Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Jazz at Alta Voce


For some reason entirely unbeknownst to me, Brooklyn's jazz scene hasn't exactly been all that vibrant in recent years. Of course, part of this is because the idiom appeals to steadily decreasing audiences; while its influence may be pervasive in numerous genres, jazz (especially traditionalist subgenres that employ a minimum of amplified instrumentation) is perceived by many as antediluvian as Gilgamesh these days. Which is a shame, for while the current indie rock scene hardly stands on the vanguard of pop music, its adherents number in the hundreds of thousands. Jazz, on the other hand, is consigned to the dinner crowd.

Stepping into this massive void, Park Slope's Alta Voce (on 5th Avenue between 2nd and 3rd Street) is committed to presenting younger and off-the-radar jazz talents, albeit in the dreaded restaurant/dinner context. Tomorrow evening, jazz wunderkind Christian Nourijanian will be playing with his quartet. Having played at such disparate venues as the Apollo Theater, Groove, and Pianos, Nourijanian should be very interesting. Performers in the coming weeks include the popular Kazuko Mausner Trio (July 8th), the Marianne Solivan Trio (July 15th), the Tierney Ryan Trio (July 22nd), and the duo of Ayako Shirasaki & Sanae Kojima (July 29th).

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