Spirit stronger than blood.
A tribute to trumpet innovator and klezmer radical Frank London at Roulette, plus more live-music picks for the next seven days.
New in The New York Times today: my feature about Frank London, a trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader who has played a major role in downtown jazz, the klezmer and Balkan music revivals of the ’80s, and a whole lot more. Today is his 66th birthday—which unfortunately he is spending in the hospital, where he was admitted late last week for treatment of a rare cancer he was diagnosed with four years ago.
Here is a gift link.
London spoke about his situation with candor and good humor. It was also a pleasure to interview his close associates Hankus Netsky and Steven Bernstein, and to exchange emails with Matt Darriau and Marcus Rojas.
A concert spanning the breadth of London’s career – focusing on two new albums and a third recent release, but also covering a variety of ambitious large-scale works – will be held at Roulette on Monday, June 3. “What, Carnegie Hall wasn’t available?” I asked him, anticipating obvious demand—and indeed, the show is sold out already. But a standby line will be available for any unclaimed tickets, and the concert will stream live on the Roulette website and YouTube.
Since London can’t be there now, he’s deputized comrades like Bernstein and Darriau to lead bands in his absence. Expect to hear from him, anyway.
As ever, there were far too many strong stories and anecdotes to share. For one, London told me how much it means to him that one of his new albums, Spirit Stronger Than Blood, is coming out on ESP-Disk’ since recordings on that label had exerted such a huge influence on his development. (The other new album, Brass Conspiracy, has an official street date of August 16, but Tzadik hopes to have copies on hand at Roulette.)
And another: Netsky recalled that many times after the Klezmer Conservatory Band played concerts during London’s tenure, when the time came to play an encore, the trumpeter was nowhere to be found—because he’d already sprinted off to some late-night Latin gig elsewhere. “It got to be a joke in our band: Where’s Frank?” Netsky said, laughing.
Here’s wishing Frank London happiness, comfort, and a swift, full recovery.
I’m profoundly grateful to Ethan Iverson for the kind shout-out yesterday on his always engaging Substack newsletter, Transitional Technology, to which you subscribe already because of course you do. “In our fragmented online world, it really helps to have Steve trying to keep everyone updated on new releases,” Iverson wrote—and really, that’s exactly what I’m trying to do here.
I’ve not made any secret about what a challenging time it’s been just lately in the business of writing – and of writing about music and culture, specifically – so Ethan’s gesture came as a shot in the arm at exactly the right time. Let’s all go see him play at Smoke Jazz Club in July!
The Night After Night Watch.
Concerts listed in Eastern Standard Time.
NOTAFLOF = no one turned away for lack of funds.
30
Talea Ensemble
West End Theatre, Church of St. Paul & St. Andrew
263 W. 86th St., Upper West Side
Thursday, May 30 at 7pm; $20, seniors and students $10
eventbrite.com
Church of St. Paul & St. Andrew
263 W. 86th St., Upper West Side
Saturday, June 1 at 7:30pm; $20, seniors and students $10
eventbrite.com
The intrepid Talea Ensemble celebrates its 15th anniversary with a celebration spread across two evenings. The first, Encores, features solo pieces by composers featured previously during the current season – including Andile Khumalo, Bahar Royaee, Georges Aperghis, and Geli Li – followed by a reception that includes a silent auction and pop-up performances. Then on Saturday, the full ensemble is mustered for Aux Étoiles, the first concert of the “Talea Ambassadors” initiative, featuring music by composers based in or associated with a single country: this year, France, represented by Sanae Ishida, Samir Amarouch, Georges Aperghis, Kaija Saariaho, and Gérard Grisey. If you plan to attend both events, there’s a deal available here.
31
Valerie Coleman
Philadelphia Orchestra
Carnegie Hall
57th St., at Seventh Ave., Midtown West
Friday, May 31 at 8pm; $71–$120
carnegiehall.org
Sylvan Winds
Merkin Hall, Kaufman Music Center
129 W. 67th St., Upper West Side
Friday, May 31 at 7pm; $30–$45, seniors and students $25, children 5–17 $15
kaufmanmusiccenter.org
In the newsletter I just mentioned, Ethan Iverson gave me a nod for having tipped him off to a new self-titled album by Decoda that includes a terrific piece by Valerie Coleman, Revelry. I’ll flip the script and urge you to read what he wrote about Coleman and her piece, and then urge you to consider two concerts on the same night that include further Coleman works. The Philadelphia Orchestra, with which Coleman has worked often and well in recent seasons, will play the NYC debut of her new Concerto for Orchestra, “Renaissance,” at Carnegie Hall; tickets aren’t cheap, but you also get Mitsuko Uchida playing Ravel. Just ten blocks north at Merkin Hall, Sylvan Winds open the final concert of their 45th-anniversary season with Coleman’s best known, most widely traveled piece, Umoja, on a program that includes Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Richard Strauss, and Elizabeth Brown.
Squanderers + J. Pavone String Ensemble
Public Records
233 Butler St., Brooklyn
Friday, May 31 at 7pm; $25.75
dice.fm
In Squanderers, the blossoming guitar duo of Wendy Eisenberg and David Grubbs expands to welcome bassist, producer, and downtown icon Kramer. They’ll share a bill with the newest configuration of violist and composer Jessica Pavone’s ensemble, featuring violinist Aimée Niemann and violinist/violist Abby Swidler, as heard on a substantial new album, Reverse Bloom.
3
Spirit Stronger Than Blood: A “Fare-Well” Celebration of the Music of Frank London
Roulette
509 Atlantic Ave, Brooklyn
Monday, June 3 at 8pm; sold out
roulette.org
As noted above, this concert officially is sold out in advance. How could it not be? But a standby line will have access to any unclaimed tickets, and the show will stream live, free of charge, on the Roulette website and YouTube.
4
Wet Ink
St Peter’s Chelsea
346 W. 20th St., Chelsea
Tuesday, June 4 at 8pm; 8pm
eventbrite.com
Continuing its 25th-anniversary season, Wet Ink presents a program of new and recent chamber works by Carolyn Chen, Eric Wubbels, and Sam Pluta, along with a performance by Pluta’s slippery trumpet-and-electronics duo with Peter Evans.
Photographs by Steve Smith, except where indicated.