:30 p.m., Thursday at 7:30 p.m.; Caramoor, 149 Girdle Ridge Road, Katonah, (914) 232-1252, caramoor.org; Friday $25 to $35, Saturday $25 to $95, Sunday $15 to $45, Thursday $15 to $25. (Smith)
Music in the Garden (Sunday) Bang on a Can continues its monthly summer series in the Noguchi Museum’s spare, elegant outdoor sculpture garden with a performance by the Talujon Percussion Quartet that will include works by John Cage, Steve Reich and Dominic Donato (an ensemble member). At 3 p.m., Noguchi Museum, 9-01 33rd Road, at Vernon Boulevard, Long Island City, Queens , (718) 204-7088, noguchi.org; free with museum admission of $10, $5 for students and 65+. (Smith)
New York Guitar Seminar (Friday and Saturday) This annual event at Mannes College the New School for Music, now in its 10th year, winds to a close this weekend. Along with master classes and rehearsals, the schedule includes several public performances. On Friday the guitarists Jorge Caballero, William Anderson, Oren Fader, John Schneider and Dan Lippel present a survey of contemporary American works, with scores by Elliott Carter, Milton Babbitt, Charles Wuorinen, Lou Harrison and Mario Davidovsky. On Saturday Marco Cappelli, Julia Crowe and the Arc Duo (Heather Holden, flutist, and Bradley Colten, guitarist) play works by David Leisner, Frantz Casseus, Robert Beaser, Julia Crowe and Shafer Mahoney. At 7:30 p.m., Mannes Concert Hall, 150 West 85th Street, Manhattan , (212) 580-0210, Ext. 4883, mannes.edu/guitar; $15. (Kozinn)
From Portland Eye and Ear Control:
What: 12th Annual Music for Powell Butte: Sounds Under the Sky
When: 7 p.m. Saturday, July 17
Where: Powell Butte
Cost: FreeSaxophonist and composer Rich Halley and The Outside Music Ensemble will perform original rhythm-based jazz at 7 p.m. on Saturday, July 17, on top of Powell Butte. This concert is part of the Portland Parks & Recreation Summer Concert Series, and admission is FREE for listeners who walk to the top of the butte.
“Music for Powell Butte – Sounds under the Sky” is a unique experience that appeals to both music fans and to those who want to spend a summer evening in a beautiful natural setting on top of a volcanic butte surrounded by snowcapped peaks.
The Outside Music Ensemble is an all-star group featuring musicians from up and down the West Coast. It includes: Rich Halley, tenor sax; Michael Vlatkovich, trombone; Jim Knodle, trumpet; Troy Grugett, alto sax; Dave Storrs, percussion; and Carson Halley, percussion. The music will consist of original compositions by Rich Halley. Sponsors include the Portland Water Bureau, Penofin and the Creative Music Guild.
Rich Halley is a saxophonist and composer based on Oregon. His 11 recordings as a leader have been critically acclaimed in the jazz press. His most recent recording is “Live at the Penofin Jazz Festival” which was just released. Rich is a founder of the Creative Music Guild and the musical director of the Penofin Jazz Festival.
From NYTimes.com:
Albert Ayler Festival (Saturday) The cultish and revered saxophonist Albert Ayler — whose wild, ecstatic performances inspired generations of jazz experimentalists — would have celebrated his 74th birthday this month had he not died (somewhat mysteriously) in New York in the autumn of 1970. A gaggle of acolytes — including William Hooker, Flow Trio, Charles Gayle, Gunter Hampel, Giuseppi Logan and the New Atlantis Sextet with Marshall Allen — are celebrating his life and work at this daylong outdoor festival. In between sets, crate diggers can scour a record fair featuring new and used vinyl, hosted by ESP Records in Brooklyn. At 2 p.m., Riverwalk Commons, Roosevelt Island , albertaylerfestival.com; free. (Amanda Petrusich)
Evil Eye/Brewed by Noon (Wednesday) Each of these bands harnesses the propulsive energies of rock as well as the creative license of avant-garde jazz, coming up with something off to the side rather than in the middle. Evil Eye, jointly led by the drummer Mike Pride and the saxophonist Jonathan Moritz, further includes Ben Gerstein on trombone and Ken Filiano on bass; the band goes on at 8 p.m. Brewed by Noon, led by the drummer Sean Smith, follows at 9 with a lineup that includes the guitarist Aram Bajakian. L.I.C. Bar, 45-58 Vernon Boulevard, Long Island City, Queens , (718) 786-5400, licbar.com; no cover. (Chinen)
Mary Halvorson Trio (Friday) The guitarist Mary Halvorson, a calmly prickly and increasingly prominent presence on the avant-garde landscape, leads a working trio with John Hébert on bass and Ches Smith on drums; their repertory will include new music as well as pieces from “Dragon’s Head” (Firehouse 12), Ms. Halvorson’s superb 2008 debut. At 8 p.m., Roulette at Location One, 20 Greene Street, at Grand Street, SoHo , (212) 219-8242, roulette.org; $15; $10 for students and 60+; and free for members. (Chinen)
Tom Rainey Group (Thursday) Tom Rainey, a starkly suggestive drummer, digs in here with Ingrid Laubrock, a German-born, British-based tenor and soprano saxophonist, and a rhythm section that includes the bassist Chris Lightcap and the pianist Gary Versace. From 9 p.m. to midnight, Smalls, 183 West 10th Street, West Village , (212) 252-5091, smallsjazzclub.com; $20 cover. (Chinen)
Jenny Scheinman’s Mischief & Mayhem (Tuesday through Thursday) Ms. Scheinman often goes for rustic charm as a violinist, but she never ceases to be an adventurous improviser. Her partners in this band, formed a few years ago, are the engagingly prickly guitarist Nels Cline, the stalwart bassist Todd Sickafoose and the polymorphically propulsive drummer Jim Black. (Through July 18.) At 9 and 11 p.m., Village Vanguard, 178 Seventh Avenue South, at 11th Street, West Village , (212) 255-4037, villagevanguard.com; $25 cover, with a $10 minimum. (Chinen)
Ensemble Economique
“With You, At Brandy Creek” (mp3)
from “Standing Still, Facing Forward”
(Amish Records)
