From NYTimes.com:
AACM50 (Tuesday and Wednesday) Part of this year’s anniversary festivities for the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, these concerts will feature the S.E.M. Ensemble — and members of Ostravska banda, a chamber orchestra from the Czech Republic — playing works by the association members Muhal Richard Abrams, George Lewis, Roscoe Mitchell and Henry Threadgill (as well as by Christian Wolff and John Cage). Several of the composers will also perform; Wednesday’s program includes a blue-chip trio, with Mr. Abrams on piano, Mr. Mitchell on saxophones and flute and Mr. Lewis on electronics and trombone. At 8 p.m. Bohemian National Hall, 321 East 73rd Street, bohemiannationalhall.com. (Nate Chinen)
The Bad Plus (Tuesday through May 3) The new album by the Bad Plus, due out next month, will be a collaboration with the saxophonist Joshua Redman, a kindred spirit and a member of the same jazz generation. This weeklong run features just the original band lineup (Reid Anderson on bass, Ethan Iverson on piano, David King on drums), which can deliver a gut punch one moment and turn delicate as a snowflake in the next. At 8 and 10:30 p.m., Blue Note, 131 West Third Street, Greenwich Village, 212-475-8592, bluenote.net. (Chinen)
Matt Bauder and Day in Pictures (Wednesday) Mr. Bauder is a tenor saxophonist of adventurous disposition, along with the sort of versatility that allows for a touring gig with Arcade Fire. His most recent album, “Nightshades,” features Day in Pictures, a sharp band consisting of Mr. Bauder, Nate Wooley on trumpet, Kris Davis on piano, Jason Ajemian on bass, and Tomas Fujiwara on drums. At 8:30 p.m., Cornelia Street Café, 29 Cornelia Street, near Bleecker Street, Greenwich Village, 212-989-9319, corneliastreetcafe.com. (Chinen)
Ben Goldberg at the Stone (Tuesday through May 3) Mr. Goldberg is a clarinetist and composer with an admirable breadth of vision, and he’ll bring that quality to his residency at the Stone. It begins on Tuesday at 8 p.m. with a trio featuring Michael Formanek on bass and Kenny Wollesen on drums; subsequent sets, in larger or smaller configurations, pair him with collaborators like the tenor saxophonist Tony Malaby and the drummer Ches Smith. A full schedule is at thestonenyc.com. At 8 and 10 p.m., Avenue C and Second Street, East Village. (Chinen)
Vijay Iyer Trio (through Sunday) The furiously productive pianist Vijay Iyer recently released another superlative album, “Break Stuff,” which confirms his stature in jazz’s contemporary vanguard — along with the dynamic excellence of his working trio, with the bassist Stephan Crump and the drummer Marcus Gilmore. At 7:30 and 10 p.m., with an 11:45 p.m. set on Friday and Saturday, Jazz Standard, 116 East 27th Street, Manhattan, 212-576-2232, jazzstandard.net. (Chinen)
Jazz & Colors: The Full Spectrum Edition (Friday) This year, Jazz & Colors, which has twice presented a bounty of jazz ensembles at picturesque locations around Central Park, made its debut at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The experiment worked well enough to justify this sequel, featuring 10 ensembles interpreting the same two sets of standards. Among the performers are the cornetist Kirk Knuffke, with his current trio; the tenor saxophonist J.D. Allen, with a quartet; the cellist Marika Hughes, also with a quartet; and a group led by the soprano saxophonist Sam Newsome and the violinist Meg Okura. Sets at 6 and 7:30 p.m., 212-535-7710, metmuseum.org; free with museum admission. (Chinen)
Open Loose (Saturday) Mark Helias is a bassist equally committed to the causes of momentum and texture, and, in that sense, he has a very good thing in Open Loose, a band with Tony Malaby on tenor saxophone and Tom Rainey on drums. The band has a new album, “The Signal Maker,” which should provide some of the material here. At 9 and 10:30 p.m., Cornelia Street Café, 29 Cornelia Street, near Bleecker Street, Greenwich Village, 212-989-9319, corneliastreetcafe.com. (Chinen)
Mike Pride’s I Hate Work (Wednesday) Mr. Pride is a drummer of strong build and forceful attack, qualities he honed partly in settings like MDC, the long-running, politically charged hardcore band. I Hate Work, appearing here on the Sound It Out series, is his attempt to translate that music into a piano-trio setting: a quixotic notion made less so by his choice of partners, the pianist Jamie Saft and the bassist Brad Jones. At 8 p.m., Greenwich House Music School, 46 Barrow Street, West Village, 212-242-4770, greenwichhouse.org. (Chinen)
Wadada Leo Smith: 44 Years: A Retrospective (through Sunday) Mr. Smith, a blazingly creative trumpeter and composer, has approached his weeklong residency at the Stone with an intense seriousness of purpose. He’ll draw from music developed over his career, with highlights including a quintet with Bill Laswell on bass and Brandon Ross on guitar (Friday at 10 p.m.); his Golden Quartet, playing music from the acclaimed recent album “Ten Freedom Summers” (Saturday at 10 p.m.); and the Bell, a collaboration with the pianist Aruán Ortiz, the bassist William Parker and the percussionist Adam Rudolph (Sunday at 8 p.m.). A full schedule is at thestonenyc.com. At 8 and 10 p.m., with a 7 p.m. discussion on Sunday, Avenue C and Second Street, East Village. (Chinen)
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