Concerts You Should See in Philly This Week
LAST WEEK
Henry Threadgill performed a nice, if overly cerebral set in the second of Ars Novas AACM series. He showed you can still be out there and hit a groove. I just wish he did it more often.
Dustin O’Halloran-He fought bar noise, fire engines and freight trains to bring a set of delicate ambient chamber music to life, even with a slightly tacky upright piano.
Zoe Keating-Mesmerizing set of looping cello works and charming stage patter. We had her in the studio the next day and you should hear that in July!
RECOMMENDED THIS WEEK
*****Agnes Obel*****
Roscoe Mitchell
Joan LaBarbara
*******THIS WEEK*********
JOAN LABARBARA
Friday June 10 5PM
Philadelphia Museum of Art
The iconic avant-garde singer performs Morton Feldman’s Three Voices. A rare opportunity to hear one of the amazing voices and vocal conceptualists of our time. http://www.philamuseum.org/calendarEvents/
AACM | GREAT BLACK MUSIC, 6/4-13
Ars Nova is having a blowout of seminal artists from the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, or less cumbersomely, the AACM. This is where the soul of the Ars Nova Workshop resides, in the sounds generated in the 1960s and 70s by musicians creating new paradigms for jazz. It spans two weekends in different venues. All worth catching to discover music that’s exhilarating and exploratory.
Roscoe Mitchell
AN EVENING OF CHAMBER WORKS BY ROSCOE MITCHELL
Saturday, June 11, 2011 – 8:00pm
German Society of Pennsylvania’s Barthelmes Auditorium
611 Spring Garden Street
This could also be one of the best in Ars Nova’s AACM series. The Art Ensemble of Chicago veteran brings in musicians like saxophonist Evan Parker and vocalist Thomas Buckner along with the S.E.M. Ensemble, a large avant-garde performance unit. Go To Ars Nova for More.
ROSCOE MITCHELL AND THE SOUND ENSEMBLE
Sunday, June 12, 2011 – 8:00pm
Settlement Music School416 Queen Street
Philadelphia, PA
Mitchell returns the next night with an entirely different group that includes Hugh Ragin, on trumpet and guitarist Spencer Barefield. Mitchell can create music that is maddeningly cerebral or joyfully ecstatic. Go to Ars Nova for more.
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HENRY THREADGILL’S “BACKGROUND” (FOR SAXOPHONE QUARTET) + JEFF PARKER/MIKE REED DUO
Monday, June 13, 2011 – 8:00pm
The Maas Building1325 Randolph Street
Philadelphia, PA
The Maas Building1325 Randolph Street
Note the phrasing. Threadgill won’t be at this one. His music will be performed by the Collide Saxophone Quartet.
AGNES OBEL
Weds. June 15
Tin Angel
I am still enthralled with Agnes Obel 6 months after making her album, Philharmonics an Echoes CD of the Month. We had her live on the show this year and she’s a performer who draws you into her intimate chamber songs. This is a rare chance to hear this Danish gem live in Philly. Check out my review of this haunting CD.
URIAH HEEP
Monday June 20
Sellersville Theater
British prog rockers back from the dead to relive the daze of “Easy Livin'”