Andy Laster’s Sounds of Cairo Thu., Oct. 21, 8pm. Free. The Rotunda, 4014 Walnut St. 215.573.3234 www.arsnovaworkshop.org
It’s said that New York’s downtown improvisers don’t bother traveling north of 14th Street. But they’re as geographically adventurous as it gets, incorporating sounds from Eastern and Central Europe, the Middle East and just about everywhere. Andy Laster, when he’s not lending his alto and baritone saxophone talents to groups led by Satoko Fujii, Erik Friedlander, Bobby Previte and others, has made a good showing with his own projects, including the bands Hydra and Lessness. This week he’ll rummage through the history of Egyptian popular song, performing early 20th-century works by Jewish composers including Zaki Murad and Dawud Husni. Also on board will be Alex Waterman on cello, Curtis Hasselbring on trombone and Kermit Driscoll on bass. — David R. Adler
Gary Burton’s New Quartet (with Julian Lage, Scott Colley and Antonio Sanchez) is at the Blue Note, October 19-24. My preview is in the new issue of Time Out New York.
I’ll be co-facilitating another panel discussion and blindfold test with Howard Mandel on Thursday, October 14, 6-8 p.m. at the New School Performance Space, 5th Floor, 55 West 13th Street in Manhattan.
Our esteemed guests this time will include Nate Chinen of The New York Times, Jim Macnie of Down Beat and Josh Jackson of The Checkout and NPR Music.
Bobby Zankel’s Wonderful Sound 4 Fri., Oct. 8, 9pm. $10 ($8 advance). With Thri. Moonstone Arts Center, 110 S. 13th St. 215.735.9600 www.moonstoneartscenter.org
Brooklynite Bobby Zankel has called Philly home since 1975, and he’s a chief reason the city should take pride in its jazz scene. He’s not only a fire-spitting alto saxophonist, with a precise yet mercurial style that defies categories (his credits range from Cecil Taylor to the Dells). He’s also a composer with a rhythmically charged, somewhat abstract vocabulary honed over the years with the Warriors of the Wonderful Sound — a big band and de facto training program for many of Philly’s jazz up-and-comers. This week’s gig is an opportunity to hear Zankel scale down to a quartet and let that alto sax roam free. He’ll mix it up with the Warriors rhythm section: pianist Tom Lawton, bassist Anthony Tidd (formerly of Steve Coleman’s Five Elements) and drummer Craig McIver. — David R. Adler
Amir ElSaffar’s Two Rivers Sat., Oct. 2, 8pm. $25. Painted Bride Art Center, 230 Vine St. 215.925.9914 www.paintedbride.org
The new Painted Bride season revs up with Amir ElSaffar, an Iraqi-American trumpeter whose music in recent years has also emphasized his singing and santoor playing. ElSaffar’s 2007 release Two Rivers was deep stuff: an energized, personal hybrid of jazz and Iraqi maqam, featuring horns and rhythm section as well as the non-Western oud and buzuq. Lately he’s delved into Azerbaijani mugham vocalizing (the as yet unrecorded Within/Between); explored a synthesis of maqam and Persian dastgah with Iranian-American saxophonist Hafez Modirzadeh (Radif Suite); and played some straight-up trumpet with Danilo Perez’s 21st-Century Dizzy project. This week he revisits the Two Rivers concept with the premiere of a new extended work. — David R. Adler
Bassist Bob Bowen, a wonderful player I never had the good fortune to meet personally, was killed on his bike in a traffic accident. He leaves behind a family with two young kids. I’m a dad too, so yes, the photo above made me weep.
I’m teaching on the night of his memorial (Monday, September 27, 5:30 p.m.), but the least I can do is spread the word. God bless Bob’s memory, and peace to his ailing loved ones.
