2 Bass Hit + Streaming Live

The Uncertainty Music Series, concerts and performances curated by bassist/composer Carl Testa, presents Mario Pavone's Double Bass ARC on Saturday August 4 at 8 p.m. in Bru Cafe, 141 Orange Street in New Haven.  Bassist/composer Pavone (pictured left), a Connecticut native who continues to make important and exciting creative music, has organized this particular ensemble using a combination that one of his early mentors, Bill Dixon, enjoyed.  He pair his bass with that of Carl Testa's, adds the dynamic drumming of Gerald Cleaver plus the trenchant cornet and trumpet of Dave Ballou.  One should expect music that blurs the lines between composition and improvisation as well as putting the focus on the interplay of the musicians.  The Bru Cafe is Orange St and Chapel St next to the Devil's Gear Bike shop - it's a good venue in that the space allows for the audience to get close to the musicians and watch the creative process at work.  For more information, go to uncertaintymusic.com.

'Tis the weekend for the annual Newport Jazz Festival, 3 nights and 2 days of exciting performances in one of the more pleasing outdoor venues in the Northeast, Fort Adams State Park.  The lineup is, as some might intone, "to die for" (see the whole weekend here);  Friday night's show takes place at the International Tennis Hall of Fame at the Newport Casino and is an evening of music from the Crescent City featuring Dr. John & The Lower 911 plus the Preservation Hall Jazz Band.

Among the highlights on Saturday will be performances by The Bad Plus + Bill Frisell, Sound Prints: the Joe Lovano & Dave Douglas Quintet, the Pat Metheny Unity Band,  Darcy James Argue's Secret Society, 3 Clarinets: Ken Peplowski, Evan Christopher & Anat Cohen, and 2 groups featuring drummer Jack DeJohnette (pictured left) in the driver's seat including his quintet of Rudresh Mahanthappa (alto saxophone), George Colligan (piano), Jerome Harris (acoustic bass guitar) and Dave Fiuczynski (electric guitar).

Sunday's highlights (as if Saturday's lineup wasn't impressive enough) include Ryan Truesdell's Gil Evans Centennial Project, the Maria Schneider Orchestra, the 3 Cohens (Anat, Avishai and Yuval - pictured below), The Claudia Quintet +1, Miguel Zenon's Rayuela, Rudresh Mahanthappa's Samdhi, Gretchen Parlato & Lionel Loueke, the Ambrose Akinmusire Quintet, Kurt Elling, Jenny Scheinman & Bill Frisell and more!  Yes, there are 3 stages and yes, there's always scheduling conflicts but what a lineup.

For those of us who cannot attend, NPR will be streaming video live both Saturday and Sunday (and, as they have in the past, archiving the performances for further and future enjoyment.)  Keep your browser set at www.npr.org/blogs/ablogsupreme/ and much will be revealed.

Right now, the good folks at NPR have an audio stream of this year's artists as well as classic performances from previous summers going on a 24/7 stream at www.npr.org/2012/07/30/157358598/newport-jazz-2012-the-preview-mix?ps=mh_frimg1.