Bklyn Sounds 2/7/24—2/13/24

This Week's Shows: Stacey "Hotwaxx" Hale / Brian Jackson / Zoh Amba / Ethnic Heritage Ensemble / Toribio / Spencer Zahn Quartet / 'Mixology 2024' / 'Assembly' / 'SHAKE!' / 'Abasement' / + much more

A day late so that I do not have to be a dollar short. Plus, there’s a lot going off-stage — all exciting, good stuff you’ll know about shortly.

Back to the regular schedule next week. Non-paid subscribers, please accept the free listings (and a discount for Mixology 2024) as an apology. And please consider upgrading your subscription.

This Week’s Shows:

Romance is Eli Escobar’s often-thematic residency Thursday night at his club Gabriela., and between the superlative club and DJing, the great crowd and energy, it’s kinda turning into an unmissable occasion. But I come back to the “thematic,” because, short of popular “Garage/Loft classics” parties, it’s been a while since a non-ironic (or poorly executed) musical-theme-night has been regularly thrown in NYC clublandia, much less where themes regularly change. So even though this Thursday, Eli and special guest Jubilee (!!!) are promising an evening of the retroactively dubbed “indie-sleaze” (I prefer to still call it blog-house), you know this sh*t is gonna be off-the-chain. Get there early though. (Thurs 2/8, 9p @ Gabriela., Williamsburg - FREE) 

Over the past couple of years, legendary Chicago/AACM percussionist Kahil El Zabar’s Ethnic Heritage Ensemble has visited NYC regularly (Thank you Blank Forms!), and the spiritually-minded rhythms and improvising has been nothing short of sublime. This time Kahil is joined by Corey Wilkes on trumpet, Alex Harding on baritone sax, and James Sanders on violin. Also on the bill is Sön, the finally named project of the mighty, long-collaborating duo, pianist Mara Rosenbloom and drummer Tcheser Holmes. This will be 🔥! (Fri 2/9, 7:30p @ Brooklyn Music School Theater, Downtown Bklyn - $20)

The mighty Record Shop plays host to a nice triple bill of improvised-music with austere-electronics elements. At the top, there’s the wondrous trio blend of electronic-minded percussionist Lukas Koenig, guitarist Wendy Eisenberg and violinist gabby fluke-mogul. Berlin-based electronic composer Eric Wong and feedback guitarrorist Sandy Ewen are likely to bring the noise washes; and drummer Devin Gray likes to get busy with the contact microphones and accidental microrhythms. (Fri 2/9, 8p @ 360 Record Shop, Red Hook - $20suggested)

Massive multi-generational DJs double-bill: Detroit’s Stacey “Hotwaxx” Hale is called the “Godmother of House Music” because she’s been slinging the stuff of her nick-name for almost four decades now, another student of the legendary Ken Collier. When she gets on a roll, get involved! Hale is playing Nowadays’ recently inaugurated Foundations night, which pairs classic DJs with newly crowned NYC maestros, this evening’s being the mighty Dee Diggs. Highest Recommendation. (Fri 2/9, 11p @ Nowadays, Ridgewood - $25)

For the adventurously minded and discerning lovers of experimental electronics, Roulette’s annual Mixology weekend is both palette cleanser and prompt. And this year it’s three nights instead of two. On Friday (2/9), vocalist Lucia della Paolera and producer Gobby present a musically updated, theatrical version of Bach’s 1726 cantata, “Spirit and Soul Become Confused.” Saturday (2/10) features a triple-bill: vocal improviser Charmaine Lee, the soundscape+poetry performer Shawné Michaelain Holloway, and  —__–____, a collaboration between two bright lights of the experimental DIY scene, Seth Graham and More Eaze. The wrap-up on Sunday (2/11) sees sets by multi-instrumenrtalist Lea Bertucci, whose tape-manipulation work often leaves me in a puddle, and Bay Area-based composer Matt Robidoux, who plays something they call a “corn synth” to strangely spacious effect. (Use the discount code MIXOLOGY20 for 20% off advance tickets). (Fri 2/9 - Sun 2/11, 8p @ Roulette, Downtown Bklyn - $25adv/$30) 

I am a little skeptical of an evening at a major Manhattan club that begins at 6p, features three DJs and must clear out in time for another 11p party. That said, even if “An evening of Tony Humphries playing Zanzibar classics” is actually 90 minutes of the foundational Jersey house DJ mixing the best tunes of a great (yet still somehow under-appreciated) moment and space, it will still be well worth your ears. Also on the bill are Felix Hernandez (who is co-producing the event) and MC Jay Mixin' Dixon. (Sat 2/10, 6p @ SOB’s, Manhattan - $25)

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 the mighty DJ Prestige, is another excellent selector, Sacramento’s Shotgun Shima. Nothing fancy except the levels of talent. (Sat 2/10, 10p @ Friends & Lovers, Crown Heights - $5 with RSVP before 11p/$10) 

Brother Cesar Toribio’s debut at Gabriela., all night long. I mean, if you read me regularly — hell, if you only read above — you know how I feel about both. I also did not know whether to recommend this night or the night before, when Brother Tim Sweeney is playing at Gabriela. all night long. That one’s gonna be 🔥 too. With the club, I feel like I’m cheerleading the obvious (Time Out NY and Gothamist features = the MF word is out). But the fact that superlative local DJs like Toribio and Sweeney have another good, unpretentious spot to get deep and weird for 7-8 hours, with folks listening and moving…? Y’all don’t understand how good we have it in NYC right now. Enjoy it! (Sat 2/10, 9p @ Gabriela., Williamsburg - $10cash only) 

An event held in conjunction with Ephraim Asili’s film installation Song for My Mother, will find the filmmaker alongside the fine writer-label curator-musicker Gabriel Jermaine Vanlandingham-Dunn playing six-hours of records for a listening session entitled, “In the music is your history.” (Part II, since they already did part I in October.) Then the mighty HxH will do their thing, one I recently described as “glacial, end-of-the-world ambient techno,” a pull-quote I stand by. (Sun 2/11, Noon @ Amant Arts, East Williamsburg - FREE w/RSVP) 

S*p*r B*wl Counter-Programming I: Tertön is a new collaborative trio of three NYC free-jazz/improvising mainstays — saxophonist Louie Belogenis, bassist Trevor Dunn and drummer Ryan Sawyer — who’ve come together for an album on John Zorn’s Tzadik label. (This is the record release party.) Tertön is a Tibetan Buddhist term which means “those who discover ancient texts”; glean from that what you will.  (Sun 2/11, 7p @ Zürcher Gallery, Manhattan - $20cash only)

S*p*r B*wl Counter-Programming II: Another of Center for Psychic Technology's great big bills, made-up of local DIY-scene folks, curated for the ravenously open-minded. We know all about star-in-the-making saxophonist Zoh Amba, about the incredible percussive pairing of drummer Warren “Trae” Crudup and tap-dancer Melissa Almaguer, and about DJ Sunny Cheeba, co-founder the great Uptown Vinyl Supreme collective. Add to that ,the groups A.B.E.L.A. (Asociación de Bateristas ElektrónikXs de Latinoamerika) and Dendarry Bakery, a trio project by TranSalsa insurgent mobéy lola irizarry, conjuror Samira Mendoza, and percussionist-electronicist Gladstone Butler. Unquestionably better than (American) football. (Sun 2/11, 8p @ Trans-Pecos, Ridgewood - $120adv/$15) 

S*p*r B*wl Counter-Programming III: Brian Jackson, the legendary singer, keyboardist and flute player probably best known as Gil Scott-Heron’s one-time musical partner, is in the city recording a new album right now. (Produced by Masters at Work — color me excited.) He’s taking the opportunity to play some low-key live shows here and there. Sunday, he’s doing two sets at Nublu, a regular Jackson-in-NYC haunt, with veteran soul/R&B guitarist Clarence “Binky” Brice and the young drummer Mark Whitfield III. Guests are always a possibility though. (Sun 2/11, 8p & 10p @ Nublu, Manhattan - $20) 

Artists Space’s Abasement is one of the best, long-running experimental media+music+art happenings in NYC, always deserving of a night out in the New. Abasement #68 features sound-video-transmission artist Victoria Keddie with live video by Scott Kiernan; performances by Extatic Spasmatix (Eugene Hutz, Ashley Tobias, Brian Chase, Kay BonTempo and Alap Momin), and The Same Names (Michael Schumacher, Michael Wiener, Cori Kresge and Yuko Togami). Saxophonist Zoh Amba’s mini-tour continues here too (solo or with others…who knows?). Tom Lax, founder of the great noise-meets-pop Siltbreeze Records, will DJ, while video mixing Vampÿrates will provide eye-candy. (Mon 2/12, 7p @ Artists Space, Manhattan - FREE)

After being ensconced upstate for a few years, the multi-instrumentalist/producer Spencer Zahn, whose work has ranged from his own ambient jazz (think ECM) fantasias to collaborating with Dawn Richard on 2022’s wonderful Pigments, is back in the city more regularly again. Zahn’s got an incredible quartet at LunAtico, where he’s playing alongside drummer Savannah Harris, saxophonist Alfredo Colon, and guitarist Kirk Schoenherr. (Mon 2/12, 9p & 10:15p @ Bar LunAtico, Bed-Stuy - $10suggested)

If Abasement is the long-running experimental music standard, the Lester St. Louis- and Luke Stewart-curated Assembly at Sisters is one of the great recent additions for monthly experimental, improvised and electronic sound-treats. Assembly #14 features the trio of guitarist Sally Gates, saxophonist Zoh Amba and drummer Brian Chase; the duo Windscour, which is Joe Moffett on trumpet and Zach Rowden on tape loops; and a performance by Ryan Sawyer’s Shaker Ensemble, with Laura Cocks on flute, Madison Greenstone on clarinet, and St. Louis on cello, among others. Photo musicker Joshua Wildman gets out from behind the camera to DJ. (Tues 2/13, 8p @ Sisters, Clinton Hill - $20)