No Uncertainty About This Concert

Earlier this week, I posted an entry about 2 excellent shows on Saturday March 8 ("Improvisations" Series at Real Art Ways and "The Composers and Improvisors Festival' at The Buttonwood Tree - see here) - come to find out, the Uncertainty Music Series also has a fine evening of music planned for the same evening (what's a music fan to do?)

Series curator Carl Testa is an adventurous programmer and likes to play with combinations. This month, the double bill commences with Meredith Glina's Bass 4-Tet.  Yes, 4 electric bassists, including Ms. Gilna, Jimmy Canepa, Elias Mullane and Jon Dostou, playing experimental music. They manipulate the sound of their instruments, they move in and out of melodic passages and keep one guessing.

Headlining the program is Little Worlds (pictured above), the trio of Rick Parker (trombone, effects), Ryan Mackstaller (guitar, effects) and Tim Kuhl (drums); the repertoire that the Brooklyn-based ensemble plays are the classical etudes Bela Bartok created for his "Mikrokosmos" collection.  The group of 153 short works for piano was composed between 1926-1039.   The trio of Parker, Mackstaller and Kuhl has issued 2 collections of its arrangements (Volume 1 in 2011 and Volume 2 in 2013 - both available at littleworlds.bandcamp.com) - and the results are innovative, challenging, exciting and quite dynamic.  They have not played this music much in the past year so this gig should be lot of fun for both musicians and audience.

The show takes place at Never Ending Books, 810 State Street in New Haven.  Ms. Glina's Bass 4-Tet opens the proceedings at 8 p.m.  For more information, go to uncertaintymusic.com.