April was definitely a busy month for most musicians of any sort! Recital season/good weather & lots of shows! May is a little slower since a lot of folks begin summer travels but there's still some mighty gems to unearth! (Yeah I just wrote that..) I admittedly had less time to make this month's newsletter as thorough as I might have liked, so I'm going to keep it to a maximum of 2 shows per day. I'll add more to the calendar as time progresses since I figure that's what most people have been looking at anyways!

5/1 - John Koozin 4tet at Cornelia Street Cafe featuring Chris "Stomp" Garriga, Anthony Pearlman, and emerging tenor saxophonist Scott Mike! $10 at 6pm

Also on the topic of emergence is Nicola Caminiti's Trio at Bar Next Door Emerging Artist Series at 6:30pm! 2 drink minimum, no cover. He will be joined by the illustrious JK Kim and Ben Tiberio on Drums & Bass respectively!

5/2 - Unified Field Orchestra recently released their new music video in March and it's pretty freaking awesome! They're playing a show at Rockwood 1 at 6pm opening the night with a some "cosmic fun" The show is free but give them a donation if you can! UFO features some awesome folks including drummer/multi-instrumentalist Janna Graham who I had the pleasure of working with in a pit band last month. This will be her birthday show so bring your gifts!

5/2 - Austin Zhang has proven to be one of the most diligent woodwind players I've met in the short time I've known him. He's also an exceedingly polite and nice individual who I can't wait to see further progress in the future. He brings his trio to the Bar Next Door Emerging Artists Series at 6:30pm! | 2 Drink Minimum

5/2 - Kelly Green brings her sextet to Smalls at 10:30pm! Kelly is among my favorite musicians not just in this city but possibly the world and is truly a multi-faceted artist that will move you with her joyous energy! Her piano playing and singing are unlike anything I've ever heard, both of which are tremendously compelling. I hear her trio play almost every Sunday at Cleo's and it only gets better every time. If you're looking for an excuse to bring your ass to smalls, you will not find a better one than this. Joining her will be Brandon Woody on trumpet, Jovan Alexandre on Tenor, Mike Troy on Alto Jonathan Barber on drums, and Matt Dwonszyk on bass.

5/2 - Adam O'Farrill's quartet "Stranger Days" has been on the scene for quite a while now. I've had the chance to see them a few times and its always maxed out and pretty freaking sick. The group will be playing at 55 bar at 10pm two sets $10 featuring Chad LB on Tenor, Walter Stinson on Bass, and Zack O'Farrill on drums!

5/3 - Bassist Adi Meyerson has been a long time friend of mine who I've reconnected with recently. She also hosts the mezzrow jam with Miki Yamanaka every Tuesday evening which is one of my personal favorite hangs! I'm thrilled to announce her Pre-album release show at the Django called "where we stand". Her band is preposterously killing featuring Joel Frahm on tenor, Camila Meza on guitar + voice, Taber Gable on piano and Kush Abadey on drums. 7:30PM $10

5/5 - Theo Walentiny's Senior Recital at the New School (55 w 13th street) 5th fl. performance space. Theo needs to introduction. [Cliche warning] I feel shameless and unapologetic in saying the that there is a very special place in my heart for Theo and the music he creates. He will be presenting a solo piano odyssey that will probably birth a small universe formed from the tears of the audience members.  4pm | Free

5/5 - Stephan Crump is bringing his "Rhombal" quartet to the jazz gallery on my birthday! Stephan is an amazing bassist and incredible human being. The group features one of the baddest trumpet players in the universe, Adam O'Farrill. Also in the band is sax master Elery Eskelin and Kassa Overall on drums. Sets at 7:30 and 9:30pm $25/$10(members).

5/8 - Joel Ross  brings his quartet to Mezzrow featuring Kalia Vandever, Craig Weinrib, and Harish Raghavan. Joel is one of the most innovative musicians in my generation and this band looks incredible. A must see for anyone who has the time/funds to do so. sets at 8pm & 9:30pm $20

5/9 - Mareike Wiening & Yuhan Su quintets at Cornelia Street Cafe is going to be amazing. Mareike is one of the baddest drummers out here and she's double billing her band with another group comprised of equally badass musicians. Her band will feature Rich Perry, Alex Goodman, Glenn Zaleski, and Johannes Felscher and Yuhan Su's band will feature Alex Lore, Matt Holman, Petros Klampanis, and Nathan Elman-Bell. Show begins at 8pm! $10 Cover | $10 Minimum

5/9 - 5/12 - Nate Sparks is a long time friend of mine and recent Juilliard graduate who composes fantastic music of all sorts. Known specifically for his amazing big band arrangements, NYC is in for a treat! Nate is summoning his big band for a week @ Dizzy's Club Coca Cola at Columbus Circle! I've been practicing quite a bit for this gig and but I can safely say that it's going to be a total blast! (quite literally)  big bands are a total hang but need more support so don't miss it! 11:30pm Wednesday-Saturday

5/11 - A band that started at New School when I first arrived here almost 6 years ago is releasing an album with a show at C'mon Everybody in BK. GREAT TIME features some amazing musicians including Jill Ryan, Zack Hartmann and Donnie Spackman and they will be joined but some very special guests including Jachary, and Kahiem Rivera.  8PM!

5/12 - Adam Briere Senior Recital (New School)- I previously talked about how big bands are a total hang. This band is likely the definition of a jazz "hang" and we're playing the music of Thad Jones as well! Adam is an awesome drummer and great dude who has been making The New School a better place for the past 4 years and his recital is coming up! It's not every month where you get to hear about more than 1 big band comprised of younger musicians that actually play at a super high level. Especially big bands that are not required school ensembles or institutionalized. 4pm | Free

5/12 - My dear friend/non-biological sister, Kalia Vandever is playing a trio set with Nick Dunston and Lee Meadvin at the Owl Music Parlor. 8pm Kalia plays in various configurations around the city, all of them inspiring and incredibly advanced in regards to spiritual energy & melodic maturity. This trio will be something truly special. Don't miss it.

5/13 - Jasper Dutz Quartets @ Rockwood 3 - This month I've been hard at work writing tons of new music & playing in various quartet configurations with a small roster of fantastic players. The goal is to put together specific musical personalities in a way that showcases a set repertoire from various angles and approaches to improvisation. This project will make its debut at Rockwood Music hall on the 13th! This group is consisted of some of my closest friends; Jeremy Corren(p) John Koozin(b) & Dayeon Seok(d). 10:30pm $10

5/13 - Will Brown Senior Recital (New School) - There are a few people who are simply too kind to be real. Will Brown is one of those people. A truly good human who plays the F*** out of the saxophone would be the most accurate way to describe him, and to add the cherry on top, his band is also littered with angels. John  Koozin on bass and the incredible Matt Wilson on drums. This may be one of the best free shows to check out in the whole word within 24 hours in each direction... Like all recitals of course, it is FREE...

5/18 - Prawit & Daniel Durst continue performing with their historic duo project, this time at an Open art space event curated by Stacy Collado at a venue called The Baumann. These guys have been friends since most high schoolers were potty training and seeing them play is a treasure. Support the NY art scene and stop by! No Cover | $10 suggested donation

5/19 - Kelly Green is playing every other Saturday at Winne's jazz bar in midtown with her trio & I highly & hugely recommend checking it out. I sit and watch her every Sunday at Cleopatra's Needle on the upper west side, but this show will be much easier to get to for you brooklyn folk. 

5/20 - Sara McDonald's NYChillharmonic returns to the stage this time in BK at littlefield! Her band roster is amazing, this time featuring an entirely female cast!! Sara's music is incredibly unique and inspiring on many levels bringing a perpetually badass vibe to social media and the community of young musicians in the city! Tickets start at $10 show starts at 8:30pm!

5/23 -Saxophonist Kevin Sun brings a new group to the Jazz Gallery. This time playing music as part of a larger concept revolving around"meditation and self reflection." His band consists of some fantastic musicians Adam O'Farrill, Dana Saul, Simon Willson, & Dayeon Seok!

5/24 - Hattie Simon & Anthony Pearlman who are literally two of my best friends and musicians are playing duo at one of my favorite venues/restaurants Tomi Jazz! This will be a nice way to wrap things up before we all part ways for the summer! I'll be there eating some noodles and drinking tea with a smile.

5/26 - Adam O'Farrill & Gabe Schnider will be playing duo at a loft on 9th St. in Brooklyn as a part of the 999 Festival. If that isn't MAXED then I don't know what is....

Due to the way the school year works, this month seems relatively chill compared to last month. I'm writing this at 4:30am because I've had very little time to sit and think due to recital season so if anything seems rushed or is incorrect I apologize. Also, if you feel like supporting this newsletter Feel free to donate! What I'd much prefer to a donation, however, is seeing musicians promote others even half as much as they promote themselves. We are part of a creative community weather we want to be or not, and sharing things that matter to us (which hopefully is more than just our own gigs) becomes increasingly essential by the day. Now more than ever, we need to strengthen our community in order to emphasize the importance of music and the arts not just for our own sake, but for the sake of our children, the education system and society as a whole. Music facilitates empathy and empathy is the answer to hate and close-mindedness. Have a fantastic day & happy listening!