November 28, 2003

Pop and Jazz Listings

selective listing by Times critics of noteworthy pop and jazz concerts in the New York metropolitan region this weekend. * denotes a highly recommended concert.

ANTIBALAS, Mercury Lounge, 217 East Houston Street, at Ludlow Street, Lower East Side, (212) 260-4700. Antibalas gives a New York makeover to Fela Kuti's Afro-Beat, a Nigerian funk propelled by burly saxophones, fierce percussion and righteous anger, by updating both the funk and the political messages. Regular local appearances keep tightening up the band, and it's a show just to watch more than a dozen musicians cramming themselves onto a club stage and still finding room to dance. Tonight and tomorrow night, two sets beginning at 10; Caural opens tonight at 8:30 and Fire of Space opens tomorrow night at 8:30. Admission is $15 (Jon Pareles).

FLOXY BEE, Satalla, 37 West 26th Street, Manhattan, (212) 576-1155. Floxy Bee, from Lagos, Nigeria, made her name as a singer with Nigerian stars like Sonny Okosuns. On her own, she sings what she calls hikosso music: an effervescent fusion of African, Caribbean and American rhythms with Nigerian highlife at its core. Tonight at 10 and midnight; admission is $15 (Pareles).

DAVE BURRELL'S FULL BLOWN TRIO, Joe's Pub, at the Public Theater, 425 Lafayette Street, at Astor Place, East Village, (212) 539-8770. Mr. Burrell, the pianist, has run the gamut: in a 35-year career he has played free jazz and studied the early jazz canon; performed in solos, duos and quartets; and written operas. This weekend he plays in a strong trio, with the bassist William Parker and the drummer Andrew Cyrille. Sunday night at 9:30; cover charge is $15 (Ben Ratliff).

REGINA CARTER, Birdland, 315 West 44th Street, Manhattan, (212) 581-3080. The jazz violinist Regina Carter, who recently played some highly publicized shows using one of Paganini's original violins, has been fairly successful at bridging virtuosity with popular appeal: when she makes blues and gospel vocalizations out of portamento swoops, it's hard not to like her. Tonight and tomorrow at 9 and 11; cover charge is $30 and there is a $10 minimum (Ratliff).

JOHNNY CASH TRIBUTE, the Knitting Factory, 74 Leonard Street, TriBeCa, (212) 219-3006. The songs are surefire, while the more than 30 bands on the bill are a hodgepodge of rock, bluegrass, punk and beyond, including Eugene Hutz of Gogol Bordello, the Turbo AC's, the Demolition String Band, the Jack Grace Band, Charm School with Mickey Leigh and more. Sunday night at 6; admission is $10, in a benefit for the Diabetes Association (Pareles).

CHILDREN ON THE CORNER, Joe's Pub, at the Public Theater, 425 Lafayette Street, at Astor Place, East Village, (212) 539-8770. The gathering of musicians like the bassist Michael Henderson, the saxophonist Sonny Fortune and the tablaist Badal Roy can only mean a tribute to Miles Davis — specifically his early 70's period and the album "On the Corner," which presented nasty, minimalist, original, droning funk. The pianist Michael Wolff, the guitarist Barry Finnerty and the drummer Victor Jones will also be on hand. Tomorrow night at 7:30 and 9:30; cover charge is $20 (Ratliff).

KARL DENSON'S TINY UNIVERSE, Irving Plaza, 17 Irving Place, at 15th Street, Manhattan, (212) 777-6800. Karl Denson, who played saxophone in Lenny Kravitz's band, is eager to push jazz back onto the dance floor. He has his heart in 1950's hard-bop and 1970's funk: music that takes liberties but never lets go of the beat. Tonight and tomorrow night at 10, with Hairy Apes BMX opening; tickets are $27.50 (Pareles).

* LOU DONALDSON QUARTET, Village Vanguard, 178 Seventh Avenue South, at 11th Street, West Village, (212) 255-4037. The crown prince of blues and bop, Mr. Donaldson is a saxophonist who reminds you of the earthiness inside jazz. He's also a wild, funny character who always plays better than you expect on an average night. Tonight through Sunday night at 9 and 11; cover charge is $30 tonight and tomorrow night, $25 on Sunday (Ratliff).

* EISLEY, Sin-e, 148-150 Attorney Street, near Houston Street, Lower East Side, (212) 388-0077. This young (mainly teenage) band from Texas consists of three sisters, their brother and a friend. The group's sense of songwriting is still developing, but on its new EP, "Marvelous Things" (Warner Brothers), the sisters show off their knack for floating high, still harmonies on top of slow, deliberate chord progressions. Tomorrow night at 8; tickets are $8 (Kelefa Sanneh).

ELYSIAN FIELDS, Joe's Pub, at the Public Theater, 425 Lafayette Street, at Astor Place, East Village, (212) 539-8778 or (212) 239-6200. With Jennifer Charles's smoky voice and Oren Bloedow's electric guitar, Elysian Fields conjures a haunted, late-night atmosphere with songs full of love and trouble. Tonight at 9:30; tickets are $15 (Pareles).

DARREN EMERSON, Avalon, 662 Avenue of the Americas, at 20th Street, Chelsea, (212) 807-7780. The British D.J., a former member of the electronica act Underworld, comes to town for a night of energetic (and, more likely than not, raucous) dance music. Tomorrow night after 10; admission is $25 (Sanneh).

WAYNE ESCOFFERY TRIO, Fat Cat, 75 Christopher Street, West Village, (212) 675-6056. A young, self-assured tenor saxophonist who has been working in Eric Reed's band, among others will play in a trio setting that will give us a chance to hear what he's made of. Tonight he plays with the bassist Kenji Rabson and the drummer Lewis Nash, and tomorrow with Mr. Rabson and Carl Allen on drums. Tonight and tomorrow night at 10; cover charge is $15 (Ratliff).

* WYCLIFFE GORDON SEXTET, Up Over Jazz Café, 351 Flatbush Avenue, at Seventh Avenue, Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, (718) 398-5413. Even through all his compression and control, the trombonist Wycliffe Gordon can outperform nearly anyone else playing jazz. He's masterly with mutes, so it's fun to watch him work, but on the deeper levels of music-making, he has an amazing capacity for playing bravura passages quietly. Tonight and tomorrow night at 9, 11 and 12:30; cover charge is $18 and there is a $5 minimum (Ratliff).

LORRAINE KLAASEN, MISSIA SARAN, Satalla, 37 West 26th Street, Manhattan, (212) 576-1155. Lorraine Klaasen, a South African singer who lives in Montreal, takes a pan-African approach; she's a buoyant, multilingual singer who sometimes combines the bounce of South African rhythms with contrapuntal Congolese guitars. Missia Saran, a singer from Guinea, will join Ms. Klaasen for her 10 p.m. set and will sing her own set of Manding pop at midnight. This show is a tribute to the South African singer Miriam Makeba; both singers will be backed by the Congoloses guitarist Dominic Kanza and his band. Tomorrow night; admission is $15 for the 10 p.m. set and $10 at midnight (Pareles).

* LEE KONITZ'S 76TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION, Iridium, 1650 Broadway at 51st Street, (212) 582-2121. Mr. Konitz, the alto saxophonist, was one of Lennie Tristano's closest associates in the late 1940's and early 50's; that experience left a permanent impression on his subsequent career, in terms of repertory, instrumentation and many other things. Even so, he is as original a player as there is in jazz, with a sound that has remained limpid and innocent and an emphasis on melody that makes him always easy to follow. For the last few decades he has been fearless about collaborations, participating in all kinds of music; here, for his birthday week, he'll play with an impressive crew, including the guitarist Bill Frisell, the bassist Gary Peacock and the drummer Matt Wilson. Tonight through Sunday night at 8 and 10 with an 11:30 set tonight and tomorrow; cover charge is $30 tonight and Sunday, $32.50 tomorrow, with a $10 minimum all nights (Ratliff).

DEEPAK KUMAR, Satalla, 37 West 26th Street, Manhattan, (212) 576-1155. Deepak Kumar, from Rajasthan, sings North Indian light-classical music, including the love poems called ghazals and the devotional songs called bhajans. Sunday night at 8 and 10; admission is $15 (Pareles).

LESS THAN JAKE, Irving Plaza, 17 Irving Place, at 15th Street, Manhattan, (212) 777-6800. The ska revival — actually a revival of the punk-era ska revival — isn't over as long as bands like Less Than Jake are still pumping out that bouncy beat. Sunday and Monday night at 8, with Punchline, Fall Out Boy and Rufio opening; tickets are $17 (Pareles).

* VICTOR LEWIS QUINTET, Sweet Rhythm, 88 Seventh Avenue South, above Bleecker Street, West Village, (212) 255-3626. Mr. Lewis is a marvelous drummer, known in the 80's for associations with Stan Getz and Bobby Watson and in the 90's for freelancing and playing with his own band. He has hired important contributors to the modern scene like the saxophonist Seamus Blake, the pianist Stephen Scott, the trumpeter Terell Stafford and the bassist Ed Howard, all of whom are with him this weekend. Tonight and tomorrow night at 8, 10 and midnight; cover charge is $15 and there is a $10 minimum (Ratliff).

GARY LUCAS'S GODS AND MONSTERS, Tonic, 107 Norfolk Street, near Delancey Street, Lower East Side, (212) 358-7501. Gods and Monsters, led by the guitarist Gary Lucas for about 15 years now, has never had fixed personnel; instead it has served to showcase all of Mr. Lucas's directions at once: film and television music, psychedelia, Delta-blues fingerpicking and rock-guitar interpretations of classical music scores. Tonight at 10; cover charge is $10 (Ratliff).

* LUNA, the Knitting Factory, 74 Leonard Street, TriBeCa, (212) 219-3006. Embracing the legacy of two-guitar New York bands from the Velvet Underground to Television, Luna applies the dynamics of strum, drone and build to Dean Wareham's tales of longing and decadence. As Mr. Wareham sings about high-toned parties, aimless road trips and creeping paranoia, the songs start out cool, but the writhing, swelling guitars reveal the obsessions within them. Tonight and tomorrow night at 9; Aspera opens tonight, Skycam tomorrow. Admission is $15 (Pareles).

VICTOR MANUELLE, Copacabana, 560 West 34th Street, Manhattan, (212) 239-2672. Victor Manuelle is emerging as a leading young salsa sonero. With a voice that's clear, strong and agile, he can move easily between tropical pop and more driving salsa, vowing endless romance or bouncing improvisations off the band. Tonight, trading sets with Los Inquietos from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.; admission is $25. Tomorrow night, trading sets with Los Toros Band from 10 to 5; admission is $25 tonight, $30 tomorrow night (Pareles).

IVAN MILEV BALKAN FOLK BAND, Joe's Pub, at the Public Theater, 425 Lafayette Street, at Astor Place, East Village, (212) 539-8778 or (212) 239-6200. The Bulgarian accordionist Ivan Milev charges through a repertory of breathless, zig-zagging melodies that sprint toward the dance floor. He and his Balkan Folk Band also know tunes from Serbia, Albania, Turkey and Romania. Tonight at 7:30; tickets are $12 (Pareles).

MOE, Beacon Theater, 2124 Broadway, at 74th Street, (212) 496-7070. One chord is all Moe needs to start one of its nimble, quick-fingered jams. Its music starts with the Grateful Dead-Allman Brothers hybrids that most jam bands use, and from there it takes off toward Southern rock, spacy interludes or the borderline of funk. Tonight and tomorrow night at 7:30; tickets are $27.50 (Pareles).

* FRANK MORGAN QUARTET, Jazz Standard, 116 East 27th Street, Manhattan, (212) 576-2232. Like many other musicians who discovered Charlie Parker when they were just a little too young to be professionals, Mr. Morgan, from Southern California, heard be-bop as a sacred text. And he still has a remarkably beautiful way with it, presenting it as classical constructions in medium tempo. Tonight through Sunday night at 7:30 and 9:30, with an 11:30 set tonight and tomorrow; cover charge is $25 tonight and tomorrow night, $20 on Sunday (Ratliff).

O.A.R., Hammerstein Ballroom, 311 West 34th Street, Manhattan, (212) 307-7171. A little reggae, a little folk-rock, a lot of word-of-mouth and O.A.R., an Ohio band whose initials stand for Of a Revolution, has become a college-circuit favorite. Despite its name, O.A.R. is more concerned with romance than politics; its plays easy-strumming three-chord songs suitable for dorm parties, calling for audience participation on choruses like "Naked with you all night long." Tonight and tomorrow night at 8, with Slightly Stoopid and Louque opening; tickets are $28 (Pareles).

OGANS, S.O.B.'s (Sounds of Brazil), 204 Varick Street, at Houston Street, South Village, (212) 243-4940. Ogans is a Bahia-style group of nearly a dozen drummers generating a parade beat that swings and struts. Their booming rhythm carries old and new hits that have Brazilians in the crowd singing along. Tomorrow night at 8, 10 and midnight; tickets are $20 (Pareles).

JIMMY OLIVER-SAM DOCKERY-JIMMY COBB, Fat Cat, 75 Christopher Street, West Village, (212) 675-6056. An impressive old-school grouping: Jimmy Oliver, the tenor saxophonist, and Sam Dockery, the pianist, are both old and respected names in Philadelphia, where they've been playing for ages — Mr. Oliver since the early 1940's, Mr. Dockery since the early 50's. The drummer Jimmy Cobb, once a member of Miles Davis's 1950's quintet, still plays around quite a lot. Sunday night at 10; no cover (Ratliff).

"ONE FOR ALL," Smoke, 2751 Broadway, at 106th Street, (212) 864-6662. Steeped-in-the-language, New York-style hard bop, as played by some confident younger musicians, including the tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander, the trombonist Steve Davis, the pianist David Hazeltine, the bassist Peter Washington and the drummer Joe Farnsworth. Take note: tonight's sets include Wynton Marsalis, who doesn't need much provocation to ignite a room. Tonight and tomorrow night at 9, 11 and 12:30. Call for tonight's cover charge; tomorrow's cover, $20 (Ratliff).

MARTHA REEVES, B. B. King Blues Club and Grill, 243 West 42nd Street, Manhattan, (212) 997-4144. Now billed without the Vandellas, Martha Reeves was the gospel-charged soul singer for Motown hits like "Heat Wave," "Dancing in the Streets" and "Nowhere to Run." Sunday night at 8; tickets are $20 in advance, $25 Sunday (Pareles).

DUKE ROBILLARD, THE CAMPBELL BROTHERS, the Bottom Line, 15 West Fourth Street, Greenwich Village, (212) 228-6300. Duke Robillard is a guitarist and singer whose blues lore goes back to the swing and jump-band blues he used to play with Roomful of Blues; lately he has backed Bob Dylan in the studio. He has a hard act to follow: the Campbell Brothers, who are part of the sacred steel tradition of the House of God Dominion church. It turns the steel guitar into a swooping, wailing lead instrument in gospel songs. Some friendy sibling rivalry between Chuck Campbell, on pedal steel guitar, and Darick Campbell, on lap steel guitar, only revs things up further; another brother, Philip Campbell, is on bass, with his son Carlton Campbell on drums. Tonight at 7:30 and 10:30; tickets are $25 (Pareles).

SECRET MACHINES, Sin-e, 148 Attorney Street, below Houston Street, Lower East Side, (212) 388-0077. Secret Machines, a New York band, creates slowly evolving songs from carefully layered, minimalist patterns and songs tinged with country. Tonight at 7:30, with the Blondes Inc., Icewater Scandal and the Big Sleep opening; admission is $10 (Pareles).

THE STRAWBS ACOUSTIC TRIO, the Bottom Line, 15 West Fourth Street, Greenwich Village, (212) 228-6300. The Strawbs, led by David Cousins, were part of the British trad-rock movement of the late 1960's and 70's, reaching back to modal Celtic melodies and the lore of ancient ballads. This version of the band is unplugged, with Mr. Cousins, Dave Lambert and Brian Willoughby. Tomorrow night at 7:30 and 10:30; tickets are $25 (Pareles).

TOOTS THIELEMANS, Blue Note, 131 West Third Street, West Village, (212) 475-8592. Now in his early 80's, Mr. Thielemans, the jazz harmonica player, remains in good shape, losing wind only at the end of a long string of notes. But he finds off-center rhythms, attaining a little bit of freedom and knocking his instrument from side to side for tremolos. His sets are made of the sort of up-market, relaxing classics appreciated from here to the Côte d'Azur: Brubeck, Gershwin, Ivan Lins, Luiz Bonfa. And occasionally he will bring out a guitar, his first instrument, which he plays more hesitantly. Tonight through Sunday night at 8 and 10:30; cover charge is $30 and a $5 minimum at the tables, $20 and one-drink at the bar (Ratliff).