Bklyn Sounds 8/30/2023-9/5/2023

Welcome & Thank You + Shows: "Your Love x Coloring Lessons" / Amirtha Kidambi's Elder Ones / Kerlin-Cordero Group / McKie & RES / "Brackish" / Toribio x Photay / Ignabu + Youniss + Farah AlWugayan / +

Welcome to all the new free subscribers.

It being the last weekend of summer, and since a large group of new folks have just started reading Dada Strain, the weekly Bklyn Sounds listings are once again free this week. These show listings are usually paywall’d, so if you like what you read, please consider upgrading to a paid subscription. It comes with occasional ticket discounts as well.  

Bklyn Sounds is aimed at New York area residents interested in off-the-radar musicking events of a particular sort (rhythm, improvisation and community-oriented work only), and everyone who may be curious as to some of what’s musically going on off-the-beaten path in fair Gotham, this city being a global cultural capital. (And popping like crazy at the moment too, if I do say so…) There is also always a link to widely available music, so readers can sample what I am recommending.

Note: This is not a completist site. The show listings reflect my point of view in regards to sounds, venues and community ethics. I only recommend gigs I want to go to myself, and you will quite often find me there. I also very admittedly miss shit sometimes — still kicking myself for somehow not knowing/telling you about Jason Moran’s James Reese Europe extravaganza at Marcus Garvey Park last week — so please do not interpret something not being on Bklyn Sounds as a disregard. And if you have a question of “why?” or “why not?” I am always here for the chat.

More often than not, Bklyn Sounds also includes a (non-paywall’d) feature about local music culture, some of which I would characterize as reports, some as op-eds, and some of which are interviews with/features on artists set to perform. This will resume next week. 

Again, thank you for subscribing, reading, listening and musicking.         

This Week’s Shows:

On his 2020 album Jupiter Conjuct, tenor saxophonist Aaron Burnett and his band, the Big Machine, began exploring drum’n’bass rhythms within the context of the music often called jazz, and doing so with a looseness and precision that fit both traditions. His “Quantum Breaks” program at Roulette promises more breakbeat science, with bassist Nick Jozwiak and drummer Kayvon Gordon guiding the proceedings.  (Wed 8/30, 8p @ Roulette - $25adv/$30)

Res’ 2001 album How I Do made a permanent impression on those of us who didn’t believe in genres. “Too rock for R&B radio, and too Black for alternative and rock audiences,” industry insiders said. To some it was an instant classic. To most, it was a flop, weighing down the career of the Philly singer born Shareese Renée Ballard — and for a while, its co-writer/-producer and A&R person, Santi White, who ended up getting her just revenge as Santigold. For two decades, we’ve been waiting for Res to get hers too. And maybe it’s coming: alongside drummer/producer Steve McKie, she’s been doing online jams since lockdown. Now McKie & Res are performing a live set. We’re in her corner, so so hard. (Wed 8/30, 8p @ C’Mon Everybody - $18)

A pretty spectacular bill of noisy lo-fi experimentalism that runs the musical spectrum co-produced by the great label PTP and the Still/Moving folks. Centennial Gardens is another destructive noise beats-and-rhymes collaboration between Dreamcrusher and King Vision Ultra (aka Geng PTP). Gushes is art-metal guitar-shredder Jennae Santos. The great weirdo rap turn will be performed by the producer/wordsmith Maassai in collaboration with the mighty Nappy Nina. And audio-visual drone rituals will be provided by the interdisciplinary artist Bint. Some of y’all will require ear-plugs (Thurs 8/31, 7:30p @ Trans-Pecos - $10adv-$15)

"Brackish" the wonderful Red Hook-based music and arts collective and series returns from grief-induced slumber with a wonderful show at the Record Shop. Featuring the solo sets by the vibraphonist-trombonist-conceptualist Selendis Sebastian Alexander Johnson and the poet Ariel Yelen. Also, a pair of duets — bassoonist Sara Schoenbeck playing with Doyeon Kim on the gayageum (a traditional Korean zither), and the astral-plane voice and electronics of  Shara Lunon teaming up with drummer Lesley Mok. Welcome back Brackish! (Thurs 8/31, 8p @ 360 Record Shop - $15-$25suggested donation/No One Turned Away)

I’ve written previously that A Sublime Madness, the jamming electric jazz record that Sunwatchers bassist Peter Kerlin, Psychic Ills keyboardist Brent Cordero made with drummer Ryan Sawyer, and a great NYC supporting cast is among my favorites of the year. The record release show they played at P.I.T. in June also lived up to high expectations. The Kerlin-Cordero Group, which also includes Sunwatcher Jeff Tobias on saxophone, reconvenes at Union Pool. Also featuring: singer-songwriters Zachary Cale and Ned Collette. (Thurs 8/31, 8p @ Union Pool - $15)

A double-bill featuring some of the city’s great underground improvisors uniting in two song-oriented bands. Amirtha Kidambi’s Elder Ones is now a quintet: Kidambi on vocals-harmonium-synth, Alfredo Colon and Matt Nelson on saxophones, Lester St. Louis on bass and Jason Nazary on drums, creating extended multi-part spiritual math behind Amirtha’s controlled chaos. Darlin’ is a trio featuring guitarist Wendy Eisenberg, St. Louis on bass and cello, and Ryan Sawyer on drums and occasional vocals, abstracting the shit out of roots music. (Fri 9/1, 8p @ public records - $23)

UPSTATE: If you find yourself in the Catskills on Saturday, and are looking for an outdoor hang near a creek, with a nice soundsystem playing excellent house and occasional ‘90s hip-hop, I can not recommend the Dope Jams Labor Day party enough. About 30 minutes west of the Hudson on routes 23 and 145, just north of Durham. (Sat 9/2, 6p @ Locust Grove, Dope Jams Katskill, Oak Hill, NY - FREE)

A seriously adventurous combination of young artists from around the globe, at a venue that’s good at this sort of thing. NYC-based drummer/producer Ignabu has developed an excellent rep working with a diverse coterie of artists, including Melanie Charles, Hypnotic Brass, Pink Siifu, Arto Lindsay and others from across the rhythm-improvisation spectrum. Belgian producer Youniss Ahamad makes punky avant-garde beats for his industrial chants, indebted to hip-hop but much noisier. (His White Space is recommended to anyone who enjoys Siifu or JPEGMafia textures.) They’ll be joined by young Kuwaiti poet Farah AlWugayan. No idea what to expect. (Sat 9/2, 10p @ Nublu - $22)

There’s at least three Toribio sets happening this weekend, but if you’re gonna pick one, make it to his Bring Dat Ass in the Black Flamingo basement, which gets hornier and sweatier each time I go down there. Cesar’s mixing is making those folks rabid. His partner at this BDA is the upstate homey, Photay, who brings some maturity to the proceedings - but thankfully not too much. These guys are a serious pleasure to listen to and watch for an evening. Even more fun to dance to. (Sat 9/2, 10:30p @ Black Flamingo - $10-15)  

I am deeply bummed that I will not be in Brooklyn on Sunday for one of the great all-day-all-night dance music extravaganzas of the late summer. “Your Love x Coloring Lessons'' is a collaboration between two next-level DJing duos: the Berlin-based Tama Sumo and Lakuti (Your Love), who will be playing 3-9p, and musclecars (Coloring Lessons), who will be playing 9p-???. Before that, there’s a conversation with legendary NYC producer/DJ Yvonne Turner, and late in the evening there will be music from an all-too-secret hero of Detroit techno, Scott Grooves. Not cheap as an all-day affair, but well worth the cost. Highest Recommendation. (Sun 9/3, 1:30p @ public records - $40)

The Ava Mendoza-curated, Creative Music Studio-co-produced Free First Tuesday improvised music at Union Pool keeps on giving. This month it has a local legends sheen. Old partners, bassist William Parker and multi-instrumentalist Cooper-Moore (whose been playing the diddley bow the last couple of times I;ve seen him) are gonna do a duo thing. Harmolodic drummer extraordinaire Calvin Weston is gonna do a solo thing. Trumpeter/electronic cat Chris Williams and gayageum player Doyeon Kim are gonna do a new-music thing. One of the best “jazz” series in town. (Tues 9/5, 8p @ Union Pool - FREE)