Here is a snippet of the top 10 acts you MUST catch at Winter Jazzfest (starting tonight!), to see the full list, visit the Village Voice here! (This list was compiled by Phil Freeman)
Mike Pride’s From Bacteria To Boys
Kenny’s Castaways, Friday, 6 p.m.
The first group of the festival is this quartet led by drummer Pride and featuring alto saxophonist Darius Jones; their music combines groove-based but forward-looking jazz with modern r&b (Pride cops to a major R. Kelly influence). Their CD Betweenwhilereceived rave reviews last year.
Respect Sextet
Le Poisson Rouge, Friday, 6:15 p.m.
This long-running collective (formed in 2001) released a 2009 CD, Sirius Respect, that explored compositions by Sun Ra and Stockhausen, but their own music features plenty of romping, joyous swing alongside forbiddingly intellectual improvisations.
Chris Lightcap’s Bigmouth
Kenny’s Castaways, Friday, 11 p.m.
Bigmouth is a medium-sized band (Jeff Lederer and Chris Cheek on saxophones, Craig Taborn on keyboards, Lightcap on bass, and Gerald Cleaver on drums) that plays hard-grooving compositions that take sudden left turns into sharp dissonance, but always bring it back home.
Matana Roberts
Zinc Bar, Friday, 11:30 p.m.
Born in Chicago, saxophonist/composer Matana Roberts is one of the few female members of that city’s AACM (Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians). She’ll be performing solo, but don’t let that keep you away — she’s a thoughtful and creative improviser.