Upcoming performance highlights

Among the more attractive performances scheduled in the near future in the Boston area are the ones listed below.  With the exception of some gigs that feature Magazine Cover (MC) groups (which can range in quality from very good to terrible), the gigs listed below are ones that I wish I could attend.  And—if time and circumstances permit—I will be there.  

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For now some locations indoors are open for music performances.  Distancing and mask restrictions apply.  If people exhibit safe behaviors, such gigs may not be shut down.  Let's hope things improve soon.  

As Trump and his chosen incompetents keep outdoing themselves with destructive behavior, there is hope.  For example, Americans eventually will run out of patience and become justifiably angry.  In the meantime, the ACLU is not waiting for others to take action.  Right after the inauguration, the ACLU published this message about their commitment to democracy:

 

 

Sometime in January Susan Alcorn died of an as yet undisclosed cause.  But such missing information is consistent with the lack of specificity about the date of her birth, other than it was sometime in 1953.  No doubt she thought her privacy was sacred because so many other aspects of her life were truly important to her--human rights, the endless diversity and power of the many musics around the globe, and sharing her astonishing music with audiences and other musicians.  She was a compelling and influential pedal steel guitarist who found with her fingers the beauty in many different kinds of music and her unique way of bringing a special voice to those works.  A few of the musics she pursued include country-western, classical, Indian ragas, and Indigenous.  Susan Alcorn was a superb interpreter of the music of Messiaen.  She performed frequently with free jazz musicians such as Evan Parker, LaDonna Smith, Ken Vandermark, Peter Kowald, Joe Giardullo, Ingrid Laubrock, and Mat Maneri.  Given that both she and Joe McPhee studied with and were profoundly influenced by Pauline Oliveros may account for the special communication they had in performance together.  I was fortunate to have witnessed her music several times in different cities.  I covered four of those events in the Jazz History section of this web site during 2018 through 2020.  We do not have a lot of personal information about Susan Alcorn--such as that she was born in Cleveland, married to photographer David Lobato, and died apparently in Baltimore--but her music and commitment to justice are more than enough…

Update: 2-5-25: On 2-4-25 Wikipedia updated its biography of Susan Acorn, stating that she was born on April 4, 1953, and she died of natural causes in Northeast Baltimore on January 31, 2025.

 

2/20 – “Third Thursdays” with Dave Bryant and Friends at 8 p.m. (PA) – Dave says about this “Third Thursdays” offering: “This should be a volatile — but sympathetic! — blending of three wonderful string players with whom I’ve collaborated for many years. And I’m glad to finally have the chance to welcome Brooke into the fold after playing with him once in Russ Gershon’s group.”  This should be a fine time with host/keyboardist Dave Bryant, Gabriel Solomon (violin), Eric Hofbauer (guitar), Jacob William (bass), and Brooke Sofferman (drums).  Complimentary “Third Thursdays” concert parking is available at the Everett Street Garage at 10 Everett Street in Cambridge.  The performance takes place at Harvard-Epworth United Methodist Church, 1555 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA.  For further information: dbryantmusic.com/third-thursdays/, 617-447-3030, or dbryantequilibria@gmail.com ($10)….

 

2/23 – The David Haas Group at 7 pm (PA) – Mr. Haas, leader and pianist, is joined by some of the finest post-Ayler musicians in New England: Kevin Frenette (gtr), Scott Getchell (tpt), Glenn Dickson (cl), Todd Brunel (bcl, tenor sax), Kit Demos (b & synth), and Joe Musacchia (dr).  Free admission.  Pandemic regulations apply at the Lily Pad...
 

 

 

 Every Monday – Monday night at the Lily Pad returns with Jerry Bergonzi, Phil Grenadier, guest bassist, and Luther Gray.  Then The Fringe Duo, John Lockwood and George continuing the fire no doubt inspired by the memory of Bob Gullotti.  It begins around 8:30 pm and continues forever ($15 per group; $10 students)…

Ongoing – Non-Event online Music – Performances at various times plus an archive of music (PA) – Non-Event is offering music via online audio files and video files plus real-time performances.  The emphasis is on new music, some of which is improvised music.  For example, Matt Samolis (who unfortunately for us moved from Boston to central Massachusetts) is presenting his bowed cymbal meditation recorded on May 1, 2020.  Keep in mind, money helps support these events.  The URL is: http://www.nonevent.org/

 

If you would like to read Science News’ fine coverage of the pandemic and its implications (including dozens of articles so far), go to the site’s page of coronavirus feature articles.  On that page also is information about how to receive that publication's coronavirus update newsletter twice each week.   Science News will try to answer your questions at feedback@sciencenews.org. …

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Key codes: The abbreviation in parentheses following the name of the event or band/musician performing indicates roughly the type of music that you can expect if you go to the gig.

MC= Magazine Covers.  These musicians/bands are popular with jazz fans and therefore often find their photos on the covers of jazz magazines.  This type of band may or may not be any good qualitatively.  However, many fans like to know “what’s hot.”

MP=Mainstream/Post-Bop.  This is the music that most people think of today when they think of jazz.  It runs the gamut from Parkeresque bebop and Websterish ballads to the post-bop work of people such as Bergonzi and Lovano.

PA=Post-Ayler.  This is Anthony Braxton’s term for all the adventure that came out of Ayler, Ornette, Cecil and others (including Mr. Braxton, of course).  In some ways it is the most diverse jazz and jazz-rooted music being performed today, including everything from near zero dB whispers (e.g., undr, John Tilbury) to eardrum demolishing walls of sound (Keith Rowe, a ton of stuff from Japan) to performances built on combinations of composed and improvised material (Liberation Orchestra, Charlie Kohlhase’s ensembles) to completely improvised offerings (Evan Parker, Laurence Cook).

S=Swing.  It don’t mean a thing…  Maybe “nothing” means “anything” if you are a fan of swing.  Sadly, fine swing music seems to be approaching extinction, at least in the Boston area clubs.  The reasons are obvious and elusive.  The great names of Swing (such as Lunceford and Barnet) have passed on and taken almost all of their band mates with them.  In addition, in spite of the fact that some of the finest music of the swing era was produced by the combos of Goodman and Basie (among others), people continue to think of swing in terms of large (and therefore economically untenable) ensembles.  You can find it happening in some dance halls, but mostly at weddings and Bar Mitzvahs.  For years such names as Whitney, Winniker, and Hershman have held the fort in the Boston area.  But you’ve got to keep your eyes peeled. 

T=Two-beat/Trad.  Some of the finest contemporary two-beat jazz anywhere has been nurtured and grown in Eastern Massachusetts since the 1970s.  Everyone knows about the New Black Eagles, and a host of other musicians are held in equally high esteem around here.  Some of the better-known are Jimmy Mazzy, Stan McDonald, Jeff Hughes, and Guy Van Duser.  Unfortunately for city dwellers, two-beat jazz (and, to a lesser extent, the blues) has moved to the suburbs.  But the best of it is worth the drive.