Live Music: Streaming and In Person

National Public Radio presents pianist-composer-arranger Fabian Almazan in concert on "Live at the Village Vanguard" Wednesday October 12 at 9 p.m.  Joining the young Cuban-American will be bassist Linda Oh and drummer Henry Cole, the 2 musicians who appear on Almazan's debut CD, "Personalities" that has just been released - in addition, augmenting the Trio will be a string quartet (there are a pair of pieces on the CD with string arrangements.) 

Not only will there be streaming audio but video as well.  At 7 p.m., Almazan will sit with Lara Pellegrinelli for an interview and viewers/listeners are encouraged to send questions via a  "live chat box." Judging by the show Almazan and Trio put on at Firehouse 12 in September (with Kendrick Scott sitting in for Cole), you won't want to miss this  (here's what I thought) - best of all, the show is archived and you can listen as often as you would like.  For more, go to www.npr.org/villagevanguard.

The Firehouse 12 Fall 2011 Concert Series is going to get a jolt of major proportions on Friday night when the Harriet Tubman Double Trio hits the Elm City.  Originally formed in 1998 by guitarist Brandon Ross, bassist Melvin Gibbs and drummer J.T. Lewis, the HTT doubled its size in 2000 to record "Ascension", the 1965 work by John Coltrane that the jazz giant recorded with an 11-piece band. The Tubman Double Trio recording (which featured trumpeter Ron Miles and both DJ Logic and DJ Singe on turntables) languished in record label limbo until earlier this year. Sunnyside Records finally brought the music to light and the band has been touring to promote the CD. In New Haven, the band will add Graham Haynes (cornet, electronics) and the turntables of DJ Logic and Val Inc. There are 2 shows, 8:30 and 10 p.m., and reservations are recommended. You can call 203-785-0468 or buy online at firehouse12.com.

The trio of Amanda Baker (flute, voice, percussion), Beth Meyers (viola, voice) and Nuiko Wadden (harp, percussion, voice) performs under the name Janus and they are appearing Sunday October 16 at First Church of Christ, Congregational, 499 Town Street in East Haddam.  The concert is part of the Church's "Music at the Meetinghouse" series and is part of the Daniel Pearl World Music Days (to read more about that, go to www.danielpearlmusicdays.org.)

The indie-classical chamber ensemble, formed in 2002 by Ms. Baker and Ms. Meyers, plays a heady and attractive repertoire of (mostly) 21st Century composers, folks such as Jason Treuting (from So Percussion), Caleb Burhans and Sofia Gubaidulina), with many of the works commissioned by Janus. It's important that the repertoire for flute, harp and viola began in the early 20th Century with a work by Claude Debussy.  Their debut CD, "I Am Not (blank)", took 3 years to come together and was released late last year on New Amsterdam Records.  For more information about the ensemble, go to www.janustrio.org. To purchase tickets, call the Church at 860-537-2052.