Avant Music News

Steven Bernstein’s Millennial Territory Orchestra (Tuesday) Led by Mr. Bernstein, a trumpeter and ace arranger, this little big band typically dusts off a grab bag of material — from obscure swing-era tunes to Sly and the Family Stone — with showmanship, spirit and irreverence. At 7:30 and 9:30 p.m., Jazz Standard, 116 East 27th Street, Manhattan , (212) 576-2232, jazzstandard.net; $20. (Nate Chinen)

Dave Douglas and Brass Ecstasy (Tuesday through Thursday) Mr. Douglas, the indefatigable trumpeter, cornetist and composer, introduced his aptly named Brass Ecstasy a few years ago, most notably on his 2009 album, “Spirit Moves” (Greenleaf). The band — with tuba, French horn, trombone and drums alongside its leader’s trumpet — tackles originals and pop songs with equal bluster and flair. (Through March 27.) 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 one-drink minimum. (Chinen)

Amir ElSaffar With Hafez Modirzadeh (Thursday) Amir ElSaffar, an Iraqi-American trumpeter, collaborates here with Hafez Modirzadeh, an Iranian-American saxophonist, playing an improvised music that incorporates traditional elements of Iraqi maqam and Persian dastgah. They’ll be drawing partly from their recent album together, “Radif Suite” (Pi). At 9 and 10:30 p.m., Jazz Gallery, 290 Hudson Street, at Spring Street, South Village , (212) 242-1063, jazzgallery.org; first set: $15, $10 for members; second set: $10, $5 for members. (Chinen)

Mary Halvorson Quintet (Friday) The guitarist Mary Halvorson has often held the jazz tradition at arm’s length, but with her most recent album, “Saturn Sings” (Firehouse 12), she augments her devilishly supple trio with a sure-footed frontline of trumpet and alto saxophone. Her trumpeter here is Kirk Knuffke; her saxophonist, as on the album, is Jon Irabagon. At 8 p.m., Barbès, 376 Ninth Street, at Sixth Avenue, Park Slope, Brooklyn, (347) 422-0248, barbesbrooklyn.com; $10.

Ensemble ACJW (Sunday) The top-notch young musicians of Ensemble ACJW, the group from the academy run by the Juilliard School and Carnegie Hall, have been taking their programs into New York neighborhoods, including Le Poisson Rouge, that hot spot for contemporary music in Greenwich Village. This next program offers works by Mozart, Jonathan Dawe, Gyorgy Kurtag and Charles Ives (“The Unanswered Question” and the Piano Trio). The brilliant pianist Stephen Gosling is guest artist; James Baker conducts. At 7:30 p.m. (doors open at 6:30), Le Poisson Rouge, 158 Bleecker Street, near Thompson Street, Greenwich Village , (212) 505-3474, lepoissonrouge.com; $20. (Tommasini)

Heiner Goebbels (Friday) Closing Lincoln Center’s Tully Scope festival, this visionary German composer and auteur oversees the New York premiere of “Songs of Wars I Have Seen,” based on Gertrude Stein’s memoir of life in occupied France during World War II. Also included on the program is Mr. Goebbels’s “Sampler Suite,” which incorporates recordings of cantors from the 1920s and ’30s. Anu Tali conducts the London Sinfonietta and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. At 7:30 p.m., Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center , (212) 721-6500, tullyscope.org; $45 to $75. (Smith)

Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas (Thursday) Alondra de la Parra, the dynamic young founder and music director of this ensemble, conducts Barber’s “Knoxville: Summer of 1915” with the soprano Emily Albrink as soloist; Charles Ives’s “Unanswered Question”; and Daniel Schnyder’s Concerto for Chamber Orchestra. The event is a benefit for Pro Mujer, a development and microfinance organization for women in Latin America. At 7 p.m., Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center , (212) 721-6500, lincolncenter.org; $15 to $125. (Schweitzer)

Talea Ensemble (Thursday) A flexible group that champions toothy modern works and plays them with a compelling lucidity, the Talea Ensemble offers a program titled “American Crosscurrents.” Included are premieres by Elizabeth Hoffman and Rand Steiger, as well as recent works by Evan Ziporyn, David Fulmer, Aaron Cassidy and Fred Lerdahl. At 8 p.m., Merkin Concert Hall, 129 West 67th Street, Manhattan , (212) 501-3300, kaufman-center.org; $20, $15 for 65+, $8 for students. (Smith)