Never enough.
A memorable encounter with an arresting chamber opera, plus recommended live new-music events Jan. 21–28.
The curse of any listings editor, avocational or otherwise, is investing time and enthusiasm in recommending all the musical events one might like to go out and see—but then getting tied up with this and that, and thus failing to go out and actually see very much. All of which is to say I once again missed Winter Jazzfest entirely, and saw just one show during PROTOTYPE.
Happily, that show was In a Grove, the opera by Christopher Cerrone and Stephanie Fleishmann I’d wanted to see from the moment its 2022 world premiere at Pittsburgh Opera was first announced.
Billed as “an opera in 7 testimonies” and based on the Ryūnosuke Akutagawa story Akira Kurosawa adapted for Rashomon, this was a hypnotic ritual awash in beauty and tension. Each new soliloquy complicated or contradicted what came before it, with amplification and electronic vocal processing serving as potent mood-altering tools.
The action, directed by Mary Birnbaum, was spare and suspenseful; the physical production – a bare, slender platform bisected with a transparent panel hung from above – showed how much imaginative stagecraft can be wrung from minimal means. Singers Paul Appleby, Mikaela Bennett, John Brancy, and Chuanyuan Liu were sensational; so, too, was the Metropolis Ensemble, effectively and excitingly led by Raquel Acevedo Klein.
Year after year, PROTOTYPE offers at least one marvel like this, and often more. My neighbor in the next seat waxed enthusiastic about Eat the Document (which I was supposed to see but didn’t) and Positive Vibration Nation; elsewhere, my old New York Times comrade Vivien Schweitzer reflected at length about Art Bath, Arooj Aftab, and Black Lodge.
Here’s to trying to see more next time around. Meanwhile, In a Grove is headed to Opera Saratoga, where Birnbaum is general and artistic director, to be staged four times in a site-specific outdoor version at Saratoga Spa State Park on May 28 & 29—details here.
The Night After Night Watch.
Concerts listed in Eastern Standard Time
NOTAFLOF = no one turned away for lack of funds.
21
Susan Alcorn
Zürcher Gallery
33 Bleecker St.; Greenwich Village
Tuesday, Jan. 21 at 8pm; $20 cash only
galeriezurcher.com
The iconoclastic pedal-steel guitarist Susan Alcorn has long been a devotee of the mystic French composer Olivier Messiaen. Here, that passion comes to the fore in Alcorn’s interpretations of selections from Messiaen’s L'Ascension, Quatuor pour la fin du Temps, and O sacrum convivium, plus improvisations on additional Messiaen themes and Alcorn originals.
ARTIFACT
Sleepwalk
251 Bushwick Ave., Brooklyn
Tuesday, Jan. 21 at 7pm; $13.60
dice.fm
The 11th installment of this Bushwick experimental-sound series offers a compelling triple bill of interdisciplinary artist and sound healer C. Lavender, percussion duo NOMON (Nava and Shayna Dunkelman), and electro-acoustic saxophone explorer Chris Pitsiokos.
22
Ches Smith
Glass Box Theatre, The New School
55 W. 13th St., Greenwich Village
Wednesday, Jan. 22–Saturday, Jan. 25 at 8:30pm; $20 cash only
thestonenyc.com
Percussionist Ches Smith has demonstrated his versatility and taste in a wide variety of settings, from Tim Berne, Marc Ribot, and Nels Cline to Secret Chiefs 3, Xiu Xiu, and Mr. Bungle, to say nothing of his own intelligent and engaging projects like last year’s Laugh Ash. He’ll start his Stone series tonight unaccompanied, followed by three disparate trios: with Miya Masaoka and Hans Tammen (Thursday), Craig Taborn and Darius Jones (Friday), and Shara Lunon and Charmaine Lee (Saturday).
23
Improv Nights 2025: A Tribute to Derek Bailey
Roulette
509 Atlantic Ave.; Brooklyn
Thursday, Jan. 23–Saturday, Jan. 25 at 8pm; $30, advance $25, seniors and students $20
roulette.org
Roulette celebrates the irreplaceable English improvising guitarist Derek Bailey, along with his career-long ethos of forging spontaneous communities of like-minded artists. Initiated by John Zorn and now curated by Jim Staley, this annual celebration brings together several generations of New York City improvisers – including guitarists Wendy Eisenberg (Thursday, Saturday) and Chris Cochrane (Friday) – for three kaleidoscopic evenings of close listening and mutual regard in action.
24
Dither + Editrix + Halo Duo
Public Records
233 Butler St., Brooklyn
Friday, Jan. 24 at 7pm; $25.75
dice.fm
New-music electric guitar quartet Dither musters a big-band configuation for a 13-player take on Steve Reich’s Electric Counterpoint, and slims down to original size for works by Morton Feldman and Laurie Spiegel. Sharing this rangy bill are Editrix, the excellent indie-rock trio of Steve Cameron, Josh Daniel, and Wendy Eisenberg, and Halo Duo, pairing guitarist and vocalist Brandon Ross with sound designer Hardedge (scene veteran Velibor Pedevski).
Talea Ensemble
Church of St. Luke & St. Matthew
520 Clinton Ave.; Brooklyn
Friday, Jan. 24 at 7:30pm; $20, seniors and students $10
eventbrite.com
The compelling new-music institution Talea Ensemble celebrates the 100th birthday of the late French composer and conductor Pierre Boulez with performances of his Dialogue de l’ombre double and Douze Notations, interspersed with works by John Cage, Maryanne Amacher, Carol Szymanski, and Alyssa Regent.
25
Ekmeles
St. Peter’s Church
346 W. 20th St.; Chelsea
Saturday, Jan. 25 at 7:30pm; $20, seniors and students $15
ekmeles.simpletix.com
The consistently extraordinary vocal ensemble Ekmeles presents the world-premiere performance of Plainsound Motet for Ekmeles ‘DADA NONO & REJOICE,’ new from Wolfgang von Schweinitz, a composer widely admired for his eloquent, lyrical microtonal pieces. Completing the program are works by James Weeks, Taylor Brook, and ensemble member Charlotte Mundy.
Sofia Jernberg
Brooklyn Music School
126 St. Felix St., Brooklyn
Saturday, Jan. 25 at 8pm; free admission
issueprojectroom.org
Sofia Jernberg, an Ethiopian-born Swedish vocal improviser, has prompted some deep critical attention in recent years through striking collaborations with Cory Smythe, Alexander Hawkins, and Nick Dunston, among others. This performance, hosted by Issue Project Room, expands on a long-distance collaboration with cellist Tomeka Reid that started during pandemic isolation, bringing the pair together onstage and adding pianist Craig Taborn and bassist Ole Morten Vågan.
Roomful of Teeth + Tambuco Percussion Ensemble
Zankel Hall, Carnegie Hall
881 Seventh Ave.; Midtown West
Saturday, Jan. 25 at 7:30pm; $65
carnegiehall.org
Performing during an evening curated by Debs Composer’s Chair holder Gabriela Ortiz, vocal octet Roomful of Teeth presents the world premiere of Ortiz’s Canta la Piedra-Tetluikan. The program, shared with Tambuco Percussion Ensemble, includes further works by Ortiz, Caroline Shaw, William Brittelle, Jose Camiruaga, Leopoldo Novoa, and Steve Reich. (See Mon 27, Ensemble Connect, for a related program.)
27
Ensemble Connect
Resnick Education Wing, Carnegie Hall
881 Seventh Ave.; Midtown West
Monday, Jan. 27 at 7:30pm; $20
carnegiehall.org
See also Sat 25, Roomful of Teeth + Tambuco Percussion Ensemble. In another program curated by Debs Composer’s Chair holder Gabriela Ortiz, Carnegie Hall’s educational initiative Ensemble Connect is conducted by Leonardo Pineda in an expansive Latin American program matched with visual art by Martirene Alcántara. The bill includes the New York premiere of Ortiz’s Pigmentum, plus music by Carlos Sánchez-Gutiérrez, Ricardo Lorenz, Ileana Perez Velázquez, Alejandro Cardona, and Carolina Noguera.
Michael Yeung
Baruch Performing Arts Center
55 Lexington Ave.; Midtown East
Monday, Jan. 27 at 7pm; $22–$40.25
ci.ovationtix.com
Percussion recitalist and chamber musician Michael Yeung presents an eclectic solo program, including music by John Cage, Iannis Xenakis, Philippe Hurel, and Georges Aperghis, alongside arrangements of works by Johann Sebastian Bach and Claude Debussy.
28
All Together Now Trio
Zürcher Gallery
33 Bleecker St.; Greenwich Village
Tuesday, Jan. 28 at 8pm; $20 cash only
galeriezurcher.com
Anyone who remembers Afro Algonquin, the spirited 1980 freebop LP released by saxophonist Mixashawn Rozie with his brother, Rick Rozie, on bass and the great Rashied Ali on drums, knows the saxophonist is well-versed in soaring without a harmonic safety net. Here, Mixashawn flies in the company of the similarly lean and equally sure rhythm section of bassist William Parker and drummer Jackson Krall.
Vijay Iyer Trio
Village Vanguard
178 Seventh Ave. S.; Greenwich Village
Tuesday, Jan. 28–Sunday, Feb. 2 at 8 & 10pm; $40 plus one-drink minimum
villagevanguard.com
Prodigious pianist, composer, and bandleader Vijay Iyer comes to the most fabled basement in jazz with bassist Linda May Han Oh and drummer Tyshawn Sorey to celebrate their most recent album, the elegant 2024 release Compassion.
Ole Mathisen
Miller Theatre, Columbia University
2960 Broadway; Morningside Heights
Tuesday, Jan. 28 at 6pm; free admission
millertheatre.com
Appearing under the auspices of Miller Theatre’s generous pop-up series of free concerts, Norwegian saxophonist and composer Ole Mathisen, director of Columbia University’s Louis Armstrong Jazz Performance Program, presents Vector Series, a recent project involving pianist Craig Taborn, bassist François Moutin, and drummer Dan Weiss.
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.
Thanks for your kind words, Steve! It meant a lot to have you there!