New York City Live Music Calendar for March and April 2012

The brand-new April/May calendar is here.

For directions and other information on the venues where these shows are happening, check the exhaustive guide to over 200 New York live music venues at NYMD’s sister blog, Lucid Culture.

Times listed here are set times, not the time doors open – if a listing says “9ish,” that means it’ll probably start later than advertised. Always best to check with the venue for the latest information on set times and door charges, since that information is often posted here weeks in advance. Weekly events first followed by the daily calendar:

Oldschool Chicago style blues guitarist Irving Louis Lattin has a lot of March shows coming up. He’s at Terra Blues at 7 on 3/8, 3/14, 3/17 and 3/20.

Mondays at 1 PM through May 7 members of the Trinity Choir and Trinity Baroque Orchestra perform Bach cantatas at 1 PM at St. Paul’s Chapel downtown, free; April 1 at 3 PM, the ensembles perform Bach’s St. John Passion.

Mondays at the Fat Cat the Choi Fairbanks String Quartet play a wide repertoire of chamber music from Bach to Shostakovich starting at 7.

Mondays starting a little after 7 PM Howard Williams leads his Jazz Orchestra from the piano at the Garage, 99 7th Ave. S at Grove St. There are also big bands here most every Tuesday at 7.

Mondays in April (that’s April, not March) at 7:30 PM it’s the Cutting Edge New Music Festival at Symphony Space, $20/$15 stud/srs. This year’s concerts are typically eclectic and enticing – the entire festival lineup is here, see below for individual shows.

Mondays at the Jazz Standard it’s all Mingus, whether with the Mingus Orchestra, Big Band or Mingus Dynasty: as jazz goes, it’s arguably the most exhilarating show of the week, every week. The first-rate players always rise to the level of the material. Sets 7:30/9:30 PM, $25 and worth it.

Mondays through the end of March Butch Morris leads his improvisational big band at the Stone, open rehearsal at 7:30 for free, show at 9 for $10. The music is a lot like Burnt Sugar’s big, shifting soundscapes. He’s also downstairs at Lucky Cheng’s on Tuesdays at 8 for $10 and then on Zebulon for an all ages show at 4:30 on Sundays, $10.

Also Monday nights Vince Giordano’s Nighthawks, a boisterous horn-driven 11-piece 1920s/early 30’s band play Sofia’s Restaurant, downstairs at the Edison Hotel, 221 West 46th Street between Broadway & 8th Ave., 3 sets from 8 to 11, surprisingly cheap $15 cover plus $15 minimum considering what you’re getting. Even before the Flying Neutrinos or the Moonlighters, multi-instrumentalist Giordano was pioneering the oldtimey sound in New York; his long-running residency at the old Cajun on lower 8th Ave. is legendary. He also gets a ton of film work (Giordano wrote the satirical number that Willie Nelson famously sang in Wag the Dog).

Mondays at Tea Lounge in Park Slope at 9:30 PM trombonist/composer JC Sanford books big band jazz, an exciting, global mix of some of the edgiest large-ensemble sounds around. If you’re anybody in the world of big band jazz and you make it to New York, you end up playing here: what CBGB was to punk, this unlikely spot promises to be to the jazz world. No cover.

Mondays at the Vanguard the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra – composer Jim McNeely’s reliably good big band vehicle – plays 9/11 PM, $30 per set plus drink minimum.

Mondays in March psychedelic funk orchestra Turkuaz plays the Brooklyn Bowl, 10 PM (8 PM on 3/19), $8. Some good bands in the opening slots too: 3/12 at 8 Washington DC’s amazing, Ethiopian-flavored Funk Ark and then the hip-hop/New Orleans-flavored Underground Horns; 3/26 bouncy Afrobeat crew Emefe opens the show at 9.

Mondays in March, 9:30ish Chicha Libre plays their home turf at Barbes. The world’s most vital, entertaining oldschool chicha band, they blend twangy, often noir Peruvian surf sounds with cumbia and other south-of-the-border styles along with swirling psychedelic jams and deep dub interludes. Show up early because they are insanely popular.

Also Mondays in March Rev. Vince Anderson and his band play Union Pool in Williamsburg, two sets starting around 11:15 PM. The Rev. is one of the great keyboardists around, equally thrilling on organ or electric piano, an expert at Billy Preston style funk, honkytonk, gospel and blues. He writes very funny, very politically astute, sexy original songs and is one of the most charismatic, intense live performers of our time. It’s a crazy dance party til past three in the morning. Paula Henderson from Burnt Sugar is the lead soloist on baritone sax, with Dave Smith from Smoota and the Fela pit band on trombone, with frequent special guests.

The first and fourth Tuesdays of the month at Central Synagogue (685 Lexington Ave. at 55th St.). there are free organ and sometimes chamber music concerts at half past noon, a great way to chill out if you can sneak away from work for about an hour. It’s a global mix of talent assembled by acclaimed organist Gail Archer.

Tuesdays 8-11 PM the Michael Arenella Quintet plays hot and cool vintage jazz at the Empire Room on the first floor of the Empire State Building, $10 cover plus $10 minimum.

Tuesdays in March (except for 3/13 when Veveritse pinch-hits for them) clever, fiery, eclectic Balkan/hip-hop/funk brass maniacs Slavic Soul Party play Barbes at 9. Get there as soon as you can as they’re very popular.

Tuesdays in March the Dred Scott Trio are back at the small room at the Rockwood at midnight. NYC’s premier noir jazz pianist and his tight, sly rhythm section are a NYC treasure, a group you should see at once in your life.

Wednesdays there are free organ concerts at 1:10 PM sharp on at St. Ann’s Church on Montague St. in downtown Brooklyn.

Wednesdays at 9 PM Feral Foster’s Roots & Ruckus takes over the Jalopy, a reliably excellent weekly mix of oldtimey acts: blues, bluegrass, country and swing.

Wednesdays at 9:30 Roosevelt Dime plays their unique mix of oldtimey string band music with a dash of classic 60s soul at Brooklyn Winery, 213 North 8th Street, Williamsburg

Thursdays and Fridays in March at Mehanata it’s Bulgarian sax powerhouse Yuri Yukanov and the Grand Masters of Gypsy Music, 10 PM, $10.

Fridays in March at 9 Naomi Shelton and the Gospel Queens play oldschool 1960s style gospel at the Fat Cat.

Saturdays at 3 PM at Bargemusic there are impromptu free classical concerts, usually solo piano or small chamber ensembles: if you get lucky, you’ll catch pyrotechnic violinist/music director Mark Peskanov and/or the many members of his circle. Early arrival advised.

Saturdays 4/7, 4/21 and 4/28, 5ish Raya Brass Band – who take a wild improvisational approach to scorching, chromatic Balkan brass music, and who have an amazing new album out – at Radegast Hall, free

Saturdays eclectic compelling Brazilian jazz chanteuse Marianni and her excellent band at Zinc Bar, three sets starting at 10 PM.

Sundays there’s a klezmer brunch at City Winery, show starts around 11:30 AM – 2 PM, $10 cover, no minimum, lots of good bands.

Sundays from half past noon to 3:30 PM, bluegrass cats Freshly Baked (f.k.a. Graveyard Shift), featuring excellent, incisive fiddle player Diane Stockwell and an A-list of players play Nolita House (upstairs over Botanica at 47 E Houston). Free drink with your entree.

Sundays there are free organ concerts at 5:15 PM at St. Thomas Church, 5th Ave. and 53rd St. The big Skinner organ’s days are numbered: it’s a mighty beast, so see it before it’s gone. The weekly series (with breaks for holidays) features an extraordinary, global cast of performers.

Every Sunday the Ear-Regulars, led by trumpeter Jon Kellso and (frequently) guitarist Matt Munisteri play NYC’s only weekly hot jazz session starting around 8 PM at the Ear Inn on Spring St. Hard to believe, in the city that springboarded the careers of thousands of jazz legends, but true. This is by far the best value in town for marquee-caliber jazz: for the price of a drink and a tip for the band, you can see world-famous players (and brilliant obscure ones) you’d usually have to drop $100 for at some big-ticket room. The material is mostly old-time stuff from the 30s and 40s, but the players (especially Kellso and Munisteri, who have a chemistry that goes back several years) push it into some deliciously unexpected places.

Sundays in March, 8/11 PM the Arturo O’Farrill Latin Jazz Orchestra plays Birdland, $30 seats avail.

Sundays in March at 9 gypsy guitar genius Stephane Wrembel plays Barbes. He’s holding on to the edgy, danceable spirit of Django Reinhardt while taking the style to new and unexpected places. He’s also very popular: get there early.

3/1, 1 PM concert harpist Keziah Thomas plays a recital at Trinity Church, program TBA

3/1, 7 PM composer Robert Paterson’s song cycle Stepping Into The Batter’s Box, He Hears His Father’s Voice – based on the life of the Mets’ Mike Piazza – sung by Metropolitan Opera tenor Dimitri Pittas and pianist Blair McMillen as part of the American Modern Ensemble’s sports-themed concert at Galapagos. Also on the bill: a piece for piano, baseball and mitt by composer Annie Gosfield called Brooklyn, October 5, 1941 (sad ending to Dodgers/Yanks World Series); Roger Zare’s Dark and Stormy Night for piano with ping pong balls; Stephen Gorbos’ Football Season is Over for alto sax and electronics; Meyer Kupferman’s Triple Play for two clarinets and piano; Rob Smith’s Sprint, and Elliott Carter’s GRA, at Galapagos, $15 adv tix includes a free cd.

3/1, 7:30 PM eclectic avant garde ensemble Lunatics at Large play a characteristically intriguing program: “Kaija Saariaho & Influences” at WMP Concert Hall, $20/$10 stud.

3/1, 7:30 PM reliably cutting-edge chamber ensemble ACME with chanteuse Mariam Wallentin play a new song cycle plus instrumental works by Mikael Karlsson at Merkin Concert Hall, $25/$15 stud/srs.

3/1 inscrutably intense, charismatic, darkly comedic literate songwriter/accordionist Rachelle Garniez at Barbes at 8 followed by NYC’s only all-female mariachi band, Flor de Toloache.

3/1-3, 8 PM darkly thoughtful pianist/composer Missy Mazzoli premieres her latest project Songs from the Uproar: the Lives & Deaths of Isabelle Eberhardt, a tribute to the great 19th century adventurer/feminist feat. NOW Ensemble with mezzo-soprano Abigail Fischer at the Kitchen, $15

3/1, 8 PM Streams of Whiskey play Pogues covers followed by gypsy punk by the Wild Adriatics at 10 and then the  ferocious Bad Buka at 11 at Arlene’s.

3/1, 8:30 PM massive funk orchestra Burnt Sugar play Steely Dan at the Lincoln Center Atrium, free, early arrival advised.

3/1, 8:30 PM state-of-the-art, tuneful baritone saxophonist Brian Landrus leads a quintet with Ben Monder, guitar; Frank Carlberg, piano; Lonnie Plaxico, bass; Rudy Royston, drums at Cornelia St. Cafe, $20 includes a drink.

3/1, 9 PM psychedelic funk band Sister Sparrow & the Dirty Birds at Bowery Ballroom, $13 adv tix rec. Nice to see them work their way up to a gig here: they deserve it.

3/1, 9 PM irreverent oldschool Williamsburg vocal jazz crew the Old Rugged Sauce at Brooklyn Rod & Gun Club.

3/1, 9 PM NYC’s original Balkan brass crew, Hungry March Band upstairs at the Delancey, free

3/1, 9:30ish swirling, psychedelic, anthemic Radiohead-influenced rockers My Pet Dragon – who are on the upcoming Occupy This Album compilation – at Sullivan Hall, $10

3/1, 9:30 PM a good Afrobeat doublebill with Emefe and Ikebe Shakedown at Glasslands, $10.

3/1, 10 PM a rare opportunity to hear charismatic oldtime blues/Americana performer Feral Foster outside his usual Red Hook haunts, at Sidewalk.

3/1, 10 PM meticulously energetic alto saxophonist Mike DiRubbo leads a quartet with Mike LeDonne on piano at Smalls

3/1 sometimes astringent, sometimes ferociously anthemic chamber-rock/indie jangle band Bern & the Brights at the small room at the Rockwood, 11 PM.

3/2 charismatic ukulele siren/oldtimey songwriter Kelli Rae Powell records a live album at the Jalopy, sets at 7 and 10 PM, you should be there, this is gonna be wild, $10.

3/2, 7 PM the one battle-of-the-bands contest in NYC that doesn’t exploit artists and isn’t stupid, the Greene Space’s Battle of the Boroughs has their Queens playoff tonight, $15 includes a drink or $30 gets you in plus free wine and beer bar. It’s a good lineup including Americana rocker Jason Waters, goth-ish Russian songwriter Tatiana Kochkareva and this blog’s pick for best of Queens, punk-world-funk powerhouse SisterMonk.

3/2, 7 PM bassist Ross Kratter leads his jazz orchestra at Something Jazz Club, $15 + $10 min.

3/2, 7 PM smart, counterintuitive bassist Linda Oh leads a trio with Ambrose Akinmusire on trumpet and Tommy Crane on drums at the Rubin Museum of Art, 150 W 17th St., $15 adv tix rec.

3/2, 7:30/9:30 PM powerhouse, cutting-edge tenor saxophonist Patrick Cornelius leads a trio at the Bar Next Door

3/2, 7:30 PM Ensemble Sospeso plays works by Pierre Boulez: Dialogue de l’ombre Double (1985); Kimmo Hakola: Capriole (1991); Mark Menzies: Swongering Butterfly (2012); Pierre Boulez: Anthemes II (1997); Luigi Nono: La Lontananza nostalgica utopica futura (1988-1989) at The DiMenna Center for Classical Music, 450 W 37th St. (9th/10th Aves), $20.

3/2, 7:30 PM Cadillac Moon Ensemble plays new chamber works by Lukas Ligeti, Timothy Andres, Ruben Naeff, Conrad Winslow and Shawn Allison at Symphony Space, $25/$10 stud.

3/2, 8 PM lush, dreamy, quirky chamber pop band Clare & the Reasons at Barbes.

3/2, 8:30 PM tirelessly tuneful indie powerpop stars (and longtime Graham Parker collaborators) the Figgs at Littlefield, $12.

3/2, 9 PM Two Dollar Guitar’s Tim Foljahn followed by equally dark, equally guitarish rock songwriter Jennifer O’Connor and her band at Cake Shop, 10 PM, $10; 3/4 the two are at Union Pool with Kleenex Girl Wonder and Amy Bezunartea opening at 8.

3/2, 9 PM “Lebowski Fest” with dark, lyrically-driven, female-fronted acoustic blues/country band the Sometime Boys at Branded Saloon in Ft. Greene.

3/2 9 PM fiery multistylistic, charismatic electric bluesman Will Scott and band at Queens Kickshaw, 40-17 Broadway, Astoria, M/R to Steinway St.

3/2, 9 PM Brooklyn’s man in black, John Pinamonti back at his old haunts at Sunny’s in Red Hook.

3/2, 9:30 PM guitarist Jasmine Sadrieh’s long-running noir rockabilly trio Catspaw at Hank’s. Great songs, good energy, just wish they’d rehearse more.

3/2 and 3/9 torchy, dynamic oldtimey chanteuse Julia Haltigan, 10PM at the small room at the Rockwood.

3/2, 10:30 PM trombonist Dave Gibson and organist Jared Gold team up for a sweet set of oldschool soul grooves at the Fat Cat.

3/2, half past midnight (actually wee hours of 3/3) Marilyn Carino with the Dred Scott Trio at the Blue Note. Amazing synergy: sly virtuoso noir jazz trio backing a stoner jazz slink who completely gets it, a bargain at $12 at the perfect time of the night for it.

3/3, 4:30 PM Raya Brass Band at Radegast Hall. The tuba/tapan groove provides a long launching pad for reedman Greg Squared and trumpeter Ben Syversen’s go-for-the-jugular chromatic solos: one of the most exciting bands in town right now.

3/3, 4:45 PM Milwaukee’s Karen Beaumont plays an organ recital at St. Patrick’s Cathedral

3/3 a Tom Price memorial concert at Local 269, 7ish, all proceeds to his widow Sarah and their kids. The Ff bandleader was one of the NYC rock scene’s alltime good guys – and a great performer as well – and is sadly missed.

3/3, 7 PM the JD Allen Trio – this era’s most intense, direct, no-nonsense tenor saxophonist and composer, with his ferocious rhythm section of Gregg August on bass and Rudy Royston on drums – in a rare free show at the Fat Cat, don’t miss this!

3/3, 7 PM edgy veteran songwriting duo Amy Rigby & Wreckless Eric at Maxwell’s, $10 adv tix rec.

3/3, 7 PM artsy anthemic Irish rock crooner Pierce Turner at Joe’s Pub, $23.

3/3, 7:30 PM tenor saxophonist Nick Hempton leads a kick-ass quartet with Art Hirahara – piano, Marco Panascia – bass, Dan Aran – drums at Smalls.

3/3, 8 PM ferocious punk-influenced gypsy rock and metal cumbia with Bad Buka, the Butcher Knives and Escarioka at the downstairs studio space at Webster Hall, $12. Bad Buka rush back to their home base at Mehanata afterward for their monthly gig there sometimes around 10, it seems.

3/3, 8 PM hilarious, period-perfect, subtly filthy oldtimey banjoist/songwriter Al Duvall at Pete’s

3/3, 8 PM sly, tuneful powerpop guitar genius Pete Galub at Barbes

3/3, 8 PM Carolyn Hester – the Carolyn Hester of Dylan and Three Young Men fame – at the People’s Voice Cafe, $15 sugg don, “no one turned away”

3/3, 8 PM Afghani rubab virtuoso Homayun Sakhi plays ragas with sarodist Ken Zuckerman and percussionist Salar Nader at the Wallace Auditorium at the Asia Society, $30/$26 stud/srs.

3/3, 8 PM repeating on 3/4 at 3 PM Mark Peskanov, violin; Raman Ramakrishnan, cello; and Doris Stevenson, piano play Haydn – Piano Trio No. 31 in E flat minor, “Jacob’s Dream”; Beethoven – Piano Trio in D major, Op. 70 No. 1 “Ghost”; Ravel – Piano Trio at Bargemusic, $35/$30 srs/$15 stud.

3/3, 8 PM, repeating on 3/4 at 3 PM the Chelsea Symphony plays Schuman: Judith: Choreographic Poem for Orchestra, and the Orchestra Song at St. Paul’s Church, 315 West 22nd St, $20 sugg don.

3/3, 8 PM the Repast Baroque Ensemble plays Bach and Buxtehude choral and chamber works at American Academy of Arts and Letters,632 W 156th St, $35/$21 stud., adv tix available at www.millertheatre.com or at the Milller Theatre box ofc, 116/Bwy, open noon-6 PM M-F.

3/3, 8 PM Julia Nunes at the downstairs studio space at Webster Hall, $13. Bad cop says why bother, she’s a college girl playing covers on her ukulele; good cop says she’s hilarious. You decide.

3/3, 8:30 PM ska with the Times and the Big Takeover and funk eventually around 11:30 with Sophistafunk at Rock Shop, $10

3/3, 8:30 PM NYC’s original musically purist citybilly crew, M Shanghai String Band at the Jalopy $10

3/3, 9 PM Ahmad Gamal – star of the Cairo opera and the most dynamic, compelling new singer to hit New York in a long time – sings the Sayyid Darwish songbook at Alwan for the Arts backed by an electrifying ensemble: Sami Abu Shumays, violin; Tareq Abboushi, buzuq; Hadi Eldebek, ‘oud; Zafer Tawil, qanun; Lety ElNaggar, nay; Amir ElSaffar, trumpet and santur. Darwish is considered the father of Egyptian classical song, an influence on just about everybody who came afterward: this is a show not to be missed, $20 adv tix a must.

3/3, 9 PM Unsteady Freddie’s typically excellent monthly surf rock show at Otto’s kicks off with the Aquatudes, Blue Wave Theory at 10, Boston’s phenomenal, creepy horror surf crew Beware the Dangers of a Ghost Scorpion and sometime after midnight, the Maui Hurricane

3/3, 9 PM inimitable, charismatic, fearlessly assaultive retro ghoulabilly/blues/soul bandleader Reid Paley and his Trio at Building 92 at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, how much, nobody seems to be willing to tell.

3/3, 9 PM a good Afrobeat doublebill at Shrine with Bed-Stuy Ewe followed by Kakande at 10.

3/3, 10 PM intense, haunting jazz vocalese chanteuse Sara Serpa with guitarist Andre Matos, pianist Kris Davis, bassist Aryeh Kobrinsky and drummer Tommy Crane at BAM Cafe.

3/3, 10 PM eclectic Americana chanteuse Megan Palmer and band at 68 Jay St. Bar.

3/3, 11 PM a blast from 1997: biting indie/noiserock power trio Versus at Cake Shop, $10

3/3, midnight-ish swirling dreampop/noiserock instrumental trio the Big Sleep at Public Assembly, free w/rsvp.

3/4, 2 PM cellist Ruth Sommers and pianist Mikhail Hallak play works by Schumann, Chopin and Franck at WMP Concert Hall, $20.

3/4, 3 PM a memorial concert for pioneering ambient electronic music composer Richard Lainhart at Roulette including a screening of his last film work, History of the Future with live score played by the Orchestra of the Future.

3/4, 4:45 PM organist Karen Beaumont plays a recital at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

3/4, 5:15 PM virtuoso organist Herve Duteil plays a stunningly eclectic program at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine featuring “Strauss’ ‘Also sprach Zarathustra’ fanfare using St. John’s stunning State Trumpet stop, plus a Vivaldi concerto transcribed by Bach; Elgar’s Nimrod from the Enigma Variations and a transcription for organ and oboe of Ennio Morricone’s soundtrack for the movie ‘The Mission’ as well as an almost-never played Paul Halley’s composition for organ and soprano saxophone and finally, a baroque choral by Boehm, a symphonic finale by Widor, and a mesmerizing firework of sounds with Jongen’s Toccata.” He’s also at St. Patrick’s Cathedral at 4:45 PM on 3/18.

3/4, 6 PM torchy but edgy jazz/pop songwriter Abby Payne at the Rockwood in the small room

3/4, 7:30 PM fearlessly politically aware latin jazz/avant garde singer/composer Sabrina Lastman plays the record release show for her new one at Joe’s Pub.

3/4, 7:45 PM casually smart, lyrical British Americana songwriter Ian Link at Sidewalk, of all places

3/4, 8 PM St. Croix reggae band Midnite – who have several smartly lyrical albums out, blending roots and dancehall – at SOB’s, $27.

3/4, 8 PM indie chamber-folk band Colorform – who combine live painting with their pensively tuneful songs – at Arlene’s.

3/4, 8:15 PM a rare East Village appearance by charismatic country songwriter Alex Battles & the Whisky Rebellion at Otto’s

3/4 badass bluesmama Mamie Minch does a one-off gig with the oldtimey Whiskey Spitters at Rodeo Bar, 10ish.

3/4, midnight, pianist Emile Blondel leads a series of duo ensembles playing works by Messiaen, Bartok, Debussy and Appalachian mountain songs at Culturefix, free.

3/5, 7:30-ish eclectic, powerfully politically aware, horn-driven ska/latin band Karikatura at Ideya

3/5, 8:30 PM Melody Fader, piano and Mira Luxion, cello play works by Chopin, Mozart and Poulenc at Cornelia St. Cafe, $20 includes a drink.

3/5, 9 PM dark, historically aware, sharply literate, captivating electric rock chanteuse Elisa Flynn at Small Beast at the Delancey; 3/10 she’s at the Way Station in Ft. Greene at 9

3/5, 9 PM saxophonist Ken Fowser and his wee-hours jam cohort vibraphonist Behn Gillece lead a vivid late 50s postbop quintet at the Fat Cat.

3/5, 9 PM Swingadelic play their monthly show Maxwell’s, free.

3/5, 9:30 PM eclectic, melodic, purist trombonist Scott Reeves’ Jazz Orchestra at Tea Lounge in Park Slope.

3/5, 9:30 PM quirky, hypnotic dreampop/chamber-pop band Clare & the Reasons at the big room at the Rockwood.

3/5, 10 PM unpredictably brilliant third-stream improvisers Hoenig Moutin Pilc at Smalls

3/6, 7:30 PM pianist Alexandra Joan’s reliably cutting-edge Kaleidoscope Series features violinist and pianist Anita Chen playing works by Grieg, Brahms, Markov, Rachmaninoff and Liszt at WMP Concert Hall, $20.

3/6-7, 7:30/9:30 PM trumpeter Jeremy Pelt leads a quintet with Stacy Dillard – tenor saxophone; Danny Grissett – piano; Dwayne Burno – bass; Jonathan Barber – drums at the Jazz Standard, $20

3/6, 7:30 PM International Contemporary Ensemble (aka ICE) plays new work by music by Austrian composer Klaus Lang at the Austrian Cultural Center, 11 E 52nd St., free, early arrival advised.

3/6, 8 PM Charlene Kaye – whose upcoming, eclectic new janglerock album is reputedly excellent – at SOB’s, $10.

3/6-7, 8/10:30 PM jazz harpist Edmar Castaneda plays the record release show for his new one with a trio including Gonzalo Rubalcaba, piano and Miguel Zenón on saxophone at the Blue Note, $15 “bar seats” avail.

3/6, 8:30 PM the Dred Scott Trio featuring Noah Preminger takes their wickedly tuneful noir jazz up a couple of levels at Smalls. On 3/8 Preminger is here at 10 with an equally kick-ass group: Drew Sayers – tenor; Frank Kimbrough – piano; Luques Curtis – bass , Matt Wilson – drums.

3/7, 8/10 PM the Ingrid Laubrock Orchestra with Mary Halvorson (guitar); Shane Endsley (trumpet); Kris Davis (piano); Ted Reichman (accordion); Chris Hoffman (cello); Drew Gress (bass); Tom Rainey (drums) at the Stone, $10.

3/7, 8:30 PM the Six Deadly Venoms play bluegrass at Hill Country.

3/7, 9 PM dark Americana rockers Maynard & the Musties at Lakeside; they’re also at Rodeo Bar on 3/25 at 10:30.

3/8, 1 PM violinist Natasha Lipinka leads a duo playing works by Bach, Shostakovich and Part at Trinity Church, free

3/8, 7ish pensive female-fronted Americana rock band Little Embers followed by fiery, lyrical anthemic rockers Wormburner at the Mercury, $10 adv tix rec.

3/8, 8 PM creepy harmony-driven acoustic Nashville gothic band Bobtown followed eventually by the Hollows at Spike Hill, $5

3/8, 8 PM eclectic Spanish flamenco/pop/funk/gypsy songstress La Shica at le Poisson Rouge, $15 adv tix rec

3/8, 8:30 PM Eilen Jewell – the self-described “queen of the minor key” followed by the absolutely badass Sweetback Sisters at the Bell House, $14.

3/8, 9 PM haunting Bulgarian/Macedonian string band Cherven Traktor at the Jalopy followed at 10 by scorching ten-piece powerhouse Veveritse Brass Band, $10.

3/8, 10 PM high-voltage southwestern gothic rockers Joe Yoga & the Downward Dogs at Arlene’s

3/9, 6 PM eclectically compelling new sounds from Sarah Bernstein on violin/voice/processing/text plus Satoshi Takeishi on percussion at Cornelia St. Cafe.

3/9, 7 PM a closing party for East Village institution Billy’s Antiques & Props, 76 E Houston (Mott/Elizabeth) featuring a darkly scorching set by Lorraine Leckie & Her Demons followed by Americana chanteuse Kelley Swindall, emceed by Anthony Haden-Guest (who’s doing a reputedly amazing album with Leckie), free, come say goodbye to a place you might have walked past thousands of times.

3/9, 7 PM cutting-edge, fun avant garde and jazz sounds with Anti-Social Music plus Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society big band at Galapagos, $20.

3/9, 7 PM sly oldtimey band Roosevelt Dime play the record release show for their new one at the small room at the Rockwood.

3/9, 7:15 PM edgy, versatile guitarist Jon Diaz (of Vera Beren’s Gothic Chamber Blues Ensemble) leads a characteristically eclectic, rare acoustic show with a two-guitar/flute ensemble at Caffe Vivaldi

3/9, 7:30 PM guitarist Nick Moran leads a hot B3 organ groove band playing the cd release show for his eclectic newone at the Bar Next Door.

3/9, 7:30 PM Maureen and Anne-Marie McDermott (cello and piano) play Bach, Schumann and Poulenc at Third St. Music School Settlement, free.

3/9 8 PM Tribecastan’s John Kruth’s creepy Villa Delirium chamber music project followed by forro accordion virtuoso Rob Curto’s Pe de Serra at Barbes

3/9, 8 PM soulful alt-country band Whisperado play the record release show for their new one at the Parkside.

3/9, 8 PM lurid virtuoso noir guitar with the Jim Campilongo Electric Trio at Littlefield, $18.

3/9, 9 PM ageless, edgy, jangly, politically aware Americana rockers the Sloe Guns at Arlene’s.

3/9, 9 PM dark purist rockabilly siren Lil Mo & the Monicats at Sunny’s in Red Hook.

3/9, 9/10:30 PM Ingrid Laubrock’s Anti-House: Ingrid Laubrock, tenor sax; Mary Halvorson, guitar; Kris Davis, piano; John Hébert, bass; Tom Rainey, drums at Cornelia St. Cafe, $25 includes a drink.

3/9, 10ish bouncy minor-key dancefloor grooves with Balkan Beat Box at Irving Plaza, $32.50 tix avail. at the box office.

3/9, 10 PM Irish drinking music with Shilelagh Law at Connolly’s

3/9 scorching all-female Canadian punk-pop trio Hunter Valentine at Bowery Electric, 10:30 PM,$12.

3/10, 2:30 PM the Earth String Band play bluegrass at Dizzy’s Club, free, early arrival highly rec.

3/10, 6 PM cutting-edge new music trio the Moirae Ensemble – harp, flute and soprano – play new works by women composers at the Underground Lounge on the upper west

3/10, 7 PM high-voltage brass band bhangra with Red Baraat at le Poisson Rouge, $15 adv tix rec.

3/10, 7:15 PM dark psychedelic acoustic blues/klezmer/reggae/soca jamband Hazmat Modine at Terra Blues. They’re also here on 3/24.

3/10, 7:15 PM Macedonian chanteuse Azra backed by the original NYC underground Balkan band, Zlatne Uste, at Drom, $10 adv tix highly rec.

3/10, 7:30 PM Pianist Louis Schwizgebel (First Prize, Young Concert Artists International Auditions), cellist Lionel Cottet (2010 Swiss Ambassador’s Award) and violinist François Sochard (first prize, National Conservatory of Music, Paris) pay homage to Jean-Jacques Rousseau with two NY premieres: F.W. Kalkbrenner’s Piano Variations on Three Notes from J.J. Rousseau’s Famous Romance and A-F. Marescotti’s Piano Variations on a Theme by J.J. Rousseau along with Ravel’s “Ondine” from Gaspard de la Nuit; Brahm’s Scherzo in C Minor and Hungarian Dances Nos. 1, 2, 6 and 7; Mendelssohn ‘s Piano Trio No. 1, Op. 49; and Liszt’s Les Cloches de Genéve. at Merkin Concert Hall, free w/rsvp to 212-501-3330 or www.kaufman-center.org

3/10, 8 PM Afrobeat guitar expert Banning Eyre and band followed by the imcomparable Chicha Libre– whose new album Canibalismo might be even better than their woozy, psychedelic debut – at Barbes.

3/10, 9 PM Kevin Kinsella, former John Brown’s Body frontman followed by charismatic, politically aware, wickedly tuneful roots reggae star Taj Weekes & Adowa at the 92YTribeca, $15

3/10, 9 PM wild, intense klezmer punk and Balkan vamps with Golem at BAM Cafe.

3/10, 9:30 PM hypnotic percussionist/bandleader Alessandra Belloni – now fronting a fiery two-guitar,gypsy-flavored band with Jessica Valiente on flutes – at Mehanata.

3/10, 10 PM Dwight & Nicole at Pete’s. A great chance to see this torchy, smoky, sultry retro 60s soul duo in an intimate space.

3/10, 10 PM eclectic Americana songwriter and ferociously smart blues guitarist Will Scott and band at 68 Jay St. Bar

3/10, 10 PM ska legend/character Errol Morris and Crazy Baldhead at the Bell House, $15 adv tix very highly rec.

3/10, 10ish dark 80s tinged original songwriter Alfonso Velez at the big room at the Rockwood.

3/10, 10:30 PM LES surf/soul/punk guitar legend/cutup/all around good guy Simon & the Bar Sinisters at Lakeside

3/10, midnight, a rare solo performance by Barcelona acoustic punk/flamenco songwriter Muchachito Bombo Infierno at SOB’s with live painting onstage by Santos deVeracruz, $20 adv tix rec.

3/11, 4 PM-midnight the annual New Music Bake Sale has moved to Roulette, bringing along many of the best of the NYC avant scene: Gutbucket, Newspeak, TILT Brass, Janus Trio, Face the Music, Sideband, Exapno members (Concert Black, Sweat Lodge, & Joey Molinaro), James Moore and Andie Springer, $10 includes a raffle ticket ! Wanna take a table? Sell some merch or munchies? Email them.

3/11, 4 PM flute/harp/string ensemble Canta Libre play chamber works by Maurice Ravel, Jean Francaix, Joseph Jongen and others at the Dreck Center at the Brooklyn Public Library at Grand Army Plaza, free

3/11, 7:30 PM Daniel Lippel on guitar performing Bach transcriptions followed by Jacob Greenberg on piano performing a selection of Kurtág’s Játétok (Games) and then pianists Stephanie and Saar playing Kurtag’s fourhand piano transcriptions of Bach at le Poisson Rouge, $15.

3/11, 8:30 PM the Threeds Oboe Trio – whose album Unraveled is a drolly hilarious, virtuosic mix of pop and country covers – at Caffe Vivaldi

3/11, 9 PM eclectic Spanish rock/funk/gypsy punk band Canteca de Macao at le Poisson Rouge, $12 adv tix rec., all tix previously purchased for the show originally scheduled for SOB’s will be honored.

3/11 dark jangly 80s style rocker Alfonso Velez at the big room at the Rockwood, 11 PM

3/11, midnight-ish, late 70s/early 80s noiserock legends (and Sonic Youth prototype) the Notekillers at Littlefield, $10.

3/12, 8ish torchy retro soul duo Dwight & Nicole followed by oldschool style Cuban crooner Alex Cuba at the big room at the Rockwood.

3/12, 8/10:30 PM respected Chicago-style blues guitarist Joe Louis Walker plays the record release show for his new one at the Blue Note, $15 “bar seats” available

3/12, 9 PM wry, catchy powerpop songwriter Alec Berlin at Arlene’s.

3/12, 9:30 PM innovative trombonist Mike Fahie’s Jazz Orchestra at Tea Lounge in Park Slope.

3/12, midnight, period-perfect, lyrically amusing 60s style country crew the Jack Grace Band at the Ear Inn.

3/13 Chicha Libre at Bowery Ballroom is sold out – good for them

3/13, 7:30 PM eclectic, hypnotic chanteuse Dina Fanai & Deoro play edgy, socially conscious worldbeat at the big room at the Rockwood.

3/13-14, 8 PM a big band extravaganza with Vince Giordano’s Nighthawks followed by the Toshiko Akiyoshi Jazz Orchestra at Rose Theatre at Jazz at Lincoln Center, $30 seats avail.

3/13, 8 PM playful irrepressible European improvisers: Pierre Favre (drums) Samuel Blaser (trombone) Philipp Schaufelberger (guitar) at the Stone, $10.

3/13 powerhouse jazz pianist Dan Tepfer leads a trio at Smalls, 8:30 PM

3/13, 9 PM Veveritse Brass Band sub for Slavic Soul Party at Barbes – they’re about the same size, just as loud and (hubris) maybe even more fun.

3/13, 9 PM a pre-St. Paddy’s day show with We Are the Union and the Tossers at the Bell House, $12.

3/14, 7 PM Chanda Rule sings Mahalia Jackson at the Dreck Center at the Brooklyn Public Library at Grand Army Plaza, free

3/14, 7:30 PM violist Pedro Vizzarro-Vallejos and singer Sara Dougherty premiere a new work by composer Jay Vilnai – ‘Sleek Aphrodite’ (based on Sappho poems) along with Bruch’s 8 Pieces for Viola, Clarinet and Piano, Townsend’s Romanze for Cello, Viola and Flute and Handel’s Passacaglia at Culturefix, free.

3/14, 8 PM the Sometime Boys – the often haunting acoustic folk/country/blues offshoot of ferocious female-fronted noise-rockers System Noise – at Local 269

3/14, 8 PM haunting/soaring purist Americana chanteuse/songwriter Jan Bell duets with her pal Jolie Holland at 68 Jay St. Bar.

3/14, 8 PM the Low Strung – an eleven-piece cello ensemble playing instrumental arrangements of the Stones, AC/DC and others – at Bowery Poetry Club.

3/14, 8 PM dark but deviously playful third-stream piano jazz with the Danny Fox Trio at Barbes, $10

3/14, 8:30ish tongue-in-cheek, period-perfe,ct early 50s style country from Susquehanna Industrial Tool & Die Co. at Rodeo Bar.

3/14 guitarist Ed Cherry leads a trio with Jared Gold on organ at Smalls, 8:30 PM.

3/14, 8:30 PM drummer Rob Garcia’s 4 with Noah Preminger, tenor sax; Dan Tepfer, piano; John Hebert, bass at Cornelia St. Cafe, $20 includes a drink.

3/14, 9 PM the Flail – one of the most tuneful, vivid, lyrical postbop jazz crews in town – at the Fat Cat

3/14, 9:30 PM Willie Nile, king of the soaring NYC underground rock anthem, at Joe’s Pub – possible that his buddy Springsteen may show up.

3/15, 1 PM the Sebastian Chamber Players perform quintet and quartet pieces by Corelli, Couperin and Vivaldi at Trinity Church, free.

3/15, 7 PM alternately atmospheric and bludgeoning cello metal and art-rock instrumentals with Blues in Space at le Poisson Rouge, $10

3/15, 7:30 PM twangy, tuneful, Steve Earle-ish Americana rocker Mark McKay and band at Lakeside

3/15, 7:30 PM violinist Anna Rabinova and pianist Dominic Cheli play works by Bach, Couperin and Paganini at WMP Concert Hall, $20.

3/15, 8:30 PM bassist Anne Mette Iversen leads a new original art-song quintet with John Ellis and Dan Tepfer at Cornelia St. Cafe, $20 includes a drink.

3/15, 9ish, NYC’s most insightful hip-hop artist of this century so far, Immortal Technique at Irving Plaza, $19 adv tix avail. at the box office.

3/15, 9 PM eclectic, edgy, smartly lyrical, funky rock songwriter Avi Fox-Rosen and band at the Way Station in Ft. Greene

3/15, 10 PM coy, quirky, devious, harmonically gorgeous, theatrical faux torch song trio the Debutante Hour at Littlefield, $10.

3/16, 5:30 PM a rare acoustic performance by eclectic folk/punk chanteuse Dina Regine at the American Folk Art Museum, free

3/16, 7 PM 4-cello heavy metal cover band Break of Reality playing the record release show for their new one at Drom, $25 gen adm

3/16, 8 PM Javanese shadow puppet theatre by puppeteer Ki Purbo Asmoro backed by a full gamelan orchestra at the Wallace Auditorium at the Asia Society, $30/$26 stud/srs.

3/16, 8 PM cleverly lyrical, sometimes satirical large jazz ensemble Dead Cat Bounce debut their new electoacoustic work Eco-Beat Heresy at Cantina Royal/La Sala, 58 N 3rd St in Williamsburg, $10.

3/16, 8 PM powerpop purist songwriter Mikal Evans at Spike Hill, free.

3/16, 9 PM latin jazz chanteuse Magos Herrera -whose recent album of classic Mexican film music has her typical smart understatement – at BAM Cafe

3/16, 9:30 PM up-and-coming Americana/torchy jazz star Sarah Jarosz at Joe’s Pub, $25.

3/16, 10 PM big bluegrass jam band the Infamous Stringdusters at Bowery Ballroom, $18 adv tix rec.

3/16, 10:30 PM, hauntingly intense, soaring bluegrass singer/bandleader Jen Larson & North River at the Jalopy $10.

3/16, 10:30ish eerie bluespunk with the Five Points Band at Rodeo Bar.

3/16,10:30 PM the Brown Rice Family play socially conscious ukulele-driven ska at Tea Lounge in Park Slope

3/16 the Boss Guitars play surf music classics, obscurities and surfed-out versions of 60s pop tunes at Lakeside 11 PM

3/17, 2 PM dazzlingly eclectic virtuoso string ensemble Trio Tritticali play originals, Latin, Middle Eastern, jazz, pop/rock arrangements (and since it’s St. Patrick’s Day, maybe even some Celtic-tinged numbers) for brunch at Linger Cafe and Lounge, 533 Atlantic Ave, (3rd – 4th Aves) in Brooklyn.

3/17 if you’re dead set on getting sloshed on St. Paddy’s Day, at least do it with a bunch of Irish people, who are pros at this sort of thing. “Live music all day” at the Connolly’s branch at 121 W 45th St. with the Moonshiner Band, Shilelagh Law and Jameson’s Revenge; the bar at 14 E 47th has no-bullshit acoustic Irish punk band Box of Crayons with special guest Philenomena Begley, and then the Druids.

3/17, 4 and 8 PM, inspired Pogues cover band Streams of Whiskey at Lucille’s,$15 adv tix rec.

3/17, 8 PM legendary politically-fueled Irish-American rockers Black 47 at B.B. King’s,$25 adv tix req.

3/17, 8 PM the Whiskey Spitters at 68 Jay St. Bar followed at 10 by eclectic virtuoso Americana/Balkan fiddler Sarah Alden and her band

3/17, 8 PM early music ensemble le Poeme Harmonique sings Couperin’s Tenebrae plus Jerome Lalande’s Miserere at St. Mary’s Church, 145 W 46th St. (6/7th Aves), $35 tix available via www.millertheatre.com  or at the Miller Theatre box ofc M-F 12-5 PM.

3/17, 9 PM Brooklyn’s most astute rock band – ferociously tuneful, charismatic, bleakly humorous anti-gentrification rockers the Brooklyn What – at Trash. Get away from the amateurs, they won’t be here, that’s for sure.

3/17, 9 PM a great doublebill at hte 92YTribeca with 10-piece psycho mambo band Gato Loco and the equally slinky, psychedelic, shapeshiftingly horn-driven Revolutionary Snake Ensemble, $10

3/17, 9/10:30 PM lyrical pianist Kris Davis leads her reliable quintet at Cornelia St. Cafe, $25 includes a drink

3/17 tireless oldtime country hellraisers the Flanks play two sets starting at 9 with a break (if you can call it that) for Alex Battles & Whisky Rebellion in the middle at 10 at the Jalopy, $10

3/17, 9 PM slinky hip-hop brass grooves with the PitchBlak Brass Band at Spike Hill.

3/17, 9 PM trombonist Michael Dease leads a kick-ass big band at Something Jazz Club, $10 plus $10 min.

3/17, 10 PM dark Syd Barrett/Stooges-influenced neo garage rockers Obits at Cake Shop, $12

3/17, 10 PM oldschool James Brown-influenced funk and soul with Lee Fields & the Expressions at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, $20 adv tix avail. at the Mercury box office 5-7 PM weekdays.

3/17, 10 PM Koony and his big roots reggae band play toweringly anthemic, politically-fueled, Peter Tosh-inspired Francophone roots reggae at Shrine.

3/17, 11 PM fiery lyrical rocker Mike Rimbaud – whose two latest biting, fearlessly political albums rival anything Elvis Costello or Graham Parker ever did – goes slumming at Sidewalk

3/17, 11 PM NYC’s funnest, most tunefully insightful Americana/punk rockers Spanking Charlene at Lakeside, 11 PM. Their new album Where Are the Freaks kicks ass!

3/17 Eva Salina Primack solo at Barbes at midnight. By now the amateurs will have all passed out: here’s a rare chance to catch one of the most intense yet subtle and haunting voices in both Balkan and country music, solo with just her accordion.

3/18, 3 PM eclectic guitarist/composer Jay Vilnai’s fiery Balkan rock band Vampire Suit at 6th St. Synagogue, $15 includes a drink.

3/18, 4 PM violinist Jennifer Koh and pianist Reiko Uchida plays works and new commissions by Jennifer Higdon, John Adams, Missy Mazzoli, and Lou Harrison at the Dreck Center at the Brooklyn Public Library at Grand Army Plaza, free.

3/18 5:15 PM acclaimed choir leader and organist Kent Tritle plays a recital at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, free

3/18, 6 PM bassist Pascal Niggenkemper leads his improvisational ensemble at Downtown Music Gallery, free

3/18, 7 PM legendary nonagenarian percussionist Chico Hamilton and his inspired, ageless purist jazz group at Drom.

3/18, LES underground rock/funk/free jazz luminaries and legends celebrate Dee Pop and Marc Jeffrey’s birthdays (beware the Ides of March!) starting around 7:30ish with catchy Afrobeat rockers Timbila featuring Nora Balaban, John Cale collaborator/muse Deerfrance (solo – damn, GOTTA go see this!), swirling postpunk legends Band of Outsiders, Dee Pop’s Private World with Don Fiorino, Felice Rosser and Dave Sewelson and then ageless, groovalicious reggae-rockers Faith at Local 269, $5

3/18, 7:30/9:30 PM smart virtuoso melodic jazz pianist Fred Hersch solo at the Jazz Standard. His solo live album at the Vanguard from 2010 is a landmark; this could be also, $30 res highly rec.

3/18, 8:30 PM torchy, impeccably nuanced Syrian chanteuse Gaida and her brilliant, jazzy band at Cornelia St. Cafe, $20 includes a drink. She also teaches voice at Alwan for the Arts. Imagine learning from this woman, wow!

3/18, 9 PM the Hollows- whose version of Americana expands to include anthemic Britrock – at the Mercury

3/18, 9 PM Baby Soda Jazz Band sub for Stephane Wrembel at Barbes.

3/18 the reliably amusing oldtimey Ukuladies at Rodeo Bar, 10ish

3/19, 7:30 PM the Parisi Quartet play works by Haydn, Webern, and Debussy at le Poisson Rouge, $15 adv tix rec.

3/19, 8 PM the DaCapo Chamber Players perform Marc Mellits – Spam; Murray Schafer – Buskers; Derek Bermel – Coming Together; Thea Musgrave – Chamber Concerto #2; Dmitri Riabtsev – Enchanted Lake II along with Jennifer Muller’s dance troupe at the Ailey Theatre, 405 W 55th St @ 9th Ave., $20.

3/19, 9:30 PM a rare appearance by trombonist Deborah Weisz’ Jazz Orchestra at Tea Lounge in Park Slope.

3/20, 7:30 PM ecstatic voodoo jazz and dance with Haitian tenor saxophonist Jacques Schwarz-Bart and his excellent septet at the Lycée Français, 505 E 75th St., $30

3/20-24, 8:30/11 PM the agelessPharaoh Sanders leads a quartet at Birdland, $30 seats avail.

3/20, 9 PM psychedelic jazz vibraphonist Tyler Blanton makes a rare Park Slope appearance at Freddy’s with his trio

3/20-25, 9/11 PM saxophonist Bill McHenry leads a quartet with the mighty Orrin Evans on piano, Eric Revis on bass and Andrew Cyrille on drums at the Vanguard, $30.

3/20, 11 PM pensive, rustic original Americana songwriter Andrew Vladeck at Pete’s.

3/21, 7 PM NYC’s original Balkan brass crew, Hungry March Band play to raise funds for their upcoming trip to Bogota at Galapagos, $20

3/21, 8 PM dark, intense oldtimey chanteuse Jolie Holland at City Winery, $20 standing room avail.

3/21, 8 PM perennially tuneful, purist two-guitar blues/soul band King Dice at Kenny’s Castaways

3/21, 8 PM klezmer accordion legend Sy Kushner and his band at 6th St. Synagogue, $15 includes a drink.

3/21, 10 PM avant garde powerhouse Audrey Chen does her assaultive cello/vocal/analog mixer thing at the Stone, $10

3/21, 10:30 PM unstoppable postpunks the Wedding Present at the Bell House, $15. They’re at le Poisson Rouge on 3/22 at 8:30 PM for the same advance ticket price.

3/21, midnight Stringbean & the Stalkers play eerie chromatic harmonica blues at the Ear Inn.

3/22, 7 PM a Norooz (Iranian new year) extravaganza with music by Vatan plus a screening of the film Niloufar Talebi’s The Persian Rite of Spring: the Story of Nowruz plus poets Roger Sedarat, Sara Goudarzi, Amir Parsa and Kaveh Bassiri plus performance art by Aphrodite Desiree Navab at VII Gallery, 28 Jay Street, Dumbo, free

3/22, 7:30 PM cellist Michael Nicolas and pianist Carlos Avila play works by Brahms at WMP Concert Hall, $20.

3/22, 8 PM the Coup – the greatest and most political of all the west coast hip-hop acts – at Brooklyn Bowl, $10.

3/22, 8 PM the NY Scandia Symphony plays an eclectic, sweepingly beautiful all-Nordic program featuring works by, Swedish Baroque composer Johan Helmrich Roman, Finnish composer Bernhardt Crusell and Grieg, plus the US premiere of Danish composer/accordion virtuoso Anders Koppel’s Sinfonia Concertante at Scandinavia House’s Victor Borge Hall, 58 Park Ave at 38th St, $15

3/22, 8:30 PM versatile, soulful Balkan chanteuse Vlada Tomova’s Balkan Tales at the Lincoln Center Atrium, free, early arrival advised.

3/22, 8:30/10:30 PM smart, counterintuitive alto saxophonist Jacam Manricks leads a trio at the Bar Next Door.

3/22, 9 PM eclectic latin/klezmer group Eugene Marlow’s Heritage Ensemble feat. the amazing Bobby Sanabria on drums at the Nuyorican

3/22, 10 PM Azizah & the Tribal Council play roots reggae at Shrine.

3/22 oldtime country harmonies and soulful original songs from the Maybelles at Rodeo Bar, 10:30ish

3/23, 7 PM haunting, subtle yet dramatic and eclectic Tunisian chanteuse Sonia M’Barek and her band at the CUNY Grad Center, 365 5th Ave (34/35), $25 tix avail.

3/23-25, 7:30/9:30 PM cutting edge melodic jazz pianist Gerald Clayton leads a trio at the Jazz Standard, $30 ($25 on 3/25).

3/23 7:30 PM cellist Michael Nicolas and pianist Carlos Avila play Brahms at WMP Concert Hall, $20

3/23 dark pensive gypsyish/steampunk rockers Kotorino plays 2 sets at 8 & 10 PM at the Way Station, 683 Washington Ave., Ft. Greene.

3/23, 8 PM Rufus Müller, tenor; Cynthia Roberts, violin; Christoph Hammer, fortepiano; and Allen Whear, cello play Haydn: Trio in e minor, Hob. XV:12; Beethoven: Scottish folk songs; Kleinheinz: Sonata in E flat major, Op. 9 at Liederkranz Foundation Concert Hall, 6 E 87th St, 3rd fl., $25/$15 stud

3/23, 8 PM eclectic jam-oriented Brooklyn country rockers Yarn at the Hiro Ballroom, $18.

3/23, 9 PM Jessie Kilguss & Radio Gold play Nashville gothic followed eventually at 11 by torchy songwriter Abby Payne at Pete’s.

3/23, 9 PM high-powered oldtimey country band the Woes at Sunny’s in Red Hook.

3/23, 9 PM P-Funk keyboard legend Bernie Worrell – who’s been playing up a storm around town lately – at the Brooklyn Bowl, $8.

3/23, 9:30 PM Citizens Band musical director Duke Bokjadziev plays Balkan, classical and original works with a sensational band: Ara Dinkjian – oud; Matt Kilmer – percussion; Vasko Dukovski – clarinet, plus a string section, at Drom, $15 gen adm.

3/24, 6 (six) PM torchy, deviously literate Americana songcharmer Robin Aigner & Parlour Game at Barbes playing Mama Cass and Charles Aznavour in addition to Aigner’s elegant chamber-pop originals.

3/24, 7 PM wickedly smart, tuneful indie pop siren Sharon Goldman at the First Acoustic Coffeehouse in downtown Brooklyn, $25 adv tix rec.

3/24, 7:30 ornately symphonic, sometimes toweringly majestic, sometimes theatrical art-rockers the Brew – who seem to be more about psychedelics than booze – at the downstairs studio space at Webster Hall

3/24, 7:30 PM a rare early evening appearance by legendary CBGB-era psychedelic punk rockers Band of Outsiders at Lakeside.

3/24, 8 PM scorching Balkan-tinged trumpet/guitar noiserock band Ben Syversen’s Cracked Vessel at the Douglass St. Music Collective, 295 Douglasss St. in Gowanus, $10 sugg don followed by jazz/poetry septet Sweet Mammal which includes Noah Preminger on tenor sax

3/24, 8 PM, repeating 3/25 at 3 PM Mark Peskanov, violin; Dave Eggar, cello; Olga Vinokur, piano; Chuck Palmer, percussion improvise on Bach themes as well as playing Haydn – Piano Trio No. 39 in G major, “Gypsy”; Arensky – Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor, Op. 32; Mendelssohn – Piano Trio No 2 in C minor, Op. 66 at Bargemusic, $35/$30 srs/$15 stud.

3/24, 8 PM the Queen’s Chamber Band plus vocalists perform J. S. Bach’s Cantata 100 (Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan); Sonata in C minor for Violin and Obbligato Harpsichord (BWV 1017); Johann Christoph Bach’s Two Songs of Mourning; Johann Michael Bach’s Ich weiss das mein Erlöser lebt; Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach’s Quartet in G Major ; and, Georg Friedrich Händel’s Concerto grosso in D, Op. 3, #6 at First Moravian Church, 30th St/Lexington Ave., $30/$20 stud/srs.

3/24, 8:30ish a good bluegrass doublebill at Union Hall with the Third Wheel Band followed eventually at around 10:30 by the Whistling Wolves, $8.

3/24, 9/10:30 PM dark 80s style chanteuse Kristin Hoffmann at Caffe Vivaldi.

3/24, 9/10:30 guitarist Lage Lund leads a quartet with Glenn Zaleski on piano at the Jazz Gallery, $20

3/25, 3 PM the Greenwich Village Orchestra plays Kachaturian’s Sabre Dance and Violin Concerto plus Brahms’ Symphony No. 3 at Washington Irving HS Auditorium, 16th St./Irving Place, $15 sugg don., reception to follow.

3/25, 3:30ish ferocious Balkan improvisers Raya Brass Band at Ideya in SoHo.

3/25, 4 PM pianist Daria Rabotinka plays works by Schumann, Prokofiev and Busoni at the Dreck Center at the Brooklyn Public Library at Grand Army Plaza, free.

3/25, 4:45 PM organist Nicole Keller plays a recital at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

3/25, 6 PM versatile, Middle Eastern-tinged global jazz with Israeli pianist Alon Yavnai’s big band feat. Paquito D’Rivera & Malika Zarra at Birdland,$25

3/25, 7:30 PM the Brandy Trio plays two intriguing Jay Vilnai string trios – Pisces and Walpurgis Night, as well as selections from his eclectic Shakespeare Songs cycle for voice and string trio at Culturefix, free.

3/25 and 3/27, 8 PM Toots & the Maytals – you know who they are, right? – at the Brooklyn Bowl, $28

3/25, 8/10 PM a purist but surprising trio: Peter Mazza on guitar with Jacam Manricks on saxes, and Rogerio Boccato on percussion at the Bar Next Door

3/25, 9ish edgy irreverent Japanese Brooklyn girlband the Hard Nips at Cake Shop, $8.

3/25, 10 pm Beninghove’s Hangmen – furious, intense, cinematic noir jazz sensations – at Spike Hill. They’re at Shrine on the 27th at 9.

3/26, 7:30 PM the East Coast Chamber Orchestra plays works by Beethoven, Stravinsky, Geminiani, and Kenji Bunch at le Poisson Rouge, $15 adv tix rec.

3/26, 8:30 PM fiery, eclectic, intense art-rock/classsical violinist Daisy Jopling and her band at Cornelia St. Cafe, $25 includes a drink.

3/26, 9:30 PM the Asuka Kakitani Jazz Orchestra at Tea Lounge in Park Slope.

3/27-28, 7:30/9:30 PM drummer Cindy Blackman leads what could be a phenomenal two-keyboard band with Marc Cary and Zaccai Curtis (stretching out on keys and Rhodes, respectively) at the Jazz Standard, $30 res. very highly rec.

3/27 Hawaiian folk orchestra Hapa at Highline Ballroom, 8 PM, $25 adv tix rec.

3/27-31, 8:30/11 PM Christian McBride & Inside Straight at Birdland,$30 seats avail.

3/27, 9 PM sharp, hypnotic, politically fearless Afrobeat songwriter Nneka and her band at the Gramercy Theatre, $19 adv tix avail. at the Irving Plaza box ofc.

3/27, 9 PM Middle Eastern-tinged guitarist Yoshie Fruchter’s new guitar quartet at 6th St. Synagogue, $15

3/27, 9 PM drummer Jeff Davis leads a trio with with edgy third-stream pianist Russ Lossing and bassist Eivind Opsvik at Korzo

3/28 Simone Felice of the Felice Bros. plays the album release show for his new Nashville noir solo debut at the Mercury, 7 PM, $18 adv tix rec.

3/28, 7:30 PM pianist Alexandra Joan’s reliably enlightening Kaleidoscope Series at WMP Concert Hall continues with works by Brahms feat. cellists Lionel Cottet, Saeunn Thorsteinsdottir and Alice Yoo, $20

3/28, 7:30 PM the Les Amies Trio: Nancy Allen, harp, Cynthia Phelps, viola and Carol Wincenc, flute play works by Ibert, Bach, Ravel, Faure and Debussy at the Bulgarian Consulate, 121 E 62nd St.

3/28, 7:30 PM the Aron Quartett plays music of Kurt Schwertsik (world premiere), Erich Zeisel, and Erich Wolfgang Korngold at the Austrian Cultural Center, 11 E 52nd St., free, early arrival advised

3/28, 7:30 PM revivalist and virtuoso of the ancient kugo harp, Tomoko Sugawara plays a recital at Symphony Space, $30.

3/28, 8/10:30 PM Debbie Davies at Lucille’s, $10 adv tix req. Maybe the best blues guitarist in the world today – she played for years with Albert Collins, writes strong original songs and is unrivalled for both speed, power and soul.

3/28, 8 PM Hideki Togi with violinist Iwao Furusawa violinist Iwao Furusawa and pianist Atsushi Abe at Highline Ballroom: centuries-old Japanese classical and folk music with violin and piano, $30 adv tix avail., a portion of the proceeds to benefit Fukushima survivors

3/28, 9ish baritone country crooner Sean Kershaw & the Terrible Two at Branded Saloon in Ft. Greene.

3/28 devious powerpop cult artist Patti Rothberg and her scorching power trio Wet Paint at the Bitter End, 9ish

3/28, 9ish sweeping, atmospheric, politically aware art-rockers My Pet Dragon followed by Hank & Cupcakes, if their blissfully cheery electropop is your thing, at Santos Party House, $15.

3/28-29, 10 PM Chris Thomas King – whose purist, lyrically slashing, eclectic acoustic and electric blues sometimes get overlooked since he was in O Brother Where You Bound – at Terra Blues, $20

3/28 Mary Lee’s Corvette – Aimee Mann/Elvis Costello-class lyrical songwriter and searingly powerful yet subtle Americana singer with a great band – at Rodeo Bar, 10:30ish.

3/29, 8:30 PM scorching klezmer-fired big band jazz with the Ayn Sof Arkestra & Bigger Band at 6th St. Synagogue, $10.

3/30, 7 PM lutenist Paul O’Dette plays Elizabethan works by Dowland, Holborne, and Bacheler at PS 321 Auditorium, 180 7th Ave, Park Slope, $15

3/30, 7:30 PM the TNT Duo (Bulgarian classical stars Tania Stavreva, piano & Teodora Dimitrova, violin) play works by Vladigerov, Leviev, and Cohen at Symphony Space, $20, early arrival advised.

3/30 virtuoso violist Ljova Zhurbin’s whirlwind eclectic tango/jazz/gypsy string group the Kontraband at Drom

3/30, 9 PM best retro doublebill of the decade so far: iconic new wave era literate rockers Graham Parker and Ian Hunter at the Bell House, $30 adv tix absolutely req., this will sell out. Wow!

3/30, 9/10:30 PM drummer EJ Strickland leads a quintet with Godwin Louis – alto saxophone; Dayna Stephen – tenor saxophone; David Bryant – piano; Joe Sander – bass at the Jazz Gallery, $20

3/30, 9 PM the Wailers, or what’s left of Marley’s legendary backup band, at the Brooklyn Bowl, $15

3/30 Demolition String Band– whose new album Gracious Days is as purist and edgy as their earlier stuff – at Rodeo Bar 10:30ish.

3/30 edgy, soaring, eclectic, smartly literate janglerock/powerpop songwriter Charlene Kaye at the Rockwood

3/31, 7:30 PM intense, charismatic Balkan chanteuse Eva Salina with her new band featuring trumpeter Frank London followed by Forro in the Dark and then Raya Brass Band – whose new one tops the charts here for best release of 2012 so far – at the Ukrainian National Home on 2nd Ave.

3/31 possibly the year’s best triplebill starting at 8 PM with eclectically powerful, emotionally riveting lyrical Americana songwriter Erica Smith, then the soaring, subtle Rebecca Turner at 9 and at 10 legendary second-wave psychedelic/janglerockers Love Camp 7 – playing the cd release for their hilariously wry, Beatlesque new one –  in their only second live show since the loss of drummer Dave Campbell, at the Parkside. Lush, soaring, politically and historically aware chamber-rockers Pinataland follow at 11.

3/31, 7:30 Drina Seay – torchy Americana/soul/jazz siren who is to NYC now what Neko Case was to Portland in 1999 – at Otto’s with her amazing band

3/31, 8 PM a kick-ass roots reggae triplebill with the raw, soulful Hard Times, soulful salsa-fueled El Pueblo at 9 and then ageless, high-energy Roots Vibration at 10 at Shrine

3/31 fiery, female-fronted literate noir cabaret/art-rockers Hannah vs. the Many at Arlene’s.

3/31, 9/10:30 PM bassist Ben Allison leads a quartet with Steve Cardenas, guitar; Brandon Seabrook, banjo, guitar; Rudy Royston, drums at Cornelia St. Cafe, $25 includes a drink

3/31, 9 PM a good roaring 20s hot jazz doublebill with Baby Soda Jazz Band followed by the incomparably sizzling, lickety-split Brian Carpenter’s Ghost Train Orchestra at 10:30 at the Jalopy, $10

3/31, 9:30 PM innovative avant/jazz/third-stream guitarist Joel Harrison and his band play the record release party for his new one at Drom, $10 adv tix highly rec.

3/31 long-running, reliably fun ska/soul rockers the Slackers at Maxwell’s, 10ish, $12 adv tix rec.

3/31 the Lyres at Local 269, 11ish. Haven’t seen em in years and can’t guarantee how lucid Mono Mann will be at this point, but 15 years ago (heck, 30 years ago) they were one of the world’s greatest garage bands

3/31, midnight, hip-hop brass grooves with the No Bs Brass Band at Joe’s Pub, $12

4/1, 6 AM (six in the morning) the new Regis Live! show debuts on ABC with live appearances by Glenn Campbell, Limp Bizkit and Lady Gag at the Good Morning America studios at Lincoln Square, free tix available via Facebook. It’s been tweeted about!

4/1, noon, at Floyd Bennett Field in Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn, the Hindenburg Family Singers present a special kid-friendly show. Hear acoustic covers of children’s favorites from cultures around the world, from Barney to Spongebob to the Mitzvah Twins, while perched high above the ground in a vintage 1930s airship! Witness the eco-friendly green power of hydrogen! VIP smokers’ lounge located at the rear of the aircraft.

4/1, half past noon it’s the Village Voice Gentrifier Food Festival in the old Domino Sugar factory space in Williamsburg. Fifteen major chains bring samples of their new upscaled yuppie food for upwardly mobile heirs and heiresses! Revisit your comfortable childhood in California or Nebraska with such heartland classics as McDonalds Select Pink Slime, Arbys’ Whites Only Omelettes, Burger King Free Range Nutria and Olive Garden Premium Blood Sausage! $100 cover includes free gift bag with samples from your favorite mall stores and a download code for the new Jonas Brothers album!

4/1, 5:30 PM at Sidewalk before the open mic starts, LCD Soundsystem reunites for a free show, or maybe just a dj set, which is pretty much the same thing anyway.

4/1, 6:30ish House of Waters plays psychedelic worldbeat dulcimer music at Littlefield, $10

4/1, 7 PM Coldplay do a special acoustic benefit concert for their new kickstarter campaign – to pay off their debt to their record label so they can make a new album – on the roof of the Hotel Gansevoort, $750 adv tix available.

4/1 rockabilly and surf music with the Bobby Fuller Three at B. B. King’s at 7:30 PM, $30.

4/1, 7:30 PM Yale School of Music alums including cellists Arnold Choi, Sungchan David Chang, Alvin Wong, Mo Mo plus tubaist Jerome Stover, bass-baritone Taylor Ward and others play a deliciously murky program of low-register compositions:
Mozart: Duo for bassoon and cello in B-flat major, K. 292; Penderecki: Serenata for three cellos (2008) and Capriccio for solo tuba (1980); Bruckner: Two Aequali for three trombones (1847); Prokofiev: Humorous Scherzo for bassoon ensemble (1912); Bach: Toccata and Fugue in D minor, arranged for bassoon ensemble; Jacob Druckman: Valentine for solo double bass (1969); Sofia Gubaidulina: Concerto for bassoon and low strings (1975); Heinrich Schütz: Fili mi, Absalon for four sackbuts and bass voice, SWV 269 at Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall, $15 tix avail. No joke!

4/1, 8 PM indie classical quartet Cadillac Moon Ensemble premieres new commissions from composers James Romig, Ethan Pakchar, Eric Allen, Brooks Fredrickson and Sam Crawford along with Noam Faingold’s duo Knife in the Water at Vaudeville Park in Bushwick, $10

4/1, 8 PM Sammy Ramone – legendary for his handclaps on the Ramones’ “Rock N Roll High School”- brings along his old friends from the bar at Max’s to celebrate his bandmates at the Continental, $35.

4/1, 8:30 PM Tim Wakefield’s Beer & Fried Chicken Revue at Hill Country. The once-feared Red Sox knuckleballer is also a solid guitarist. Opening  is the barbershop trio of Josh Beckett, John Lackey and Clay Buchholz, leading the crowd in a selection of drinking songs.

4/1, 8:30 PM intense, smart, vivid composer/chanteuse Sara Serpa leads a guitar quartet with Andre Matos on acoustic at Cornelia St. Cafe. She’s been branching out to include the fado of her native Portugal; this could be a real eye-opener. $20 includes a drink; followed at 10 by Matos leading his own electric quartet (separate admission). No joke.

4/1, 9 PM Rodeo Bar presents Lady Gag and Friends; Kid Rock opens the night with a special acoustic show. It’s true! Rodeo Bar’s website says it is!

4/1, 9 PM the The Festival with Provided the Updike, Sanitizing the Bloomberg, Bieber the Already, Conclusion the Foregone and ??? (pronounced “the the the”) at the brand-new Tepco Green Arena (the recently bulldozed site where the Apollo Theatre used to stand). The The will not be performing.

4/1 the Anti-The Festival at Pianos featuring Flours, Sugars, Salts, Baking Powders, Olive Oils, Rosemarys and at midnight they all get together as the supergroup Biscuits, who have a reputation for being very hot if a little flaky.

4/1, 9 PM at the Bell House it’s Grossouts for Gentrifiers! While riding the subway, do you reach up your nose so hard to pull out that last piece of snot that you start bleeding on the person sitting next to you? Do you compulsively chew off bits and pieces of your fingers and nails and spit them on the floor, regardless of how crowded the train might be? Do you bring artisanal locavore free-range nutria tacos on the train with you, chomping with your mouth open as crumbs fall out, licking your fingers and then wiping them on the seat or the pole? If so, you’ll fit right in here. Free can of heirloom organic Red Bull to whoever can pull the longest booger or other unidentifiable organic/inorganic substance out of his lumberjack beard. Women not admitted under any circumstances.

4/1, 11 PM at Galapagos it’s the Flatulating Cabaret. Big prizes for the Biggest Windbag, Hershey Squirts and more. Plus fire twirlers and jugglers direct from Burning Man, plus random people walking around dressed up like characters in a Tarantino movie!

4/1 lo-fi preteen sister act the Poggs – Isabella Wiggin on guitar, Madison Wiggin on bass and Margaret Wiggin on drums – play songs that attempt to mimic their dad/manager’s favorite 90s radio hits at a special outdoor show, rain or shine, at midnight at the Williamsburg Waterfront.

4/2, 7:30 PM the Mimesis Ensemble premiere Mohammed Fairouz’ new opera Mimesis Sumeida’s Song – the first major opera by an Arab-American composer – based on the classic Tawfiq El Hakim play, Song of Death, on the theme of clashes with modernity. Preceded by Ligeti’s Piano Concerto, at Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall, $25 tix avail.

4/2, 7:30 PM lush, sweeping, innovative Canadian big band the Danjam Orchestra performs compositions by bandleader Jamieson and Jim McNeely; pianist Paul Barnes plays the a world premiere by Lincoln Hanks; and tenor Rufus Muller and pianist Jenny Lin perform Victoria Bond’s latest installment of her ongoing James Joyce Ulysses project at Symphony Space, $20/$15 stud/srs.

4/2 surf music legends the Ventures at B.B. King’s, $30 adv tix a must, 8 PM.

4/3, 7:30 PM Loop 2.4.3, featuring the New York Percussion Duo (percussionist Thomas Kozumplik, and multi-instrumentalist Lorne Watson) as they kick off their “American Dreamland” Tour with new music for percussion, voice, Native American flute, and electronics, with special guest vocalist Aviva Jaye at the Players Theatre, 115 MacDougal St., $12 adv tix avail.

4/3-9, 8/10:30 PM Ron Carter leads a quartet with Renee Rosnes on the piano at the Blue Note, $20 “bar seats” avail.

4/3, 8:30 PM up-and-coming guitarist Torben Waldorff previews new material for his forthcoming Wah-Wah album (hmmm….) with an all-star quartet including Gary Versace – piano, Matt Clohesy – bass, Jon Wikan – drums at Smalls, $10.

4/3, 9 PM accordionist Art Bailey’s free jazz adventurers Rare as Radium with Catherine Sikora – soprano sax, Sara Schoenbeck – bassoon, Sam Bardfeld – violin at 6th St. Synagogue, guessing $10.

4/4, 6 PM catchy indie rockers the Defending Champions followed by exhilarating oldschool 60s Memphis soul sounds of the One and Nines at 7 PM outdoors at the Grove St. Path train station in Jersey City, free

4/4, 7 PM indie symphony orchestra the Knights play a characteristically eclectic program at the Greene Space including works by John Adams, Gabriela Lena Frank and Erik Satie at the Greene Space (how they’re all fit on that little stage is a mystery), $20.

4/4, 8 PM bassist Benjy Fox-Rosen leads a rocking all-star electric klezmer band including Michael Winograd: clarinet; Patrick Farrell: accordion; Avi Fox-Rosen: guitar; Tyshawn Sorey: drums at 6th St. Synagogue, guessing $10 cover

4/4, 10:30 PM campy but fun gender-bender faux girl-group punk with Hunx & His Punx at the Mercury, $10 adv tix rec; 4/6 they’re at Glasslands at 11

4/5, 7:30 PM CORDIS: composer/cimbalomist Richard Grimes, electric cellist Jeremy Harman, pianist Brian O’Neill, percussionist Andrew Beall, playing customized, global instruments including the electric mbira, melodica, cimbalom (both traditional and electric), and “the world’s longest playing cylinder-driven music box,” doing exhilarating originals plus works by Stravinsky, Philip Glass and Chick Corea at le Poisson Rouge, $15 adv tix very highly rec

4/5, 8ish shapeshifting dark avant garde cellist/songwriter Valerie Kuehne leads an unnamed ensemble at Goodbye Blue Monday

4/5 cutting-edge Palestinian oud player Kamiliya Jubran plays her 9-part song cycle Makan (Arabic for “place”) examining the shrinking sense of individual space in the world, at the Lincoln Center Atrium, 8:30 PM, early arrival a must.

4/5, 8:30 PM reedman Paul Shapiro’s Ribs & Brisket Revue spans from lowdown blues to sizzling klezmer-style vamps at Cornelia St. Cafe, $20 includes a drink.

4/5, 11ish Argentinian dub-tango-pop sensation Federico Aubele followed eventually by the Funk Ark’s cd release show for their new one – a surprisingly hard-hitting, stripped-down Afrobeat/funk record – at le Poisson Rouge, $15 adv tix rec. Expect some serious jamming.

4/5, 11 PM Llama plays psychedelic dubwise salsa at Shrine.

4/6, 7 PM gorgeously hypnotic Indian string band Karavika – whose new album of chamber versions of Bollywood themes is amazing – at Drom, $10.

4/6-8, 8 PM avant garde classical ensemble stages three intriguing experimental operas in a taxi garage: 4/6 at 8 PM it’s Un Jour Comme Un Autre by Vinko Globokar (Gelsey Bell in the demanding role that launched Diamanda Galas to cult heroine-ism) and ADDDDDDDDD by thingNY; 4/7-8 it’s the premiere performances of Jeff Young and the entertainingly satirical Paul Pinto, Patriots, Run for Public Office on a Platform of Swift and Righteous Immigration Reform, Lots of Jobs, and a Healthy Environment: an Opera by Paul Pinto and Jeffrey Young. 4/7 the thingNY piece opens the show; 4/8 it’s the Glokobar. $15/$10 stud. or $30 weekend pass, at Moe’s Taxi, 26-15 Jackson Ave in Long Island City, 7 to Vernon-Jackson or G to 21st/Van Alst

4/6, 8 PM Brandon George, flute; Dave Moss, viola; Meredith Clark, harp play Sofia Gubaidulina – The Garden of Joy and Sorrow; Sean Hickey – Pied-A-Terre; Jan Bach -Eisteddfod; Carlos Salzedo/Ravel – Sonatine en Trio at Bargemusic, $35/$30srs/$15stud

4/6, 8:30 PM legendary postpunk/funk band the Bush Tetras at le Poisson Rouge, $15 adv tix rec.

4/6, 9 PM Ian and Liza of the (former) WonderWheels unveil their new name at their first show in ages followed by the less psychedelic but equally intense, smartly lyrical acoustic Sometime Boys followed by a monster British Invasion jam at Branded Saloon in Ft. Greene.

4/6, 11 PM bluesy oldschool soul frontwoman Bethany St. Smith & the Gun Show at Lakeside.

4/7 one of the year’s best doublebills with searingly literate janglerocker Ward White followed by torchy noir/goth siren/bassist Abby Travis -whose latest album IV is amazing – at Rock Shop; 4/8 Travis is at the Mercury.

4/7, 8 PM gypsy outfit Banda Magda – with a string section!!! – at Drom, $15 adv tix rec.

4/7, 8 PM repeating on 4/8 at 3 PM the Cali Camerata Chamber Orchestra with Mark Peskanov on violin play Piazzolla – La Muerte del Angel, Mozart – Divertimento for strings and 2 horns in D Major, Schoenberg – Verklärte Nacht (Transfigured Night), Op. 4 at Bargemusic, $35/$30srs/$15stud

4/7, 9 :30 PM, sharp literate chamber pop with Elizabeth & the Catapult at the big room at the Rockwood, $10

4/9, 7 PM the JACK Quartet play new works by young composers at NYU’s Provincetown Playhouse, Washington Sq. South just north of W 3rd., free, early arrival advised.

4/9, 7:30 PM eclectic pianist Alexandre Tharaud plays excerpts from Book 1 of Debussy’s Preludes, selections from his recent album, Scarlatti: Sonatas and works from his upcoming 20s hot Paris jazz-inspired album Le Boeuf Sur le Toit (Ox on the Roof) at le Poisson Rouge, $TBA

4/9, 7:30 PM the Deering Estate Chamber Players from Miami play a Latin-infused program featuring composers Roberto Sierra, Tania Leon, and Judith Shatin at the Cutting Edge festival at Symphony Space, $20/$15 stud/srs.

4/9, 8 PM remarkably energetic, psychedelic Malian desert blues guitar star Bombino at Highline Ballroom, $15.

4/9, 8ish Mesiko – led by David Marshall and Rachael Bell from the late great dark art-rockersNorden Bombsight – at Goodbye Blue Monday

4/9, 8:30 PM eclectic chamber-pop violinist/songwriter Emily Wells plays the record release show for her new one at Bowery Ballroom, $15.

4/10, 8:30 PM the Ayn Sof Bigger Band & Orchestra – whose ferocious klezmer-inspired vamps make them the hottest big jazz outfit in town, right up there with Orrin Evans’ Captain Black Big Band – at 6th St. Synagogue, $10.

4/10 9 PM the oldtimey Roulette Sisters’ badass resonator guitarist/frontwoman Mamie Minch at Rodeo Bar

4/10, 9 PM sprawling (ten-plus member) harmony-driven eclectic lyrical rockers Balthrop Alabama play the record release show for their new one at Joe’s Pub, $15.

4/11, 8 PM wildly guitar-driven psychedelic female-fronted power trio Devi outdoors at the Grove St. Path train station in Jersey City, free.

4/11, 9 PM eclectic blues/country/bluesgrass crew American String Conspiracy at Lakeside

4/11, 9:30ish original alt-country siren Alana Amram & the Rough Gems followed by the eclectic honkytonk/zydeco Doc Marshalls at Union Hall, $8.

4/12 7 PM twangy, Steve Earle-ish literate Americana rock songwriter Mark McKay and band at Lakeside

4/12, 8 PM bigtime funky horn showdown: “Pitchblak Brass Band vs. Underground Horns” at the Brooklyn Bowl, free w/rsvp

4/13, 7/9:30 PM the Tin Hat Quartet – stars of the gypsy-flavored, haunting Everything Is Illuminated soundtrack – at Symphony Space, $30.

4/13 8 PMish the ferociously noir, charismatic retro rock/blues/rockabilly Reid Paley Trio “semi-acoustic and quieter” at Picasso Machinery, 45 Broadway, South Williamsburg, J/M to Marcy Ave. and walk toward the water

4/13, 8 PM edgy, literate Americana songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Carolann Solebello formerly of Red Molly) plays in the round with badass Roulette Sister Mamie Minch and Ansel Matthews at Two Moon Art House & Café, 315 4th Ave (between 2nd and 3rd sts), Brooklyn

4/13-14, 8 PM a rare acoustic duo show with Malian guitar powerhouse Vieux Farka Toure plus Israeli pianist Idan Raichel blending African and Arabic modes at City Winery, $35 standing room avail.

4/13, 9 PM torchy downtempo indie keyboard soul/pop with Mattison at Sunny’s in Red Hook

4/13, 9 PM Stratuspheerius – one of the original cello metal acts – at Shrine.

4/13, 11 PM upbeat, tuneful indie keyboard pop with the Secret History at Rock Shop, $8.

4/14, 7 PM Estonian folk musician Triinu Taul plays traditional songs and originals on bagpipes, jews harp and overtone flute with a traditional ensemble at Scandinavia House, 38th/Park Ave., free

4/14, 7:30 PM a high-energy, rustic doublebill: oldtimey acoustic country/blues hellraisers the Wiyos followed by sly jamwise blues/reggae/klezmer improvisers Hazmat Modine at le Poisson Rouge, $20 gen adm.

4/14, 8 PM ancient and current Moroccan groove and jazz with Hassan Hakmoun and Malika Zarra at Roulette, $25.

4/14, 9 PM the world’s oldest band, haunting cello rockers Rasputina –one of the few unafraid to go on record for calling out the Bush regime for engineering the 9/11 attacks – at the Knitting Factory, $17.

4/14, 9 PM an intriguingly original Americana roots triplebill with bluegrass punk outfit Apocalypse Five & Dime, freak-folk punks Wood Spider and all-female country-folk trio Pocatello at Red Hook Bait and Tackle, free

4/14, 9 PM Unlimited Force play roots reggae at Shrine.

4/15, 2:45 PM the all-star Alwan Music Ensemble play Middle Eastern classics at the balcony bar at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, free w/museum adm.

4/15, 3 PM pianist Nataliya Medvedovskaya plays new works by New York composers: Eugene Marlow – selections from Les Sentiments D’Amour; Carl Kanter – Five Etudes; Scott Miller – Pause; David Picton; Seascape; Dana Dimitri Richardson – Seasons, at St. Mark’s Church, 10th St./2nd Ave., $20 sugg don.

4/15, 3 PM the Amphion Quartet play Haydn – String Quartet No. 31 in B minor, Shostakovich – String Quartet No. 7 in F sharp minor, Op. 108, Debussy – String Quartet in G minor, Op. 10 at Bargemusic, $35/$30srs/$15stud.

4/15, 4 PM Kalin Ivanov, cello and David Phillips, piano play works by Schumann, Chopin, Piazzolla, Saint-Saens, Albeniz, Cherkin and Petrova at the Dreck Center at the Brooklyn Public Library at Grand Army Plaza, free

4/15, 7 PM Iranian virtuoso of the tar and setar lutes, Ostad Mohammad-Reza Lotfi plus the Shayda Women’s Ensemble play lush, haunting, hypnotic classical Persian music at Symphony Space,$35 tix avail and highly rec., this will sell out.

4/15, 7:30/10 PM Worldless Music Orchestra performs Gavin Bryars’ “The Sinking of the Titanic to commemorate the centenary of the disaster at le Poisson Rouge, also to be streamed live at the club’s site, price TBA

4/16, 7:30 PM Armando Bayolo and the Great Noise Ensemble perform the premiere of Cornelius Duffalo’s new work for amplified violin and chamber ensemble plus composers Alexandra Gardner, Matt Van Brink, Carlos Carrillo and Marc Mellits at Symphony Space, $20/$15 stud/srs.

4/16, 8 PM the NY New Music Ensemble -a superb septet with Stephen Gosling on piano – plays new works by Rand Steiger, Eric Chasalow, Yiorgos Vassilandonakis (Quattuor pour la fin d’une ere, a world premiere) and Zhou Long at Merkin Concert Hall, $20/$10 stud

4/16, 9:30ish nimble blues/swing guitarist/bandleader Miss Tess & the Bon Ton Parade at Rodeo Bar. She’s also here on 4/30, same time

4/17, 8 PM Jerry Adler of the Blam’s latest excellent project, lush dreampop rockers Wave Sleep Wave at Bowery Electric

4/17-22, 8/10:30 PM Jim Hall joins forces with Julian Lage for a series of quartet dates at the Blue Note. There couldn’t be two more dissimilar guitarists out there, yet both come from and end up at the same place: soul. $30 “bar seats” available.

4/17-22, 9/11 PM Joshua Redman leads a trio with Reuben Rogers on bass and Greg Hutchinson on drums at the Vanguard

4/17-18 the Bad Brains two shows with GZA at the Music Hall of Williamsburg and Irving Plaza are sold out

4/18-19, 7:30 PM the Klangforum Wien plays music of Agata Zubel (world premiere), Roman Haubenstock-Ramati, Georg Friedrich Haas, Beat Furrer, György Kurtág and Salvatore Sciarrino at the Austrian Cultural Center, 11 E 52nd St., free, early arrival advised.

4/19,7:30 PM the auspicious Carnegie Hall debut of up-and-coming pianist Jenny Q Chai playing premieres by Inhyun Kim and Ashley Fu-Tsun Wang plus works by Marco Stroppa, Kurtag, Messaien, Ligeti, Debussy etudes and and Schumann’s Kreisleriana at Zankel Hall, $30

4/19, 9 PM hip-hop/funk brass grooves with the PitchBlak Brass Band at Shrine.

4/19, 9:30 PM LES punk/surf/soul legends Simon & the Bar Sinisters at Rodeo Bar. They’re also at Lakeside on 4/28 at 10:30 PM.

4/20, 7 PM tuneful guitar janglemeister Chris Erikson & the Wayward Puritans at Lakeside at 7 followed eventually at 11 by the Boss Guitars playing surf classics, rarities and instrumental versions of 60s pop hits.

4/20, 7:30 PM ghoulish lo-fi Crampsy garage rock with Xray Eyeballs at the Mercury, $10.

4/20, 8 PM new wave literate rock legend Graham Parker & the Figgs at City Winery, $25 standing room avail.

4/20, 9 PM Balkan Explosion (whoever they are, sounds good) at Red Hook Bait & Tackle.

4/20, 9:30 PM Trio Balkan Strings (Zoran Starcevic’s gypsy guitar trio with his two sons) at Drom, $10 adv tix highly rec

4/20, 10 PM Mexican polkas followed by wild intense chromatic Balkan jams with Banda de los Muertos and then Raya Brass Band at Littlefield, $10.

4/21 Taxim Square at Drom

4/21, 8 PM sly, charismatic, ferociously literate oldtimey siren/uke player Kelli Rae Powell and band at 68 Jay St. Bar

4/21, 8 PM Siembra Maestra play vintage Cuban and Puerto Rican plena and bomba at Shrine followed at 9 by the Freaky Baby Daddies playing roots reggae.

4/21, 9 PM innovative virtuoso sextet New Andalucia play their blend of flamenco and Arabic music at Alwan for the Arts, $20.

4/21, 10 PM hypnotic, cleverly lyrical, lushly orchestrated art-rockers the Snow play the cd release show for their new one Disaster is Your Mistress at the 92YTribeca, $TBA

4/21, 11 PM reliably fearless, tuneful, amusing, ungentrifiable Americana punk rockers Spanking Charlene at Lakeside, 11 PM

4/22, 4 PM violinist Steven Zynszajn and pianist Steven Graff play works by Mozart, Grieg, Sarasate, Brahms and Piazolla at the Brooklyn Public Library at Grand Army Plaza, free.

4/22, 5 PM cellist Ashley Bathgate and pianist Lisa Moore team up for a performance of works by Janacek, Schumann, Bresnick and Kerekes at the Lounge at Hudson View Gardens, 128 Pinehurst Ave. at W 183rd St., $12 sugg don, reception to follow

4/23, 7:30 PM Tanya Tompkins plays Bach suites on baroque cello at le Poisson Rouge, $20 adv tix rec.

4/23, 7:30 PM 30 of NYC’s A-list jazz types get together for a benefit for trumpeter Clark Terry to help pay his medical bills (a Grammy awardwinner screwed by the healthcare system – typical, huh?) at St. Peter’s Church, Lexington Ave. at 54th St., sugg don. $25 all proceeds to Terry.

4/24, 7 PM a free concert to kick off this year’s NY Festival of Song: Sarah Wolfson, Blythe Gaissert, Brenton Ryan, Carla Kihlstedt, Matthias Bossi, Thomas Sauer and Michael Barrett perform new works by Russell Platt, Harold Meltzer, Lisa Bielawa, Gilda Lyons, Colin Jacobsen and Kihlstedt herself at Cary Hall, the DiMenna Center for Classical Music, 450 W 37th St betw 9th/10th Aves, free but email for required reservation, complimentary beverages avail

4/24, 9:30 PM pioneering avant string quartet Ethel play the record release show for their new one at Joe’s Pub, $TBA.

4/25, 7:30 PM violin virtuoso Gil Morgenstern’s Reflections Series concludes this season with a Ravel-themed concert featuring music of Bill Evans, Amy Beach and Ravel’s Piano Trio at WMP Concert Hall, $35/$15 stud.

4/25, 7:30 PM Ramish Misra, virtuoso of the haunting Indian sarangi at Symphony Space, $30.

4/25 Miller’s Farm – the original Brooklyn country band – at Rodeo Bar 9:30ish.

4/26, 7 PM the Cypress String Quartet plays Haydn, Glazunov and Dvorák at PS 142 Auditorium, 100 Attorney St. on the lower east side, $15

4/26, 7:40 PM (that’s right, 7:40) Seattle composer Nat Evans’ latest audience-interactive piece takes place at Brooklyn Bridge Park. Download the entire thing for free here, sit back with the music and watch the sunset. It’s a nocturne with lots of found sounds. 

4/26, 8 PM Finnish accordion virtuoso Veli Kujala plays his own Hyperchromatic Counterpoint plus works by Sampo Haapamaki and Olli Virtaperko as well as Bach, Sibelius and Paganini at Scandinavia House, 38th/Park Ave, $15

4/26 sly tongue-in-cheek Americana/bluegrass songwriter Luther Wright & the Wrongs at Rodeo Bar, 9ish

4/27, 7:30 PM Americana siren Drina Seay and band at Lakeside. Out of nowhere, they’re suddenly one of NYC’s best bands, sort of where Neko Case was ten years ago, both tunewise and influence-wise: country, soul and blues all figure into it, but it’s all original, and Drina’s voice could melt an asteroid.

4/27, 7:30 PM virtuoso organist Gail Archer plays an all-American program including Passacaglia and Pastorale on a Christmas Plainsong (Virgil Thompson), Oatlands Sketches (Claire Shore), Chromatic Study on the name of BACH (Walter Piston), and Aspects of Glory (Libby Larsen) at Rutgers Presbyterian Church, 236 W 73rd St., free

4/27, 8 PM Harlem’s original eclectic punk band the Band-Droidz at Shrine.

4/27, 9 PM Bryan & the Haggards – whose twisted jazz covers of Merle Haggard classics will have you shaking your head in wonder – at Red Hook Bait & Tackle.

4/28, 7 PM Evan Ziporyn’s Gamelan Galak Tika (playing Ziporyn’s literally incendiary Tire Fire), Asphalt Orchestra, and the Bang on a Can All-Stars premiering new works featuring found sounds by Tyondai Braxton, Mira Calix (performing live), Florent Ghys, Michael Gordon, David Lang, Christian Marclay (performing live), Julia Wolfe, Nick Zammuto (formerly of the Books, (performing live), and Evan Ziporyn (performing live) at Alice Tully Hall, $35 tix avail

4/28, 7:30 PM Miroslav Hristov, violin and Vladimir Valjarevic, piano play Balkan music by Zadeja, Vrebalov, Vladigerov, Skalkottas and Enescu at the Bulgarian Consulate, 121 E 62nd St.

4/28, 8 PM Pakistani percussionist Arif Lohar leads a traditional ensemble at the Wallace Auditorium at the Asia Society, $30/$26 stud/srs.

4/28, 8 PM pianist Ursula Oppens plays Mendelssohn – Fantasy in F-sharp minor, Op. 28; Scriabin – Sonata No. 2 (Sonata-Fantasy) in G-sharp minor, Op. 19; Rzewski – 36 Variations on “The People United Will Never Be Defeated” at Bargemusic, $35/$30srs/$15stud.

4/28, 8:30 PM an amazing night of Jewish music with all-male choir A Conspiracy of Beards singing Leonard Cohen songs, followed by wild string-driven klezmer/gypsy rockers Golem at Glasslands, $12

4/29, 3 PM the Raphael Trio plus Pamela Frank, violin and Ayane Kozasa, viola play an all-Dvorak program: Piano Trio No. 1 in B-flat Major, op. 21; Miniatures for 2 violins and viola, Op. 75a; Piano Quintet in A Major, op. 8 at Bargemusic, $35/$30srs/$15stud

4/29, 7 PM perhaps the world’s greatest current composer for the oud, Marcel Khalife and the Al Mayadine Ensemble play a musical interpretation of the late great Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish’s elegaic final work, In the Presence of Absence at Town Hall, $30 tix avail., get them now!

4/29 Band of Outsiders at Lakeside, 9 PM. Unstoppable, eternally fresh psychedelic punk rockers from the CBGB era, better than the Jesus & Mary Chain and Brian Jonestown Massacre, both of whom they influenced.

4/29, 10:30ish the reliably charming, oltimey swinging Daria Grace & the Pre-War Ponies at Rodeo Bar.

5/1, 7:30 PM the Cathedral Choirs, under the direction of Kent Tritle plus Nina Stern, recorders and chalumeau; Ara Dinkjian, oud; Glen Velez, percussion; Tamer Panarbasi, kanun; and Arthur Fiacco, cello play traditional and sacred music from eastern Europe at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, $20 seating avail.

5/4, 7 PM at the Greene Space it’s the Battle of the Boroughs Staten Island band playoffs. Most battle-of-the-bands competitions are stupid and extortionistic: not this one. Last year’s winner was an Indian avant garde rock band who were actually quite good. This year’s contestants include the Headlocks ; Fairday Skyline; the Mick Watley Band;sSilas Knight & the Brooklyn Horns; Vantage Point; the Bad Mouth Betties, and Kazatzky, $15 cover includes a glass of wine; $30 gets you in for all you can drink wine and beer.

5/5 Zlatne Uste – the original NYC Balkan brass band – at Drom

5/5, 11 AM Symphony Space’s latest Wall to Wall all-day free concert is a homage to Gertrude Stein, program TBA: one would hope for gypsy jazz, Ravel, Schoenberg, maybe some Ellington?

5/5, 7:30 PM Nami Kineie (shamisen), Yumi Kurosawa (koto), James Nyoraku Schlefer (shakuhachi), and the Voxare String Quartet perform music by Daron Hagen, a New York premiere by Paul Moravec, and world premieres by Somei Satoh and James Nyoraku Schlefer at the World Financial Ctr., free

5/5 lush, sweeping, exhilarating symphonic rock band the Universal Thump play the video release show for their newone at Joe’s Pub.

5/9, 6:30 PM the Brooklyn Phil Chamber Players perform works by H.T. Burleigh, Scott Joplin, Dvorak, Daniel Bernard Roumain and Derek Bermel at the Brooklyn Public Library’s Dreck Center at Grand Army Plaza, free

5/12, 7:30 PM oldtime string band arrangements, new songs with the Dirt Daubers at the Mercury, $12.

5/17-20 Ryan Truesdell leads his ambitious and amazing Gil Evans Project, a big band tribute to Evans featuring three nights of rare and previously unreleased compositions spanning Evans’ entire career, soon to be released on Truesdell’s upcoming Centennial album with a group including Lewis Nash, Donny McCaslin, Steve Wilson, Frank Kimbrough, Greg Gisbert, and Marshall Gilkes at the Jazz Standard, 7:30/9:30 PM, $TBA

5/18-19, 7:30 PM the Argento Chamber Ensemble plays music of Bernhard Lang (world premiere) plus Concept Silke Grabinger “including the building in the presentation of the music,” i.e. the whole building (not just the concert hall) takes part in the performance, at the Austrian Cultural Center, 11 E 52nd St., free, early arrival advised

5/19 the always entertaining avant-garde Music with a View festival at the Flea Theatre, 41 White St.

5/29, 8 PM the NY New Music Ensemble plays works by Franco Donnatoni, Annelies van Parys, Phillippe Hurel and Gerard Grisey at Merkin Concert Hall, $20/$10 stud.

5/31, 10 PM Joe Pug – who’s quickly building a vast catalog of smartly lyrical, fearlessly political Americana/blues songs – at Bowery Ballroom, $13 adv tix rec.

6/12, 6-9 PM it’s the Museum Mile Festival – free admission at a whole slew of museums starting at 103rd St.

6/12 Margaret Leng Tan plays Satie and Satie-inspired composers on toy piano at Roulette.

6/17 this year’s Bang on a Can Marathon starts around 10:30 PM at the World Financial Center, if it’s the same as last year.

7/21, 8 PM king of the surf guitar, Dick Dale, still setting picks on fire, at the Brooklyn Bowl, $15

9/7 (yeah, it’s a long way off) is Brazilian World Music Day, check their blog for NYC happenings

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Today’s Freebie

Usually when something is marketed as “posher than posh,” that’s your cue to hit “delete.” Whatever the case, UK-based chanteuse Gemma Ray isn’t exactly that: what she does is sort of Nancy Sinatra noir updated for this decade with Black Box Recorder orchestration, faux Phil Spector kettledrums and the weirdest accent this side of Zsa Zsa Gabor. What planet is this woman from? She’s at the big room at the Rockwood tomorrow night 2/29 at 9:30; grab a free download of her original single Runaway here.

Lush, Solid Modern Roots Reggae Grooves from St. Croix

Are you one of those people who can’t wait for summer, for when all the reggae tours come around? Those bands will no doubt come equipped with new albums to sell at their merch tables. Here in the northeast, it sure doesn’t feel like we’ll have to wait much longer. Groundation have an excellent, eclectic new one due out next month; and if you like them, you’ll probably like Midnite. Extremely popular in the Caribbean, this roots reggae outfit hail from the Virgin Islands and have put out a ton of albums throughout their remarkably consistent career. Their latest, Kings Bell (out on I-Grade Records) is refreshingly purist, conscious roots stuff: the band here is anchored by producer (and co-writer of all the tracks) Andrew “Bassie” Campbell. A nonchalantly brilliant bassist who serves as the lead instrumentalist here much as Flabba Holt does in the Roots Radics, he combines groove and melody together in his busy, soaring lines without wasting notes. While the production is sleekly digital, this is real roots, not your typical bumba clot Babylon system computer garbage, with horns, organ and piano, and drums comfortably in the back like they should be: frontman Vaughn Benjamin’s vocals and the bass are the two highest things in the mix. The album has all kinds of clever dubwise production touches: brief, echoey keyb oscillations, drum breaks, unexpected little piano interludes and even watery Leslie speaker guitar on Peak Tension Time, one of the more dub-oriented cuts.

Overall, the album is a little like Sizzla fronting Israel Vibration around 1995, switching out the vocal harmonies for a broader worldview. Benjamin’s stream-of-consciousness lyrics tumble out 2Pac style – what’s obvious right away is how smart this guy is. Bringing a healthy cynicism to everything he sees, he’s quick to articulate how oppression is driven by corporations rather than by governments, equates global economic exploitation to a bodily “chemical imbalance” and doesn’t shy away from hot-button issues, especially on the slinky, hypnotic, gorgeously pulsing On a Watchlist. On the scathing What About Sudan, he remarks caustically how little regard the west has for indigenous populations around the world in cases where vital natural resources aren’t involved. Throughout it all, Jah Rastafari and Mount Zion are the rocks that give him strength: those looking for love songs, or songs about banging in the club with booze n’ babes will have to go elsewhere. Which is interesting, because Benjamin’s delivery comes straight out of dancehall rather than roots. The songs’ melodies vary from slow and psychedelic, to faster and poppier, and there’s even a drum-and-voice Nyabinghi chant here. Fans of roots reggae from the classic 70s era through today won’t be disappointed (legendary drummer Leroy “Horsemouth” Wallace even makes an appearance, and proves he hasn’t lost a step).

Marcel Khalife Returns to the US with the Al Mayadine Ensemble

Marcel Khalifé and the Al Mayadine Ensemble are back on tour, starting in Houston this coming April 20. In the world of Middle Eastern music, that’s sort of like the Beatles getting back together. The group,which includes the iconic oud player/composer along with chanteuse Oumeima Khalil, pianist Rami Khalifé, and Bachar Khalifé on percussion are doing this as a homage to Marcel Khalife’s visionary collaborator, the late Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish. As the Arab Spring has unfolded, Marcel Khalifé’s songs have become part of the movement, no great surprise since he’s been battling censorship, oppression and exile with his songs of freedom over the last forty years. “On the stage, I’m in my natural milieu, saying what I want,” says Khalifé – “There’s no censorship of what I say.”

“I sang for them,” Khalifé said of the freedom fighters across the Arab world, “And they gave me the feeling that they were my kin, that they were the source of strength to bring about the impossible.” For fans of lushly beautiful cross-cultural Middle Eastern music, this is a tour not to be missed – and Khalifé’s forthcoming album, The Fall of the Moon (out at the end of April) is a masterpiece as well. Tourdates below:

Fri, 4/20/2012, 8 PM
Houston, TX
Jones Hall
615 Louisiana St.
713.227.4772

Sat, 4/21/2012, 8 PM
Los Angeles, CA
Orpheum Theatre
842 S Broadway
877.677.4368

Sun, 4/22/2012, 7 PM
Berkeley, CA
Zellerbach Hall
101 Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley
510.642.9988

Fri, 4/27/2012, 8 PM
Detroit, MI
Music Hall
350 Madison Street
313.887.8500

Sat, 4/28/2012, 8 PM
Washington, DC
Warner Theatre
513 13th Street
202.783.4000

Sun, 4/29/2012, 7 PM
New York, NY
The Town Hall
123 W 43rd St.
212.840.2824

Fri, 5/4/2012, 7:30 PM
Chicago, IL
Copernicus Center
5216 West Lawrence Avenue
773.777.8898

Sat, 5/5/2012, 8 PM
Boston, MA
Berklee Hall
136 Massachusetts Avenue
617.747.2261

A Budget But Not Cheap Balkan Tune

Ljova is up to his old tricks again. Here’s a video of the irrepressibly devious virtuoso violist/composer’s tune Budget Bulgar performed by the Pannonia Quartet, a spinoff of Face the Music, the talented New York teenage indie classical ensemble. These kids can play!

Play with the Knights

Calling all musicians – you don’t necessarily have to be a classical player or have conservatory training, although that couldn’t hurt – popular indie classical orchestra the Knights are doing another WQXR residency and they need your help. On April 4, they’ll be playing John Adams’ Christian Zeal and Activity – part of the composer’s well-known American Standard – using found sounds, which Adams’ original score calls for. If memory serves right, the original found sound used in the 1973 debut concert performance of the piece was the clacking of typewriters. But you can be much more original than that [reblog from Indaba Music’s Found Sound Project: A “found sound” can be anything from live ambient noise to an invented studio sound (via Max MSP, Ableton Live, Pro Tools or other software) that one captures via recording which can then be manipulated or left alone depending on the artist’s vision.

When working on a “found sound” that will ultimately be performed live with performers, it’s important to seek sounds that complement the acoustic instruments but can also stand out individually. If words are chosen, they should be clearly understood and audible; if your piece is more abstract, be sure to stick with your concept and make it very clear to the listener what the focal points should be. Lastly, the power and weakness of electronic music or ambient sound lies in the amount of options we now have. The more you can limit yourself, the greater your odds of success].

The lucky winner will have their track played live with the ensemble on April 4th on WQXR; receive a VIP invitation for two to attend the live broadcast at WQXR’s Greene space in SoHo; receive credit on the WQXR website; and receive a selection of recordings by the Knights which probably means their two albums, possibly plus other stuff from chamber outfits like Brooklyn Rider who are associated with the orchestra. A interview on WQXR, 105.9 FM and www.wqxr.org is also a possibility but not confirmed as of today. Deadline for submissions is March 16.

Free Download: A Typically Entertaining Dan Bryk Show from 2009

Today’s free download is a fantastic live album. Dan Bryk’s Live at Bread & Circus Toronto is a solo performance from around 2009. Bryk’s unaffectedly clear voice soars and whispers and his piano playing is solid, but ultimately it’s the songs that knock you out. When it comes to purist pop tunesmithing, this guy is unsurpassed: Elvis Costello, Aimee Mann and Ward White could pick up a trick or two from him. Bryk’s 2009 record Pop Psychology, a corrosive concept album about the music business and people dumb enough to get involved in it, is a genuine classic. This one is more lighthearted, but it’ll give you a good idea of what this guy is all about: sardonic, self-effacing, unable to resist a good pun or a good joke, and a great storyteller. This is obviously a room recording, with sonics on the boomy side and plenty of crowd noise – Bryk takes a pause or two to get them to shut up, then gently assails one particularly chatty group. But by the encore he’s won everybody over, all the girls singing along with the chorus on Discount Store, a wickedly catchy, understatedly biting song that perfectly captures the cruel ironies of the current depression.

“If misery loves company, where the fuck did everybody go?” he asks with his first song; at the end of the set, the crowd wants a happy one, so he gives them the self-explanatory Just Give Up. The version of She Just Wants to Get High rhymes “Regent Park”(a Toronto slum) with “Maker’s Mark,” its harried narrator trying to save a girl from herself as much as from the cops: “Officer, I don’t have the money for this kind of weed.” He serves up a bouncy tribute to chunky girls – Bryk is a big guy himself – and then to a video game programmer he idolized as a teenager, imagining him living it up in California, “doing lines off the sand.” The punchline, where the programmer calls and leaves Bryk a message, is too good to give away. The strongest song here is The Next Best Thing, one of only two tracks from Pop Psychology to make it onto this one, and it packs a wallop. It’s as self-critical as it is angry at execs who won’t go near artists who aren’t “cute and quirky and complacent:”

They wonder why I get so nervous
Airing my laundry to the weak and curious
I know it’s really not a public service
Supplying the freakshow to the circus

When you download this, you’ll see that Pop Psychology and Bryk’s 2007 Discount Store ep are still available, both hints worth picking up on.

The Sambasunda Quintet Take Gamelan Music to New Places

What would gamelan music sound like if it was played on stringed instruments instead of bells? The Sambasunda Quintet, a small-group spinoff of the famous Javenese gamelan orchestra, answer that question on their brand-new album, simply titled Java. It’s absolutely gorgeous. But unlike their main project, this particular unit doesn’t use gongs. Instead, this crew substitutes lush layers of kacapi (a boat-shaped zither) along with lute, wood flute, percussion and the delicate, dreamy Javanese vocals of frontwoman Rita Tila for an effect that’s far more eclectic, ambitious and global in scope than you would likely imagine. The songs here are LONG – miniature suites that clock in at ten minutes apiece or even more. It’s music to get lost in, especially for fans of Bollywood, gamelans or, for that matter, anyone who gravitates toward lush, hypnotic sonics.

With its lush dreampop-style harmonies, the opening track makes it easy to see where the roots of Indonesian pop originated.  Elegantly arranged, it builds almost imperceptibly to an unselfconsciously intense crescendo like several of the other tracks here. Another cut morphs from a big, tensely restrained minor-key ballad into a South Sea Islands tango; a bit later on, the group sends an Irish reel reeling into Javanese territory. While the idea of segueing from a gentle march, into hypnotic, pointillistic gamelanesque ambience and then Arabic modes might sound overwhelming, this group does it with a grace that’s often quite plaintive. One of the more anthemic numbers builds from an ominous motif that wouldn’t be out of place in heavy metal; by contrast, a catchy, biting pop number grows sunnier as it goes along, ending with a joyous “wheeee!” The album’s strongest track is a wary, ten-minute epic that mingles Bollywood, Middle Eastern and north Asian tonalities; the album winds up with another catchy, swaying tango-infused track and then a sweeping, insistent overture that rises and falls, mingling gently persistent lute with fluttering flute and the bell-like tones of the kacapi. The band is currently on UK tour; the record is out now on Riverboat Records.

Grand Guignol Eye Candy

…well, sort of. Here’s violinist Arianna Warsaw-Fan and cellist Meta Weiss playing a sweeping, inspired version of the Handel-Halvorsen Passacaglia in this rather creepy, dramatically shot video (which must have cost a fortune to make – then again, up in Montreal, people take pride in supporting the arts).

In Memoriam – Michael Davis

Michael Davis, the MC5’s smart, versatile bass player died today of liver failure. He was 68. Davis was a master of many styles: slinky soul grooves, fast melodic pop lines, hypnotic botttom-heavy psychedelia and jazz. He and drummer Dennis “Machine Gun” Thompson were one of the greatest rock rhythm sections ever, whether playing pummelling proto-metal, catchy janglerock, blues, soul or crazed avant-noise freakouts (where Davis would hang out and let the guitars go wild while he anchored the sound). Always active in music, he recently toured with the regrouped version of the classic Detroit band alongside bandmate Wayne Kramer. Davis was an underrated player, an important figure in rock history, especially in the great Detroit scene of the 60s and 70s, and will be missed.