Oregon State University has announced that Benjy Eisen will be the keynote speaker for the 2024 Phish Studies Conference in Corvallis on May 17-19, 2024. Eisen, a NYT Best-Selling author, artist manager, and co-host of the “Undermine” podcast, will deliver the address to the gathered attendees.
artwork by Ryan Kerrigan
The second Phish Studies conference will feature new contributions to the emerging field of Phish Studies, which encourages multi-disciplinary scholarly approaches to Phish’s music, fan culture, social impact, and enduring popularity.
“I first fell in love with Phish during my first semester of college, and for the following four years they were an inseparable part of my college experience,” said Mr. Eisen. “Heading to OSU for an academic conference on the band feels full circle or, perhaps, full donut.”
“We’re thrilled that Mr. Eisen will deliver the 2024 Phish Studies Conference keynote address,” said Dr. Stephanie Jenkins, associate professor of Philosophy at OSU and Conference Program Committee Chair. “As a live music journalist, writer, and chronicler, he brings unique experience and wisdom to Phish scholarship.”
2019 saw OSU host the inaugural Phish Studies Conference
Like the inaugural conference in 2019, when nearly 200 fans and scholars attended the event and more than 50 scholars presented research, the 2024 gathering will represent diverse disciplinary approaches and feature scholars from across the country who are exploring the boundaries of Phish research.
“With a second conference, I foresee us going much deeper and exploring new horizons of Phish scholarship,” said Dr. Christina L. Allaback, assistant professor of Theatre at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg and Program Committee member.
OSU also announced that Phish Studies Conference committee members will be available for office hours at PhanArt on Dec. 30 from 1-6pm at Hill Country BBQ in NYC, during Phish’s MSG run.
Due to popular demand, the deadline for proposals for presentations, art, and performances has been extended to January 15, 2024. Fans are encouraged to attend PhanArt office hours to discuss their proposal ideas.
“PhanArt is an event with such great energy,” said Dr. Jake Cohen, musicologist and Program Committee member. “We’re so excited to share our enthusiasm for the conference and help phans turn their ideas into Phish Studies proposals.”
The Call for Presentations, Art, and Performances, as well as information about conference sponsorship opportunities, can be found on the conference website, phishstudies.net.
The Ally Coalition (TAC) held its 9th Annual Talent Show last night at the Jack H. Skirball Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, welcoming once again an incredible array of talented artists and comedians, to support the LGBTQ youth community. The event raised over $430k, which will support TAC’s mission to serve LGBTQ youth through partner organizations around the country.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – DECEMBER 19: St. Vincent performs with Bartees Strange and Bleachers during The 9th Annual Talent Show presented by The Ally Coalition at Skirball Center for the Performing Arts on December 19, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Taylor Hill/Getty Images for The Ally Coalition)
The evening, curated and hosted by TAC Founders, Jack Antonoff and Rachel Antonoff, the night featured performances from Bleachers, St. Vincent, Bartees Strange, Jason Isbell, Claud, Clairo, Red Hearse, Andrew Dost, along with comedians Sarah Sherman, Sam Jay, Chris Larker and Jacqueline Novak.
Over the weekend prior, TAC partnered with The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center in Manhattan for its 2nd annual Day of Services, providing essentials and resources to over 100 unhoused LBGTQ+ youth. New York’s PIX 11 came out to capture some of the day’s proceedings.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – DECEMBER 19: Bartees Strange, Jack Antonoff, Bobby Hawk, and Clairo perform during The 9th Annual Talent Show presented by The Ally Coalition at Skirball Center for the Performing Arts on December 19, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Taylor Hill/Getty Images for The Ally Coalition)
Today, there are over 4 million unhoused youth in the USA – with almost 40% identifying as LGBTQ+. These youths are far more likely to be victims of depression, violence, bullying and suicide. The American Civil Liberties Union is tracking nearly 500 anti-LGBTQ bills across the U.S. Over the past decade the TAC Talent Show events have raised over $2M to support unhoused LGBTQ+ youths.
Allison Russell will captivate audiences with an exclusive Saturday Night Takeover on Radio Woodstock, airing on Saturday, December 23 at 10:00 PM. Russell is a GRAMMY-nominated singer, songwriter, poet, activist, and multi-instrumentalist.
Allison Russell’s Saturday Night Takeover is not only a celebration of her own artistry but also a journey through the sounds that have shaped her as a musician. The playlist will feature a mix of her own tracks alongside carefully selected songs that have left an indelible mark on her musical identity.
Since her first solo album, OutsideChild, two years ago, Russell has redefined what artistry means in the 21st century. Now comes the second chapter in her story, TheReturner, released this past September, currently nominated for four GRAMMYs, a body-shaking, mind-expanding, soulful expression of Black liberation, Black love, of Black self-respect.
Russell has consistently used her newfound platform to elevate, educate and inspire; curating the history making Once And Future Sounds: Roots and Revolution set for the Newport Folk Festival in 2021 and mobilizing this year’s triumphant Love Rising All-Star benefit concert in support of LGBTQIA+ causes in Nashville, are just two of the many examples where she’s raised her voice with power and purpose.
This takeover on Radio Woodstock provides fans and music enthusiasts with a rare opportunity to experience Russell’s musical world in an intimate setting.
We are thrilled to have Allison Russell host a Saturday Night Takeover on Radio Woodstock. Her talent, passion, and unique perspective promise to make this a memorable evening for our listeners.
Radio Woodstock Music Director Aja Whitney
The “Saturday Night Takeover” series represents Radio Woodstock’s independent music voice. For over 40 years, Radio Woodstock has championed new music and pioneered a unique music line-up with a mix of new artists, legendary musicians, and special music programming.
Don’t miss this opportunity to be part of an intimate musical experience with one of the most captivating voices in contemporary music.
Tune in for “Saturday Night Takeover” as Allison Russell takes over the airwaves on Saturday, December 23, from 10 pm to 11 pm on-air at 100.1, or listen online at RadioWoodstock.com or via the iHeartRADIO app.
On December 16, 2023, the Binghamton Philharmonic Orchestra performed its annual holiday concert, “Winter Wonderland,” to a packed house at the Broome County Forum Theatre.
A glittering celebration of the season, Winter Wonderland featured Christmas hits both old and new by Tchaikovsky, Johann Strauss, John Williams, and young American composer Quinn Mason; carol singalongs led by soloists from Tri-Cities Opera; and a screening of the British animated classic “The Snowman” with live orchestral accompaniment.
There was something for everyone in the lively concert. Mason showed a distinctly American voice in his lyrical, atmospheric “Christmas Eve Festivities,” which is becoming a new classic. Local newscaster Jim Ehmke was the narrator for Bill Holcombe’s charming “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas,” a musical setting of the beloved poem by Clement C. Moore. The guest conductor for Leroy Anderson’s “Sleigh Ride” was local businessman Jonny Norton, who had won the spot in a fundraising auction, and Norton clearly enjoyed himself heartily, along with the orchestra and audience. Young treble soloist Eva Dixon, a 13-year-old soprano from New York City, sang the haunting solo, “Walking in the Air,” in “The Snowman” with delicacy and aplomb.
The orchestra played with uplifting energy and precision, led by the confident conducting of Maestro Daniel Hege, who managed to infuse even the most familiar carols with a spirit of wintry revelry. Maestro Hege engaged the audience with his trademark lighthearted banter, and the audience responded with exuberant singing, hand-clapping, and a standing ovation at the end. For the enthusiastic and festively-dressed concertgoers, including many children, “Winter Wonderland” was a truly magical experience, and a not-to-be-missed event of the holiday season in New York’s Southern Tier.
Troy Savings Bank Music Hall has announced the return of the popular Lift Concert Series in 2024. Curated by Organ Colossal, these performances give the audience the unique opportunity to sit on the historic Music Hall stage with the artists while they perform.
The Lift Concert Series presents performances of new, independent music featuring regional performers, curated by local artists Sam Torres and Sophia Subbayya Vastek. The audience is invited to be seated on stage, with the musicians, creating an intimate concert experience. Concerts are designed to last about an hour and, after the performance, concert-goers are encouraged to enjoy the rest of the evening at one of Troy’s many restaurants or breweries. All concerts begin at 6pm
Lift Concert Series Lineup
January 24 – Sophia Subbayya Vastek
Described as performing with “passion and profound tenderness” (Second Inversion) and “serene strokes and lyrical beauty” (Brooklyn Rail), pianist and songwriter Sophia Subbayya Vastek moves quietly between musical worlds. Her most recent LP, In Our Softening (2022), features nine of her own piano compositions. The album was called “one of the very best things I’ve heard all year” by longtime music journalist Steve Smith (Night After Night). She released her debut record Histories (Innova Recordings) in 2017, and more recently, an EP of the complete piano works by composer Lili Boulanger, entitled Lili (reissued 2023). In 2022, Sophia was recognized as a NYSCA/NYFA Fellow in Music/Sound. She is a co-founder of Organ Colossal, a nonprofit that produces musical projects in her hometown of Troy, NY. She and her husband also run a music series out of their home, a converted church building lovingly called Troy Listening Room. This performance is sponsored by Artist Pianos.
February 14 – Connor Armbruster with special guest Ian Cotter Wishlist
After exploring the vast sanctuary of an empty church in 2022’s Masses, Armbruster inhabits a new setting with polar opposite qualities for his sophomore release with Dear Life Records, Can I Sit Here. The music, colored by distortion and cutting rawness befitting its subject matter, was created and recorded live in mono in the small back room of an apartment. Acoustic violin takes a backseat to Armbruster’s heavily distorted electric violin on this record as he improvises over textures simultaneously warm and dissonant. It is a reflection on loss and the feelings that follow a death, the delicate balance between despair, celebration, nostalgia, isolation, and kinship. Armbruster is based in Troy, NY and is behind a multi-faceted body of work exploring performance art, electric violin, Irish fiddle, traditional music, field recording, dance, and theatre. In addition to his solo projects, he plays electric violin and guitar for Blue Ranger, is a member of Hold On Honeys, and performs and records with numerous other artists in the capital region. He was musical director and lead composer for Troy Foundry Theatre’s original musical, City of Myth: Illium Sings. Outside of performance, Armbruster is a cartoonist and music educator, and proud parent of a 4-year-old.
Thoughtfully eclectic, Ian Cotter Wishlist draws inspiration from fellow songwriters, composers, authors, visual artists, and the natural world to craft their recordings and live performances.
March 27 – Aubrey Haddard & MAYSUN
Aubrey Haddard is a self-proclaimed escape artist. When the tides change and personal growth calls for emotional upheaval, Aubrey seeks refuge in her creative discipline. Carving out a boundary-less space to explore the mysteries of the human experience and the vastness of the physical world, she creates a sonic landscape that is both epic and deeply personal. Dreamy synthscapes, overdriven guitars and pulsing electronic drums lay the foundation for Haddard’s vocals, heralded by critics as “harrowingly beautiful” (Clash Magazine) and “herculean” (The Line of Best Fit). Calling upon the inspirations of powerhouse PJ Harvey and dance music giant LCD Soundsystem alike, Haddard blends the analog and the digital with eccentricity. Themes of Greek mythology and Japanese literature weave their way through her stories, inviting listeners to peek into her subconscious and share in the escape. Haddard only leaves a few breadcrumbs and shoots for a surprise with each release. Moving on from her acoustic and minimalist debut EP Adult Lullabies, her knotty and soulful full length album Blue Part received widespread critical acclaim and earned her the title of Vocalist of the Year and Songwriter of the Year at the 2018 Boston Music Awards before she left to pursue her a career in New York City. Leaning into new, pop-driven inspirations and the chaos of the NYC scene, Awake And Talking proved Haddard’s ability to dive head first into new sounds and set the stage for her current project. Splitting her time between the far corners of New York state, you might find her in a library, at a Yankee game or jumping into a swimming hole. Aubrey Haddard may be a rising star in the indie scene, and one to watch for those interested in the future of experimental electronic music but “above all, it’s humanity that drives Haddard’s art” (Under The Radar).
MAYSUN is a composer and sound artist known for his unique blend of drumming expertise and sound design, creating immersive atmospheric soundscapes. With a focus on the use of physical space to shape and manipulate sounds, he crafts compositions that serve as soundtracks to his life events. MAYSUN’s work is characterized by an innovative approach that transforms real-life sounds into musical tones, skillfully interweaving the dimensions of time and space within its compositions. His artistic journey is driven by a deep passion for exploring spatial audio and a desire to create meaningful emotional connections through his music. MAYSUN’s latest release, ‘Timelines,’ represents his ongoing commitment to the craft of sound artistry, inviting listeners on a deep ambient introspective journey.
May 1 – Rafiq Bhatia
The New York Times proclaims “Rafiq Bhatia is writing his own musical language,” describing him as “a guitarist who refuses to be pinned to one genre, culture or instrument.” “His transient approach, combined with his obsession of assiduously studying the past in order to break cleanly from it, makes him one of the most intriguing figures in music today.” Bhatia’s 2018 album Breaking English (Anti- Records) finds a visceral common ground between ecstatic avant-jazz, mournful soul, tangled strings and building-shaking electronics, resulting in a “stunningly-focused new sound” (Chicago Reader) that “resemble[s] science fiction on a blockbuster scale” (Washington Post). His 2020 EP, Standards Vol. 1 (Anti-) renders repertoire from the American songbook “completely deconstructed, infused with brand new textures and electronic effects, dreamlike and beautiful” (BBC). Since 2014, Bhatia has been a member of the trio Son Lux; together, they have released several critically-acclaimed albums and given hundreds of performances internationally. A voracious collaborator, Bhatia has also worked with a multitude of artists across generations and musical communities, including Arooj Aftab, Holland Andrews, Hanna Benn, Ian Chang, Sam Dew, Dave Douglas, Marcus Gilmore, Mary Halvorson, Billy Hart, Shahzad Ismaily, Vijay Iyer, Kassa Overall, Kronos Quartet, Okkyung Lee, Nina Moffitt, Qasim Naqvi, Kassa Overall, Chris Pattishall, Cécile McLorin Salvant, Valgeir Sigurðsson, Alex Somers, Moses Sumney, Anjna Swaminathan, Rajna Swaminathan, and David Virelles.
Tickets are available now at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall Box Office, 30 Second Street, Troy, Monday through Friday 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. via phone, (518) 273-0038, or online at www.troymusichall.org.
SLC Arts has announced their second annual “A North Country Christmas” Holiday Music Tour, performed by Josh Barkley.
SLC Arts musician Josh Barkley will present a holiday music tour featuring organ and piano this December. Four performances during the week of December 18th will begin at 6:00 PM and take place at different churches in St. Lawrence County.
Josh Barkley was born and raised in Madrid, NY, and is a graduate of The Crane School of Music, holding his Bachelors in Music Business. He currently works with SLC Arts through the Creatives Rebuild New York Artist Employment Program. Performing in many local venues, Josh has years of experience behind the keys as well as organ and bass. He is a prolific solo performer, in addition to performing with many bands since high school. He supplies bands with sound equipment and often does live sound for the regional ensembles.
The tour is free to the public, and performances will not include a religious service.
A North Country Christmas Tour Schedule
Monday, December 18: Potsdam United Methodist Church. 26 Main St. Potsdam, NY
Tuesday, December 19: Waddington First Presbyterian Church. 13 Fenton St. Waddington, NY
Wednesday, December 20: Ogdensburg United Methodist Church. 627 Caroline St. Ogdensburg, NY
Thursday, December 21: Massena First United Methodist Church. 189 Main St. Massena, NY
SLC Arts is the administrator of the New York State Council on the Arts’ Statewide Community Regrants (SCR) Program in Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence Counties. Through this program, $160,000 in state funding is distributed to municipalities, libraries, 501(c)3 organizations, individual artists and collectives, for the purpose of arts programming. Initiatives may include (but are not limited to) concerts, exhibitions, theatrical performances, readings, screenings, art classes, public art and more. Grants are project-based, and support community-centered projects in any artistic discipline.
National Sawdust (Paola Prestini, Artistic Director, Ana De Archuleta, Managing Director) has announced its Winter/Spring 2024 season. In a moment of existential crisis for the performing arts field—as COVID relief funding runs out, ticket sales and fundraising lag across the industry in comparison with pre-pandemic levels, and smaller budgets frequently result in reduced opportunities and resources for artists—National Sawdust embraces its role as a “vital part of New York’s new music scene” (The New York Times), for artists and audiences alike.
National Sawdust is a dynamic non-profit cultural institution that commissions, produces, and presents programming rooted in sound and supports multidisciplinary artists and arts organizations in the creation of innovative new work. Founded in 2015 by Kevin Dolan and Paola Prestini, National Sawdust operates out of an intimate space, equipped with a state-of-the-art Meyer spatial sound system, in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where it is one of the few remaining cultural venues. The New York Times has described National Sawdust as “the city’s most vital new-music hall” and as “a triumphantly successful performance space that stands for a hip, sophisticated brand of new music.”
On the eve of its tenth anniversary, taking advantage of its nimbleness, and bolstered by the recent acquisition of its state-of-the-art Williamsburg venue, National Sawdust is finding new ways—and strengthening its impactful existing programs—to support composers, musicians, and multidisciplinary artists. The organization has initiated new partnerships with fellow NYC cultural institutions that will extend its impact. It teams with Harlem Stage on a new, cross-borough, series Uptown Nights: Convent to Wythe. Together, they will present silver through the grass like nothing, an in-process solo by violinist, vocalist, poet, and interdisciplinary performance artist yuniya edi kwon, and even in the shadow of a retching fog, a new work by performance collective SUN HAN GUILD, at Harlem Stage; and (( ( PHONATION ) )), a work of sound and visuals by Bora Yoon and R. Luke DuBois at National Sawdust.
National Sawdust also joins forces this season with Sparks and Wiry Cries to present their two-day festival featuring 14 world premieres by emerging composers from around the world and a co-curated concert by composer and Hildegard Commission-winner Niloufar Nourbakhsh; with Composers Now to present the opening event of the Composers Now Festival, hosted by that organization’s visionary founder and artistic director Tania León; with Winter Jazz Fest to offer Hess Is More’s category-defying musical concert and art installation Apollonian Blackout; and with the Metropolitan Opera to produce the 2023-24 season-long initiative Opera Evolved, a series of conversations with composers and artists about the contemporary operas featured at the Met this season and the ways opera is evolving today. In Winter and Spring, Opera Evolved presents Lileana Blain Cruz and Paola Prestini in discussion of genre fluidity, and a talk about reviving work from living composers.
National Sawdust is also bringing back its indispensable artist residency program, this season hosting eddy kwon & Holland Andrews. kwon and Andrews are among a wide range of artists making use this season of National Sawdust’s Meyer Sound spatial sound system, which facilitates ambitious sonic explorations and makes the live audience experience of new works uniquely compelling. Others include Hess Is More, Bora Yoon, Bruce Brubaker, Ning Yu, Maya Beiser, Susie Ibarra and Jeffrey Zeigler, Paola Prestini, and more.
By providing today’s most visionary artists with the institution’s unique suite of resources, National Sawdust empowers them not only to experiment and make meaningful contributions to a field undergoing various paradigm shifts, but to lend their visions and voices to urgent conversations in the world at large.
Please see below for the currentWinter/Spring 2024 programming schedule.
National Sawdust Winter/Spring 2024 Schedule yuniya edi kwon and Holland AndrewsHow does it feel to look at nothing
January 12, 20247:30pm
Using a new language of deconstruction, Holland Andrews and yuniya edi kwon present an in-process performance of How does it feel to look at nothing, a pre-origin story and collaboratively developed opera about a deity of namelessness. An opera of the elemental, of pre-deities, and illusions of containment, How does it feel to look at nothing is an embodied, interdisciplinary performance emerging through a story of transitional states. Composer-performers, multi-instrumentalists, and extended technique vocalists Andrews and kwon co-create this work through composition, improvisation, dance, physical theater, and ritual.
National Sawdust and Winter Jazz FestpresentHess Is More Apollonian Circles
January 16 & 17 at 8pm
Apollonian Circles is a multi-disciplinary musical concert and art installation experience that combines elements of electronic music, jazz, theater, and performance art. Each performance hinges on audience participation and improvisation guiding an ever-changing narrative of artistic expression; we are all participants reflecting one another’s experience as if in a hall of mirrors.
This project explores the very definition of what audiences have come to expect from a traditional concert. From the moment they arrive, attendees are transported to a mysterious dream-like space where the unexpected can happen. In the literal center of the room is a large table (decorated with other-worldly artifacts and ornaments) that is both stage and set piece for the performers and audience to gather.
Apollonian Circles is a constantly evolving musical live work, where concert formats and the relationship between music, musicians and audiences are explored and challenged. Apollonian Circles grow out of a constant longing for integration. We bring together artists, performers and ultimately audiences in a space that feels wide open yet artistically distinct and defined.
The music is composed and arranged by the Danish multi-instrumentalist Mikkel Hess and performed by his band, Hess Is More, which comprises musicians from Copenhagen and New York and features notable guests such as acclaimed singer Nomi Ruiz. The scenography is developed by Danish theater luminaries Christian Friedländer and Dicki Lakha in collaboration with award-winning director Tue Beiring, and with costumes by fashion design superstar Henrik Vibskov.
National Sawdust and Sparks and Wiry Cries present Laura Nevitt (8th Annual NYC songSLAM & songSLAM Commission winner) Anger in Open Mouths: three sweet songs
January 19, 20247:30pm
Fashioned after traditional poetry slams and storytelling events like The Moth, each Sparks & Wiry Cries songSLAM gives teams of composers and performers a chance to present world premieres of art song and compete for audience-awarded cash prizes totaling up to $2,000. Each regional songSLAM is produced with a partnering local organization. Since the inaugural songSLAM of 2016 in NYC, our first come, first served registration has filled in under 15 minutes of opening, and our songSLAM audiences are typically sold out and/or standing room only. The songSLAM was developed to bring in new, energized, and invested audiences for art song while removing barriers and gatekeepers for performers and composers. Our NYC songSLAM is the flagship event and in 2024 will be produced in partnership with National Sawdust.
During the 2023-2024 season, SWC will partner with organizations across the United States and internationally to produce 8 songSLAM events, allowing for the premiere of over 100 new songs and engaging with over 200 emerging artists in the following cities: NYC (‘Sparks’ & ‘National Sawdust’), Tallahassee (Florida State University), Waco, TX (Lone Star Song), Bratislava, Slovakia (421 Foundation), Bloomington, IN (Indiana University), Chicago, IL (Fourth Coast Ensemble), Ljubljana, Slovenia (Festival Ljubljana), and Minneapolis, MN (Source Song Festival).
Every year Sparks & Wiry Cries awards a songSLAM commission prize to one of the composers from the previous NYC songSLAM. This year’s commission will be the world premiere of Anger in Open Mouths: Three Sweet Songs, by composer Laura Nevitt and poet Viviana Gill performed by mezzo-soprano Clara Osowski and pianist Erika Switzer.
Only Voice Remains A recital co-curated by Niloufar Nourbakhsh and Sparks & Wiry Cries January 20, 2024 7:30pm
Only Voice Remains is a new sparksLIVE project. The title is inspired by Iranian poet Forugh Farrokhzad’s poem of the same name, and the program explores themes of exile, loss, and migration, using a diverse range of vocal traditions rooted in Iran and neighboring regions. The music in this program explores the intersection of Persian Flamenco, contemporary singer-songwriters, and Iranian classical music intertwined with the western classical recital format. Also highlighted on the program is the Pashtun Landay—a poetic folk couplet shared by women that exists primarily through an oral tradition. Set to music by Juhi Bansal for soprano, piano, and cello, these poems highlight similar motifs of struggle and triumph echoing down generations from woman to woman. Artist performers on this program include: Mahya Hamedi (vocalist), Ava Nazar (pianist), Farnaz Ohadi (vocalist), Karen Ouzounian (cellist courtesy of Silk Road Ensemble), and Abigail Sinclair (soprano).
Composers Now presents The Opening Event of the 2024 Composers Now Festival Hosted by Tania León January 31, 2024 7:30pm
While it may be nearly impossible to capture the totality of creativity as expressed by today’s composers, Composers Now and Tania try. From the very young to the legendary, you will come away from this evening with plenty of new sounds heard and composers met. Among the participants, Tania welcomes: the recipients of the 2024 Visionary Awards — Dwight Andrews, Philip Glass and Libby Larsen; the recipient of the First Commission Award and the world premiere of a newly written work, in collaboration with Jazz Gallery; a short documentary capturing the Fall 2023 Collaborative Creative Residency at the Pocantico Center of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund; works by Paola Prestini, a percussion trio by Javier Diaz, and more.
Julian Crouch and Saskia Lane BIRDHEART February 3, 2024 6pm
BIRDHEART is an intimate chamber piece of animated theater with a sheet of brown paper and a box of sand. A show about transformation,loneliness, and the urge to fly, BIRDHEART holds a hand-mirror up to humanity and offers it a chair. Through a series of animated images built in front of the audiences’ eyes BIRDHEART creates something achingly beautiful from the humblest of beginnings.
The BIRDHEART performance is preceded by some bird themed songs performed by Saskia and Julian, and led by the extraordinary musician Philip Roebuck. Singing along is encouraged.
National Sawdust and the Metropolitan Opera present Opera Evolved: Genre Fluidity
February 22, 20247:30pm
The second installment of this three-part series celebrates artistic convergence by investigating the intersection of innovation and tradition at National Sawdust. This event brings together a diverse array of multi-faceted artists, including Paola Prestini, esteemed composer and co-founder and artistic director of National Sawdust, and dynamic theater and opera director Lileana Blain-Cruz. Attendees will be treated to rich discussions and captivating performances that highlight genre-blending compositions and illustrate the transformative power of opera.
Bruce Brubaker Eno Piano February 23, 2024 7:30pm
Brian Eno famously said, “The studio is a musical instrument.” American pianist Bruce Brubaker now says, “A musical instrument can be a studio.” Brubaker will take the stage for a concert highlighting his 12th studio album, Eno Piano. This record, released November 10 on InFiné, encompasses a selection of Brian Eno’s iconic ambient music, including Music for Airports.
Can a single instrument convey ambient music originally made through studio techniques and tape loops? Eno Piano is a companion to Bruce Brubaker’s acclaimed album Glass Piano (2015); even the two album covers are companions. Named by Pitchfork “one of the most exciting pianists in the contemporary American classical scene,” Brubaker, in Eno Piano, shows that just as the studio can be a musical instrument, a single musical instrument can be a studio.
Brian Eno’s music is a significant part of the repetition-based musical minimalism practiced by Philip Glass, Terry Riley, and others in the late 20th century. In 1971, Philip Glass performed at the Royal College of Art in London. In the audience were two 23-year-olds: David Bowie and Brian Eno. Glass’s music was a fundamental influence on Eno. Later, Glass wrote three symphonies based on the three albums of Eno and Bowie’s Berlin Trilogy. Eno Piano acknowledges this deep artistic bond.
Alkemie and guest artist Amanda Gookin A Worthy Mirror February 25, 2024 7:30pm
A Worthy Mirror represents a time-traveling dialogue with the 12th-century trobairitz—the feminine counterpart of the poet-composers known as troubadours. Together with guest artist Amanda Gookin of Forward Music Project, we are commissioning eleven female and non-binary composers to respond to and converse with the 36 extant trobairitz texts (of which we only have music for one). This body of lyric poetry represents a large group of historically female and anonymous femme voices in the literary tradition. Witty, ironic, heartbreaking, and erotic—these texts present a mirror to reflect upon what feels foreign about the past and what feels familiar, what is the role of gender and self in relationships, and how do we make space for the multiplicities of identity, both in the 12th century and today.
NationalSawdust+ presents Insectum Featuring Susie Ibarra, Jeffrey Zeigler, Graham Reynolds, and Jessica Ware February 26, 2024 7:30pm
Join a zany evening devoted to Insectum, a sonic exploration of the world of arthropods. The program takes its name from the forthcoming record release featuring composer-musicians Susie Ibarra, Jeffrey Zeigler, and Graham Reynolds, who worked closely with University of Texas at Austin entomologists to create their album showcasing original tunes such as “Mosquito” and “Melolonthinae Larvae.” American Museum of Natural History evolutionary biologist Jessica Ware shares research that unravels the evolutionary history of dragonflies and damselflies (Odonata), termites, and cockroaches (Blattodea) in this event, hosted by NationalSawdust+ curator Elena Park. Insectum will be both a celebration of the most successful and longest existing multicellular group of animals on the planet, as well as a cautionary tale about how their current threatened status poses dangers for the entire global ecosystem.
Part of NS+’s continuing For Nature series, Insectum kicks off three programs exploring the interplay and collision between the natural and human worlds, featuring artists and musicians, scientists, and activists working to preserve and restore the environment. For Nature is made possible by the generous support of Kathryn and Emmanuel Morlet and the Westcustogo Foundation.
Insectum commissioned by Golden Hornet
Co-Commissioned by Kathleen and Harvey Guion & The Guion Family Fund
Co-Commissioned by Suzanne Deal Booth & The Suzanne Deal Booth Cultural Trust
This project is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts
Presented in partnership with the Asia Society and its initiative, Coal + Ice: Inspiring Climate Action Through Art and Ideas.
Insectum was created in consultation with Alex Wild and Jo-anne Holley at University of Texas at Austin. Insect images displayed are courtesy of Alex Wild.
National Sawdust and Harlem Stage present Bora Yoon featuring R. Luke DeBois ( ((PHONATION)) ) March 9, 2024 8pm
( (( PHONATION )) ) is a multimedia performance by Bora Yoon with live video manipulations by R. Luke DuBois, exploring where sound connects to the subliminal using found sounds, new and antiquated instruments, electronic devices and voice. Using a sound designer’s approach to performance composition that is steered by a penchant for a song, ( (( PHONATION )) ) engages with music as music, and not as part of a genre, taking the means to one end, and using it for another to form new utterances of sound and the beginnings of a new sonic language, within its spatial and architectural context. In every case, a particular sonic geography is evoked that might be inspired by a simple, found-sound in the world, or an expression of a sonic paradox bouncing around only in the mind.
Jodie Landau Performance of Self March 15 & 16, 2024 7:30pm
Performance of Self is an immersive piece by Jodie Landau that uses chamber music and dance to weave its way through songs and stories about queerness, gender, sexuality, [online] dating, choice, consent, attraction, desire, expectations, conforming to someone’s needs vs. self-preservation, language and communication, dance, drag, costume, and the performance of self.
“We continuously construct and curate our lives, our relationships, and our selves,” says Landau, “by choice or by circumstance. We weave the stories given to us, those we gather, and those we choose to retell to form a sense of identity. In identifying ourselves and each other we look to codify and define, and in such things we find both comfort and tribulations, as well as opportunity and limitations. Within all this, gender and sexuality are heavily weighted and fascinating topics, or at least have been for me, by choice and circumstance.”
Lætitia Sadier
March 20, 2024 7:30pm
Over the course of her career, spanning three-plus decades, Lætitia Sadier has never shied away from the hard topics, or stopped advocating for the possibility of self determination and emancipation in the face of the powers that be, conscious or unconscious. This is an essential part of the foundation she co-built with Stereolab, showcasing her spiritual, scientific and sociopolitical inquiries. She’s continued this process with Monade and under her own name and as a writer/singer/musician whose every album acts as a report on her journey of the self through time, space and the collective.
On Rooting For Love, the report is set alight by the heat of a turbulent world, collapsing institutions and Lætitia’s fully engaged process of expression as well as orchestration. The opening number, “Who + What” elucidates the central issue of the album: a call for a collective striving for Gnosis — an inquisitive outlook that will lend clues to the traumatized civilizations of Earth, allowing us to evolve away from millennia of alienation and suffering and towards the achievability of healing. The musical arrangements help to embody the layers of the issue, as with “Who + What”’s combination of organ, synths, guitar, bass, trombone, drum programming, vibraphone and zither, all working along intricate paths of chord and tempo changes. Leading from the inside is the implacable presence of Lætitia Sadier, herself interacting with a vocal assembly of men and women billed as The Choir. The regular reappearance of The Choir throughout Rooting For Love is a reminder of this music being one of a people in critical mass, in addition to an evolution that continues to deepen the rich harmonic fields in which Lætitia plays.
Past wounds are addressed again and again in the libretto, as the music provides a transformational balm to aid the healing process. The melodic funk of bassist Xavi Muñoz leads a Chic-adjacent slink to the occasional dance floor vibes and no-wave rockouts, while Hannes Plattemier and Emma Mario take turns in mixing the tracks and informing the far reaches of the material, with vibes, additional drum programming and synths alongside a talented cast of players and singers from Lætita’s Source Ensemble and beyond.
Whether drawing inspiration from Zen Shiastu training, or the lyrics of Véronique Vincent, (lyricist and singer for Aksak Maboul, and once upon a time, lead singer of the French Honeymoon Killers), Lætitia faces the truth without flinching. The shadows, whatever stuff they are made of — individual and collective, present and ancestral — need to be recognized and acknowledged, because the more we heal within ourselves, the more undivided we become in the face of looming Neofascist/Neoliberal narratives polluting the inner and outer landscapes. As with the cover image of the winter tree mirrored by the word patterns of Rooting For Love, Lætitia maintains that how we heal the world that’s coming, and what we make of it, will be a co-creation. The quality of our imagination, the orientation we give our thoughts and the capacity to bring love to ourselves and the world are a first step.
Alongside her collaboration with Modern Cosmology, last year’s incredible What Will You Grow Now?, as well as her continued tours with a reformed Stereolab, Rooting For Love finds Lætitia back in the world, once again urging all our grounded inner alignment and heart power to make us better equipped for creating what’s to come.
Palaver Strings Visions + Miracles March 22, 20247:30pm
This one-hour program brings together music that is transcendent in nature, drawing inspiration from dreams, medieval chant, renaissance polyphony, spirituality, and the power of silence. Anchored by Christopher Theofanidis’ otherworldy composition of the same name, Visions and Miracles takes us on a journey through the gentle sound worlds of Arvo Part, Max Richter, and Caroline Shaw, interspersed with excerpts of Mendelssohn’s Sinfonia No. 1. With mesmerizing harmonies and moments of joy, grief, and gentleness, Visions and Miracles is evocative and reflective, grounding and transcendent.
Summa for Strings Arvo Pärt
Entr’acte Caroline Shaw
Sinfonia No. 1 Felix Mendelssohn
Visions and Miracles Christopher Theofanidis
On the Nature of Daylight Max Richter
Fiddle Set Maya French/Jamie Oshima
Ning Yu + Qubit Piano Realities
March 28, 2024 7:30pm
Piano Realities is a program of works for piano and electronics, created and produced in collaboration by soloist Ning Yu and Qubit. As one of the foremost pianists of her generation, Yu is a champion of adventurous contemporary works, particularly those that incorporate aspects of sonic technology. As such, this concert has been specifically designed to realize the full potential of National Sawdust’s Constellation audio system, a multichannel environment with dozens of speakers.
The program features work by a group of composers—all based throughout the US and Europe—centered around the relationship between the grand piano and spatial audio. Yu will perform excerpts from David Bird’s Iron Orchid, a piece they developed together closely over several years. Also featured is the US premiere of Joanna Bailie’s new work, Marblepark, which aims to create, in the composer’s words “an impossible [acoustic] space,” while Aaron Einbond’s Cosmologies places the listener at the center of a larger-than-life grand piano. The program also includes the Berlin-based, Canadian composer Chiyoko Szlavnics’ haunting Constellations I-III; the world premiere of Heather Stebbins’ Prism II, as well as the first North American performance of Alec Hall’s A dog is a machine for loving, a powerfully emotional cycle for piano and tape based on the dogs in his life.
Roger Eno March 29, 2024 7:30pm
Roger Eno is a British composer and musician whose distinctive style as a recording artist has attracted a cult following. In 2020, at the start of the global pandemic, he made his debut on Deutsche Grammophon with Mixing Colours, his first duo album with his brother, Brian. During this turbulent period, the album garnered much praise, with The Observer noting that iIts slowly unspooling, generative beauty feels like a balm for these anxious times.” His debut solo album on DG, The Turning Year, was released in April 2022, at times featuring a 20-piece string ensemble and clarinetist. Critically well received, in May 2022 he was asked to appear on NPR’s Tiny Desk series.
After The Turning Year, Roger went on to release Rarities, an illuminating EP of unreleased tracks and gems from the album session. As well as this he also released “Above and Below,” a track that became an Amazon streaming success with 20 million plays to date.
Eno was born in the Suffolk market town of Woodbridge. He became immersed in music at school and bought a battered upright piano with money earned every Saturday as a butcher’s boy. His musical education continued at Colchester Institute School of Music. After a brief interlude playing jazz piano in private clubs in London, he returned to East Anglia.
As well as first collaborating with his brother Brian and Daniel Lanois in 1983 on Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks, he has made over a dozen solo albums and other collaborative pieces with the likes of Peter Hammill, The Orb and his first “band,” the ambient supergroup Channel Light Vessel, whose line-up included Laraaji, Kate St. John, Bill Nelson and Japanese cellist Mayumi Tachibana. He’s also teamed up as a session musician and band member with artists as diverse as The Orb, Lou Reed, Jarvis Cocker and Beck, and not to mention his three-year stint as Musical Director for Tim Robbins and his band, The Rogues Gallery.
Known as a solo composer in both theater and film, Roger scored Trevor Nunn’s highly acclaimed production of Harold Pinter’s Betrayal at London’s National Theatre and, more recently, Nick Hornby’s Emmy winning TV series State of the Union, directed by Stephen Frears. Most recently he composed the soundtrack to the Erica Jong documentary Breaking the Wall.
Roger Eno lives in a small town on the border of Suffolk and Norfolk. Those two rural counties, with their quiet lanes, medieval churches and waterways, have given focus and intensity to the natural introspection of his music. He has described his creative process as one of “decomposing”—improvising in his studio early in the morning to later strip away all excess from the result to reveal the essence of the piece. His approach to the world has been likened to that of a visitor to a flea market, that nothing should be ignored, that the curious can be all too easily overlooked…
Roger’s sophomore album on DG is entitled the skies, they shift like chords, and is a quietly startling follow-up to The Turning Year. It features solo piano tracks, multi-instrumental piece, and electronic enhancement. The first track, “Strangely, I Dreamt” involves a stunning appearance on vocals by his daughter, Cecily.
Ran Blake Shimmering Shadows April 5, 20247:30pm
Ran Blake (b. 1935) will perform a rare NYC concert in solo and duo format with special guests. To celebrate the release of Ran’s biography, this concert will be inter-spliced with a live interview and film clips to present a retrospective of the life and music of this iconic pianist. From his early love of film noir, his the much heralded 1962 debut with Jeanne Lee on NewestSound Around, taking care of Thelonious Monk’s children after their apartment fire, getting caught up in the resistance after a coup in Greece on his birthday in 1967, to his highly influential teaching after founding the “Third Stream” program at the New England Conservatory; Ran Blake’s life sparkles with incredible vignettes, which he will share and
explore in his music for this performance.
In a career that now spans seven decades, pianist Ran Blake has created a unique niche in improvised music as an artist and educator. With a characteristic mix of spontaneous solos, modern classical tonalities, the great American blues and gospel traditions, and themes from classic Film Noir, Blake’s singular sound has earned a dedicated following all over the world. Blake is the recipient of a MacArthur “Genius” award and in 2022 earned a “Satchmo” award from the Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation.
Maya Beiser Terry Riley’s In C(ello) April 6, 2024 7:30pm
Dubbed a “cello goddess” by TheNew Yorker, Maya Beiser creates radical works for the cello, reimagining her instrument’s boundaries with her iconoclastic performances and recordings.
On her forthcoming album, a multi-cello tribute to Terry Riley’s epic In C out in April 2024, Maya creates a hypnotic, rapturous soundscape with her cello, constructed from a series of drones and live cello loops. Joined by two of her long-time collaborators, the drummers Shane Shanahan and Matt Kilmer, this performance incorporates spatial sound designed specifically for National Sawdust’s immersive Meyer Constellation system.
National Sawdust and the Metropolitan Opera present Opera Evolved: Revival of New Work by Living Composers April 9, 20247:30pm
The compelling conclusion to this three-part series unveils the forefront of operatic innovation, offering a deep dive into the symbiosis of traditional support and cutting-edge creation in opera. This event compares the Metropolitan Opera’s groundbreaking initiative of presenting 17 contemporary works over the next five seasons with National Sawdust’s visionary plan to commission five new pieces in their 2024–25 season. The discussion will center on the transformative impact of these artistic endeavors by exploring the Met’s dedication to works by living composers and examining the pivotal role a burgeoning institution like National Sawdust can play in supporting this progressive shift.
NationalSawdust+ presents COMPOST! Featuring Melissa Clark, Tannis Kowalchuk, Mark Stewart, and More April 25, 2024 7:30pm
NationalSawdust+ digs deep into its For Nature exploration with COMPOST!, an evening of mixed fare with music, theater, and conversation devoted to the process of decomposition and cultivation. Multi-instrumentalist, song leader, composer, instrument designer, and committed composter Mark Stewart brings his Pete Seeger-meets-John Cage sensibility to bear, while theater artist Tannis Kowalchuk (co-founder of Willow Wisp Organic Farm and artistic director of Farm Arts Collective) performs a scene from her dynamic new solo show, Decompositions, which draws a parallel between the process of living, aging, and dying, and the transformation taking place in a compost pile on the stage. New York Times food writer Melissa Clark shares musings on biodegradation and moderates an engrossing discussion with farmers and activists in this nourishing NS+ evening, hosted by series curator Elena Park.
The event is part of NS+’s continuing For Nature series, three programs exploring the interplay and collision between the natural and human worlds, featuring artists and musicians, scientists, and activists working to preserve and restore the environment. For Nature is made possible by the generous support of Kathryn and Emmanuel Morlet and the Westcustogo Foundation.
Julia Jacklin New York Residency May 9, 15, 22, and 29 8pm
Since releasing her debut album Don’t Let the Kids Win in 2016, Julia Jacklin has carved out a fearsome reputation as a direct lyricist willing to excavate the parameters of intimacy and agency in songs both stark and raw, loose, and playful.
2019 follow-up Crushing was described as “a triumph” by The Independent, and “a candidate for this year’s strongest singer-songwriter breakthrough” by Rolling Stone, and her latest album, PRE PLEASURE, has been met with similar acclaim and continues to establish Jacklin as a mainstay of the indie world.
Jacklin returns to the US for the first time since her sold out PRE PLEASURE TOUR in 2022/23, and will be doing a unique series of solo residency shows alongside supporting a run of dates with Mitski.
Describing the upcoming shows, Jacklin says, “The residency idea started because in the spirit of doing what I want next year, even if it doesn’t make sense, I decided I wanted to do a Vegas Residency. The thought made me laugh, and I want to laugh more, and I want more joy in the indie rock touring circuit. I just feel like I jumped on a train in 2016 when I released my first record and it’s been a while since I’ve interrogated why I’m still on the train or asked who’s driving. I’m approaching next year’s shows with a sense of play. I want to write on the go, try things out and slow things down for a second. I want to stay in the same city for more than a night, have some breathing room in between each show to really think about what I’m doing, why I’m drawn to songwriting and public performance and how I can change my practises to be more sustainable. Maybe I can even work on my enduring stage fright in intimate rooms where I can see peoples faces, feel their support, and remember that this is all just about connecting with other people at the end of the day. I’ll be playing solo, I’ll have some guests, some friends, who knows! I’m just going to see how it feels and leave room for exploring and experimenting. Hope to see you there.”
NationalSawdust+ presents A Crisis of Responsibility: Excerpts from The Shell Trial Featuring Ellen Reid, and More to be Announced June 13, 2024 7:30pm
Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Ellen Reid joins a special NationalSawdust+ evening showcasing insights and excerpts from her new opera, The Shell Trial, written with librettist Roxie Perkins, on the heels of its March 2024 world premiere in Amsterdam. Commissioned by Dutch National Opera and based on the play De zaak Shell by Rebekka de Wit and Anoek Nuyens, the opera explores climate devastation as a crisis of responsibility via a landmark 2021 court case in which environmentalists won a shocking lawsuit against Shell Oil.
The program will include arias sung from the perspectives of diverse figures, such as The Climate Refugee, The CEO, The Artist, as well as a chorus of children representing those killed by Shell’s colonial past and climate disasters. Members of the Young People’s Chorus of New York (YPC) will perform in the evening, which will include a probing discussion featuring a climate activist along with Reid and NS+ curator Elena Park.
The composer will share her experience of creating the provocative piece, which offers a range of voices and viewpoints on whose responsibility it is to halt climate change. As the complexity of the issues in the Shell lawsuit becomes clear, boundaries between guilty party and innocent victim, past harm and future progress, and individual and collective responsibility grow increasingly blurred.
The event is part of NS+’s continuing For Nature series, three programs exploring the interplay and collision between the natural and human worlds, featuring artists and musicians, scientists, and activists working to preserve and restore the environment. For Nature is made possible by the generous support of Kathryn and Emmanuel Morlet and the Westcustogo Foundation.
The Shell Trial is a commission by Dutch National Opera, in co-production with Het Geluid (Maastricht), Opera Philadelphia, and Bregenz Festival.
Isaac Mizrahi returns to the famed Café Carlyle in Manhattan with his show, “Mizrahi on Ice,” from February 6-17, 2024.
Accompanied by his band of jazz musicians led by Ben Waltzer, Mizrahi will perform a range of tunes from Arthur Freed to Grace Jones. His previous residencies in the room were sellouts, receiving widespread critical acclaim.
The New York Times noted, “he qualifies as a founding father of a genre that fuses performance art, music and stand-up comedy.”
Isaac Mizrahi has worked extensively in the entertainment industry as a performer, host, writer, designer and producer for over 30 years. Along with his annual residency at Café Carlyle, Isaac has performed at various venues across the country such as Joe’s Pub, The Regency Ballroom, several City Winery locations nationwide and comes to the Carlyle fresh from a United States tour and his run as Amos Hart in the Broadway production of CHICAGO.
He is the subject and co-creator of Unzipped, a documentary following the making of his Fall 1994 collection which received an award at the Sundance Film Festival. He hosted his own television talk show, “The Isaac Mizrahi Show” for seven years, has written three books, and has made countless appearances in movies and on television. He served as a judge on Project Runway: All-Stars for the series’ entire seven-season run and. is just completing his first season of his record breaking podcast, HELLO ISAAC. The series can be streamed on iHeart radio, or wherever you listen to your podcasts.
Café Carlyle is located in The Carlyle, A Rosewood Hotel (35 East 76th Street, at Madison Avenue). Tucked behind a Madison Avenue doorway, Café Carlyle welcomes its guests into a classic cabaret setting where incredible talent and music are paired with New York elegance and style, yet in an updated way. Originally opened in 1955, Café Carlyle is known for headlining incredible talent through the years – from classic performers such as Elaine Stritch and Eartha Kitt to more modern-day acts such as Jon Batiste, Isaac Mizrahi, Jeff Goldblum, Jill Kargman, Katharine McPhee, Dianna Agron, Alan Cumming, Debbie Harry and Rita Wilson. Café Carlyle, the New York City bastion of classic cabaret entertainment, continues to draw socialites, politicians and celebrities into its distinguished and glamorous setting.
Tickets are available online via Tock. General Seating: $140 per person / Premium Seating: $190 per person / Bar Seating: $110 per person.
Darlene Love fans shared a special moment with the singer during her “Love for the Holidays” concert at New York’s Town Hall on Thursday, November 30 when Bruce Springsteen came on stage to present Darlene with an RIAA platinum album plaque for A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector, the groundbreaking multi-artist wall-of-sound holiday collection that introduced Darlene’s “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” to the world in 1963.
Bruce Springsteen and Darlene Love at New York’s Town Hall, Thursday, November 30, 2023
Photo Credit: Sachyn Mital
Springsteen called Darlene “my forever crush” while singling out “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” as “the absolute greatest Christmas rock ‘n’ roll song of all time” and acknowledging “that song and Darlene have been a part of our holidays for 60 years.”
Darlene Love at New York’s Town Hall, Thursday, November 30, 2023 Photo Credit: Sachyn Mital
“When we recorded it, we had no idea it would be a song that people would play for over 60 years,” says Love, laughing. “But it’s a great song. It’s something that had never been done before: It’s a great Christmas song and a rock ‘n roll Christmas song. I never get tired of singing it. And I never really get tired of singing it because I only do it at Christmas time.”
Darlene Love at New York’s Town Hall, Thursday, November 30, 2023 Photo Credit: Sachyn Mital
Darlene Love’s “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” single has been certified 3x platinum by the RIAA as of April 7, 2023. Originally released November 22, 1963 on Philles Records, A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector is currently available through Legacy Recordings, the catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment.
The Troy Savings Bank Music Hall will welcome two incredible jazz legends in February – Joshua Redman will perform on February 7, while Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis will fill the historic venue on February 17.
Joshua Redman – February 7
From its inception, the Blue Note label has stood for “The Finest In Jazz.” The same can be said for Joshua Redman. Over the past three decades, the saxophonist, composer, and bandleader has consistently demonstrated how to honor the music’s verities while expanding its reach in contemporary settings. He found the perfect partner in young vocalist Gabrielle Cavassa.
“I had maybe heard Gabrielle’s name from her time in the Bay Area,” Redman notes, “but I wasn’t at all familiar with her music. One night in the Fall of 2021, my manager texted me in the middle of Gabrielle’s performance at a party in New Orleans. ‘You’ve got to hear this young lady,’ she said. ‘This is not a concert, it’s a casual event, and she is just riveting.’ Once I heard Gabrielle, I realized that she has an expressive quality and an intimacy and a vulnerability in her sound that is singularly captivating.” Having found a collaborator, Redman embarked on what proved to be a unique process.
“Most of my previous recordings grew out of bands that had played and toured together consistently, and eventually developed a vibe and chemistry and repertoire to the point where we felt like we had to record. But in this case, while I had worked with each of the other instrumentalists many times before in a wide variety of settings, we hadn’t yet played all at the same time in the same group; and Gabrielle and I had literally never made a note of music together.” The resulting program is “not really about the pandemic itself,” Redman stresses, “but the uniquely isolating conditions of that time certainly played a role in the music’s creation. What began as a formal concept allowing two unacquainted artists to organize their ideas – something that could be discarded if necessary over time – had gained a deeper significance. “This was an album whose meaning revealed itself in the making.” where are we will leave listeners seeking to define where they, and we, are — inspired by the latest example of Joshua Redman at his finest.
Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis – February 17
The world’s premier big band, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis consists of 15 permanent members performing live in New York City and around the world. In 1988 the Orchestra was formed as an outgrowth of its concert series, Classical Jazz, with David Berger conducting. When Wynton Marsalis became artistic director in 1991, he emphasized the history of jazz, particularly Duke Ellington. The first album was Portraits by Ellington (1992), and seven years later the Ellington centennial was honored with the album Live in Swing City: Swingin’ with the Duke (1999). Under the leadership of Marsalis, the band performs at its home The House of Swing , tours throughout the U.S. and abroad, visits schools, appears on television, and performs with symphony orchestras. The Orchestra backed Wynton Marsalis on his album Blood on the Fields , which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1997.
Since 2015, the Orchestra’s albums have been issued on its own label, Blue Engine Records. The first release from Blue Engine Records, Live in Cuba, was recorded on a historic 2010 trip to Havana by the JLCO and released in October 2015. The label issued Big Band Holidays in December 2015, The Abyssinian Mass in March 2016, The Music of John Lewis in March 2017, and the JLCO’s Handful of Keys in September 2017. Blue Engine’s United We Swing: Best of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Galas features the Wynton Marsalis Septet and an array of special guests, with all proceeds going toward Jazz at Lincoln Center’s education initiatives. Blue Engine’s most recent album releases (2023) include Wynton Marsalis Plays Louis Armstrong’s Hot Fives and Sevens and The Jungle, a recording of Marsalis’ fourth symphony featuring the JLCO and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.
Tickets are on sale at 10am Wednesday, December 6th to Music Hall Members. Anyone can become a member and gain access to the pre-sale. Single tickets go on sale to the general public Friday, December 8th, at 10am via phone, (518) 273-0038, in person, or online at www.troymusichall.org. More information on the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall and upcoming programs is available on the website at www.troymusichall.org.
Pre-sale tickets for Troy Savings Bank Music Hall Members are available Wednesday at 10am. Single tickets will go on-sale at 10am to the public this Friday December 8.
