Moved by the spirit.
Seasoned hands and emerging acolytes keep the Henry Threadgill canon alive—plus recommended new-music events for Dec. 17-22.
By the time I got to New York City in 1993, Air, the legendary improvising trio of saxophonist Henry Threadgill, bassist Fred Hopkins, and drummer Steve McCall, had run its course, and Very Very Circus, Threadgill’s subsquent band featuring two guitars and two tubas, had also pretty much wrapped up, as had the vibrant Sextett that preceded it. I’ve had the privilege of hearing Threadgill in other settings since, including Make a Move and his current ensemble, Zooid, but had to content myself with recordings of those earlier ensembles—Threadgill has never been one for looking back.
Recently, though, a handful of authorized legacy groups have been revisiting and revitalizing the music some of those older bands played. Air Legacy Trio, featuring saxophonist Marty Ehrlich, bassist Hilliard Greene, and drummer Pheeroan akLaff, made its debut earlier this year at Big Ears, and played its first New York City date last Wednesday at The Jazz Gallery.
Air Legacy Trio
The Jazz Gallery
Dec. 11, 2024First set:
Tragedy on a Thursday Afternoon
Difda Dance
B.K.
Through a Keyhole Darkly
80° Below '82
The Ragtime Dance
The drummer bears the authority of having played with Threadgill and Hopkins in the short-lived New Air. His bandmates proved ideally suited to their assignments: Ehrlich has the versatility and vivacity to inhabit Threadgill’s role as first-among-equals in this uniquely balanced conception, and Greene mustered the delicacy, brawn, and groove required to convey what Hopkins brought to the band.
The next night, the Jazz Gallery accommodated a bigger, more exuberant display of Threadgill’s idiosyncratic vision and breadth. Very Very Circus Legacy Project included three members of Threadgill’s old band – guitarist Brandon Ross, tuba player Marcus Rojas, and drummer Gene Lake – plus tuba player José Davila from Zooid and three relative newcomers to the fold: saxophonist Noah Becker (heard on Threadgill’s 2023 album, The Other One), trombonist Chris Bates, and guitarist Miles Okazaki. The thunderous contrapuntal gumbo of jazz, parade music, calypso, and more sounded as fresh as the day it was written, and the band’s enthusiasm was contagious.
Very Very Circus Legacy Project
The Jazz Gallery
Dec. 12, 2024First set:
Hope a Hope a
First Church of This
Paper Toilet
Bee Dee Aff
Little Pocket Size Demons
It was a joy to witness these exceptional ensembles in action, especially on consecutive nights. Both brought brilliant compositions vividly back to life, endowed with authenticity and fresh energy—while freeing Threadgill to continue his dogged pursuit of what’s next. And in a quick elevator chat, Threadgill indicated there’s more to come… stay tuned.
The Night After Night Watch.
Concerts listed in Eastern Standard Time.
NOTAFLOF = no one turned away for lack of funds.
17
International Contemporary Ensemble
Fridman Gallery
169 Bowery; Lower East Side
Thursday, Dec. 17 at 7:30pm; $25
iceorg.org
New Ear Inc. presents International Contemporary Ensemble in a member-curated program, offering a rich mix of works by Dan Tacke, Yaz Lancaster, Mario Diaz de Leon, and ICE members Isabel Lepanto Gleicher, Modney, and Erin Rogers.
Tactus
Neidorff-Karpati Hall, Manhattan School of Music
130 Claremont Ave.; Upper West Side
Tuesday, Dec. 17 at 7:30pm; free admission
msmnyc.edu
Directed by Erin Rogers and Matt Ward, and featuring program alumni as guests, the Manhattan School of Music’s resident contemporary ensemble performs works by György Ligeti, Julius Eastman, David Lang, Nina C. Young, and more.
18
DM R + Ledah Finck + Ian Power
Scholes Street Studio
375 Lorimer St.; Williamsburg
Wednesday, Dec. 18 at 8pm; $15
eventbrite.com
Composer-performer Ian Power, appearing in New York City for the first time since 2016, premiere a new rhythmic microtonal work for electric oud. Also participating in this eclectic evening of solo performances are Bergamot Quartet violinist Ledah Finck, who will improvise on Hardanger d'amore, and composer-performer DM R, presenting what’s billed as “lovingly intense electronica.”
S.E.M. Ensemble
Paula Cooper Gallery
534 W. 21st St.; Chelsea
Wednesday, Dec. 18 at 8pm; $25, advance $19
eventbrite.com
Petr Kotik and S.E.M. Ensemble present their annual year-end concert at Paula Cooper Gallery, winding up their “Year of Czech Music” critical survey with a program including the premiere of Kotik’s Why Melody? alongside John Cage’s Concert for Orchestra with Aria (featuring soloist Kamala Sankaram), Morton Feldman’s Structures, and further works by Rudolf Komorous, Anna Heflin, and Luboš Mrkvička.
Suppose Beautiful Madeline Harvey
Ellen Stewart Theatre, La MaMa
66 E. 4th St., 2nd floor; East Village
Through Sunday, Dec. 22, times vary; $35, seniors and students $30
lamama.org
Object Collection, the rambunctious performance-art troupe led by theater writer, designer, and director Kara Feely and composer Travis Just, present the first new piece in a decade from experimental-theater icon Richard Foreman, concerning a woman uncertain whether she exists. Most performances are sold out, and a few new ones have been added; waitlist for sold-out shows form at the box office one hour before performances.
19
American Modern Opera Company
Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine
1047 Amsterdam Ave.; Morningside Heights
Thursday, Dec. 19 at 7:30pm; $35–$150
stjohndivine.org
Christian Reif conducts soprano Julia Bullock, mezzo-soprano Rachael Wilson, countertenor Kyle Tingzon, bass-baritone Davóne Tines, the Choir of Trinity Wall Street, and the musicians of American Modern Opera Company in an intelligently streamlined version of John Adams’s nativity oratorio El Niño swiftly becoming a holiday tradition at glorious St. John the Divine.
andPlay + Zosha Warpeha + Tristan Kasten-Krause & Sarah Hennies
JACK
20 Putnam Ave.; Brooklyn
Thursday, Dec. 19 at 7pm; $15, students $10
eventbrite.com
Violinist Maya Bennardo and violist Hannah Levinson, jointly known as andPlay, host an inviting winter gathering promising music, drinks, and merriment. The prodigious duo occupies the middle set, nestled comfortably between Hardanger d’amore improviser Zosha Warpeha and the duo of bassist Tristan Kasten-Krause and percussionist Sarah Hennies.
Contemporary East I: DoYeon Kim + Leo Chang
Roulette
509 Atlantic Ave.; Brooklyn
Thursday, Dec. 19 at 8pm; $30, advance $25, seniors and students $20
roulette.org
Contemporary East, a programming initiative established by improvising pianist, composer, and bandleader Yuko Fujiyama, mounts a two-evening celebration of groundbreaking musical ventures rooted in traditional East Asian instruments and idioms. The first evening is split between gayageum player DoYeon Kim, who leads a fiery quintet, and multi-instrumentalist Leo Chang, performing with his improvisational trio Young Mong. (See Dec 20 for a related event.)
20
Contemporary East II: Yuko Fujiyama + Lesley Mok
Roulette
509 Atlantic Ave.; Brooklyn
Friday, Dec. 20 at 8pm; $30, advance $25, seniors and students $20
roulette.org
The second Contemporary East event at Roulette features drummer and composer Lesley Mok leading a 10-piece ensemble in music from her striking 2023 LP, The Living Collection. Pianist and series founder Yuko Fujiyama ends the evening in duets with Mok, dancer Miki Orihara, and flutist Robert Dick.
21
Augustus Arnone
Greenwich House Music School
46 Barrow St.; Greenwich Village
Saturday, Dec. 21 at 4pm; $20
eventbrite.com
Augustus Arnone, a prodigious pianist and inventive curator drawn to what he terms “transcendental extremes,” continues a series devoted to two milestone works of the keyboard literature: Johann Sebastian Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier, Book II, and The History Of Photography in Sound by Michael Finnissy. Here, Arnone pairs four Preludes and Fugues from the former with North American Spirituals from the latter—adding for good measure Brahms Lieder, which Finnissy composed for Arnone after hearing the pianist in a previous traversal of his magnum opus.
The Crossing
Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center
1941 Broadway; Upper West Side
Saturday, Dec. 21 at 7:30pm; choose what you pay
lincolncenter.org
Donald Nally leads his exceptional Philadelphia-based choral ensemble The Crossing in the New York premiere of poor hymnal, written for the group. Like Lang’s well-loved the little match girl passion, this new work views the holiday season and the tenets of sacred music through a prism of social justice, bringing together lines from the Old Testament, Mahatma Gandhi, Tolstoy, and more to evoke a spirit of mutual regard and preservation.
Ethan Iverson Sextet
The Jazz Gallery
1158 Broadway, 5th floor; Midtown East
Saturday, Dec. 21 at 7:30 & 9:30pm; $35–$45, livestream $20
jazzgallery.org
For the first part of an offbeat double-header weekend, pianist and composer Ethan Iverson flexes his writing chops with a sextet featuring saxophonist Sam Newsome, trumpeter Jonathan Finlayson, trombonist Jacob Garchik, bassist Peter Washington, and drummer Kush Adabey. If you can’t attend in person, livestream tickets are available. (See Dec. 22 for a related event.)
22
Ethan Iverson
Mezzrow
163 W. 10th St.; Greenwich Village
Sunday, Dec. 22 at 4pm; no cover charge, cash bar
smallslive.com
Having scratched his jazz itch on Saturday night, Ethan Iverson is back in business on Sunday afternoon showing off two of the impressive instrumental works featured on his newest album, Playfair Sonatas, with violinist Miranda Cuckson and trumpeter Tim Leopold. He’ll also be joined by fellow pianist Hiroko Sasaki to perform his Piano Sonata four-hands.
More vital directories of new-music destinations:
Find even more events in Night After Night Watch: The Master List, here.
Photographs by Steve Smith, except where indicated.
Threadgill was a true genius. 'Just the Facts and Pass the Bucket' was my entry point, but it's all pretty outstanding.