Word's worth.
Dispelling a dark cloud, plus recommended live new-music events Sept. 3–9.
It was quite something to be tagged into a Facebook thread late last week that accused me of professional misconduct.
You’ve got to have thick skin to put anything of yourself out into the public eye. And I’m not especially concerned that an outspoken artist isn’t impressed with my aesthetic judgement.
But plagiarism is an accusation I take very seriously.
Did I catch a fleeting glimpse of the word fantastical on a Bandcamp album page I cited and linked, and then unwittingly repeat that word when I mentioned that album while writing about a different, related recording by the same artist? It’s entirely possible, and if that’s what happened, it’s a little bit awkward and slightly embarrassing.
On the other hand, it took me less than 15 seconds to search up seven other posts on this newsletter in which I used the same adjective – “rarely used” says my critic – a word whose meaning is eminently useful to a writer whose range of subjects has included opera, progressive rock, death metal, and Doctor Who. In barely 15 seconds more, I found at least 10 further instances spread across two decades of my New York Times writing, in reference to artists like George Frideric Handel and Noah Creshevsky.
But why let facts get in the way of a juicy accusation?
Anyway, enough. On with our regularly scheduled unmemorable blandness.
The Night After Night Watch.
Concerts listed in Eastern Standard Time.
3
Caroline Davis
Glass Box Theatre, The New School
55 W. 13th St., Greenwich Village
Wednesday, Sept. 3–Saturday, Sept. 6 at 8:30pm; $20 cash only
thestonenyc.com
Saxophonist-composer Caroline Davis, an incisive improviser inclined toward big-swing concepts (as Martin Johnson described in an illuminating Bandcamp profile), explores a variety of settings during her Stone series at The New School. The most fascinating is Thursday’s trio with interdisciplinary artist and sound-bath specialist Rena Anakwe (a.k.a. A Space for Sound) and Rajna Swaminathan on mridangam, but don’t skip out on the trio, duo, and quintet settings on other evenings during this promising run.
Fundraising Concert for Our Neighbors in ICE Detention
Sisters
900 Fulton St.; Brooklyn
Wednesday, Sept. 3 at 8pm; suggested donation $10–$50
Instagram
Organized by members of New York City’s intrepid new-music community, this benefit concert will raise money for commissary funds for ICE detainees, supporting their access to food, personal hygiene products, phone calls, and so on. The supremely fine bill includes a trio by Justine Lee Hooper, Shara Lunon, and Melissa Almgauer; Tilt, a collaborative band featuring vocalist Isabel Crespo Pardo, vocalist-bassist Carmen Quill, and trombonist-vocalist Kalia Vandever; and the duo of Yuniya Edi Kwon and Holland Andrews.
4
William Basinski + Kali Malone + Evicshen
Knockdown Center
52-19 Flushing Ave.; Maspeth
Thursday, Sept. 4 at 6pm; $32.96
dice.fm
Sound artist William Basinski performs in advance of a forthcoming box set of his magnum opus, The Disintegration Loops, sharing the bill with the elemental drones of Kali Malone and somatic sounds of Evicshen (a.k.a. Victoria Shen). Knockdown Center’s cavernous expanse is certain to rumble and quake in sympathy with the vibrations produced by all three of these deep-sound explorers.
5
Gordon Beeferman
Mise-en_Place
45 Saint Nicholas Ave.; Harlem
Friday, Sept. 5 at 7:30pm; $20
mise-en.org
Improvising pianist and composer Gordon Beeferman hits Mise-en’s new uptown salon for an evening of duets with violist Stephanie Griffin, dancer Susan Hefner, poet Charlotte Jackson, and vocalist Dafna Naphtali.
Festival of New Trumpet Music 2025
The Jazz Gallery
1158 Broadway, 5th floor; NoMad
Friday, Sept. 5 & Saturday, Sept. 6 at 7 & 9pm; $39–$50, livestream $22
jazzgallery.org
Improviser, composer, and bandleader Dave Douglas has a lot to celebrate during this year’s Festival of New Trumpet Music, the brassy annual affair he co-founded in 2003, including a centennial tribute to Bill Dixon, an Award of Recognition honoring Olu Dara, and his own excellent new album, Alloy, which arrives on Friday. The album has Douglas in a triple-trumpet front line with Dave Adewumi and Alexandra Ridout; accordingly Adewumi’s collective Altus shares the bill on Friday, Ridout’s quartet on Saturday. Further FONT events include a performance by the Grace Fox Big Band on Sunday at Birdland, a spectacular double bill pairing Frank London and Steven Bernstein on Monday at Nublu, and a rare performance of Bill Dixon’s Index led by Taylor Ho Bynum at The New School on Tuesday. And there’s still more besides; for details, venues, times, and prices, see the festival calendar.
7
Taka Kigawa
Le Poisson Rouge
158 Bleecker St.; Greenwich Village
Sunday, Sept. 7 at 7pm; $25–$30, advance $20–$25
lpr.com
A tireless champion of modern and contemporary piano music, Taka Kigawa comes to Le Poisson Rouge to celebrate the Pierre Boulez centennial year with a survey of the composer’s complete works for solo piano.
Vinnie Sperrazza
Close Up
154 Orchard St.; Lower East Side
Sunday, Sept. 7 at 7:30 & 9pm; $20
closeupnyc.com
The versatile, stylish drummer Vinnie Sperrazza has emerged lately as an imaginative leader and a vital chronicler of the creative-music scene. (Yes, I borrowed the word chronicle from his newsletter, okay?) He’s logged lots of hours with reedist Chet Doxas and pianist Jacob Sacks, and this new engagement at the buzziest joint on the Lower East Side reunites them with veteran bassist Mark Helias, who reprises his guest spot from earlier this year.
8
Tim Berne
Close Up
154 Orchard St.; Lower East Side
Monday, Sept. 8 at 7:30 & 9pm; $20
closeupnyc.com
Undisputed king of the Brooklyn neighborhood bar hang, saxophonist, composer, and bandleader Tim Berne ventures into Manhattan for a return engagement at this increasingly newsworthy Lower East Side performance space, where he’ll play with pianist Matt Mitchell and drummer Timothy Angulo. And on Tuesday night at 9pm you’ll find the saxophonist back in his usual spot at Lowlands Bar in Brooklyn, holding court with Sun of Goldfinger, guitarist David Torn’s trio with Berne and percussionist Ches Smith.
9
Wu Man and The Knights
Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium, Metropolitan Museum of Art
1000 Fifth Ave.; Upper East Side
Tuesday, Sept. 9 at 7pm; $35–$70
engage.metmuseum.org
Pipa player Wu Man, a prodigious musician whose boundless curiosity and energy have fueled encounters with myriad creative partners, is joined by NYC indie orchestra The Knights for a performance of Lou Harrison’s Pipa Concerto, on a program featuring other traditional and modern works.
To submit listings for consideration, email nightafternight [at] icloud [dot] com.
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.
Screw that guy. Keep doing what you're doing, it's great.
That accusation brings a line by Waxahatchee to mind: "My eyes roll around like dice on the felt."