Guide to the WJF Marathons | Bklyn Sounds 1/10/2025—1/14/2025

Dada Strain Winter Jazzfest recommendations + This Week's Other Shows Include: Ladiez Drink Free + Matias Aguayo + Kiernan Laveaux / 'Weird Science' with Brainwave Research Center / + more

Clockwise from upper left: Charles Tolliver, Vijay Iyer & Wadada Leo Smith, Brainwave Research Center, Ladiez Drink Free

Again, apologies for the lateness of this week’s newsletter. This year’s week before Winter Jazzfest has been made heavier for a couple of reasons, one great and one less so.

First the good: I published a big piece in the Festival program on New York’s DIY improvised music spaces, “Where The Music Lives Now.” And then this week, I expanded it for the web. (Scroll about a quarter of the way down the page.) There’s little there that readers of Dada Strain don’t already know, because I write about it every week. It is a (jazz-centric) outline of what is happening in this city, how its musicians and musickers are alive and making great work, putting on incredible events. It was written for New Yorkers and festival attendees with the hope that more people start paying attention to the richness of the music being created, and start attending more shows in offbeat (for the mainstream) venues. The community is strong but it needs more civic support.

Now the horrible: the Los Angeles fires have overwhelmed my soul past distraction, and into mania. A few dear friends and colleagues have lost everything. Almost everyone I know in LA has evacuated. On top of the genocide. On top of the impending beginning of the next sh*t-show, set to play out in every part of global society starting on January 20th, but especially in the States. The helplessness and horror stirred by the flames in the part of the world I know intimately (I lived in Los Angeles for a couple of years), knowing that this is part of our everyday future, all of it has come as a deluge. This week, it burst like a dam.

I am trying to keep it together, in order to make work that counteracts the hopelessness. Work like getting this newsletter out through the fog and the smoke; work like the show that will take place at Union Pool on Saturday; and work like the stories about New York and the education parts of Dada Strain that are currently in development. As a friend wrote earlier this week, “I do not believe in hope, but I do believe in change.” Me too. And Dada Strain will be part of that change, because there is nothing else to do.

So enjoy the third annual guide to the WJF Manhattan and Bklyn Marathons. (Paid subscribers can scroll down to the bottom of the newsletter to access the discount code on tickets.) And if you come to Union Pool on Saturday night and read the newsletter, please say hello.

Friday 1/10: Manhattan Marathon

• Amaro Freitas (7:45p @ City Winery) - Exquisite thirtysomething Brazilian pianist whose attack effortlessly blends bop history and modernist abstraction into the encyclopedic knowledge of his homeland’s rich sonic ancestry, both musicological and MPB.

• Nikara presents Black Wall Street (8:15p @ Nublu) - Being Brooklyn-born and -raised, vibraphonist Nikara Warren brings a strong funk and hip-hop touch to her embrace of classic jazz forms. Pardon the cliche, but her grooves smoke.

• Vijay Iyer & Wadada Leo Smith (8:30p @ The Keith Haring Theater at Performance Space NY) - Vijay is one of the the great musical artists of our moment, and Wadada is a living legend. The pair has collaborated for many years, and their approaches fit together in myriad ways. One of the sets of the night.

• Josh Johnson (8:45p @ The Neilma Sidney Theatre at Performance Space) - Alto saxophonist who first came to prominence playing with the greater Chicago posse (Jeff Parker, Makaya McCraven, Marquis Hill) now lives in LA, and has for the past half decade embraced electronics to great effect.

• Trio Imagination w/ Reggie Workman, Andrew Cyrille, David Virelles (9p @ City Winery) - Two years ago, Cuban pianist Virelles, who’d already been playing with Cyrille, was asked to join the legendary drummer and John Coltrane’s one-time bassist Workman in a three-piece. Their spectacular out sound is huge.

• Mali Obomsawin (9:30p @ Nublu) - Oboswain is an Osanak First Nation bassist and singer/songwriter whose transcendental improvisations and earthy compositions embrace a world of electric noise and folk choral melody. Unlike any other music happening this evening.

• Air Legacy Trio (9:45p @ The Keith Haring Theater at Performance Space) - Hugely underappreciated reeds master Marty Ehrlich, bassist Hilliard Greene and drummer Pheeroan AkLaff tackle the music of Henry Threadgill’s Air trio of the 1970s and ‘80s.

• Ganavya (10p @ Le Poisson Rouge) - The Queens-born Tamil vocalist/multi-instrumentalist has spent the past half-decade creating and collaborating on spiritual music with aesthetically disparate artists bringing the worldly and sacred to improvisation. Her results are ethereal and, at times, stunning.

• Caroline Davis & Wendy Eisenberg (10p @ The Neilma Sidney Theatre at Performance Space) - With Accept When, saxophonist Davis and guitarist Eisenberg made one of the great albums of 2024, an intimate set of oddball folk-pop songs and instrumental flourishes by two of the best players we have. And charisma for days!

• Theon Cross (10:45p @ Nublu) - London jazz and grime’s resident tuba master pulls out massively funky, brass basslines predicated on a young life mixing his conservatory education, community marching-band blasts and a love for street beats. Theon’s shows are parties.

• Linda May Han Oh (11p @ The Keith Haring Theater at Performance Space) - One of the great jazz bassists working today is, more often than not, surrounded by equally incredible players. Here, she’s in a next-level trio with trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire and drummer Tyshawn Sorey.

• Makaya McCraven (11:15p @ Le Poisson Rouge) - The drummer, producer and beat scientist is the festival’s Artist In Residence, so he’s playing multiple times, in a variety of situations. The incredible thing about Mak is that he’s as great being a groove guy, as he is being a jazz guy. No idea which one this will be.

• Roberto Fonseca & Joe Claussell (12:30a @ Le Poisson Rouge) - The dance wildcard of the evening finds the mighty deep-house DJ/producer force Claussell collaborating with Cuban pianist Fonseca.

Saturday 1/11: Brooklyn Marathon

I would be remiss if I didn’t first point out (again) that Dada Strain is hosting a showcase on Saturday, which is also part of the marathon. I think it is one of the best bills on offer. But music is not a competition, and the more options the better. So here is what I’d be up for if I wasn’t at Union Pool on Saturday night.

• Vijay Iyer Trio +1 Featuring Adam O’Farrill (7:30p @ National Sawdust) - Pianist Iyer’s massive, elastic trio with Linda May Han Oh on bass and Tyshawn Sore on drums, adds one of the best young trumpet players in NYC for the evening.

• Isaiah Collier (8:30p @ Brooklyn Bowl) - Chicago tenor saxophonist is a molten, spiritual player in the Pharoah Sanders mode. Collier’s got chops and invention galore—and can bust into a croon with the best of them—but it’s his stamina, fire and focused vision that makes Isaiah.

• Arooj Aftab (9p @ Music Hall of Williamsburg) - As great as the Grammy-winning vocalist and songwriter’s albums of Hindustani torch-jazz are, it is in her role as a bandleader that you best witness Arooj’s singularity as an artist. Her ensembles crackle with a mix of worldly elegance and creative power.

• Rudresh Mahanthappa Hero Trio (9p @ Loove Labs Annex) - Hero Trio, which also features bassist François Moutin and drummer Rudy Royston, is the alto saxophonist’s standards and covers band, which means everything from Bird and Miles faves, to Chuck Mangione and Johnny Cash. A hoot!

• Darius Jones Trio (9:15p @ Loove Labs) - Though not yet the jazz-household name that I think many of us in New York believe Darius ought to be, the alto saxophonist, composer and educator has had a couple of great higher-profile years. His trio tonight includes the mighty Jason Nazary on drums, and Chris Lightcap on bass.

• Adi Oasis (9:45p @ Brooklyn Bowl) - A longtime French expat in Bklyn, bassist-singer Oasis initially made an impression by fronting Escort, one of the borough’s great disco bands. Her solo music points towards the more soulful and luscious side of life.

• Ron Trent presents WARMSUPERSONIC (10p-Late @ Jolene Sound Room) - A producer/DJ who’s a cornerstone of Chicago’s deep house wing, Trent has a project called WARM that embraces live jazz and improv players. Tonight’s all-night-long session promises special guests headed in this direction.

• SML (10:30p @ Music Hall of Williamsburg) - The LA-based, electronic-jazz supergroup answer to Can (and also, maybe, Phish?) released one of the best albums of 2023, and on its NYC debut in December, proved itself even better live. Hopefully Music Hall will be rammed for this!

• Matthew Shipp Trio (10:30p @ Loove Labs) - Lotsa trios involving heavy-duty vets of NYC free-jazz on these lists—here’s another. Visioneer pianist Shipp has been in constant communication with bassist Michael Bisio and drummer Newman Taylor Baker for over a decade, and the telepathy shows. WJF lifers unite!

• Sun Ra Arkestra (11p @ Brooklyn Bowl) - Speaking of great bands in their natural element. Arkestra gigs on the Saturday night of the marathon turning into free-for-all parties are pretty much a given. Brooklyn Bowl seems a perfect big-room for this year’s astral dust-up.

• Zoh Amba Sun Ensemble (11:30p @ National Sawdust) - In great current Bklyn community fashion, free-spirited tenor saxophonist Amba is piling up the number of projects she’s involved in. This one’s a noisy quartet with pianist Lex Korten, bassist Kanoa Mendenhall and drummer Miguel Marcel Russell.

• Makaya McCraven (12a @ Music Hall of Williamsburg) - Makaya again? Guaranteed. See above.

This Week’s Other Shows:

Big upstairs/downstairs energy at Paragon, with Nikki Nair unleashing his maximalist-club, kitchen-sink dynamics in the big room, and Eli Escobar unpacking his wares all night long in the basement, in what he’s said is one of his favorite rooms in New York. Also: Bored Lord + Zarina. (Fri 1/10, 10p @ Paragon, Broadway & Myrtle - $20)

Excellent electronics-heavy DIY bill at Trans-Pecos, helmed by SCRAAATCH, the duo of MHYSA/E-Jane on the electronics and Chuki on the DJ systems. There’s also Jumplink, a gear heavy synth duo mixing ‘80s and kosmiche vibes, as well as the horrorcore techno proclamations of Mother Cell and Bet!, a lo-fi metal duo. (Sat 1/11, 7p @ Trans-Pecos, Ridgewood - $12)

Maybe the last thing this week looks like it needs is another great jazz show on Saturday. But alto saxophonist Logan Richardson hanging in the basement of Ki-Smith as part of a trio with bassist Joe Sanders and drumbrownie Justin Brown—plus saxophonist Antoine Roney’s Trio, which features his son, the drum prodigy Kojo Melché Roney—is hard to pass up. This is for if you’re avoiding WJF. (Sat 1/11, 9p @ Ki-Smith Gallery, Manhattan - $35adv/$40)

I first met Mariposa, Drupe Jam, and Perna, a trio of Florida-raised, Bklyn-residing femme DJs who form the collective, Ladiez Drink Free, last summer via musclecars, and listening to their wonderfully hard-to-describe The Lot Radio show ever since. I’m yet to make it to the LDF residency at Bossa—and won’t this week, because…—but any night that stacks their ineffable aesthetic, next to guests like the global house-minded Matias Aguayo and psychedelic industrialist Kiernan Laveaux has a lot going for it. (Sat 1/11, 10p @ Bossa Nova Civic Club, Bushwick - $TK)

The special guest at this month’s installment of SHAKE!, the vinyl-only soul-and-funk nerd-out/dance-party helmed by brother Monk-One and DJ Prestige, is another classic selector, Philly’s Skeme Richards, who brings the freshly dug-up jams. Nothing fancy except the levels of talent. (Sat 1/11, 10p @ Friends & Lovers, Crown Heights - $5-$10)

To answer the question of what in the world jazz ambassador, bassist Christian McBride is doing playing at Mercury Lounge, look no further than the name of the program: Celebrating 20 years of Live At Tonic. That out-of-print three-CD set, recorded at the beloved, now-long-gone LES club, helped reveal McBride’s beyond-traditionalist nature as a player, and also played into what made the scene at Tonic, one of the last bastions of that era’s Downtown Manhattan music culture, so great. The Christian McBride Band are returning close to the scene of the crime, and replaying the episode. Special guests are promised, and the album had a few. (Sat 1/11, 6p & Sun 1/12, 8p @ Mercury Lounge, Manhattan - $40adv/$45)

MORE WJF: This year, Gilles Peterson’s annual sojourn to the festival doesn’t come in the form of a late-evening Nublu jam, but as something larger and potentially more unpredictable. Mr. Worldwide is heading into the roller-rink to present Sunday Jazz Dance Session, the kind of party he did back in late-’80s/early-’90s London. (The one at Dingwalls with Patrick Forge cemented his rep.) It will be a start-studded, multi-act night with Kieran Hebden (aka Four Tet), Makaya McCraven, Emma-Jean Thackray, ZACCHAE’US PAUL presents “JAZZ MONEY,” Melanie Charles, Lovie, and they’re gonna find room for Marshall Allen too. Potentially, a big evening! (Sun 1/12, 6p @ Xanadu, Bushwick - $45)

The folks behind Weird Science are putting on some of the best layered-bill nights in the city, especially if you like your shit synthy and jacking. To wit: Sunday evening’s jam includes two of Dada Strain live electronics faves, the gearhead house of Sweater On Polo, and the analog synth patterning of Brainwave Research Center. There’s also the lo-fi electronic pop vibes of Paul Arámbula, and DJing by the industrial/EBM-minded German visitor Dunkelier aka Sneaker. (Sun 1/12, 6p @ TV Eye, Ridgewood - $15-$20)

MORE WJF: Another overflowing all-star line-up, Strata-East Rising will celebrate the legendary independent jazz label co-founded by trumpeter Charles Tolliver and the late pianist Stanley Cowell in 1971. Strata-East released classic records by Gil-Scott Heron & Brian Jackson, Pharoah Sanders, Clifford Jordan, Billy Harper and others, but remains an all-too underappreciated connector between the post-bop and spiritual jazz sounds of the ‘60s, and the loft scene that was just beginning to develop in NYC. The evening will include Tolliver, Harper, Cecil McBee, Billy Hart, and others who played on original Strata-East sessions; as well as young folks, who have followed in the label’s path, including Jon Batiste, Christian McBride, aja monet, Keyon Harrold, Endea Owens and many others. The menu is impeccable and the kitchen is definitely full for this one. Looking forward to how the meal turns out. Two separately ticketed sets. (Mon 1/13, 7p & 9:30p @ Le Poisson Rouge, Manhattan - $$$)

Lester St. Louis and Luke Stewart’s Assembly monthly returns for its first jam of 2025. The big attraction is the record release party for Waterfall, a long-overdue debut by Sun & Rain, a quartet consisting of saxophonists Nathaniel Morgan and Travis Laplante, electric guitarist Andrew, and the mighty Jason Nazary on drums. There are also duets by violinist Zosha Warpeha and percussionist Jess Tsang, as well as by Stewart and saxophonist Karen Ng. Light and Sound Design’s KG on the decks all night long. (Tues 1/14, 8p @ Sisters, Fulton Street - $15-$20)

Next week, Phony PPL’s classic prog-funk-jazz-pop-soul-jam album, Yesterday’s Tomorrow, is celebrating its 10year anniversary. And before they take this birthday bash on the road, the Bklyn quintet is moving into Cafe Erzulie for a trio of shows. (Tues 1/14—Thurs 1/16, 8p @ Cafe Erzulie, Broadway & Myrtle - $20)