New York City Live Music Calendar for August and September 2011

The latest, most updated version of this calendar has moved to New York Music Daily.

As always, weekly events are listed at the bottom of the page, after the last of the daily listings: scroll down and you’ll find them. If you didn’t see anything that struck you as fun this time around, check back later because we update this daily.

A few things you should know about this calendar: acts are listed here in order of appearance, NOT headliner first and supporting acts after; showtimes listed here are actual set times, not the time doors open. If a listing here says something like ”9 PM-ish,” chances are it’ll run late. Cover charges are those listed on bands’ and venues’ sites: always best to click on the band link provided or go to the venues page for confirmation since we get much of this info weeks in advance. This is not a list of every band playing every club in NYC; this is a list of good shows, many of which we will go see ourselves. We focus on edgy, entertaining stuff: if you’re looking for Grizzly Bear or Justin Bieber, you’re in the wrong place.

8/1, 8:30 PM alto sax powerhouse Jon Irabagon and brilliant free jazz drummer Barry Altschul, probably revisiting Irabagon’s recent Pharaoh Sanders homage at Cornelia St. Cafe $10 followed at 10 by his much funnier, satirical band Mostly Other People Do the Killing (separate admission, $10).

8/1 midnight-ish the Kottonmouth Kings – yeah, they’re sort of the reggae version of Cypress Hill, but they’re still fun – at Highline Ballroom, $22 adv tix highly rec.

8/2 the classic concert film Chronicling the Zaire ’74 concert wit hJames Brown, Miriam Makeba, Bill Withers, Celia Cruz, and others from the team behind When We Were Kings at the IFC Center (the former Waverly at 6th Ave/W 3rd St), click for showtimes.

8/2 the CCB Reggae Allstars in the parking lot out behind City Winery, 5:30 PM, free.

8/2 gamelan orchestra Yowana Sari play 7 PM at Gantry Plaza State Park in Long Island City.

8/2, 7:30/9:30 PM veteran bassist Rufus Reid leads a killer quartet including Bobby Watson and JD Allen playing the cd release show for his new one at Dizzy’s Club, $30 seats avail., this will sell out

8/2, 8 PM the Mingus Orchestra plays Washington Square Park, free.

8/2, 9 PM eerie theatrical noir gypsy/Americana band Not Waving But Drowning at Branded Saloon in Ft. Greene

8/2, 10 PM smart guitar-driven Sephardic-tinged rock with Sway Machinery at the 92YTribeca, $10 adv tix rec.

8/2 country siren Michaela Anne and her band at Rodeo Bar, 10ish

8/3 Ethiopian groove unit Budos Band at Tappen Park in Staten Island, Staten Island train to Stapleton.

8/3, 7 PM Luminescent Orchestrii multi-multi-instrumentalist Sxip Shirey and Raya Brass Band at the Cooper Square Hotel Penthouse, $15; 8/10 Raya Brass Band is at Radegast Hall at 9.

8/3, 8 PM quietly torchy, cleverly lyrical, sometimes oldtimey chanteuse Miwa Gemini and band at Bruar Falls, free.

8/3, 8 PM intense, ferocious Americana/paisley underground rockers the Newton Gang at Union Hall, $10.

8/3, 8 PM Balkan trumpeter Ben Holmes leads a quartet at Barbes.

8/3, 8:30 PM subtle, eclectic, sophisticated Americana chanteuse Hope DeBates & North Forty at Hill Country

8/3, 10 PM Cambodian psychedelic pop revivalists Dengue Fever at Southpaw $15 gen adm.; 8/4 they’re at Damrosch Park out back of Lincoln Center for free.

8/4 Chilean cumbia sensation Chico Trujillo at MOMA’s Summergarden, 5:30 PM, free w/$20 museum adm.; they’re at le Poisson Rouge at 11ish the same night for $8 less if you get advance tix.

8/4, 6:30 PM Balkan powerhouse Raya Brass Band on the Broadway plaza at Lincoln Center, free.

8/4-7, 7:30/9:30 PM the Dr.Lonnie Smith Nonet at the Jazz Standard, $30 tix highly rec.

8/4, 7:30 PM Aretha Franklin at Coney Island, free, Surf Ave/W 21st St. next to Cyclones Stadium. Get there early – it will be pandemonium.

8/4, 8 PM one of the year’s best triplebills with charismatic, allusive, frequently haunting multi-keyboardist/chanteuse Rachelle Garniez followed by eclectic, gypsy-tinged, darkly rustic multi-instrumentalist band Kotorino at 10 and then sharply lyrical, playfully clever art-rockers the Snow at 11 at Barbes

8/4, 8 PM charming yet badass Americana harmony sirens the Sweetback Sisters at the big room at the Rockwood.

8/4-6 Nicholas Payton’s XXX Band plays tunes from the trumpeter’s new album Bitches at Iridium, $27.50

8/4, a twangy guitar summit with the eclectic Bill Kirchen and surf rockers Los Straitjackets at Maxwell’s, 9ish, $15.

8/4, 9:30 PM at Smalls check out this awesome lineup: Brian Charette – organ , Joel Frahm – tenor sax , Brian Landrus – clarinet , Mike DiRubbo – alto sax , Itai Kriss – flute , Jochen Rueckert – drums

8/4, 9:30 PM Canadian darkwave siren NLX at Caffe Vivaldi. She’s also at LIC Bar at 9 on 8/29.

8/5, 6:30 PM, free, Chepe & Su Conjunto Tipico play oldschool Dominican merengue followed at 8 by a screening of the minor league baseball documentary film Sugar at the Queens Museum of Art in Corona Park, Flushing, past the old Globosphere, 7 train to Shea Stadium, early arrival advised .

8/5, 7 PM Tom Waits-ish Nashville gothic singer Mark Growden at the small room at the Rockwood.

8/5, 7 PM Curtis MacDonald, alto sax leads a quintet featuring Jeremy Viner, tenor sax; Bobby Avey, piano, Chris Tordini, bass; Adam Jackson, drums at the Rubin Museum of Art, 150 W 17th St, $17 adv tix rec.

8/5, 7:30 PM one of the western world’s premier Middle Eastern ensembles, Bassam Saba and the NY Arabic Orchestra at Damrosch Park out back of Lincoln Center, free.

8/5, 8 PM a roots reggae triplebill with the Rootsetters, Tronika and the Hard Times at Shrine.

8/5, 9 PM a “monster jam” kicking off with Americana songstress the Tara Lynne Band, then the hauntingly intense, smartly lyrical Sometime Boys with special guest singer Heidi Weyhmueller at 10 at the Branded Saloon in Ft. Greene.

8/5, 9 PM Timbre play eclectic atmospheric harp-based chamber pop at Pete’s

8/5, 9:30 PM noir Americana pop band Little Embers followed by exhilarating Radiohead-influenced art-rockers My Pet Dragon playing their cd release show at the Mercury, $10 gen adm.

8/5 kick ass Americana rockers Tom Clark & the High Action Boys at Lakeside, 11 PM.

8/6, 7 PM supersonic yet soulful electric blues guitarist Bobby Radcliff at Terra Blues

8/6, 8 PM Trio con Brio Copenhagen play Sorensen, Beethoven and Schubert at Bargemusic, $35/$30 srs./$15 stud.

8/6, 8 PM Charisa the Violin Diva at Cin-M-Art Space on Murray St.

8/6, 8:30 PM excellent, tuneful, fearlessly funny Philly punk band Emily Pukis & the Vagrants play Union Hall, $12. They cover Zombie by the Cranberries (remember that top 40 song with all the hiccupping?) and renamed it Sodomy.

8/6 jazz trumpeter Leron Thomas – a fearless, charismatic, frequently hilarious performer – plays the cd release show for his characteristically eclectic new cd Dirty Draws Volume Three at the 92YTribeca, 9 PM, $10 adv tix highly rec.

8/6, 9 PM ska-punks King Django followed by the satirical, entertaining Yiddish Princess at Fontana’s

8/6, 9 PM satirical Chinese-American hip-hop crew the Notorious MSG play the cd release show for their new one at the Mercury, $10 gen adm.

8/6 Ellery Eskelin, tenor saxophone;  Gary Versace, organ;  Gerald Cleaver, drums at Cornelia St. Cafe, 9/10:30 PM, $15.

8/6, 10 PM Unsteady Freddie’s reliably awesome monthly surf rock shindig at Otto’s starts with the aptly named, percussive Bongo Surf, the ferociously tuneful North Shore Troubadours and then the eclectically fun Tarantinos NYC a little after midnight.

8/6, 10 PM hilarious hip-hop satirist Schaffer the Darklord at the Gutter bowling alley in Williamsburg

8/6 punk/rockabilly/surf guitar monster Simon & the Bar Sinisters at Lakeside, 10:15ish.

8/6 and 8/12, 11 PM Pogues cover band Streams of Whiskey at Paddy Reilly’s

8/7, 2 (two) PM pianist Daniel Kelly (Bang on a Can All-Stars, Duets with Ghosts) plays the first in a series of special Brooklyn house concerts booked by art-pop goddess Greta Gertler, who knows a thing or two about good piano. Space is limited, email for details/directions.

8/7, 3 PM the Amernet String Quartet play Haydn, Janacek and Schubert’s Death & the Maiden at Bargemusic, $35/$30 srs./$15 stud

8/7, 7 PM haunting hypnotic Sephardic soundscapes and rock songs with Galeet Dardashti and Divahn at Pier One on the upper west.

8/7 innovative Greek-American electric blues guitarist Spiros Soukis at Lucille’s, 8 PM

8/7, 9:30 PM hip-hop/Afrobeat innovator/bandleader Blitz the Ambassador at Damrosch Park out back of Lincoln Center, free.

8/7, 10 PM the Duke of Uke and His Novelty Orchestra do their charmingly tongue-in-cheek oldtimey/swing stuff at Bruar Falls

8/7, 10ish excellent Boston honkytonk rockers Girls Guns & Glory play songs off their highly anticipated forthcoming album Sweet Nothings at Rodeo Bar

8/8, 8:30 PM bassist Chris Tordini’s Tiger Blood with Jeremy Viner , tenor sax, clarinet; Sasha Brown, guitar; Kris Davis, piano; Jim Black, drums at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10.

8/8, 9 PM trombonist Pete McGuinness’ Jazz Orchestra at Tea Lounge in Park Slope.

8/8, 9:30 PM bizarre segues, good doublebill: gypsy punk with Yula Beeri and the Extended Family at the big room at the Rockwood followed at 10:30 by the lush, oldtimey sounds of the Parkington Sisters

8/8, 11 PM haunting intense southwestern gothic band And the Wiremen upstairs at the Delancey, free.

8/8, midnight, hellraising retro 60s country crew the Jack Grace Band at the Ear Inn

8/9 noir retro rock bandleader Nicole Atkins in the parking lot out behind City Winery, 5:30 PM, free.

8/9, 7 PM the reliably charming, oldtimey Moonlighters at Washington Park, 5th Ave & 4th St., Park Slope

8/9, 7 PM vibraphone/harp/percussion new music ensemble Percussia at Gantry Plaza State Park in Long Island City.

8/9,  7 PM accordionist Uri Sharlin leads a Balkan band at Barbes followed by Slavic Soul Party.

8/9, 7:30 PM a free screening of the classic early 70s soul music concert film Wattstax at the Lincoln Center Atrium, early arrival advised

8/9-13, 7:30/9:30 PM guitarist Ed Cherry leads an intriguing trio with killer B3 organist Pat Bianchi at Dizzy’s Club, $30 seats avail.

8/9, 7:30 PM members of the Jupiter Symphony play Schubert, Mozart and Dvorak at the Naumburg Bandshell in Central Park, early arrival advised if you want a seat.

8/9, 8 PM classic-style roots reggae with Taj Weekes and then Black Uhuru’s Mykal Rose at Highline Ballroom, $18 adv tix rec.

8/9, 8 PM Elisa Flynn and Jose Delhart play songs from her auspicious, haunted new historical song cd at the Way Station, 683 Washington Avenue, Broooklyn

8/9, 8 PM purist new jazz with saxophonist Marcus Strickland with drummer Eric Harland at the 92YTribeca, $12 adv tix rec.

8/9 the NYCSlickers play bluegrass at Rodeo Bar, 10ish.

8/10 psychedelic Afrobeat/funk band Mamarazzi on the terrace at the Museum of the City of NY, 6 PM, $15 incl. museum adm. plus a drink!

8/10, 7 PM pianist Moonhee Hwang plays Debussy, Beethoven, Chopin and Schumann at WMP Concert Hall, $10

8/10, 7 PM oldschool latin soul stars Johnny Colon and Joe Bataan at Central Park Summerstage

8/10, 7:30 PM violinist/composer Todd Reynolds, beatboxer Adam Matta and vaudevillian Luminescent Orchestrii bandleader Sxip Shirey with Caleb Burhans, Conrad Harris, Pauline Kim Harris, Yuki Numata, Courtney Orlando, and Ben Russell followed by Laurie Anderson at Damrosch Park out back of Lincoln Center, free.

8/10, 7:30 PM legendary nylon-string jazz guitarist Gene Bertoncini plays solo at Smalls

8/10, 8:30 PM alto saxophonist Sarah Manning – whose 2010 album Dandelion Clock is one of the most transcendent and intense jazz releases of recent years – leads her combo at Caffe Vivaldi, early arrival highly recommended.

8/10 8:30 PM Mamie Minch and Jolie Holland’s cool oldtime Americana project Midnight Hours at Hill Country

8/10-11 darkly amusing Nashville gothic band Maynard & the Musties at Lakeside, 9 PM; 8/24 they’re at Rodeo Bar, 10ish.

8/10 tongue-in-cheek, period-perfect early 50s style country from Susquehanna Industrial Tool & Die Co. at Rodeo Bar, 10ish

8/10, 11 PM eclectic, completely original psychedelic funk/Afrobeat band the Peoples Champs at the big room at the Rockwood.

8/11, 5:30 PM highly regarded Americana songwriter James Maddock on the plaza at the World Financial Center.

8/11, 7 PM two generations, two continents of Ethiopian grooves with Fendika and Debo Band at Damrosch Park out back of Lincoln Center, free.

8/11, 8 PM oudist Rachid Halihal’s absolutely brilliant, hypnotic, hauntingly slinky pan-Arabic ensemble Layali El Andalus at Barbes.

8/11, 8 PM oldschool soul duo Dwight & Nicole at the big room at the Rockwood. He plays purist Steve Cropper-style guitar; she works the ethereal sultry tip for an classic wee-hours vibe.

8/11, 9 PM sly funk siren Shayna Zaid and the Catch at the small room at the Rockwood followed eventually at 11 by Cuddle Magic – who purportedly play lush, intriguing chamber pop despite their twee-sounding name – and then at midnight by the aptly titled Kickin Grass  who play sizzling modern bluegrass at the small room at the Rockwood.

8/11, 9 PM the funniest guy in oldschool funk and soul, Melvin Van Peebles wid Laxative at Zebulon

8/11, 9 PM jazz trombonist Rick Parker leads a quintet at Tea Lounge in Park Slope.

8/11, 9:30ish theatrical, amusing, satirical Americana harmonists the Reformed Whores at Union Hall, $8.

8/11, 10 PM funk extravaganza the MK Groove Orchestra at Spike Hill.

8/11 newschool garage rock with the Detroit Cobras at Maxwell’s, 10 PM.

8/11, 10:30ish Buckcherry at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, $25 gen adm. Would you spend $25 on a band that does a song called Too Drunk to Fuck that’s not by the Dead Kennedys? If so, their so-garish-it’s-funny metal is for you.

8/11 careening southwestern gothic/C&W band the Newton Gang at Rodeo Bar, 11ish.

8/11, 11 PM Habibi play thoughtful, pensive cinematic instrumentals at Bruar Falls, $7

8/12, 6:30 PM, free, Zikrayat play a set of classic Egyptian film music from the 50s and 60s followed by a screening of Ahmed Abdalla’s 2009 film Heliopolis at the Queens Museum of Art in Corona Park, Flushing, past the old Globosphere, 7 train to Shea Stadium, early arrival advised.

8/12, 7ish Tito Puente alums the NJMH Afro-Cuban All Stars play several sets of blazing latin jazz at the Leather Lounge, 454 W 128th St, $20 adv tix avail., call for info 917-559-1779

8/12, 7 PM country chanteuse Drina Seay at Lakeside.

8/12, 7:15 PM SisterMonk play gypsy funk at Caffe Vivaldi.

8/12, 7:30 PM austere but fun chamber pop band Pearl & the Beard at at the Cooper Square Hotel Penthouse, 25 Cooper Square (3rd Avenue between 5th and 6th streets), $15.

8/12, 8 PM lyrical rocker and velvety singer Randi Russo – whose new album Fragile Animal is at the top of our Best of 2011 list – at the newly renovated, reopened Sidewalk

8/12, 8 PM fiery, sardonic Jesus & Mary Chain style garage-punk band Des Roar followed eventually around 10:30 by the Detroit Cobras at the Bell House, $15 gen adm.

8/12, 8 PM jazz bass legend Henry Grimes leads his Now Quartet through the cd release show for his new one featuring Dave Burrell on piano, Tyshawn Sorey on drums and Roberto Pettinato on saxes at Black River Cultural Center, 345 Lenox Ave (127/128), $15

8/12, 9 PM Tris McCall at Littlefield. By day, he chronicles boring corporate pop music for a suburban New Jersey newspaper; at night, he sheds his skin, plugs in his keyboard and becomes one of the most acerbic, tuneful songwriters out there.

8/12, 9 PM Satabdi Express play Indian-inspired guitar jazz followed at 10:30 by Balkan brass behemoth Veveritse Brass Band at the Jalopy.

8/12, 9 PM Korean vocalese chanteuse Seung-Hee with Adam Kolker, tenor sax, bass clarinet; Ike Sturm, bass; George Schuller, drums; Seung-Hee, voice, compositions; Toru Dodo, piano followed at 10:30 PM by jazz chanteuse Nina Moffitt and her quartet, $15 at Cornelia St. Cafe, $15.

8/12, 9 PM sea shanty band the Mercantillers at Brooklyn Rod & Gun Club

8/12, 10 PM the reliably charming, harmony-driven oldtimey Moonlighters play Halyards Bar, 406 3rd Avenue, Sunset Park, Brooklyn, free.

8/12, 10 PM clever, funny hip-hop/Americana band Under the Elephant at the small downstairs studio space at Webster Hall

8/13, 1 and 3 PM pioneering new-music string quartet Ethel play a free show on Governors Island, free ferries leave from the old Staten Island ferry terminal every hour on the half hour

8/13 clawhammer banjo player/songwriter Abigail Washburn at 4 PM at the plaza on the northwest side of Lincoln Center, free. Followed at 5 PM by the Ebony Hillbillies, who charmingly and rustically remind how important black musicians and groups were in the development of oldtime country music.

8/13, 7 PM Brooklyn’s best band, tuneful anti-gentrification punk rockers the Brooklyn What – sort of the teens equivalent of what the Dead Boys were in the 70s – at Europa, dirt cheap, $8.

8/13, 7 PM amazingly period-perfect retro 60s Bakersfield country band the Dixons at the big room at the Rockwood.

8/13 smart, terse, tuneful Americana songwriter Kelley Swindall at the soon-to-be-closed Banjo Jim’s, 7 PM.

8/13, 7 PM cleverly choreographed, irresistible retro rock parody band Witches in Bikinis back at Coney Island after some trials, playing in front of the Wonder Wheel on the boardwalk.

8/13, 7 PM 1950s rockabilly legend Sonny Burgess followed by Marty Stuart at Damrosch Park out back of Lincoln Center, free.

8/13, 9 PM a monster triplebill at Freddy’s: Americana chanteuse Rebecca Turner, Brooklyn’s own man in black, John Pinamonti and charismatic noir rocker Tom Warnick & World’s Fair at Freddy’s.

8/13, 9 PM high-energy indie guitar/drums duo Eleanor, the fiery shoegaze/noiserock Highway Gimps and Let Me Crazy at Tommy’s Tavern in Greenpoint

8/13, 9 PM soundtrack mini-orchestra Morricone Youth at the big room at the Rockwood.

8/13, 9 PM Songs of the Weimar Era by somebody who knows them – Sanda Weigl on vocals, with her longtime collaborator Anthony Coleman on piano at Cornelia St. Cafe, $15.

8/13, 9 PM Bliss Blood and Al Street’s torchy, luridly menacing duo project Evanescent at the Way Station, 683 Washington Avenue at Prospect Place, Ft. Greene; 8/14 they’re at Red Hook Bait & Tackle, 320 Van Brunt St at Clinton Wharf in Red Hook.

8/13 lyrically dazzling, charmingly intense acoustic songwriter Linda Draper at Brooklyn Rod & Gun Club, Kent Ave. betw. N 10/11, Williamsburg, 9 PM

8/13, 9:10 (that’s right: ten past nine PM) casually smart lo-fi garage rock girl duo the Fools followed eventually at 10:30 PM by haunting yet jaunty songwriter Erin Regan along with some longtime Sidewalk hanger-on types on a daylong bill at Goodbye Blue Monday.

8/13, 9:30 PM trombonist Samuel Blaser – whose 2010 album Pieces of Old Sky is one of the most quietly riveting of recent years – leads a trio with Michael Bates on bass and Jeff Davis on drums at I-Beam.

8/13, 10 PM Vic Ruggiero of the Slackers returns to his roots doing his excellent lyrical soul/blues thing at Two Boots Brooklyn.

8/13, 10 PM New Orleans brass band Shake the Devil Off play Halyards Bar, 406 3rd Avenue, Sunset Park, Brooklyn, free

8/14, 4:45 PM Michael Bower plays an organ recital at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

8/14, 6 (six) PM pianist Jeremy Mage (Elysian Fields, Wunmi) plays a special Brooklyn house concert booked by art-pop goddess Greta Gertler, who knows a thing or two about good piano. Space is limited, email for details/directions.

8/14, 7 PM the Bar-Kays plus Steve Cropper with Bettye LaVette, Ellis Hooks and Dylan Leblanc at Damrosch Park out back of Lincoln Center, free.

8/14, 7 PM Cuban son montuno powerhouse Los Soneros de Oriente at Pier One on the upper west.

8/14, 8 PM tango/jazz bassist Pedro Giraudo leads his sextet at Barbes followed by gypsy jazz guitarist Stephane Wrembel.

8/14, 9 PM roots reggae/rocksteady legend Delroy Williams with his band at Shrine

8/15 Queen Latifah at Wingate Field in Crown Heights, early arrival 6:30 PM highly advised.

8/15, 8 PM torchy jazz-pop songwriter Abby Payne at the small room at the Rockwood

8/15 and 8/17,8:30 PM Sameer Gupta’s Namaskar trio play hypnotic Indian jazz at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10.

8/15, 9 PM trombonist Mike Fahie leads his Jazz Orchestra at Tea Lounge in Park Slope.

8/15, 10 PM a killer dark, thoughtful rock night upstairs at the Delancey: intensely lyrical, charismatic, sometimes hilarious keyboardist/retro songwriter Rachelle Garniez followed by the unhinged grand guignol ferocity of Vera Beren’s Gothic Chamber Blues Ensemble and then pensive, glimmering, psychedelic soundscape mastermind Thomas Simon. It’s like it’s Small Beast and it’s 2009 again.

8/16, 6 PM the Tickled Pinks play charming three-part harmony oldtimey swing and other styles on the terrace at the Museum of the City of NY, 6 PM, $15 incl. museum adm. plus a drink

8/16, 7ish Bachata Heightz at Highbridge Park in Harlem, 171st and Amsterdam, A/C to 168th St.

8/16, 9 PM imaginative tuneful intense bass/piano jazz with Satoshi Takeishi and Shoko Nagai at Korzo.

8/16-21 eclectic jazz violinist Jenny Scheinman’s Mischief & Mayhem with Nels Cline on guitar, Todd Sickafoose on bass and Jim Black on drums at the Vanguard, sets 9/11 PM.

8/16, 10:30 PM diverse, anthemic Americana rockers the Minerva Lions at the big room at the Rockwood

8/16, 11 PM Afuche play Afrobeat at Bruar Falls, $6

8/17, 7 PM legendary 70s psychedelic art-rock band Nektar – who were sort of a cross between Pink Floyd and the Grateful Dead – with original members Roye Albrighton and Ron Howden at B.B. King’s, $25.

8/17, 8/10 PM pianist Vijay Iyer leads a trio at the Stone, $10, get there early, this will sell out.

8/17 Austin’s irresistible oldschool soul groove machine Mingo Fishtrap at the Bell House, 8:30 PM, grab a free mp3 at their site.

8/17, 8:30 PM innovative Indian classical chamber ensemble Karivaka (FKA Tiger Lilies) with violinist Trina Basu and cellist Amali Premawardhana at Cornelia St. Cafe, $15.

8/17, 9 PM the members of slinky sly funksters Chin Chin do their side projects all on one stage: keyboardist Wilder Zoby’s own band, drummer Torbitt Schwarz’s Lil Shalimar, and trombonist Dave Smith’s sexy Smoota at the 92YTribeca, $10 gen adm.

8/17, 9 PM Khaled – not the Algerian rai star but the edgy NYC worldbeat multi-instrumentalist – at Shrine

8/18, 8 PM one of the year’s best triplebills with Bakersfield-style country twanglers Alana Amram & the Rough Gems, the Texas honkytonk and zydeco of the Doc Marshalls and haunting intense original acoustic Nashville gothic/bluegrass of Frankenpine at Union Hall, $7.

8/18, 8 PM deviously fun, virtuoso art-rock piano chanteuse Greta Gertler solo at Waltz-Astoria, 24th and Ditmars Blvd., Astoria, N to Ditmars Blvd. and a six block walk.

8/18, 8:30/10:30 PM cutting-edge, soulful jazz guitarist Mike Baggetta with Camron Brown on bass and Jeff Hirschfield on drums at the Bar Next Door.

8/18, 9 PM the jangly, Big Star-ish Nu-Sonics followed by the legendary, unstoppable psychedelic Band of Outsiders at Trash Bar, $7.

8/18, 10 PM fiery female-fronted punk/pop trio Hunter Valentine at the Knitting Factory, $8 adv tix rec.; they’re at Maxwell’s on 8/19 at 8 for $10

8/19, 7 PM torchy oldtime Americana quartet the Dirty Urchins at the small room at the Rockwood.

8/19 literate, funny songwriter Jonathan Coulton – who doesn’t get enough props for his more serious songs – plays the Rocks Off Concert Cruise aboard the Jewel, boarding at 7 PM at the heliport at the FDR and the East River, departing at 8, adv tix $30 avail. at the Highline Ballroom box ofc.

8/19, 7:30 PM indie powerpop sensation New Atlantic Youth at Spike Hill, note that there’s a $7 cover

8/19, 7:30/9:30 PM Jon Irabagon, alto saxophone; Yasushi Nakamura,bass; Rudy Royston, drums at the Bar Next Door.

8/19, 8 PM plaintive, haunting yet soaring Americana chanteuse Jan Bell at Pete’s

8/19, 8 PM Bliss Blood and Al Street’s luridly menacing duo project Evanescent at Barbes.

8/19, 8 PM Mamie Minch and Jolie Holland’s exciting new oldtime project Midnight Hours followed at 10:30 by the Two Man Gentlemen Band at the Jalopy.

8/19, 8 PM pianist Julien Quentin plays improvisations, Beethoven’s Pathetique Sonata, Liszt’s Mephisto Waltz and works by Part and Auerbach at Bargemusic, $35/$30 srs./$15 stud

8/19, 9 PM wild crazy female-fronted gypsy band Fishtank Ensemble at Union Hall, $10.

8/19 torchy intense theatrical oldtimey chanteuse April Smith & the Great Picture Show at Bowery Ballroom, 9 PM, $15 gen adm.

8/19, 9 PM Tali Ratzon and band play her Middle Eastern and reggae-tinged worldbeat songs at Tea Lounge in Park Slope.

8/19, 9 PM oldschool country harmonies with the Calamity Janes at Brooklyn Rod & Gun Club.

8/19 tuneful, atmospheric Britpop/shoegaze band Caveman plays the cd release show for their new one at the Cameo Gallery, time TBA

8/19, 9:30 PM a rare free show by oldtime Americana siren Jolie Holland – whose new album rocks surprisingly hard – at Hill Country – can she get the tourists there to shut up for once?

8/19 cleverly amusing New Orleans pianist Bill Malchow and the Go Cup All Stars at Rodeo Bar, 10ish

8/19, midnight, African roots reggae legend Tiken Jah Fakoly at SOB’s $25 adv tix highly rec., this will probably sell out. He’s also headlining Central Park Summerstage on 8/20 around 5:30, early arrival around 3 PM a must.

8/20 African reggae with Meta & the Cornerstones and Ivoirien star/freedom fighter Tiken Jah Fakoly at Central Park Summerstage, 3 PM early arrival a must.

8/20, 6 (six) PM bassist Mimi Jones leads a quartet with Camille Thurman, sax; Luis Perdomo, keys;  Justin Faulkner, drums  at Cornelia St. Cafe, $15

8/20 ageless ska/rock/soul party machine the Slackers play a Rocks Off Concert Cruise aboard the Star of Palm Beach, boarding at 7, leaving at 8 from Pier 40, Houston St. and the westside highway, $30 adv tix avail. at the Highline Ballroom box ofc.

8/20, 7 PM Trini jazz trumpeter Etienne Charles leads his group at Jackie Robinson Park, W 148th and Bradhurst Ave., free

8/20, 8 PM an intense gypsy/stringband doublebill with Fishtank Ensemble and Copal at Drom, $14 adv tix highly rec. Dunno who’s playing first, but it doesn’t matter, they’re equally good.

8/20, 8 PM Brother Num and his band play roots reggae at Shrine followed eventually at 11 by Ivoirian star Sekouba and his reggae massive

8/20, 8 PM a killer oldtimey/Americana acoustic night at the Bell House with the Resurrectionists, Woodpecker and satirical faux-country girls Menage a Twang.

8/20 Plastic Beast feat. members of Admiral Porkbrain, Magpie and Plastic Beef play worldbeat jamband music with special guest singers Kirsten Williams, Liza Garelik of the Larch and others at Freddy’s, 8 PM

8/20, 8 PM Liberty Ellman (guitar) Vijay Iyer (piano) Matt Maneri (violin) Stephan Crump (bass) Damion Reid (drums) at the Stone, $10; followed at 10 by trumpeter Jonathan Finlayson with David Virelles (piano) Joe Sanders (bass).

8/20, 8 PM pensive female-fronted Americana band Little Embers at Spike Hill.

8/20, 9 PM Staten Island’s one and only jug band, the Wahoo Skiffle Crazies play Tea Lounge in Park Slope.

8/20, 10 PM dark tuneful intense drummer-fronted rock en Espanol band New Madrid at Fontana’s

8/21, two ambitious solo piano house concerts booked by another excellent keyboardist, Greta Gertler. At 2 PM Deidre Rodman and then at 6 Jordan Shapiro (Project/Object, Astrograss). Space is limited, email for details/directions.

8/21 oldschool hip-hop stars EPMD at Central Park Summerstage, 3 PM early arrival highly advised.

8/21 country chanteuse Karen Hudson and band at Rodeo Bar, 10ish

8/22 really oldschool soca with Mighty Sparrow and oldschool 80s dancehall reggae with Shaggy at Wingate Field in Crown Heights, early arrival 6:30 PM highly advised

8/22, 7:30 PM symphony orchestra the Knights play Schubert and Liszt at the Naumburg Bandshell in Central Park, early arrival advised if you want a seat.

8/22, 8ish funny ukelele tunes with Julia Nunes at the small downstairs studio space at Webster Hall, $TBA.

8/22, 9 PM Travis Sullivan’s Bjorkestra – who do pretty amazing big band covers of Bjork songs – at Tea Lounge in Park Slope

8/22 creepy indie band Deerhunter at Webster Hall, 10ish. If you’re going to miss the Eels, these guys are very similar.

8/22 bluegrass fiddler Vincent Cross and Good Companyat Rodeo Bar, 10ish. They’re also at the small room at the Rockwood on 8/23 at six PM.

8/23, 7 PM Yeti Camp featuring the compositions and violin playing of Dana Lyn plus Mike McGinnis (clarinet), Clara Kennedy (cello), Dan Lippel (guitar) and Vinnie Sperrazza (drums) followed at 9 by Slavic Soul Party at Barbes

8/23, 7ish salsa legend Tito Rojas at East River Park, Grand St. and the river, F to East Broadway or J/M to Delancey.

8/23-28 the JD Allen Trio at the Vanguard, 7:30/9:30 PM. This is a good year for good artists and composers winning awards: tenor sax powerhouse Allen has been long, long overdue for his Downbeat #1 Rising Star award this year. His trio with Gregg August on bass and Rudy Royston on drums hit a lot of transcendent notes back in May at le Poisson Rouge.

8/23-24, 7:30/9:30 PM sensational Colombian jazz harp virtuoso Edmar Castaneda leads his trio with Andrea Tierra on vocals at the Jazz Standard, $20 – they absolutely slayed at Madison Square Park earlier this year.

8/23, 8 PM cleverly lyrical, tuneful Americana rocker Marcellus Hall & the Hostages at Union Hall, $8 adv tix rec

8/24, 7ish early hip-hop stars the Cold Crush Brothers at East River Park, Grand St. and the river, F to East Broadway or J/M to Delancey.

8/25, 5:30 PM NYC’s own hypnotic Balinese gamelan orchestra, Gamelan Dharma Swara at MOMA’s Summergarden, 5:30 PM, free w/$20 museum adm.

8/25 terse, soulful expat Chicago blues guitarist Irving Louis Lattin at Terra Blues, 7 PM; he’s at Lucille’s at 8 the following night.

8/25 Raya Brass Band at sundown at Tompkins Square Park followed by a screening of the film The Godfather.

8/25, 8 PM clever chamber-pop bandleader/cellist Serena Jost at Barbes followed at 10 by funk Afrobeat-flavored band the People’s Champs, who absolutely kicked ass at the Mafrika Festival last month.

8/25, 8:30 PM theatrical noirish songwriter Anais Mitchell at  Cornelia St. Cafe, $15.

8/25, 9:30 PM electric blues guitar sensation Ana Popovic – who definitely can get the tourists here to shut up because she’ll blast them out – at Hill Country, $17 adv tix rec.

8/25, 9:30 PM Moshav play Israeli roots reggae at the Canal Room, $12 adv tix. avail.

8/26, 6:30 PM, free, Los Crema Paraiso play their original update on Venezuelan vallenato followed by Big Mandrake’s hard-hitting ska-en-Espanol at at the Queens Museum of Art in Corona Park, Flushing, past the old Globosphere, 7 train to Shea Stadium, early arrival advised

8/26 smart, lyrical Irish-American rock legends Black 47 play a Rocks Off Concert Cruise aboard the Half Moon, boarding at 7, leaving at 8 from the heliport at 23rd St.and the FDR, $25 adv tix avail. at the Highline Ballroom box ofc.

8/26, 7 PM cellist Marika Hughes at the small room at the Rockwood.

8/26, 8 PM extraordinary Middle Eastern jazz with Amir ElSaffar (trumpet, maqam vocals, santour) Ole Mathisen (tenor and soprano saxophone) Zafer Tawil (oud) Nasheet Waits (drums) at the Stone, $10. ElSaffar is also there on 8/28 at 10 with his Within/Between group: Jen Shyu (voice) Liberty Ellman (guitar) Tomas Fujiwara (drums)

8/26, 9 PM garage punk guitar genius Deniz Tek of Radio Birdman in a rare trio show with Art and Steve Godoy, at the Bell House, $10 adv tix rec., this will sell out. He’s at Maxwell’s the next night and that will sell out as well. 

8/26 torchy captivating original Americana siren Julia Haltigan at the small room at the Rockwood, 9 PM

8/26, 10 PM deviously fun, virtuoso art-rock piano chanteuse Greta Gertler followed at 11 by lush “historical orchestrette” Pinataland playing the cd release show for their long-anticipated new one Hymns for the Dreadful Night at Barbes.

8/26 dark intense minimalist occasionally Middle Eastern-inflected indie rockers the Mast at Pete’s, 10 PM

8/26 western swing with baritone crooner Sean Kershaw & the New Jack Ramblers at Rodeo Bar, 10ish.

8/26 ecstatically funky punk/free jazz brass band Moon Hooch play the Knitting Factory, midnight – one of the most original bands in town, a lot of fun.

8/27 because NYC public transit will shut down at noon, ostensibly because of the “hurricane,” it’s safe to say that everything happening this weekend is cancelled. What a scam.

8/29, 8:30 PM pianist Melody Fader (that’s her real name) plus Emily Popham Gillins, violin and Hamilton Berry, cello play Brahms, Chopin and Berio at Cornelia St. Cafe, $20 incl. a drink.

8/29, 9 PM the Carlberg/Urie City Band play tunes from Nicholas Urie’s excellent new album of big band jazz interpretations of classic Bukowski poems at Tea Lounge in Park Slope

8/29, 10 PM oldtimey chanteuse/uke player Daria Grace and the Pre-War Ponies at Rodeo Bar.

8/30, 7:30/9:30 PM the Ron Carter Big Band playing original compositions from the iconic bassist’s new Great Big Band album at the Jazz Standard, $30 tix avail., reserve now, this will sell out every night.

8/30-31 fascinating tuneful piano-based free jazz with Pilc/Moutin/Hoenig at the Blue Note, 8/10:30 PM, $10 seats avail.

8/30 a reggae vocal doublebill: Bankie Banx followed by popular 90s reggae crooner Barrington Levy at B.B. King’s, 8 PM, $25 adv tix rec.

8/30, 11 PM sultry chanteuse Marilyn Carino – Paula’s big sister – does her Little Genius project at the small room at the Rockwood

8/31 cutting edge melodic jazz with the John Farnsworth Quintet at Bryant Park, 6 PM, free.

8/31-9/1, 7:30/10 PM Mikarimba feat. Mika Yoshida, marimba; Steve Gadd, drums; Eddie Gomez, bass; Stefan Karlsson, keys play imaginative marimba jazz at Drom, $30 adv tix rec

8/31, 8 PM graceful but often chilling and intense jazz vocalist/composer Jen Shyu solo at the Stone followed by jazz drum genius Tyshawn Sorey at 10, even if he’s playing solo too he’s worth hearing.

8/31, 8:30 PM jazz chanteuse Natalie John followed by Chilean-American tenor saxophonist Melissa Aldana leading a quartet at Caffe Vivaldi.

9/1-3, 8 PM and 9/4, 3 PM a sort of chamber music Bang on a Can style marathon at Bargemusic with Phyllis Chen and her toy piano, the intense Balkan flavored Grneta Duo+, American Modern Ensemble, cello rockers Deoro and others playing music by Chen, Bob Marley, Messiaen, a Robert Paterson world premiere and more, $25/$20 srs./$15 stud.

9/1, 8 PM charismatic, intensely funny, eclectic accordionist/chanteuse and Jack White collaborator Rachelle Garniez at Barbes followed at 10 by jazz from Litvakus & the Svetlana Shmulyian Band, straight from Lithuania.

9/1-4 McCoy Tyner leads a trio at the Blue Note, sets 8/10:30 PM, $20 standing room avail.

9/1, 8:30 PM ubiquitously good jazz bassist John Hebert leads a quartet with eclectic pan-Asian chanteuse Jen Shyu;  Andy Milne, piano;  Billy Drummond, drums at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10.

9/1, 8:30 PM jangly, tuneful, socially aware Americana rocker Amy Speace at St. John’s Lutheran Church, 81 Christopher St, $15

9/1, 9 PM Hazmat Modine’s oldtime blues guitar powerhouse Michael Gomez leads his band at Brooklyn Rod & Gun Club.

9/1 the Alien Surfer Babes – three silver-suited women backed by ferocious surf band the Octomen – at Williamsburg gay bar Sugarland on N 9th St. (Driggs/Roebling), 10 PM

9/2 a Microscopic smaller-than-septet evening at Barbes starting at 7 with the Spokes (Andy Biskin – clarinet, Curtis Hasselbring – trombone, Phillip Johnston – soprano sax) and at 8:30 the Joel Forrester/Phillip Johnston duo celebrating their new live duo album at Barbes, $10 cover.

9/2, 7:30 PM “fabulous and flamboyant pianist Kathleen Supové, and renegade guitar maestro James Moore” at First Presbyterian Church (Brooklyn Heights) 124 Henry St., 2/3 to Clark St., F/R to Jay St. or 4 to Borough Hall, $10.

9/2 pyrotechnic Australian jazz guitarist JC Stylles plays the cd release show for his new one Exhilaration & Other States with an organ trio at Smalls, 7:30/10 PM.

9/2 and 9/20, 8 PM terse thoughtful Chicago blues guitarist Irving Louis Lattin at Terra Blues. He’s also at Lucille’s on 9/9 and 9/23 at 8 PM

9/2 a killer female-fronted gypsy-flavored rock doublebill with Hudost and Raquy & the Cavemen at Bowery Electric, 9ish.

9/2, 9 PM Gunsling Birds play brooding, cinematic instrumentals at Pete’s followed at 10 by the austere chamber sounds of Horse’s Mouth

9/2, 9 PM eclectic, artsy, hauntingly lyrical acoustic Americana band the Sometime Boys at Branded Saloon followed by a country/bluegrass jam.

9/2, 10ish “Brooklyn’s #1 regressive rock act,” stoner metal parody band Mighty High at Lit, $6.

9/2 darkly funny yet poignant Nashville gothic band Maynard & the Musties at Lakeside, 11 PM.

9/2, 11 PM Finotee play roots reggae and rocksteady at Shrine

9/3, 3 PM long-running Nashville gothic legends Ninth House play what might be their farewell show on the boardwalk at Coney Island near Cha Cha’s and the WonderWheel – follow the sound!

9/3, free slinky downtempo/shoegaze band El Jezel at Cake Shop, 8 PM

9/3, 8 PM Unlimited Force Band play roots reggae and rocksteady at Shrine.

9/3, 8:30 PM lyrical jazz pianist Eri Yamamoto leads a trio at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10.

9/3, 9 PM Unsteady Freddie’s monthly surf rock extravaganza this month at Otto’s is a characteristically good one with the Rebel Surfers at 9, Strange But Surf at 10, Thee Icepicks at 11 and the Isotopes sometime around midnight.

9/3, 9 PM Bad Buka’s “gypsy punk meltdown” at Mehanata. They’re also at Spike Hill at 9 on 9/15.

9/3, 10 PM popular, eclectic retro C&W hellraisers M Shanghai String Band at the Jalopy, $10.

9/3, 11 PM darkly rustic, eclectic, Eastern European flavored chamber-rock band Kotorino at Pete’s.

9/3, 11 PM the K-Holes play ferocious guitar-fueled dreampop/noiserock followed by the campy, comedic Hunx & His Punx at the Mercury, $10

9/4, 1 and 3 PM pianists Blair McMillen and Pam Goldberg play Bach, John Adams and others with a string ensemble on Governors Island, free ferries leave from the old Staten Island ferry terminal every hour on the half hour.

9/4-5 Manu Chao at Terminal 5 is sold out.

9/4, 9ish Senegalese-flavored roots reggae band Meta & the Cornerstones – who absolutely slayed opening for Tiken Jah Fakoly last month in Central Park – at Sullivan Hall, $10.

9/4, 9 PM surf rockers Thee Icepicks return to Otto’s followed by Venice Beach Muscle Club playing surf music jams.

9/4, 10ish charismaric African roots reggae bandleader Sekouba at Zebulon.

9/5, 6 PM the irrepressible oldtime jazz trombonist/ukulelist J. Walter Hawkes at LIC Bar

9/5-6, 8/10 PM oldschool style Cuban jazz pianist Elio Villafranca & the Jass Syncopators plus dancers at Dizzy’s Club, $30 seating avail.

9/5, 9 PM the Asuka Kakitani Jazz Orchestra at Tea Lounge in Park Slope

9/6 the Microscopic Septet play their devious originals as well as Monk tunes from their excellent new all-Monk cd Friday the 13th at the Gershwin Hotel, 3 sets starting at 7, $20 gen adm.

9/6, 8 PM the queen of Coney Island phantasmagoria, Carol Lipnik and Spookarama at the small room at the Rockwood.

9/6, 8 PM blues guitar powerhouse Bobby Radcliff at Terra Blues

9/6-10 jazz sax legend Dave Liebman celebrates his 65th birthday at Birdland, sets 8:30/11 PM; 9/6-7 with a smaller combo and 9/8-10 his big band, $30 seats avail.

9/7, 8:30 PM catchy, lyrical, edgy, socially conscious folk-pop duo Left on Red at Southpaw, $10

9/7 dark lyrical, sometimes minimalist third-stream jazz pianist/composer Michel Reis at Caffe Vivaldi, 8:30 PM.

9/7, 8:30 PM Francophile jazz bassist Dan Loomis leads a quartet with Shane Endsley, trumpet; Robin Verheyen , tenor saxophone; Jared Schonig, drums at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10.

9/7, 9 PM fiery Balkan jams with Raya Brass Band at Radegast Hall; they’re also here on 9/24 from 4 to 7.

9/7, 9 PM psychedelic soul songwriter Nick Howard at the Canal Room, $12

9/7, 10 PM avant garde violinist/vocalist C. Spencer Yeh at the Manhattan Inn piano bar, 632 Manhattan Ave. at Nassau Ave., Greenpoint.

9/7, 11 PM edgy, fearless soul/folk songwriter Jo Williamson at the small room at the Rockwood

9/8 Earth Wind & Fire at South St. Seaport, 6 PMish, free.

9/8, 6:30 PM a screening of Konrad Aderer’s new documentary Enemy Alien about “the fight to free Farouk Abdel-Muhti, a gentle but indomitable Palestinian-born human rights activist detained in a post-9/11 sweep of Muslim immigrants” which goes completely meta when the filmmaker himself becomes a target of the gestapo, because of this film. At Alwan for the Arts, 16 Beaver St. in the financial district, sugg. don. but “no one turned away.”

9/8, 7:30 PM Will Frampton plays György Kurtág and György Ligeti works for solo viola at the Tank, $10

9/8, 8 PM the Chiara String Quartet plays Robert Sirota’s riveting, intense 9/11 Triptych plus Richard Danielpour’s String Quartet No. 6 (Addio), free, at Trinity Church, 8 PM, early arrival advised.

9/8, 8 PM theatrical, historically aware oldtimey songwriter Poor Baby Bree at Bowery Poetry Club

9/8, 8:30ish stampeding outlaw country/paisle.y underground rockers the Newton Gang followed by jangly country siren Alana Amram & the Rough Gems’ cd release show at Southpaw, $8.

9/8, 9 PM dark, fiery bluegrass innovators Frankenpine – whose debut album is one of the year’s best – at Lakeside.

9/8-9, 9 PM ex-Sex Pistol Glen Matlock does his powerpop thing opening for literate glamrock legend Ian Hunter at City Winery, $35 tix avail. Hunter is also playing there at 10 on 9/15-16.

9/8, 10ish bluegrass harmony band the NYCity Slickers play the cd release show for their new one at Rodeo Bar, 10ish.

9/8, 10:30 PM searing, improvisational Balkan crew Veveritse Brass Band plus special guest Balkan vocal quartet Black Sea Hotel at the Jalopy, $5.

9/8, 11 PM gypsy punk/psychedelic rockers Yula Beeri & the Extended Family at the big room at the Rockwood

9/9-29 it’s the 2011 NY Gypsy Festival at Drom. The best deal is the ridiculously cheap $45 festival pass which gives you admission to 8 concerts. Individual tix are also available and highly recommended because these concerts routinely sell out.

9/9, 5:30 PM “”Crimes and Passion: Love and the Criminal Underworld in Spanish 17th Century Song” performed by New York Continuo Collective – a semi-staged performance of Spanish baroque music, interweaving popular tunes with courtly songs and featuring reconstructions of jácaras and folias” at Carriage House Center for the Arts, 149 E 38th St., rsvp req.  – please put “September concert” in the title of your email.

9/9, 7 PM Kent Tritle leads the choir of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine singing a cappella and accompanied works by Bach, Mendelssohn and Tallis, as well as The Best Beloved by Chris DeBlasio, at the Greene Space, $20 incl. a glass of wine!

9/9 avant garde pioneers Pauline Oliveros, Joan La Barbara, and Rhys Chatham, who got their start in the 70s at the Kitchen, celebrate the venue’s 40th anniversary there, 8 PM, $10. The 9/10, 8 PM program is Tony Conrad, Laurie Spiegel, and Rhys Chatham.

9/9, 8 PM eclectic chamber ensemble Either/Or play new works by Richard Carrick, Hans Thomalla and Keeril Makan at Issue Project Room, $10

9/9, 8 PM UK gypsy punk chanteuse Gabby Young & Other Animals play the cd release show for their new one at Drom, $10 adv tix or $45 festival pass highly rec.

9/9, 8 PM anthemic, hard-rocking, intensely lyrical rockers Wormburner at the Mercury $10 gen adm.

9/9, 8ish the Brooklyn What at Bowery Electric followed by the Happy Problem at 9ish

9/9 the Calamity Janes at Brooklyn Rod & Gun Club 8ish

9/9, 8 PM Afrobeat jams with Afuche at Rock Shop in Gowanus, $10

9/9, 8 PM baroque chamber ensemble Repast play Buxtehude, Bach, Schmelzer and Erlebach at Bargemusic, $35/$30 srs/$15 stud.

9/9, 9ish haunting atmospheric goth/Americana siren Marissa Nadler plays stuff from her excellent new album at Bowery Ballroom

9/9, 9/10:30 PM pianist Kris Davis leads a group including Tony Malaby, tenor saxophone; Paul Motian, drums at Cornelia St. Cafe, $15.

9/9, 9 PM Lichtman’s Brain Cloud play western swing followed at 10:30 by Brian Carpenter’s Ghost Train Orchestra – whose latest album of rare 1920s New York and Chicago jazz is kick-ass – at the Jalopy, $10.

9/9, 9ish, Legendary Shack Shakers side project the Dirt Daubers – who do a kick-ass acoustic hillbilly/gospel/bluegrass thing – at Union Hall, $10.

9/9, 9 PM artsy female-fronted acoustic Americana band Armistead at Tea Lounge in Park Slope

9/9, 10 PM psychedelic funk and Afrobeat with the Peoples Champs at Barbes

9/9 Chinese-American hip-hop sensations the Notorious MSG at Southpaw, 10 PM, $10.

9/9, 10:30 PM blazing Indian brass band Red Baraat at the Mercury, $15 adv tix avail.

9/9, 11 PM bluesy oldschool soul frontwoman Bethany St. Smith & the Gun Show at Lakeside.

9/9 the NY Ska Jazz Ensemble play the cd release show for their new one at Drom, 11:30 PM, $10 adv tix rec.

9/9 torchy jazz/pop songwriter Abby Payne plays the video release show for her new one at Brooklyn Fire Proof, time TBA.

9/10, 4 PM the Classical Fusion Chamber Ensemble and choir play a 9/11 memorial concert at Broadway Presbyterian Church, 114th/Bwy., free

9/10, a genuinely classy move by the NY Phil: for their 7:30 PM performance of Mahler’s Symphony #2, the NY Philharmonic is offering priority ticket access to the families of 9/11 victims, first responders and survivors. Those individuals may request a pair of free tickets in advance by e-mailing concertfornewyork@nyphil.org by September 1, so hurry if you qualify and you like Mahler. If there are any remaining tickets, they’ll be distributed for free, first-come, first-serve, one pair per person at 4 PM on the plaza at Lincoln Center the day of the show. Limited seating on the plaza is also available for those who prefer to watch a live projection outdoors. The concert will be telecast in the U.S. on PBS’s Great Performances at 9 PM on 9/11 and webcast at nyphil.org at 9 PM EDT on 9/11 as well.

9/10, 7 PM old reliable free jazz luminaries Matana Roberts’ COIN COIN and Dave Burrell, Michael Formanek & Steve Swell at le Poisson Rouge, $20.

9/10, 8 PM the inaugural concert by NYC’s newest orchestra, the West Side Chamber Orchestra, led by oboeist Kathy Halvorson, features an intriguing Germanic pre-Romantic bill with Beethoven’s 1st Symphony, Mozart’s Piano Concerto #20 K.466 with pianist Francine Kay as soloist, and a Symphony, Op.3 No. 1, of the “little-known but refreshing Franz Beck, a contemporary of Mozart” at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 346 W 20th St. (8/9), $20/$15 stud/srs.

9/10, 8 PM ridiculously eclectic Montreal klezmer accordionist/multi-instrumentalist Socalled at Drom, $10 adv tix rec

9/10, 8:30 PM fiery improvisational oldtime Americana guitarist/songwriter Will Scott at 68 Jay St. Bar; he’s also there on 9/24 at 8.

9/10, 9ish clever, entertaining funk-rockers Shayna Zaid & The Catch at Tammany Hall (the former Annex space), $10

9/10, 9:30 PM hypnotic, danceable Afrobeat with Washington, DC’s Funk Ark and then Zongo Junction at Southpaw, $10.

9/10, 10 PM well-liked, reliably tuneful, fun, female-fronted janglerock/powerpop veterans Palomar at Spike Hill, $7.

9/10, 10 PM Brooklyn Qawwali Party – a 14-piece brass-driven band who get into funk and dub as much as they do qawwali – at Barbes

9/10, 9 PM fearless, cynical punk/garage rockers Des Roar open for the luridly menacing Kid Congo Powers & the Pink Monkey Birds at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, $15.

9/10, 9 PM charismatic New Orleans funk/soul big band Brother Joscephus & the Love Revival Revolution Orchestra at Hiro Ballroom, $20 adv tix avail. at the Highline Ballroom box ofc.

9/10, 10 PM Thunda Vida play dub reggae at Shrine.

9/10, 10 PM the crazy guy who invented dub, Lee Scratch Perry at B.B. King’s, $22 adv tix highly rec.

9/10 LES surf/punk/soul guitar legend Simon & the Bar Sinisters at Lakeside 10:15ish. They’re also at Rodeo Bar on 9/29 at 10ish.

9/10, 10:30 PM high-energy, smart oldtimey country band the Calamity Janes at the Jalopy, $10

9/10, midnight the Hsu-Nami at Arlene’s. Perfect choice of midnight Saturday night band – sizzling Taiwanese-flavored art-metal instrumentals with rustic, eerie erhu fiddle as the lead instrument.

9/10, midnight Alana Amram & the Rough Gems at the Parkside. They play Hank Williams covers at Otto’s on 9/14, 11PM. The 15th they’re doing their own stuff opening for Jimmie Dale Gilmore at Maxwell’s for $20.

9/11, 11 AM (that’s an hour before noon) pianist Eric Blanchard plays a 9/11 memorial concert at the French Consulate, 934 5th Ave.

9/11, 3 PM pianist Gila Ducat-Lipton plays a 9/11 memorial concert of American composers at the Church of the Ascension, 221 West 107th (Columbus/Amsterdam), free

9/11, 3:30 PM Wordless Music Orchestra conducted by Ryan McAdams play a memorial concert including William Basinski’s ambient “The Disintegration Loops, dpl 1.1,” Ingram Marshall’s “Fog Tropes II” for strings and tape, Osvaldo Golijov’s “Tenebrae” for string quartet, and Alfred Schnittke’s “Collected Songs Where Every Verse is Filled With Grief.” The line forms at 3 at the Temple of Dendur in the Sackler Wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, free w/museum adm.

9/11, 5 PM eclectic, Balkan-tinged guitarist/composer Jay Vilnai plays the cd release show his new Shakespeare Songs cycle at Barbes

9/11, 7 PM the annual Musicians for Peace concert at Merkin Concert Hall with the Juilliard String Quartet, Kinan Azmeh, shakuhachi virtuoso Kojiro Umezaki, Bassam Saba and the NY Arabic Orchestra, $35 seats avail.

9/11 members of the NY Phil perform music by David Amram, Brahms, Samuel Barber, Chopin, Lera Auerbach, Liszt, Schumann, Laura Kaminsky (New York Premiere), Astor Piazzolla, Jon Deak (World Premiere), Wagner, Drew Hemenger (World Premiere), Sean Hickey, Simon Mulligan (New York Premiere), Justin Tokke, Franco Alfano (American Premiere) at Symphony Space, 7 PM, free, early arrival advised.

9/11, 7 PM jazz pianist Amina Figarova and band play the NYC premiere of her 9/11-themed September Suite at the Metropolitan Room, 34 W 22nd St, $20

9/11 Tyshawn Sorey’s combo, Taylor Ho Bynum and Defunkt Millennium (THE Defunkt?!?) at 7 PM at le Poisson Rouge, $20.

9/11, 8 PM oudist Scott Wilson plus bellydancers play a 9/11 memorial show at Ciao Stella, 206 Sullivan (Bleecker/W 3rd)

9/11, 8ish an appropriately assaultive cauldron of noisy outsider jazz at Death by Audio with trumpeter Peter Evans, Toucher, the Library Is On Fire, the Weasel Walter/Marc Edwards Group and Talibam, dirt cheap at $7.

9/11, 9:30 PM dark, rustic female-fronted soul group MotherMoon at Pete’s

9/11, 11 PM Washington DC Afrobeat band the Funk Ark – whose new album is amazing – at Shrine.

9/12, 1 PM the Bordeaux String Quartet play a free show at 211 E 70th St. betw 2nd/3rd Aves.

9/12, 2 and 7:30 PM the Jupiter Symphony players perform Beethoven – String Quartet in F Major Op. 14 No. 1; von Herzogenberg – Piano Quartet No. 2 ; Brahms – Clarinet Quintet in B minor at Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church, 152 W 66th St. out back of Lincoln Center, $10 tix avail

9/12, 5:30 PM pianist Octavio Brunetti and violinist Elmira Darvarova play Piazzolla at Symphony Space, $20

9/13, 8 PM Steve Earle at the Town Hall, $35 tix avail. at the Irving Plaza box ofc.

9/13, 8PMish bassist Peter Hook of Joy Division and his band at Irving Plaza, $26.50.

9/12 a free show by Swingadelic at Maxwell’s, 9 PM.

9/13, 8:30 PM trombonist Samuel Blaser – whose 2010 album Pieces of Old Sky is one of the most quietly intriguing efforts of previous years – leads a trio at I-Beam, $10 sug. don.

9/13, 9 PM pensive piano jazz with the Jacob Garchik Trio with Jacob Sacks and Dan Weiss at Korzo

9/13, 10 PM creepy retro garage rockers X-Ray Eyeballs at Death by Audio, $7

9/14, 5:30 PM violinist Elmira Darvarova and pianist Tomoko Kanamaru play works by Clara Schumann, Lera Auerbach, Amy Beach, Lili Boulanger, Rebecca Clarke, Yui Kitamura and more at Symphony Space, $20.

9/14, 7 PM Eugene Marlow’s Heritage Ensemble – who blend classic Jewish and Afro-Cuban themes seamlessly and imaginatively – at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, $10.

9/14, 7 PM the Afiara Quartet, pianist Michael Brown, harpist Bridget Kibbey, violinist Hye-Jin Kim, soprano Sarah Wolfson and baritone Thomas Meglioranza perform a program TBA at the Greene Space, $15 incl. a glass of wine!

9/14, 7:30 PM violinist Gil Morgenstern’s reliably interesting Reflections Series kicks off its Fall 2011 season at WMP Concert Hall with a program that ponders heavy spiritual concerns with music by Auerbach, Messiaen, Beethoven and Copland, $35 adv tix rec.

9/14, 7:30 PM innovative Indian guitarist Susmit Sen (of prog rockers Indian Ocean) at Drom, $20 adv tix rec.

9/14, 8 PM haunting acoustic gothic Americana/bluegrass band Bobtown at 68 Jay St. Bar

9/14 punk klezmer legends the Klezmatics, 8 PM Highline Ballroom, $16 adv tix rec

9/14, 8 PM smart,tuneful saxophonist Patrick Cornelius and A.D.D – Miles Okazaki – guitar , John Chin – piano , Jason Stewart – bass , Luca Santaniello – drums – at Smalls.

9/14, 8:30 PM an especially good, eclectic acoustic Americana triplebill with Frankenpine, Mason Porter and Wissahickon Chicken Shack at Southpaw, $10.

9/14, 9 PM smart, lyrically-driven, Aimee Mann-esque rockeres Elizabeth & the Catapult at Littlefield

9/14, 11ish hilariously x-rated punked-out girl group Cudzoo & the Fagettes at Don Pedro’s

9/15, 6 PM pianist Simon Mulligan plays Mendelssohn, Schumann, Rachmaninoff, Chopin, Ricky Ian Gordon (New York premiere), Steven Rydberg (New York premiere), and his own own arrangement of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue at Symphony Space, $20.

9/15 atmospheric anthemic Radiohead-influenced rockers My Pet Dragon play the Rocks Off Concert Cruise aboard the Half Moon, boarding at 7 PM, leaving at 8 from the heliport at the FDR and 23rd St., $20 adv tix. avail. at the Highline Ballroom box ofc.

9/15, 7 PM Tahani Rached’s new documentary These Girls, about young homeless women in Cairo, screening for free at AAFSC, 150 Court St., downtown Brooklyn, any train to Borough Hall

9/15, 8 PM wild Italian/gypsy string band madness with Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino at Drom, $15 adv tix rec.

9/15, 8 PM legendary Middle Eastern-flavored noiserock instrumentalists Savage Republic at Rock Shop in Gowanus, $15 gen adm.

9/15, 8 PM jazz guitar genius Matt Munisteri at Barbes followed at 10 by another eclectic jazz-inclined picker, Georgian Ilusha Tsinadze and his band.

9/15, 8:30 PM original Afrobeat party band Ikebe Shakedown at the Lincoln Center Atrium, free but early arrival advised.

9/15, 8:30 PM catchy intense rock en Espanol trio New Madrid followed by funky groove unit L’il Shalimar at Bowery Electric

9/15, 9 PM Al Duvall – whose oldtimey, innuendo-packed, pun-infused ragtime songs are as smart as they are hilarious – and the sultry, eclectic oldtimey/swing/blues quartet the Roulette Sisters plus a circus sideshow at the Jalopy, $10.

9/15-16 Ian Hunter at City Winery, 9 PM, $35 standing room avail.

9/15, 9 PM innovative jazz drummer/composer Nathaniel Smith leads a quartet with Jake Saslow – saxophones; Linda Oh – bass; Kerong Chok – piano at Tea Lounge in Park Slope

9/15, 9:30 PM janglemeister guitar rocker/crooner Sam Sherwin at Sullivan Hall, $10

9/15, 10 PM Bad Buka play gypsy punk (emphasis on the punk) at Spike Hill.

9/16, 6 PM psychedelic dub latin reggae band El Pueblo at the small room at the Rockwood; 9/24 they’re at Shrine at 8.

9/16, 7 PM tuneful jazz alto saxophonist Alexander McCabe with his group at Miles Cafe, $20 incl. drink and snacks

9/16, 7:30 PM clarinetist Eileen Mack leads a new-music ensemble at First Presbyterian Church (Brooklyn Heights) 124 Henry St., 2/3 to Clark St., F/R to Jay St. or 4 to Borough Hall, $10.

9/16, 8 PM absurdly eclectic, smart Russian/tango/Balkan/jazz string band Ljova & the Kontraband at Barbes.

9/16 sultry Moonlighters frontwoman Bliss Blood at Brooklyn Rod & Gun Club 8ish

9/16, 8 PM Roulette’s grand reopening party at their new digs in Brooklyn with Shelley Hirsch and Fred Frith, Marc Ribot’s noir soundtrack project (who slayed this past spring at the New School), and adventurous string quartet Ethel, $35, this may sell out.

9/16, 8 PM a killer oldtime Americana triplebill with the Plunk Bros. (Boo Reiners and Bob Jones) followed at 9 by the cosmopolitan, jazz-inclined Matt Munisteri and then the rustic Weal and Woe at 10 at the Jalopy, $10

9/16, 8 PM flamenco funk band Carmelo & Freak Fandango Orchestra at Drom $10 adv tix rec.

9/16, 8:30 PM Canadian darkwave chanteuse NLX at Caffe Vivaldi

9/16, 9/10:30 PM eclectic pan-Asian jazz chanteuse/composer Jen Shyu plays the cd release show for her new one at the Jazz Gallery, $20.

9/16, 9ish a cool, diverse Brazilian doublebill with MaracatuNY and Nation Beat at the 92YTribeca, $10 gen adm.

9/16-17, 10/11:30PM majestic yet funk jazz piano titan Marc Cary’s Focus Trio at Smoke uptown,$30 plus drink minimum.

9/16, 10ish eerie bluespunk with the Five Points Band at Rodeo Bar.

9/16, 10 PM dark 80s-style goth/pop pianist/singer Kristin Hoffmann at Caffe Vivaldi.

9/16, 11 PM Mr. Action & the Boss Guitars play surf classics, rarities and surfed-up 60s pop covers at Lakeside

9/16, midnight the NY Gypsy All-Stars play the cd release show for their new one at Drom, $10 adv tix rec.

9/16, 1 AM (actually wee hours of 9/17) psychedelic latin reggae groove band El Pueblo at the small room at the Rockwood

9/17 starting at half past noon, bluegrass in Madison Square Park with Della Mae, the Donna Hughes Band at 1:30, the Cherryholmes Brothers at 2:30, Valerie Smith & Liberty Pike at 3:30 and at 4:45 the Nashville Bluegrass Band (it’s tempting to ask, which one?).

9/17, 8 PM high energy acoustic Americana with the Strung Out String Band followed by the Calamity Janes and then Alex Battles at 68 Jay St. Bar

9/17, 8 PM eclectic pianist Roger Davidson with Frank London’s Klezmer Brass All-Stars at Drom, $15 adv tix rec.

9/17, 8 PM the Chelsea Symphony kicks off its 2011-12 season with a typically eclectic program: Gershwin: Lullaby; Barber: Violin Concerto, Op. 14; Barber: Adagio; Strayhorn: Take the A Train; Shefi: Golden Sky; Menotti: Sebastian Suite; Dai: TBA (World Premiere) at St. Paul’s Church, 315 W 22nd St., $20 sugg. don.

9/17, 9ish hellraising, politically astute Americana rockers the Hangdogs reunite for a benefit for bassist/guitarist Mick Hargreaves. A longtime valuable presence on the NYC Americana and surf music scene, Hargreaves was critically injured in an assault this past summer – here’s wishing you a full recovery, Mick. To help you can visit Crossroads Music in Amagansett, Long Island and leave a check made out to Michael Hargreaves or cash in the jar by the register, donate online using John Hanford’s website or mail a check to Hargreaves’ parents’ home: Bob & Peggy Hargreaves, 10 Braddock Court, Coram, NY 11727

9/17, 9/10:30 PM plaintive, atmospheric, worldbeat jazz grooves from trumpeter Pam Fleming & Fearless Dreamer at Parlor Jazz in Brooklyn, $30 includes both sets plus open wine bar.

9/17, 9ish two legendary/obscure NYC garage rock institutions: Johnny Chan & the New Dynasty 6 followed by les Sans Culottes at Rock Shop in Gowanus, $10.

9/17, 10 PM multi-instrumentalist and latin rock maven Ani Cordero at Pete’s

9/17 punk energy, Americana tunefulness – Spanking Charlene play the single release for their new one Canarsie (just out on Little Steven Van Zandt’s label) at Lakeside, 11 PM.

9/18, noon, classical orchestra the Knights play Schubert’s Octet, Ginastera’s Impressiones de la Puña and works by Osvaldo Golijov and Russell Platt at the Greene Space, $20 tix includes “light snacks and beverages,” one assumes that means no wine.

9/18, 3 PM cellist Winona Zelenka plays works for solo cello by Bach, Britten and Cassado at Symphony Space, $20.

9/18, 4 PM Canadian darkwave singer NLX followed by Kiri Jewell’s fiery retro 80s pop/rock band AwShocKiss at LIC Bar

9/18, 6:30 PM Daniel Brondel plays an organ concert at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

9/18, 8 PM Pauline Oliveros on accordion and Ione on vocals playing Improvisations on Njinga, the Queen King and St. George and the Dragon at the Stone, $10, early arrival a must.

9/18, 8 PM imaginative, unpredictable guitarist Nick Demopoulos’ project Exegesis with Gretchen Parlato, Danton Boller and Tomas Fujiwara plays the cd release show for their new one at Drom, $10.

9/18, 8:30 PM warmly soaring country chanteuse Drina Seay with Homeboy Steve Antonakos on guitar followed at 9:30 by Boo Reiners and Elena Skye from Demolition String Band upstairs at 2A

9/19, 5:30 PM Samuel Magill (cello), Linda Hall (piano) and Elmira Darvarova (violin) play a program of obscure works by French early Romantic composer Pierre de Breville at Symphony Space, $20.

9/19, 7:30 PM composer Xavier LeRoy leads an octet playing his minutely textured music/dance piece More Mouvements für Lachenmann at the Alliance Francaise, 55 East 59th St., $20

9/19, 8 PM the Amerigo Trio (with Inbal Segev on cello) play Beethoven – Serenade Op. 8, Bohuslav Martinu – Three Madrigals and Erno von Dohnanyi – Serenade Op.10 at Symphony Space, $20.

9/19, 9 PM the Noriko Ueda Jazz Orchestra at Tea Lounge in Park Slope

9/19, 10 PM oldschool hip-hop persona Big Daddy Kane with a live band (?!?) at B.B. King’s, $18 adv tix. rec

9/20, 7 PM Americana/jazz violin virtuoso/composer/chanteuse Jenny Scheinman at Barbes. She’s also here on 9/27.

9/20, 8 PM retro 90s Jamaican reggae-pop crooner Barrington Levy’s show has been moved from B.B. King’s to Highline Ballroom, all tix honored.

9/20, 9ish eclectic vintage sounds with the Dysfunctional Family Jazz Band at Rodeo Bar.

9/20 interestingly weird avant/indie/pop band Deerhoof at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, 11 PM, $17 gen adm.

9/21, 8 PM lyrical country crooner Jesse Lenat at 68 Jay St. Bar.

9/21, 8:30 PM drummer Mike Pride’s From Bacteria to Boys feat. Jon Irabagon, alto sax; Alexis Marcelo, piano; Peter Bitenc, bass; at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10.

9/21, 9 PM the Reefer Round Jazz Orchestra at Radegast Hall

9/21-22 Beirut at Terminal 5, 9 PM, $27 adv tix onsale now.

9/21, 10 PM the Woes and Alex Battles & the Whisky Rebellion at Union Hall, $8.

9/22, 6 PM Carol Lipnik & Spookarama plus the Neerdowells at Cornelia St. Cafe, $7 includes a drink, not bad!

9/22 Michael Gomez of Hazmat Modine leads his own band at Brooklyn Rod & Gun Club 8ish.

9/22, 8 PM multistylistic accordionist Alex Meixner at Barbes.

9/22, 9 PM pensive, intense but sometimes fun and jaunty lyrical songwriter Erin Regan at Sidewalk followed eventually at 11 by the equally intense and even more surreal Daniel Bernstein.

9/22, 9 PM psychedelic jazz vibraphonist Tyler Blanton leads a quartet with Matt Clohesy- bass; Obed Calvaire- drums; Donny McCaslin- saxophone at Tea Lounge in Park Slope.

9/23, 6 (six) PM intense alto saxophonist/composer Sarah Manning leads a small combo at Caffe Vivaldi

9/23 four killer lyrically-charged performers at Sidewalk: the quietly edgy, catchy Linda Draper at 7, oldtime guitar genius Lenny Molotov at 8:20, intense outsider anthem siren Randi Russo at 9 and the quirky punkish Sprinkle Genies at 10:20.

9/23, 8 PM atmospheric, haunting soundscapes by Spooky Ghost at the small room at the Rockwood

9/23, 8 PM longtime downtown star multi-reedman (and guitarist) Doug Wieselman leads a quartet with Gina Leishman – reeds; Jim Pugliese – drums and Don Falzone – bass at Barbes followed at 10 by Spanglish Fly, who put a new spin on classic 60s latin soul and are probably the funnest Friday night band in town right now.

9/23 Sameer Gupta’s amazing, hypnotic Indian-flavored jazz group with Marc Cary on piano at Baruch College Auditorium, 23rd St. and Lex., time/price TBA.

9/23, 9 PM poignant, soaring Americana songwriter Jan Bell & the Maybelles followed by the jazzier but equally edgy Miss Tess at 68 Jay St. Bar

9/23 Taiwan’s atmospheric pan-Asian worldbeat ensemble A Moving Sound at Drom, 9:30 PM, $12 adv tix rec.

9/23, 10ish snide oldschool Williamsburg punk rock band the Live Ones at the Gutter bowling alley in Williamsburg

9/23, 10 PM the Jack Grace Band at Rodeo Bar. “He’s like that Cash boy, but good.” – Jerry Lee Lewis.

9/23, 10 PM Canadian big band jazz composer Daniel Jamieson’s DanJam Orchestra at Miles Cafe, $15 plus $10 min.

9/23, 10 PM psychedelic funk/soul with Sister Sparrow & the Dirty Birds at Sullivan Hall, $10.

9/24 Renaissance at NJPAC in Newark is sold out. Good for them.

9/24, 3 PM at Madison Square Park, bluegrass with 3 Penny Acre followed at 4 by the rustic oldtimey/Appalachian folk sounds of Jay Ungar & Molly Mason.

9/24 clarinet virtuoso and tango connoisseur Thomas Piercy plays Caffe Vivaldi with his group, 6 PM.

9/24, 7 PM alto saxophonist Marc McDonald and his small group at Miles Cafe, $20.

9/24 intense, hilarious anti-gentrification rockers the Brooklyn What pay tribute to their late, great guitarist Billy Cohen at Trash Bar with King Cake and New Atlantic Youth opening at 8.

9/24, 8 PM the original NYC gypsy brass punks, Zlatne Uste followed by legendary Macedonian chanteuse Esma Redzepova – the “Queen of the Gypsies” – and her band at Drom, $30 adv tix rec., this will sell out fast.

9/24, 8 PM sultry 1930s/1940s French chanson revivalists Les Chauds Lapins followed at 10 by ageless acoustic party band the Jug Addicts at Barbes

9/24, 8 PM Disappear Fear play imaginative, socially conscious electric worldbeat including songs from their new Phil Ochs covers album at the People’s Voice Cafe.

9/24, 9 PM country, blues and a little countrypolitan/pop on a diverse triplebill with Hilary Hawke & the Flipsides, brilliant guitarist Will Scott and then Megan Palmer & the Top Flights at 68 Jay St. Bar

9/24, 9/10:30 PM Middle Eastern-flavored jazz pianist Armen Donelian leads a group with Marc Mommaas, tenor saxophone; Mike Moreno, guitar; Dean Johnson, bass; Tyshawn Sorey, drums at Cornelia St. Cafe, $15.

9/24, 9:30ish charismatic, intense, danceable cumbia/skaragga monsters Escarioka at Mehanata

9/24, 10ish charismatic, intense, often very funny, inimitable punk rockers the Brooklyn What return to their monthly residency at Trash with a vengeance. Watch this space for other good bands who will be on the bill.

9/24, 10:30 PM reliably amusing oldtimey Canadian family band the Ukuladies at the Jalopy, $10.

9/25, 4:45 PM Toronto organist Ian Sadler plays a recital at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

9/25 ferocious Polish Balkan/gypsy band Dikanda at le Poisson Rouge, 8 PM, $20

9/25, 8 PM the New School Afro-Cuban Jazz Band at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, $10

9/25, 8 PM Hungarian Balkan/jazz/funk guitarist Csaba Toth Bagi at Drom, $10 adv tix rec.

9/26-27, 7:30/9:30 PM Grace Kelly and Phil Woods join forces to represent two generations of jazz sax at Dizzy’s Club, early arrival/res rec., this will probably sell out.

9/26-27, 8ish dark dreampop instrumentalists Mogwai at Webster Hall rescheduled from this spring, $34 adv tix still available at the Irving Plaza box ofc.

9/26, 9ish oldtime swing revivalists Daria Grace & the Pre-War Ponies – maybe the most unselfconsciously romantic, charming band in town right now – at Rodeo Bar.

9/26, 9 PM the Delphian Jazz Orchestra at Tea Lounge in Park Slope

9/27, 8 PM Afrobeat band Zongo Junction followed by Malian guitar legend Boubacar Traore at the Bell House, $17 adv tix very highly rec.

9/27, 8 PM dark Middle Eastern-tinged instrumentalist Sir Richard Bishop opens for the Swans at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, $30 adv tix avail. at the Mercury weekdays til 7 PM, this may sell out.

9/27-10/2, sets 8/10:30 PM, a copy of latin jazz pianist Michel Camilo’s new album Mano a Mano just arrived here and it is one elegant, smartly tuneful record. He’s at the Blue Note leading a trio, $25 standing room avail.

9/27-10/2 lyrical jazz pianist Bill Charlap leads a trio with Peter Washington on bass and Kenny Washington on drums at the Vanguard, sets 9/11 PM.

9/27, 9:30 PM Ed Cherry – guitar , Pat Bianchi – organ , McClenty Hunter – drums at Smalls.

9/28-10/2, 7:30/9:30 PM Gerald Wilson leads the Juilliard Jazz Orchestra playing his Legacy Suite at Dizzy’s Club, $30 seats avail.

9/28, 8:30ish a killer eclectic triplebill with desert blues-influenced Chicago band Pillars and Tongues, Bay area gypsy/balkan supernova A Hawk & a Hacksaw and gypsy punk band Dark Dark Dark at the Bell House, $13 adv tix very highly rec. They’re at Drom on 9/29 at 8 for the same price.

9/28, 9 PM intense and funny grasscore band Larry & His Flask at Union Hall, $10.

9/29, 8 PM haunting, torchy oldtimey duo Evanescent at 68 Jay St. Bar

9/29, 8 PM the Minerva Lions open for Giant Panda Guerrilla Dub Squad at Brooklyn Bowl, tix absurdly cheap at $7. Remember how the Nokia Theatre was charging $30 for the same kind of bill earlier in the year?

9/29, 8 PM violinist Jessica Pavone’s haunting Hope Dawson Is Missing project followed by clavinet player Magda Mayas with Tony Buck at Roulette, $15/$10 stud/srs.

9/29, time TBA, well-liked Americana rockers the Felice Bros. at Webster Hall, $20.

9/29, 8:30 PM pianist Jacob Sacks leads a quintet with Jacob Garchik, trombone; Ben Gerstein, trombone; Thomas Morgan, bass; Dan Weiss, drums at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10

9/29, 10 PM the funky, aggressively entertaining Underground Horns at Barbes

9/30 and 10/1 at 8 PM, and 10/4 at 7:30 PM Alan Gilbert conducts the NY Phil playing Dvorak’s Symphony #7 plus a Corigliano choral work at Avery Fisher Hall, $33 tix avail.

9/30, 8 PM oldschool Fania style salsa with the Spanish Harlem Orchestra at SOB’s $15

9/30, 8:30 PM the Violent Femmes’ Gordon Gano followed by high-energy oldtimey Americana band the Wiyos at Southpaw, $10.

9/30 sizzling electrified bluegrass and original country with Demolition String Band at Rodeo Bar, 9:30ish

9/30, 9:30 PM noirish French songwriter Louis-Ronan Choisy at Drom, $15 gen adm.

9/30, 10 PM Nation Beat drummer/bandleader Scott Kettner’s Forro Brass Band at Barbes.

10/1, 8 PM the Four Bags – who blend jazz, classical and the Beatles with deadpan wit – at Barbes followed at 10 by crazy rustic Mexican banda Banda Sinaloense de los Muertos.

10/1, 9/10:30 PM Dave Liebman and Sam Newsome play Steve Lacy and Thelonious Monk with Gregg August, bass; Otis Brown III, drums at Cornelia St. Cafe, $15.

10/1, 9:30 PM legendary jazz drummer Chico Hamilton celebrates his 90th birthday and new album with a show at Drom leading a sextet with Nick Demopoulos (guitar), Paul Ramsey (fender bass), Evan Schwam (saxophone, flute, piccolo), Mayu Saeki (flute, alto flute, piccolo), Jeremy Carlstedt (percussion, drums), $12 adv tix highly rec.

10/1, 10ish long-runnning original punk-pop band the Vibrators at Union Hall – the venues keep getting smaller, they keep playing the nostalgia angle – $13 adv tix rec.

10/2 noon-6 PM the Atlantic Antic outdoor festival with bands TBA, Atlantic Ave. from 4th Ave. to Hicks St

10/2, 3 PM the Ariel String Quartet play Mozart, Brahms and Janacek at Bargemusic, $35/$30 srs/$15 stud.

10/2-3, 9 PM multi-instrumentalist and longtime Aimee Mann collaborator Jon Brion makes songs out of loops,live, at le Poisson Rouge, $20 gen adm.

10/2 midnight-ish all-female noise-punk legends Erase Errata at Glasslands

10/3, Shellac at the Bell House is sold out, but $17 adv tix are still avail. for the 10/4 show.

10/4, noon-4 PM pianists Adonis Gonzalez, Jed Distler, and Axel Tosca play Thelonious Monk at the World Financial Center, free.

10/5-6, 7:30 PM and 10/7 at 11 AM (yikes!) Alan Gilbert conducts the NY Phil playing Bach: Concerto for 2 violins; Berg: Violin Concerto; Brahms: Symphony #3 at Avery Fisher Hall, $31 tix avail.

10/5, 8 PM Afrobeat with Zongo Junction and Toubab Crewe at le Poisson Rouge, $14 adv tix rec.

10/5, 9 PM two irrepressible, fearlessly funny tunesmiths: Susan Hwang & the Relastics at Sidewalk followed eventually at 11 by Nan Turner & the One Night Stands at Sidewalk

10/6, 7:30 PM Portland, Maine banjoist/songwriter Putnam Smith followed by bouzouki-led oldtime Americana band Spuyten Duyvil at St. John’s Lutheran Church, 81 Christopher St, $15.

10/6, 8 PM if there’s any conductor alive who GETS the towering angst of the Russian Romantics, it’s Valery Giergiev. He conducts the Mariinsky Orchestra playing Tschaikovsky’s Symphonies #1 and #6 at Carnegie Hall, $24 tix supposedly available. They do the rustic, intense 2nd and 5th Symphonies at 2 PM on 10/9, the playful, animated 3rd and 5th at 8 on 10/10 and on 10/11 at 8 they’ll have pianist Danil Trifonov playing Prokofiev: Three Selections from Romeo and Juliet; the completely angst-driven Tschaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 and the ambitious and totally enjoyable Shostakovich Symphony No. 1 written when the composer was 19.

10/6, 8ish an excellent, high-energy eclectic bill with bluegrass monsters Thy Burden, followed by ska from the Rudie Crew & the Times at Union Hall, $8

10/7, 7 PM country chanteuse Drina & the Deep Blue Sea at Lakeside

10/7, 9 PM ageless British country punks the Mekons at the Bell House, $18 adv tix. rec.

10/8, 8 PM, free, Mos Def with the Brooklyn Phil Chamber Players conducted by Alan Pierson at 1368 Fulton St., Brooklyn: compositions include Mos Def arr. Derek Bermel, “Life in Marvelous Times” (2008) and other songs incl. Frederick Rzewski’s Coming Together.

10/8, 8 PM sensational eclectic Luminescent Orchestrii violinist Sarah Alden with her band at 68 Jay St. Bar.

10/8, 9/10:30 PM the Alan Ferber Big Band at the Jazz Gallery, $20

10/8, 9:30 PM the Woes and O’Death at the Bell House, $12.

10/8, 9/10:30 PM bassist Petros Klampanis leads a group with Gilad Hekselman, guitar; Lefteris Kordis, piano; John Hadfield, percussion; Greg Osby, alto saxophoe; Sara Serpa, voice; Andre Matos, guitar at Cornelia St. Cafe, $15.

10/9, 4:45 PM organist Benjamin Kolodziej plays a recital at St. Patrick’s Cathedral

10/9, 8:30 PM Ilusha Tsinadze, guitar, vocals; Rob Hecht, fiddle; Liam Robinson, accordion; Chris Tordini, bass; Richie Barshay, drums; Jean Rohe, vocals at Cornelia St. Cafe, $15

10/9, 9 PM Al Stewart plays an acoustic duo show at City Winery, $30 tix avail. Reputedly his chops (pretty sensational back in the 60s when he was an acoustic folk guitarist) are better than ever – and he reputedly plays a lot of the oldschool stuff along with Year of the Cat and Time Passages, ad infinitum. Wonder what he thinks of City Winery’s hideous homemade wine.

10/10, 7 PM Jake Schepps’ Expedition Quartet plays Bartok at Barbes.

10/11, 8:30 PM reedwoman/composer Jessica Valiente’s Las Mas Valiente feat. Rick Faulkner, trombone; Anna Milat-Meyer,, bass; Yasuyo Kimura, congas; Victor Rendón, drums; Chiemi Nakai, piano at at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10

10/12, 7 PM, free at the World Financial Center, Mos Def with the Brooklyn Youth Chorus, dynamically eclectic chanteuse Mellissa Hughes and other special guests joining members of the Brooklyn Philharmonic for an adventurous bill including Derek Bermel’s arrangements of Mos Def’s original songs, 19th century shape note singing and works by David T. Little, Frederick Rzewski, and Ljova Zhurbin.

10/12, 8 PM Americana chanteuse Jan Bell at 68 Jay St. Bar

10/12, 8 PM a solid oldtimey Americana doublebill: the Calamity Janes followed by Crooked Still at the Bell House, $16 gen. adm.

10/13, 7:30 PM cellist Madeleine Shapiro plays recent works for cello and electronics including several premieres at the Tank, $10

10/13, 8:30 PM singer/composer Sara Serpa leads her potent third stream-ish quintet feat. André Matos, guitar; Kris Davis, piano; Ben Street, bass; Ted Poor, drums playing the cd release show for her terrific, innovative new album Mobile at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10.

10/13 10ish Jon Spencer Blues Explosion at Maxwell’s, $15

10/14, 7:30 PM the Mivos String Quartet with Nathan Koci on accordion play at First Presbyterian Church (Brooklyn Heights) 124 Henry St., 2/3 to Clark St., F/R to Jay St. or 4 to Borough Hall, $10

10/14, 8:30 PM imaginative garage rock/country/psychedelic band Those Darlins at the Bell House, $13 adv tix rec.

10/14, 9 PM, the Pricks, Smoke DZA, Big KRIT, Curren$y and Method Man at the Nokia Theatre, $32.50 adv tix rec. They call this the “smokers tour.”

10/14, 9 PM trumpeter Steven Bernstein’s Millennial Territory Orchestra plays the cd release show for MTO Plays Sly Stone at the 92YTribeca, $TBA.

10/14 high-energy Americana rock vets Tom Clark & the High Action Boys at Lakeside, 11 PM

10/15, 8 PM Aurora Flores y Zon Del Barrio with special guest Yomo Toro at Flushing Town Hall, $25

10/15, 8 PM Eighth Blackbird plays new works by Timo Andres, Bruno Mantovani, Amy Beth Kirsten, Mayke Nas, Fabien Svensson, Dan Visconti and Caleb Burhans at the Miller Theatre, 116th St/Bwy., $25.

10/15, 8 PM the NYU Symphony Orchestra at the Loewe Theatre, 35 W 4th St., program TBA.

10/15, 9 PM funny, lyrically driven oldschool country music with the Jack Grace Band at 68 Jay St. Bar.

10/15, 11 PM Afrobeat crew Ikebe Shakedown followed by funk orchestraTurkuaz playing the cd release show for their new one at the Mercury, $10

10/16, noon, a marathon concert hosted by the JACK quartet and featuring performances by Dither Electric Guitar Quartet, New York Virtuoso Singers, Imani Winds, Talea Ensemble, Prism Saxophone Quartet, and many others at the Miller Theatre, 116th St/Bwy., $25.

10/16 pianist Peter Hill plays Bach, Messiaen and Takemitsu at le Poisson Rouge, 6:30 PM, $20 adv tix rec.

10/17, 2 and 7:30 PM, the Jupiter Symphony players perform Smetana – From My Homeland; Gyrowetz – Divertissement in A Major; Suk – Piano Quartet in A Minor; Brahms – String Sextet in B Flat at Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church, 152 W 66th St. out back of Lincoln Center, $10 tix avail.

10/17, 7:30 PM new music ensemble Either/Or plays new works by Raphaël Cendo, Hans Thomalla, Richard Carrick, Erin Gee, Keeril Makan and Jonny Greenwood at the Miller Theatre, 116th St/Bwy., $25.

10/18, 8 PM composer/pianist Michael Hersch plays the NY premiere of his piece From The Vanishing Pavilions – which confronts vanishing living space in New York – with Miranda Cuckson, viola and Julia Bruskin, cello at Merkin Concert Hall, $20.

10/19, 9 PM dark pensive goth-tinged songwriter Nina Nastasia at the Mercury $12.

10/19, midnight-ish hypnotic dreampop/shoegaze instrumentalists the Big Sleep play Party Xpo in Bushwick as part of a good idea – the Un-CMJ.

10/21, 8 PM, the NYU Philharmonia at the Loewe Theatre, 35 W 4th St., program TBA. They’re also here on 12/5.

10/22, 7 PM the American Composers Orchestra plays New York premieres of music by Ruby Fulton, Paul Yeon Lee, Ryan Gallagher, Andrew Norman, and Suzanne Farrin at the World Financial Ctr., free

10/22, 8 PM popular Americana chanteuse Gillian Welch at the Beacon Theatre, $35 tix avail.

10/22, 8 PM the Chelsea Symphony play Kiah: TBA (World Premiere); Elgar: Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85; Hanson: Symphony No. 2 “Romantic” at St. Paul’s Church, 315 W 22nd St., $20 sugg. don.

10/22, 9 PM big anthemic new oldschool country band Yarn at Hiro Ballroom, $15, tix avail. at the Highline Ballroom box ofc.

10/23, 4:45 PM organist Douglas Kostner plays a recital at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

10/23 ride the waves with surf rock legend Dick Dale aboard the Jewel, boarding at the heliport at 23rd St. and the FDR at 6, leaving at 7, adv tix $30 avail. at the Highline Ballroom box ofc.

10/23, 8 PM Bulgarian folk flute virtuoso Theodosii Spassov and Vlada Tomova’s Balkan Tales at Symphony Space, $30

10/24, 8:30/10:30 PM the Manhattan School of Music Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra conducted by Bobby Sanabria at Dizzy’s Club, $20

10/27, 7:30 PM innovative improvisationally inclined jazz guitarist Soren Raaschou leads his Trio with guest Travis Laplante on tenor sax at Drom, $10 adv tix rec.

10/27, 8:30 PM dark Americana-tinged lyrical songwriter Jessi Robertson at Southpaw, $10.

10/27, 11 PM guitarist Steve Schiltz’ atmospheric, plaintive shoegaze/anthem band Hurricane Bells at the Mercury $10.

10/28, 9 PM twangy noir guitar soundscapes with Jim Campilongo followed by alt-country siren Alana Amram at the Gutter bowling alley in Williamsburg, $5.

10/29, 8:30 PM Simon Shaheen, who may be this era’s greatest oud player, plays Middle Eastern classics by Mohammed Abdel Wahab, the Rahbani Bros. and Farid Al-Atrache with special guest vocalist Nidal Ibourk and the Near Eastern Music Ensemble at Roulette, $25, early arrival advised.

10/29, 9 PM fiery paisley underground/country band the Newton Gang at 68 Jay St. Bar

10/29-30, 9 PM kick-ass new garage/psychedelic rock with Spindrift and the Black Angels at the Music Hall of Williamsburg. 10/31 the Black Angels play there at 11 PM, $20 adv tix. avail. at the Mercury box office 5-7 PM M-F.

10/29, 9 PM the Infamous Stringdusters and Yonder Mountain String Band at the Nokia Theatre, $25 adv tix rec.

10/29 sardonic dark garage/punk rockers Obits at Glasslands.

10/29 the Midnight band play roots reggae at SOB’s at…guess…midnight! $TBA

10/30, 7:30 PM the Brooklyn Phil Chamber Players play songs of freedom by Schnittke, Pärt, Shostakovich, and Gubaidulina at the Shorefront Y, 3300 Coney Island Ave, Coney Island, $15.

10/31, 2 and 7:30 PM, the Jupiter Symphony players perform a killer (ha ha) program including Stravinsky’s playful Histoire du Soldat; Saint-Saens – Danse Macabre; Moussorgsky – Songs & Dances of Death; Rimsky-Korsakov – Piano Trio in C Minor at Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church, 152 W 66th St. out back of Lincoln Center, $10 tix avail.

10/31, midnight creepy minor-key harmonica blues with Stringbean & the Stalkers at the Ear Inn

11/2-3, 7:30 PM the NY Phil and Philip Glass Ensemble play Glass’s live soundtrack for the 1982 Godfrey Reggio film Koyaanisqatsi along with a screening of the movie at Avery Fisher Hall, $35 tix avail.

11/3, 7:30 PM, the Brooklyn Philharmonic plays racy cartoon scores by Shostakovich and Vyacheslav Artyomov accompanying those cartoons (with live Russian voiceovers) at the Millennium Theater, 1029 Brighton Beach Ave., Brooklyn, $10 tix avail.

11/3, 8:30 PM ecstatic, intense gypsy/Balkan/Mediterranean brass band Mucca Pazza at the Lincoln Center Atrium, free but early arrival advised.

11/3 ferociously intense, politically aware, tuneful female-fronted noiserock/punk band Bugs in the Dark play the cd release show for their new one at Bruar Falls.

11/4, 8 PM two generations of free jazz: Marty Ehrlich and his group plus the Peter Evans Quintet at Roulette, $15

11/5 Boston’s eclectic powerpop/punk-pop/ska crew the Have Nots at the Knitting Factory.

11/6, 4 PM ambitious classical sextet An Die Musik play Mendelssohn, Mozart, and Schubert plus Aesop fables musicalized by Jerzy Sapaiyevski (but not by Rachelle Garniez?!?) at Merkin Concert Hall, $13

11/7, 2 and 7:30 PM, the Jupiter Symphony players perform Mendelssohn – Konzertstück No. 1 in F Minor; Schumann – String Quartet No. 2; Chopin – Piano Concerto No. 1 at Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church, 152 W 66th St. out back of Lincoln Center, $10 tix avail.

11/8 grasscore pioneers Slim Cessna’s Auto Club at the Mercury, 10 PM, $10.

11/10, 9 PM British retro soul sensations Fitz & the Tantrums at Terminal 5, $35, all ages, adv tix available at the Mercury box ofc 5-7 PM weekdays.

11/12, 10ish the Cryptkeeper 5 followed by noir ska/punk/swing band Tri-State Conspiracy’s cd release show at Webster Hall, $15 adv tix avail. at the Irving Plaza box ofc.

11/17 well-loved harmony-driven Americana trio Red Molly – whose new lineup is just as captivating as the previous one – at the big room at the Rockwood, 7:30 PM.

11/18, 7:30 PM the Ekmeles vocal ensemble with Katelyn Clark on harpsichord play at First Presbyterian Church (Brooklyn Heights) 124 Henry St., 2/3 to Clark St., F/R to Jay St. or 4 to Borough Hall, $10

11/18, 9:30 PM punkish rockers the Hard Nips open for  lovable Japanese lo-fi legends Shonen Knife at the Bell House, $12

11/19, 8 PM guitarishly and harmonically sizzling urban Americana duo the Kennedys at First Acoustics Coffeehouse in downtown Brooklyn, $25 adv tix rec.

11/21, 2 and 7:30 PM, the Jupiter Symphony players perform Frohlich – Serenade in D Major; Clara Schumann – 3 Romances; Kirchner – Piano Quartet in C minor; Brahms – – String Quintet No. 1 at Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church, 152 W 66th St. out back of Lincoln Center, $10 tix avail.

11/22, 8 PM, free, the Mannes Orchestra plays Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7, Ben Ringer conducting, and Prokofiev’s Suite No. 1 from Romeo and Juliet, Ester Yoon conducting, at Symphony Space, free.

12/1, 7:30 PM brilliantly tuneful and lyrical acoustic songwriter Carolann Solebello (ex-Red Molly) at St. John’s Lutheran Church, 81 Christopher St, $15.

12/5, 2 and 7:30 PM, the Jupiter Symphony players perform a program of obscure French Romantic treats: Reicha – Wind Quintet in E minor; Farrenc – Quintet No. 1 in A minor; Saint-Saens – Piano Quartet in Bb Major at Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church, 152 W 66th St. out back of Lincoln Center, $10 tix avail.

12/8, 7:30 PM Nicole Atkins and band at Symphony Space, $30 includes a glass of wine

12/9, 7:30 PM composers Molly Thompson and Lukas Ligeti and supporting cast TBA at First Presbyterian Church (Brooklyn Heights) 124 Henry St., 2/3 to Clark St., F/R to Jay St. or 4 to Borough Hall, $10.

12/9, 8 PM John Zorn gets one of those Miller Theatre “composer portraits,” with an absurdly good cast of classical and Stone types – cellist Fred Sherry, violinist Jennifer Koh, drummer Kenny Wollesen, pianist Stephen Gosling, the Talea Ensemble and others playing a bill of world premieres, 116th St/Bwy., $25

12/16, 7 PM Alan Gilbert conducts the NY Philharmonic playing Alexandre Lunsqui: Fibres, Yarn, and Fabric (world premiere); Magnus Lindberg: Gran Duo; HK Gruber: Frankenstein! at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, $35 adv tix rec. The program repeats on 12/17 at 8 at Symphony Space, $21 adv tix rec.

12/21 it’s Make Music Winter. Inspired by Phil Kline’s famous Gulf War-era interactive antiwar composition Unsilent Night, the Make Music NY organizers are working to schedule another citywide day/night of interesting, free live music. Pure genius. Watch this space for updates.

12/22, 8:30 PM eclectic composer/viola virtuoso Ljova Zhurbin plays on a cinematic bill featuring amazing gypsy band Romashka and guests at the Lincoln Center Atrium, free but early arrival a must.

WEEKLY EVENTS

Mondays at the Fat Cat the Choi Fairbanks String Quartet play a wide repertoire of chamber music from Bach to Shostakovich starting at 7.

Mondays starting a little after 7 PM Howard Williams leads his Jazz Orchestra from the piano at the Garage, 99 7th Ave. S at Grove St. There are also big bands here most every Tuesday at 7.

Mondays in August the Quavers – who mix trippy downtempo art-rock with indie pop – play Barbes early at 7 PM, sometimes with special guests. 8/8 they have Ben Kaufman and members of haunting, gypsy/klezmer-tinged Barbez. In September Chicha Libre returns to their regular residency here starting at around 9:30.

Mondays at the Jazz Standard it’s all Mingus, whether with the Mingus Orchestra, Big Band or Mingus Dynasty: you know the material and the players are all first rate. Sets 7:30/9:30 PM, $25 and worth it.

Also Monday nights Vince Giordano’s Nighthawks, a boisterous horn-driven 11-piece 1920s/early 30’s band play Sofia’s Restaurant, downstairs at the Edison Hotel, 221 West 46th Street between Broadway & 8th Ave., 3 sets from 8 to 11, surprisingly cheap $15 cover plus $15 minimum considering what you’re getting. Even before the Flying Neutrinos or the Moonlighters, multi-instrumentalist Giordano was pioneering the oldtimey sound in New York; his long-running residency at the old Cajun on lower 8th Ave. is legendary. He also gets a ton of film work (Giordano wrote the satirical number that Willie Nelson famously sang in Wag the Dog).

Mondays at Tea Lounge in Park Slope at 9 PM trombonist/composer JC Sanford books big band jazz, an exciting, global mix of some of the edgiest large-ensemble sounds around. If you’re anybody in the world of big band jazz and you make it to New York, you end up playing here: what CBGB was to punk, this unlikely spot promises to be to the jazz world. No cover.

Mondays at the Vanguard the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra – composer Jim McNeely’s reliably good big band vehicle – plays 9/11 PM, $30 per set plus drink minimum.

Also Mondays in September Rev. Vince Anderson and his band play Union Pool in Williamsburg, two sets starting around 11 PM. The Rev. is one of the great keyboardists around, equally thrilling on organ or electric piano, an expert at Billy Preston style funk, honkytonk, gospel and blues. He writes very funny, very politically astute, sexy original songs and is one of the most charismatic, intense live performers of our time. It’s a crazy dance party til past three in the morning. Paula Henderson from Burnt Sugar is the lead soloist on baritone sax, with Dave Smith from Smoota and the Fela pit band on trombone, with frequent special guests.

Tuesdays in September clever, fiery, eclectic Balkan/hip-hop/funk brass maniacs Slavic Soul Party play Barbes at 9. Get here as soon as you can as they’re very popular.

Tuesdays at Caffe Vivaldi the Five Deadly Venoms play bluegrass at 9 PM.

Tuesdays in September the Dred Scott Trio play astonishingly smart, dark piano jazz at the smaller room at the Rockwood at midnight.

9/7 and following Wednesdays in September, free organ concerts resume at 1:10 PM sharp on at St. Ann’s Church on Montague St. in downtown Brooklyn.

Wednesdays in August Meah Pace, Rev. Vince Anderson’s slinky, poignant harmony vocalist, does her own set of soul music with the Rev’s longtime baritone sax star Paula Henderson upstairs at the National Underground, 9 PM

Wednesdays at 9 PM Feral Foster’s Roots & Ruckus takes over the Jalopy, a reliably excellent weekly mix of oldtimey acts: blues, bluegrass, country and swing.

8/10 and subsequent Wednesdays in August multi-instrumentalist Thad Debrock plays the small room at the Rockwood at midnight. He’s played brilliantly on so many Americana and singer-songwriter albums it’s not funny; it’ll be interesting to hear him do his own stuff.

Every Thursday the Michael Arenella Quartet play 1920s hot jazz 8-11 PM at Nios, 130 W 46th St.

Thursdays 8/11, 18 and 25, 9ish, oldschool Williamsburg legends the Old Rugged Sauce play classic vocal and guitar jazz from the 30s and 40s at Brooklyn Rod & Gun Club. They’re literally a trip back to a better, more relaxed century.

Thursdays 9/15, 9/22 and 9/29, 9:30ish well-liked eight-string guitar improviser Charlie Hunter plays Sycamore Bar in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn, $10

Thursdays and Fridays in August at Mehanata it’s Bulgarian sax powerhouse Yuri Yukanov and the Grand Masters of Gypsy Music, 10 PM, $10.

Fridays and frequently throughout the week starting at 8:30 PM adventurous cellist/composer Valerie Kuehne books an intriguing avant garde/classical/unclassifiable “weekly experimental cabaret” at Cafe Orwell in Bushwick, 247 Varet St. (White/Bogart), L to Morgan Ave. It’s sort of a more outside version of Small Beast, a lot of cutting-edge performers working out new ideas in casual, unstuffy surroundings. Kuehne promises “never a dull moment.”

Fridays in August at 9 Naomi Shelton and the Gospel Queens play oldschool 1960s style gospel at the Fat Cat.

Fridays 9/2 and 9/9, 9/16, half past midnight soulful saxophonist Ken Fowser – who really knows how to create a late-night vibe – leads a quintet at Smoke uptown. 9/23 and 9/30 they’re here at half past eleven.

Saturdays in September at 3 PM there are free concerts at Bargemusic. Usually it’s solo classical piano, with the occasional string ensemble. Note that these are billed as “family concerts” – it’s not known how the staff deal with screaming little brats. Early arrival is highly advised; doors are at 2:30.

Saturdays eclectic compelling Brazilian jazz chanteuse Marianni and her excellent band at Zinc Bar, three sets starting at 10 PM.

Sundays there’s a klezmer brunch at City Winery, show starts around 11:30 AM – 2 PM, $10 cover, no minimum, lots of good bands.

Sundays from half past noon to 3:30 PM, bluegrass cats Freshly Baked (f.k.a. Graveyard Shift), featuring excellent, incisive fiddle player Diane Stockwell play Nolita House (upstairs over Botanica at 47 E Houston). Free drink with your entree.

Sundays at 5 PM starting on September 17 through November 20 there are free organ concerts on the recently restored organ at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, 110th St./Broadway by an A-list of international performers.

Sundays in September, starting 9/26 there are free organ concerts at 5:15 PM at St. Thomas Church, 5th Ave. and 53rd St. The big Skinner organ’s days are numbered: it’s a mighty beast, so see it before it’s gone. The weekly series (with breaks for holidays) features an extraordinary, global cast of performers.

Sundays at 7:30 at Theatre 80 St. Marks the world’s most socially aware “reverend” and activist, Rev. Billy and his wild, ecstatic 30-piece gospel Church of Earthalujah Choir, $10 cover but “no one turned away.”

Every Sunday the Ear-Regulars, led by trumpeter Jon Kellso and (frequently) guitarist Matt Munisteri play NYC’s only weekly hot jazz session starting around 8 PM at the Ear Inn on Spring St. Hard to believe, in the city that springboarded the careers of thousands of jazz legends, but true. This is by far the best value in town for marquee-caliber jazz: for the price of a drink and a tip for the band, you can see world-famous players (and brilliant obscure ones) you’d usually have to drop $100 for at some big-ticket room. The material is mostly old-time stuff from the 30s and 40s, but the players (especially Kellso and Munisteri, who have a chemistry that goes back several years) push it into some deliciously unexpected places.

Sundays in September at 9 gypsy guitar genius Stephane Wrembel plays Barbes. He’s holding on to the edgy, danceable spirit of Django Reinhardt while taking the style to new and unexpected places. He’s also very popular: get there early.

Every Sunday, hip-hop MC Big Zoo hosts the long-running End of the Weak rap showcase at the Pyramid, 9 PM, admission $5 before 10, $7 afterward. This is one of the best places to discover some of the hottest under-the-radar hip-hop talent, both short cameos as well as longer sets from both newcomers and established vets.

New York City Live Music Calendar for July and August 2011 Plus Other Events

As always, weekly events are listed at the bottom of the page, after the last of the daily listings: scroll down and you’ll find them. If you didn’t see anything that struck you as fun this time around, check back later because we update this obsessively.

A few things you should know about this calendar: acts are listed here in order of appearance, NOT headliner first and supporting acts after; showtimes listed here are actual set times, not the time doors open. If a listing here says something like ”9 PM-ish,” chances are it’ll run late. Cover charges are those listed on bands’ and venues’ sites: always best to click on the band link provided or go to the venues page for confirmation since we get much of this info weeks in advance. This is not a list of every band playing every club in NYC; this is a list of good shows, many of which we will go see ourselves. We focus on edgy, entertaining stuff: if you’re looking for Grizzly Bear or Justin Bieber, you’re in the wrong place. We try to be descriptive rather than using all kinds of superlative adjectives.

7/2, 1 and 3 PM Jed Distler leads a 40-piece ensemble playing Terry Riley’s In C on Governors Island, free ferries leave from the old Staten Island ferry terminal every hour on the half hour

7/2 Roy Ayers and the Jazz Mafia Symphony at Central Park Summerstage, get there by 7 PM or else you probably won’t get in.

7/2, 7 PM creepy intense cool chanteuses: Lorraine Leckie solo followed by Carol Lipnik and Spookarama doing her covers project at 8 at Banjo Jim’s

7/2, 7:30 PM lyrical songwriter Niall Connolly plays the big room at the Rockwood

7/2, 8 PM blistering bluegrass jamband Thy Burden’s cd release show at Union Hall, free.

7/2, 8:30 PM torchy noir German songwriter Sophie Hunger at le Poisson Rouge, $15 gen adm.

7/2 intense gypsy punks Bad Buka at Mehanata, 9 PM.

7/2, 10 PM oldschool vallenato/cumbia hellraisers Very Be Carefulat Barbes.

7/3 the reliably intense, charismatic anti-gentrification rockers the Brooklyn What at Fort Tilden in the Rockaways, time TBA.

7/3, 8 PM new music ensemble Transit plays an intriguing evening of new electroacoustic works by Tristan Perich, Lesley Flanigan (very highly recommended) and Daniel Wohl at St. Paul’s Chapel downtown, Broadway at Fulton, free.

7/5, 7:30/9:30 PM Dario Boente & Proyecto Sur play tango nuevo jazz at the Jazz Standard, $20

7/5, 8 PM classic boricua sounds with the Lavoe All Stars and Cantando Renzo Padilla at St. Mary’s Park in the Bronx, St. Ann’s Ave and E 144th Street, 6 train to Brook Ave.

7/6, 6 PM African and Afro-Cuban sounds with the Edmar Castaneda Trio plus special guest Andrea Tierra and then the Lionel Loueke Trio at Madison Square Park, free.

7/6 pianist Osmany Paredes’ latin jazz quartet at the Jazz Standard, 7:30/9:30 PM, $20.

7/6, 7 PM pianist Eugene Marlow’s Heritage Ensemble playing latin/Jewish jazz – real cool stuff – at the Triad Theatre, 158 W. 72nd St., 2nd Fl.., just west of Broadway, $10

7/6, 8 PM intense, powerful Afrobeat/desert blue siren Khaira Arby at the Brooklyn Bowl, $5.

7/7, half past noon trombonist Art Baron leads a small combo at St. Marks Park, 2nd Ave/10th St.

7/7, 5:30 PM Cuban pianist Elio Villafranca at the World Financial Center, free.

7/7, 7 PM My Brightest Diamond at Castle Clinton in Battery Park, free tix avail. 2 per person on the line outside the castle starting at 4 PM.

7/7, 7 PM edgy comedic musical chicks Mel & El (their album is called She’s My Bitch) put on their latest show Mel & El: Our Time of the Month (Flight of the Conchords as done by Tammy Faye Starlite, maybe) at the 92YTribeca, $15.

7/7, 7:15 PM torchy, no-nonsense piano chanteuse Jeanne Marie Boes at Caffe Vivaldi

7/7, 8 PM smartly multistylistic retro keyboardist/singer and Jack White collaborator Rachelle Garniez (whose most recent album we named best of the year) at Barbes followed at 10 by eclectic Virginia hellraisers the No BS Brass Band.

7/7, 8 PM cello rockers Deoro plays Bach, Ravel, Messaien, Bizet, Michael Brecker and Randy Wolff at Bargemusic, $35/$30 srs./$15 stud. On 7/8, same time, same price, the band returns, playing an acoustic set from their Kingston Morning reggae-rock album.

7/7, 8ish hip-hop/rock at the downstairs space at Webster Hall with White House Band, Mickey Factz, Tunde Olaniran, Rocky Business, Nyle vs. the Naysayers, Ra the MC and Mahogany, no idea who’s playing when but if you’re into this stuff, check it out.

7/7, 8:30 PM extraordinary oudist Tareq Abboushi plus percussionist Hector Morales at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10

7/7, 8:30 PM the Court Yard Hounds (that’s sisters Martie Maguire and Emily Robison of the Dixie Chicks) at Prospect Park Bandshell.

7/7, 9 PM filmmaker/hilarious satirical bandleader Melvin Van Peebles wid Laxative (his funk band feat. members of Burnt Sugar) at Zebulon

7/7, 9 PM quirky, rustic cello rockers Pearl & the Beard at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, $12 adv tix avail. til 7 PM weekdays at the Mercury.

7/7 captivating Americana chanteuse Megan Reilly with her band at Lakeside, 9 PM.

7/7, 9 PM smart, original, eclectic Americana songwriter Kelley Swindall at Banjo Jim’s

7/7 midnight smart oldtimey chanteuse/swing guitarist Miss Tess at the small room at the Rockwood.

7/8, 7:30 PM a killer dark Jewish jazz/instrumental doublebill with Anthony Coleman’s Sephardic Tinge followed by Barbez – whose latest album, a homage to Holocaust poet Paul Celan, is absolutely transcendent – at le Poisson Rouge, $12 gen adm.

7/8 smart new tuneful guitar jazz with the Brent Canter Group: Brent Canter – guitar , Noah Preminger – tenor sax , Adam Klipple – organ , Matt Clohesy – bass , Greg Ritchie – drums, 7:30 PM at Smalls

7/8, 8 PM Noah & the Megafauna play lush Tom Waits-ish stuff at Barbes followed at 10 by the high-energy oldtimey Baby Soda Jazz Band.

7/8, 8 PM Ocote Soul Sounds play trippy live dub cumbia at Bowery Poetry Club

7/8 tight, soaring oldschool honkytonk band Yarn – with a horn section – at Southpaw, 9ish, $12.

7/8 haunting soulful 60s soul/rock lyrical songwriter Dina Rudeen at the Jalopy, 9 PM, $5

7/8, 9 PM badass Australian country songwriter Kasey Chambers at Bowery Ballroom, $25 gen adm.

7/8, 9 PM veteran Cali-Mex rockers Los Lobos at Prospect Park Bandshell.

7/8 dark rock chanteuse Nicole Atkins & the Sea at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, 9 PM, $12 adv tix avail. at the Mercury weekdays til 7 PM.

7/8, 10 PM El Pueblo, one of the most eclectic and dubwise reggae-en-Espanol bands around, at Shrine

7/8 the Jack Grace Band bring their oldschool 60s country cool and crazed antics to Rodeo Bar, 10ish.

7/8 clever, sardonically amusing Nashville gothic band Maynard & the Musties at Kenny’s Castaways, 10 PM

7/8, 11:30 PM a rare and truly intense Ecuadorian skaragga triplebill at Drom with M.A.K.U, rustic frenetic Chota Madre and the psychedelic, reggae-tinged Bachaco at half past one in the morning, $10

7/8, midnight, sly acoustic jam band Tall Tall Trees at the big room at the Rockwood.

7/9, 1 (one) PM SAS Orchestra – a 12 piece orchestra playing music of legendary Pittsburgh no wave/funk outfit Stick Against Stone at Von King Park in Bed Stuy (Marcy between Greene & Lafayette).

7/9, 4 PM a cool melodic punk triplebill with the Ovens, Homewreckers and Little Victory at ABC No Rio.

7/9, 4 (four) PM an auspicious start to the night with the Jordan Young organ trio with Jordan Young – drums , Joe Sucato – tenor sax , Brian Charette – B3 organ at Smalls

7/9, 5 (five) PM at Barbes: Day in Pictures with Matt Bauder on reeds; Justin Walter on trumpet, Kris Davis on piano, Jason Ajemian on bass and Chad Taylor on drums, followed at 8 by tango bass maven Pedro Giraudo’s sextet. Day in Pictures are also here on 7/16.

7/9, 7 PM politically aware indie rocker Ted Leo & the Pharmacists play South St. Seaport

7/9, 7:30 PM late golden-age hip-hop with Raekwon, Smif-N-Wessun, Joell Ortiz, Skyzoo, Neek the Exotic & Large Professor, no idea who’s opening or headlining, at Prospect Park Bandshell.

7/9, 7:30 PM smart, tuneful, literate, Aimee Mann-inflected chamber pop band Elizabeth & the Catapult at the Mercury, $12 gen adm.

7/9, 8:30 PM torchy jazz/pop pianist/songwriter Abby Payne at Caffe Vivaldi

7/9, 9 PM creepily haunting, intense female-fronted trip-hop/goth band Vespertina – who put on one of the best shows we’ve seen all year – at the Delancey, followed eventually at 11 by hypnotic groovy shoegaze/downtempo band El Jezel

7/9, 9/10:30 PM multi-reed paradigm-shifter Matana Roberts leads a quintet with Daniel Levin – cello, Shoko Nagai – piano, Thomson Kneeland – bass, Tomas Fujiwara – drums, at the Jazz Gallery, $20.

7/9, 9 PM low-key, rustic the Weal and the Woe, haunting newschool bluegrass/gothic Frankenpine and kick-ass country band the Flanks play the tail end of the latest Brooklyn County Fair extravaganza at the Jalopy, $10; the whole thing starts during the day at the Urban Meadow just around the corner around noon with half-hour sets by a ton of bands.

7/9, 9 PM hilarious fake French garage rockers les Sans Culottes at Coco 66, $10

7/9 Jazzimodo – sort of the Chilean Goldfrapp – at Drom, 9:30 PM, only $5.

7/9, 10 PM ferocious female-fronted noise/art-rock/funk powerhouse System Noise at the Parkside, $5.

7/9, 10 PM Rockers Galore play roots reggae at Shrine.

7/9, 10 PM ska jazz sax legend Dave Hillyard & the Rocksteady 7 at Two Boots Brooklyn

7/9, rockabilly/surf/punk legend Simon & the Bar Sinisters at Lakeside, 10:15ish.

7/10 it’s the Mafrika festival at Marcus Garvey Park in Spanish Harlem, an all-day extravaganza of global African-influenced music starting at 10 AM?!!? with Brazil’s Quenia Ribeiro & Samba Samba, rocksteady/reggae band Finotee, Makane Kouyate & Denbaya, the Dakar All-Stars, Afrobeat band Super Hi-Fi, hip-hop with Skotch Davis, kora virtuoso Yacouba Diabate, Sekouba, the Band Droids, eclectic psychedelic funksters the People’s Champs, Soul of Anubis and Ethiopia’s Arki headlining.

7/10 Les Chauds Lapins play a Bastille Day show at E. 60th Street near Park Ave., 2 PM – sultry vocals, chiming ukuleles and lots of innuendo, in French.

7/10, 3 (three) PM the Hard Nips play the Fulton Stall Market at South St. Seaport. Imagine if Shonen Knife had been born 20 years later and were better musicians. Their album is titled I Shit U Not.

7/10, 7 PM hypnotic African sounds on the water: Abdoulaye Alhassane and the Deep Sahara Band at Pier One on the upper west.

7/10, 7 PM Crepuscular Activity with Yukari on flutes and up-and-coming drummer Carlo Costa at Downtown Music Gallery.

7/10, 8 PM the Microscopic Septet’s reliably eclectic, devious Joel Forrester plays the piano to accompany the silent films: Brats with Laurel & Hardy, The High Sigh by Buster Keaton, and Diary of a Rarebit Fiend by Windsor McCay at the Gershwin Hotel, $10

7/10, 9 PM drummer Jordan Young leads his excellent jazz quartet at the Fat Cat.

7/11, 7 PM 40Twenty with Vinnie Sperraza – drums; Jacob Sacks – piano; Jacob Garchik – trombone, and Dave Ambrosio – bass play melodic jazz with third-stream tinges followed at 9:30 PM by incomparably fun, danceable latin soul revivalists Spanglish Fly at Barbes

7/11, 7:30 PM Bjorkestra frontwoman Becca Stevens’ Band at the big room at the Rockwood.

7/11, 9 PM cleverly haunting, intense Americana/art-rock/punk songwriter Raquel Bell at Pete’s.

7/11, 9 PM oldtimey night at Local 269: the Cornell Bros. Washtub Band followed by the Shaggy Dolls at 10.

7/11, 9 PM trombonist David White leads his Jazz Orchestra at Tea Lounge in Park Slope

7/11 hypnotic pensive indie songwriter Bill Callahan f.k.a. Smog at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, 9 PM, $20 gen adm; 7/12 he’s at Bowery Ballroom, same time, same price.

7/12, 7 PM interesting solo guitarists: Tim Heap at Local 269 followed by Homeboy Steve Antonakos. Antonakos is also at Banjo Jim’s solo on 7/25 at 9.

7/12, 7:30 PM a characteristically eclectic cross-pollinating show with string quartet Brooklyn Rider plus shakuhachi virtuoso Kojiro Umezaki at the Schimmel Center at Pace Univ. 3 Spruce St. downtown, free tix avail. starting at 5 PM.

7/12-17 pianist Marcus Roberts leads a trio with Rodney Jordan and Jason Marsalis at Dizzy’s Club, 7:30/9:30 PM, $30 seats avail.

7/12, 8 PM oldschool NYC rock supergroup the Peaceniks – with Patti Rothberg and Utopia’s Moogy Klingman – at Banjo Jim’s

7/12-16, 8:30/11 PM Pablo Zeigler’s tango nuevo project with cantante Sandra Luna at Birdland, $30 seats avail.

7/12, 9:30 PM the Dave Gibson Group play the cd release show for their excellent new soul-jazz cd End of the Tunnel with Dave Gibson – trombone , Julius Tolentino – alto sax , Jared Gold – organ , Anwar Marshall – drums at Smalls

7/13 noirish soul/rock band Shenandoah & the Night at Bryant Park, free, 6 PM

7/13, 7 PM jazz bass powerhouse Christian McBride & Inside Straight at Madison Square Park, free.

7/13, 7 PM a Jonathan Schwartz tribute at Rockefeller Park featuring a huge cast of jazz luminaries incl. John Pizzarelli, Jessica Molaskey, Bill Charlap, Meredith D’ambrosio, Tony DeSare, Rebecca Kilgore, Hilary Kole, Jay Leonhart, Tony Monte, Bucky Pizzarelli, Tierney Sutton and others, no idea who’s playing when but the band should be killer.

7/13, 9 PM blistering improvisational Balkan madness with Raya Brass Band at Radegast Hall

7/13, 10ish tongue-in-cheek, period-perfect early 50s style country from Susquehanna Industrial Tool & Die Co. at Rodeo Bar.

7/13, 11 PM golden-age hip-hop stars Pharoahe Monch & Black Rob, OGC (from Fab 5), Helta Skeltah,, Smif & Wessun, Black Moon at B.B. King’s

7/14, 7 PM Patti Smith at Castle Clinton in Battery Park, free tix avail. 2 per person on the line outside the castle starting at 4 PM.

7/14, 8:30 PM haunting noir southwestern gothic chanteuse Kerry Kennedy and Ghostwise, at Public Assembly, free – a good choice if you can’t make it to Patti Smith.

7/14 drummer Tim Kuhl leads a group feat. Michael Formanek, bass; Ben Gerstein, trombone; Jonathan Goldberger, guitar; Frantz Loriot, viola; Jonathan Moritz, saxes playing the cd release show for his new one at 8:30 PM at Cornelia St. Cafe.

7/14, 10 PM melodic adventurous jazz improv with Kris Davis, Ingrid Laubrock and Tyshawn Sorey at the Stone, $10

7/14, 10 PM eclectically captivating Americana chanteuse Julia Haltigan at the small room at the Rockwood. Then she goes next door and plays a set with the Dirty Urchins in the big room at midnight.

7/14, 10 PM scorching, fun glampunk/noiserockers the K-Holes at Union Hall, $8.

/14, 10 PM dubwise Brazilian-influenced roots reggae band Kiwi at Maxwell’s, $8

7/14, 10 PM New Madrid play Spike Hill. Catchy, hook-driven rock en Espanol from this drummer-led band with a genuinely dark 80s feel.

7/14, 10:30 PM wild improvisational Balkan madness with Veveritse Brass Band at the Jalopy, $10.

7/14 the Snow’s clever lyrical frontman Pierre de Gaillande sings his own hilariously accurate translations of classic Georges Brassens songs at 10:30 PM at Barbes.

7/15, 6 PM haunting acoustic Nashville gothic band the Whispering Tree at the small room at the Rockwood.

7/15, 6:40 PM (six forty in the evening) sultry, ferociously lyrical, hilarious oldtimey siren Kelli Rae Powell at the American Folk Art Museum (new location, 2 Lincoln Center, across Amsterdam from the main Lincoln Center plaza)

7/15, 8 PM crazy funky brass band the Underground Horns at Barbes followed at 10 by Brian Carpenter’s Ghost Train Orchestra playing rare 1920s hot jazz classics from Harlem and Chicago from their pretty amazing new album.

7/15, 8 PM art-rock multi-instrumentalist/composer Christina Courtin at Bowery Electric

7/15, 8 PM Colorform followed by Cementhead – awful segue, good bands – at Local 269. The first play chamber pop while a band member paints; the second are an oldschool Williamsburg power trio with savage post-Johnny Marr guitar.

7/15, 8 PM notable free jazz trumpeter Nate Wooley leads a quintet with Josh Sinton (bass clarinet) Matt Moran (vibes) Dan Peck (tuba) Harris Eisenstadt (drums) at the Stone, $10.

7/15, 9 PM indie pop maven Kendall Meade brings her gorgeously tuneful most recent project Mascott out of mothballs at Rock Shop, $10 adv tix rec.

7/15, 9 PM a cool roots reggae doublebill with Khalilah and Melekel at Shrine.

7/15, 9ish Colombian band Frente Cumbiero play live dub cumbia at Sycamore Bar in Ditmas Park.

7/15, 9:30 PM best doublebill of the year? Maybe. Neko Case’s backing band the Sadies followed by the Syd Barrett-ish Black Angels at Maxwell’s, $20 adv tix absolutely required, at either the club or Other Music in Manhatan, this will sell out.

7/15 the Boss Guitars play surf classics and obscurities at 11 at Lakeside.

7/15 ferocious Pogues cover band Streams of Whiskey play Paddy Reilly’s at 11; they’re back here on 7/22 at 8:30 opening for the Prodigals (who are also back here on 7/29 at 11 – got it?)

7/15, half past midnight Kris Davis on piano and Barry Altschul on drums plus guests TBA at the Blue Note, $10, best lineup they’ve had here in months.

7/16, half past noon, classic pop maven Elisa Peimer and her band followed by Americana rockers Whisperado on Governor’s Island, free, follow the sound

7/16, 4 PM C&W/Brazilian dance band Nation Beat, sultry Nina Simone-influenced worldbeat siren Meklit Hadero and then Arturo O’Farrill’s latin jazz quartet at the Stuyvesant Town oval, free, take the 15th St. entrance.

7/16, 5 PM a typical brilliant eclectic triplebill at Barbes: sax player Matt Bauder’s Day in Pictures with Kris Davis on piano followed at 8 by the psychedelic south Asian trance jazz of Mr. Ho’s Orchestrotica Quartet and then at 10 by Colombian band Frente Cumbiero who play live dub cumbia

7/16, 7ish PM-ish the Black Angels play their hypnotic eerie psychedelic rock at South St. Seaport.

7/16, 7 PM charismatic, ferociously lyrical NYC noir rock legend LJ Murphy at Banjo Jim’s.

7/16, 7 PM tuneful alto saxophonist Marc McDonald leads his Quartet with the reliably excellent Jim Ridl on piano at Miles Cafe, $20 includes a drink and snacks

7/16, 7:30 PM percussionist/composer Alessandra Belloni leads an all-female quintet with Jessica Valiente on reeds and Eve Sicular on drums playing Belloni’s mystical sea goddess tribute at the NY Open Center, 22 East 30th St., $25.

7/16 as usual, the month’s best rock night is at Trash Bar starting at 8 with the Highway Gimps – the missing link between Motorhead and My Bloody Valentine – quirky upbeat indie duo Eleanor, Let Me Crazy, legendary Dead Milkmen frontman Joe Jack Talcum, the ferociously tuneful, charismatic anti-gentrification rockers the Brooklyn What, and Grand Rapids sometime around midnight.

7/16, 8 PM creepy Nashville gothic siren Lorraine Leckie followed by the quieter but equally captivating Kelley Swindall at Otto’s

7/16, 8 PM high-energy soul legend Andre Williams with Neko Case’s backing band the Sadies at Brooklyn Bowl, $8.

7/16, 8 PM Brother Num, frontman of the Nu Afrika Project plays roots reggae at Shrine.

7/16, 8:30 PM guitarist Travis Reuter – who just put out a tremendously enjoyable new free-ish, atmospheric jazz album – leads a quintet at I-Beam, $10

7/16, 9 PM intense, politically aware, eclectic gypsy punk/latin band Rupa & the April Fishes at the Bell House, $15 gen adm.

7/16, 9 PM, melodically ornate, goth-inflected pianist/songwriter Kristin Hoffmann at Caffe Vivaldi.

7/16, 9:30 PM the recently revamped and reinvigorated retro soul band the One and Nines at Maxwell’s, $8

7/16, 10 PM guitarist Dave Benjoya’s eclectic gypsy/latin/klezmer band Magpie at Freddy’s.

7/16, 10:30 PM Patti Smith guitarist (and powerpop maven) Lenny Kaye followed by garage rock legends the Fleshtones‘ cd release show at the Mercury $12 adv tix rec.

7/16 clever, funny, fiery Americana punk band Spanking Charlene – playing stuff from their auspicious forthcoming Where Are the Freaks album – at Lakeside, 11 PM.

7/16, 11 PM torchy, hypnotic, downtempo keyboard soul/pop trio Mattison in the back room at the Gutter bowling alley in Williamsburg, $5.

7/17, 7 PM free jazz sax legend George Garzone and the Fringe at MOMA’s Summergarden, free with $20 admission.

7/17 noir guitar maven Marc Ribot’s Ceramic Dog play the Rocks Off Concert Cruise aboard the Half Moon, boarding at 7, leaving at 8 from the 23rd St. heliport and the East River, $20 tix available at the Highline Ballroom box ofc. Ostensibly this is the “danceable” set.

7/17 Pink Martini at Central Park Summerstage, early arrival 7 PM highly advised.

7/17 a cool bluegrass doublebill at Rodeo Bar starting at 9ish with Rhode Island’s Filthy Still followed by Brooklyn’s exhilarating Thy Burden at 10:30 or so

7/17, 9:30 PM ferociously literate and side-splittingly funny ukelele siren Kelli Rae Powell at the Jalopy, $10.

7/18, 7 PM concertina virtuoso Padraig Rynne at Barbes followed at 9:30 by Spanglish Fly’s bugalu party.

7/18, 9 PM smart, intense, anthemic noir rocker Alice Texas at LIC Bar.

7/18, 9 PM the Yaozeki Big Band at Tea Lounge in Park Slope

7/18 the K-Holes play fiery dark eclectic punk/garage/swamp rock at Death by Audio, midnight-ish

7/19 the Williamsburg Salsa Orchestra in the parking lot out behind City Winery, 5:30 PM, free.

7/19-24, 7:30/9:30 PM lyrical jazz pianist Fred Hersch leads a trio at the Vanguard

7/19, 7:30ish 80s hip-hop legend (and LL Cool nemesis) Kool Moe Dee at Queensbridge Park, F to 21st St.

7/19, 8 PM two excellent jazz acts for the price of less than half of one: the Pedro Giraudo Jazz Orchestra followed by bassist Ben Williams & the Checkout at the 92YTribeca, $12 gen adm.

7/19, 9 PM dark lyrical rocker Randi Russo – whose new album Fragile Animal is our pick for best of 2011 so far – at Pete’s followed at 10 by the Dive Bar Dukes. Too funny. Not that the Dive Bar Dukes are a bad band – they’re actually a lot of fun – it’s just one extreme to the other.

7/19, 9 PM intense yet subtle pan-Asian jazz chanteuse/composer Jen Shyu at Korzo.

7/19, 10 PM Balkan/jazz trumpeter Ben Syversen’s Cracked Vessel play their assaultive, intense improvs at Local 269, $7

7/19, 10 PM talented avant garde guitarist Gyan Riley with adventurous guzheng virtuoso Wu Fei at the Stone, $10. Fei is also solo at MOMA’s Summergarden on 7/21 at 5:30, free w/$20 museum adm.

7/19 it appears that the Toots & the Maytals show at Brooklyn Bowl is sold out. He’ll also be there on 7/25 and $26 tix are still available.

7/20 haunting psychedelic Iranian/American rock with the Mast, 8 PM at Mehanata; 7/28 they’re at Bar 4 in Park Slope at 9

7/20 eclectic tuneful female-fronted new wave/art-rock band Changing Modes – responsible for our pick for best song of 2010 – 9 PM at Fontana’s

7/20 desert blues legends Tinariwen at Highline Ballroom, 9 PM, $27 adv tix rec.

7/20, 9 PM impressively diverse Hammond B3 organ jazz grooves with the Brian Charette Trio at the Fat Cat.

7/20, 10 PM Baron Misuraca’s Vampire Lounge (twisted versions of “lounge classics”) followed at 11 by the Apehangers playing Joe Meek-style surf music at Otto’s

7/20, 10 PM San Juan Hill play latin soul with funk, Caribbean and Brazilian influences at Bowery Poetry Club, it’s a dance party for sure

7/20 the charming but biting oldtimey swing sounds of Miss Tess & the Bon Ton Parade at Rodeo Bar, 10:30 PM.

7/21-22 the Jazz Passengers’ Bill Ware’s Vibes Trio at Puppets Jazz Bar, 6 PM; on 7/23 they take over the midnight slot.

7/21, 7 PM the Plumbers play “”Tex-Mex-Calypso-billy” at Sinatra Park, Sinatra Dr. btwn 4th & 5th Sts in Hoboken.

7/21, 7 PM purist expat Chicago blues guitarist Irving Louis Lattin at Terra Blues. He’s also here on 7/23 and 7/24, same time.

7/21, 8 PM a killer modern roots reggae triplebill with Ilamawana, Kevin Kinsella (ex-John Brown’s Body) and Groundation at Hiro Ballroom, adv tix $30 at the Highline Ballroom box ofc.

7/21 ecstatic Eastern European dance mashup band Balkan Beat Box, 8 PM at Brooklyn Bowl, $12.

7/21, 8 PM piano virtuoso Nurit Tilles followed at10 by the pipa/sax/komungo wildness of Min Xiao-Fen, Jane Ira Bloom and Jin Hi Kim at the Stone, $10

7/21, 8 PM 21st century style garage rock night with Plastic Traps, the Boom Bang and the Vandelles at Union Hall, $8.

7/21, 8 PM thoughtful guitar jazz with Tin/Bag (Kris Tiner, trumpet & Mike Baggetta, guitar) with the James Ilgenfritz Group at Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, 58 7th Ave, Park Slope), $15 ($10 stud/srs).

7/21, 8 PM free jazz pianist Rema Hasumi plays the Gershwin Hotel, $10.

7/21, 8:30 PM dizzyingly eclectic Deoro feat. world music siren Dina Fanai at the big room at the Rockwood

7/21, 9 PM period-perfect, hilariously literate oldtimey songwriter Al Duvall and sultry 1920s style harmony sirens the Roulette Sisters plus some sideshow freaks (evicted from Coney Island by swindler developers?) at the Jalopy, $10

7/21 Lucinda Williams at the Beacon, 9 PM, $39.50 tix avail. at the box office – most likely sold out by now.

7/21, 10 PM a kick-ass surf music doublebill with the The Tarantinos NYC – who just keep getting better and better and more diverse – followed by the Octomen at Sugarland, 221 N 9th St. in Williamsburg, $5

7/22, 7 PM it’s been a good year for good bands winning contests. WNYC put on a “battle of the bands” contest and Queens Indian jazz band Charanams won! They’re playing the Greene Space to celebrate, $15 cover includes a beer

7/22, 7:30/9:30 PM Cuba’s excellent, original Joven Jazz Quartet – who blend oldschool Afro-Cuban beats and modern arrangements – at Drom, $TBA, adv tix highly rec.

7/22, 8 PM charming, harmony-driven oldtimey Hawaiian swing band the Moonlighters at Barbes.

7/22, 8 PM Los Chantas Tango Quartet play a free show at the Queens Theatre in the Park incl. dance lessons for the milonga-challenged, res. req. to 718-760-0064.

7/22 Brooklyn’s #1 regressive rock act, Spinal Tap style metal spoof Mighty Highat the Fortune Cookie Lounge under Lucky Cheng’s, 9 PM

7/22, 9/10:30 PM bassist Carlo DeRosa’s Cross-Fade with Mark Shim, tenor sax; Vijay Iyer, piano; Marcus Gilmore, drums at Cornelia St. Cafe, $15.

7/22, 9:45 PM Australian darkwave sensation Wendy Rule at Caffe Vivaldi

7/22 NYC’s pre-eminent alt-country crew Demolition String Band at Rodeo Bar, 10:30 PM.

7/23, 4 PM fast fearless politically-aware hardcore with Desikilibrio, Adelitas and Huasipungo at ABC No Rio.

7/23, the A-Bones and the Greenhornes play a garage rock Rocks Off Concert Cruise aboard the Queen of Hearts, boarding at 7, departing at 8 from Pier 40, Houston St. and the westside highway, adv tix $30 available at the Highline Ballroom box ofc.

7/23, 8 PM sitar virtuoso Ikhlaq Hussain at the Gershwin Hotel, $25/$20 stud.

7/23, 9/10:30 PM intense, smartly lyrical pianist Michael Cain leads a trio with Lonnie Plaxico – bass, Rudy Royston – drums at the Jazz Gallery, $20.

7/23, 10 PM authentic oldschool rocksteady band the Bluebeats at Two Boots Brooklyn

7/23, midnight, hilarious theatrical hip-hop personality Schaffer the Darklord at Arlene’s.

7/24, 6 (six) PM AwShockKiss play fiery tuneful female-fronted anthemic rock with an 80s vibe that’s not cheesy at LIC Bar

7/24, 7 PM eclecic violist Ljova joins Octavio Brunetti’s Apeadero Sur Tango Orchestra for a night of tangos on Pier 84, free.

7/24, 8 PM a killer doublebill at le Poisson Rouge with reliably menacing retro rocker Reid Paley followed by Frank Black, and probably some collaboration between the two. This will sell out – $20 adv tix a must.

7/24 Susan Mitchell – violinist to the stars, and a star in her own right – with ubiquitous guitar genius Homeboy Steve Antonakos at Caravan of Dreams, E. 6th St. off 1st Ave., 8 PM.

7/24, 8 PM LES powerpop vets Beat Rodeo at the small room at the Rockwood

7/24, 8:30 PM fiery, lyrical jazz pianist Bobby Avey leads a quartet with Dave Liebman, alto saxophone; Thomson Kneeland, bass; Jordan Perlson, drums at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10.

7/24, 8:30 PM hypnotic cello/vibraphone duo Goli at 9:30. followed at 9:30 by Petaluma Vale’s classical harp stylings at Caffe Vivaldi.

7/25 one of the most captivating, underrated composers in jazz, alto flugelhornist Scott Reeves leads a jazz orchestra at Tea Lounge in Park Slope, 9 PM – free and highly recommended.

7/25, 9 PM David Honeyboy Edwards – the last guy to see Robert Johnson alive – at B.B. King’s, $20 adv tix rec.

7/25, 10 PM guitarist Joel Harrison and sarodist Anupam Shobhakar lead an adventurous south Asian jazz quintet at 55 Bar.

7/25, 10:30 PM Cuban jazz legends Sierra Maestra at SOB’s, $20 adv tix highly rec.

7/25 Daria Grace and the Pre-War Ponies play charming oldtimey and country songs at Rodeo Bar, 10:30 PM

7/26 Brazilian nocturnes and grooves with Forro in the Dark in the parking lot out behind City Winery, 5:30 PM, free.

7/26, 7 PM NYC’s only black old time string band, the Ebony Hillbillies at Gantry Plaza State Park in Long Island City.

7/26 Grupo Los Santos with saxophonist Paul Carlon and Hazmat Modine’s Pete Smith on guitar at Miles Cafe, 7 PM, $20 includes a drink and snacks

7/26-31 understatedly soulful chanteuse Claudia Acuna leads her amazing quintet with Marc Cary on piano and Juancho Herrera on guitar at Dizzy’s Club, 7:30/9:30 PM, $30 seats avail.

7/26, 7:30 PM the Matt Herskowitz Trio plays Bach, Schumann and Chopin at the Naumburg Bandshell in Central Park, early arrival advised if you want a seat.

7/26, 8:30 PM clever lyrical songwriters Joe McGinty and Ward White at Bowery Electric.

7/26, 9 PM the Five Deadly Venoms play bluegrass at Caffe Vivaldi.

7/26 guitarslinger/janglemeister Sam Sherwin plays the cd release show for his new one Iodine Cocktails at Sullivan Hall, 9:30 PM

7/27, 6 PM clever, comedic Erin & Her Cello at Bryant Park, 6 PM, free

7/27, 7:30 PM dark hypnotic songwriter Marissa Nadler at the Mercury; 7/30, 9 PM she’s at at Littlefield, both shows are $12

7/27 rockabilly legend Wanda Jackson at Central Park Summerstage, early arrival 7 PM highly advised.

7/27, 7:30 PM the Black Earth Boys feat. kora virtuoso Juldeh Camara followed by Billy Bragg at Damrosch Park out back of Lincoln Center.

7/27, 8 PM powerhouse classical guitarists Thomas Flippin and Rupert Boyd team up as a duo, and share the bill with the cutting-edge flute/efx duo Flutronix at the Gershwin Hotel, $10

7/27, 8 PM smartly aware, tuneful Americana rocker Amy Speace at the small room at the Rockwood.

7/27, 8:30 PM Ollabelle spinoff the Silver Hollers play oldtime Americana at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10.

7/27, 9 PM deliciously creepy noir psychedelic soundtrack instrumentals with Mojo Mancini (feat. John Leventhal from Rosanne Cash’s band plus Brian Mitchell from Dylan’s touring band) at the big room at the Rockwood, $10

7/27, 9 PM eclectic powerhouse Malian chanteuse Oumou Sangare at City Winery, $35 tix avail.

7/27,9 PM Niger’s desert blues legends Etran Finatawa at the 92YTribeca, $22 adv tix highly rec.

7/27, 9 PM trumpeter Ben Syversen’s noisy, intense free jazz outfit Cracked Vessel at Freddy’s.

7/27, 9:30 PM arguably the most ecstatically fun live band in NYC, “turbo tropical cumbia tangomuffins (?)” Escarioka at Bowery Electric.

7/28, the Roulette Sisters’ sultry oldtime music maven Mamie Minch at MOMA’s Summergarden, 5:30 PM, free w/$20 museum adm.

7/28, 8 PM trombonist Joseph Bowie’s legendary Defunkt – who tore up clubs all over town in the 80s, and are reputedly as groovalicious as ever – at Drom, $10 adv tix highly rec.

7/28, 8 PM Pauline Oliveros (accordion) Rosi Herlein (violin, voice) at the Stone, $10, get there early if you want to get in.

7/28 Budos Band play a concert cruise aboard the Queen of Hearts, leaving from 40. West Houston St. at West Side Highway at 8 PM sharp, adv tix $30 avail. at the Highline Ballroom box ofc.

7/28, 8 PM vocal jazz quintet Detour Ahead butcher schlocky pop hits by Lady Gag, Duran Duran, Kiss and others at the Gershwin Hotel, $10 – could be hilarious, could be hell.

7/28 first-class up-and-coming country siren Drina and the Deep Blue Sea, 9 PM at Banjo Jim’s

7/28, 9 PM smart, funny, female-fronted, indelibly NYC urban pop band Delusions of Grand Street at Fontana’s.

7/28, 9:30 PM powerhouse melodic postbop jazz with Ralph Bowen – tenor sax , Jim Ridl – piano , Kenny Davis – bass , Billy Drummond – drums at Smalls.

7/28, 10:30 PM big buzz band New Atlantic Youth – a powerpop spinoff of the Brooklyn What – at Rock Shop, $8

7/29, 7:30 PM brilliant, soulful Lebanese multi-instrumentalist/composer Bassam Saba and his ensemble followed by eclectic, fearless Malian siren Oumou Sangare at Prospect Park Bandshell.

7/29, 7:30 PM hilarious, virtuosic oldtimey/grasscore band The Devil Makes Three at the Mercury, $12 adv tix very highly rec.

7/29, 8 PM excellent eclectic danceable doublebill: Brazilian/C&W band Nation Beat followed by the Mexican-American Go-Go’s, Pistolera, playing the cd release for their new one El Desierto y La Ciudad at Drom, $10 adv tix highly rec.

7/29, 8 PM the monthly ska extravaganza returns to Trash Bar with the Fighting 405, Big Shots, Scrapers, 45 Adapters, Unit 6 and Hub City Stompers sometime around midnight.

7/29, 8 PM in case you can’t make it out to Barbes for deliriously fun, danceable latin soul bugalu revivalists Spanglish Fly‘s Monday residency this month, they’re playing SOB’s for just $10

7/29, 8 PM avant garde piano star Sarah Cahill plays the world premiere of Paul Dresher’s new piece “Two, Entwined” at the Stone.

7/29 an amazing lineup led by guitarist Mary Halvorson: Jonathan Finlayson, trumpet; Jon Irabagon, alto saxophone; John Hebert , bass; Ches Smith, drums, 9/10:30 PM at Cornelia St. Cafe, $15.

7/29, 9/10:30 PM percussionist Adam Rudolph leads a globally astute octet with Joseph Bowie – trombone; Graham Haynes – cornet/flugelhorn; Brahim Fribgane – oud; Kenny Wessel – guitars; Peter Apfelbaum – flute/tenor saxophone; Jerome Harris – acoustic bass guitar/slide guitar; Matt Kilmer – percussion at the Jazz Gallery, $20

7/29-30 the Eels at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, 9 PM, $30 gen adm., adv tix avail. at the Mercury weekdays til 7, this may sell out.

7/29, 9ish the Night Beats play ominous lo-fi psychedelic garage rock at Maxwell’s

7/29, 9 PM Iranian indie rock with Raam (frontman of Hypernova) and Radio Tehran at the 92YTribeca, $10 adv tix rec.

7/29, 9 PM Big Star-influenced janglerockers the Nu-Sonics at Freddy’s.

7/29 Canadian bluegrass stars Luther Wright and the Wrongs – the folks responsible for the bluegrass version of Pink Floyd’s The Wall – at Rodeo Bar 10ish

7/30, 4 PM psychedelic, rustic, horn-driven blues/klezmer/minor-key band Hazmat Modine followed by Steven Bernstein’s Millennian Territory Orchestra (no idea if they’re doing their Sly Stone set or not) at the World Financial Center plaza.

7/30, 6 PM a cool country doublebill: Rhett Miller followed by the always hilarious Hayes Carll at the Stuyvesant Town oval, free, take the 15th St. entrance

7/30, 6 PM Indian brass band Red Baraat, go-go godfather Chuck Brown and Dr. John & the Lower 9/11 at Prospect Park Bandshell.

7/30, 7:30 PM comedic and virtuosic Erin & Her Cello at the big room at the Rockwood.

7/30, 7:30/9:30 PM a cool B3 trio with Jacam Manricks – alto sax; Gary Versace – organ; Matt Wilson – drums at the Bar Next Door

7/30, 9 PM ecstatically fun, intense gypsy punk/metal cumbia/rock en Espanol band Escarioka – one of our favorites – at Mehanata.

7/30, 9/10:30 PM Ralph Alessi – trumpet, Kris Davis – piano, Ingrid Laubrock – saxophone, Tom Rainey – drums at the Jazz Gallery, $20.

7/30, 9:30 PM baritone western swing crooner Sean Kershaw & the New Jack Ramblers at Hill Country

7/30, 10 PM Kiwi plays roots reggae with dub and Brazilian tinges at Shrine.

7/30 the Pretty Babies (Tammy Faye Starlite’s twisted, funny Blondie cover band) at Lakeside, 11 PM

7/31 French gypsy rockers Watcha Clan followed by Israeli Middle Eastern/Indian jam band Yemen Blues at Central Park Summerstage, early arrival 3 PM highly advised.

7/31, 4 PM the Raveonettes at the Beekman Beer Garden (formerly Water Taxi Beach) at Pier 17 at South St. Seaport.

7/31, 4:45 PM a dual organ recital by Steven Distad and Robert Frazier playing Eben, Paulus, Widor and Liszt at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

7/31 the NJMH Afro-Cuban All Stars play sizzling salsa jazz at 6:30 PM at Grant’s Tomb, 122nd St. and Riverside Drive, free. When’s the last time you saw a concert at Grant’s Tomb?

7/31, 7 PM stars of the NYC Balkan underground: Patrick Farrell (accordion) and Ben Holmes (trumpet) at Barbes followed at 9 by gypsy guitar genius Stephane Wrembel.

7/31, 9ish oldtime hot jazz with the Dysfunctional Family Jazz Band at Rodeo Bar.

7/31, 1 AM (actually wee hours of 8/2) El Pueblo plays eclectic dub reggae en Espanol at the small room at the Rockwood

8/1, 8:30 PM alto sax powerhouse Jon Irabagon and brilliant free jazz drummer Barry Altschul, probably revisiting Irabagon’s recent Pharaoh Sanders homage at Cornelia St. Cafe $10 followed at 10 by his much funnier, satirical band Mostly Other People Do the Killing (separate admission, $10).

8/1 midnight-ish the Kottonmouth Kings – yeah, they’re sort of the reggae version of Cypress Hill, but they’re still fun – at Highline Ballroom, $22 adv tix highly rec.

8/2 the CCB Reggae Allstars in the parking lot out behind City Winery, 5:30 PM, free.

8/2 gamelan orchestra Yowana Sari play 7 PM at Gantry Plaza State Park in Long Island City.

8/2, 7:30/9:30 PM veteran bassist Rufus Reid leads a killer quartet including Bobby Watson and JD Allen playing the cd release show for his new one at Dizzy’s Club, $30 seats avail., this will sell out

8/2, 8 PM the Mingus Orchestra plays Washington Square Park, free.

8/2, 10 PM smart guitar-driven Sephardic-tinged rock with Sway Machinery at the 92YTribeca, $10 adv tix rec

8/3 Ethiopian groove unit Budos Band at Tappen Park in Staten Island, Staten Island train to Stapleton.

8/3, 8 PM intense, ferocious Americana/paisley underground rockers the Newton Gang at Union Hall, $10

8/3, 10 PM Cambodian psychedelic pop revivalists Dengue Fever  at Southpaw $15 gen adm.; 8/4 they’re at Damrosch Park out back of Lincoln Center for free

8/4, 6:30 PM Balkan powerhouse Raya Brass Band on the Broadway plaza at Lincoln Center, free.

8/4 Chilean cumbia sensation Chico Trujillo at MOMA’s Summergarden, 5:30 PM, free w/$20 museum adm.; they’re at le Poisson Rouge at 11ish the same night for $8 less if you get advance tix.

8/4, 8 PM charming yet badass Americana harmony sirens the Sweetback Sisters at the big room at the Rockwood

8/4, a twangy guitar summit with the eclectic Bill Kirchen and surf rockers Los Straitjackets at Maxwell’s, 9ish, $15.

8/5, 7 PM Tom Waits-ish Nashville gothic singer Mark Growden at the small room at the Rockwood

8/5, 7:30 PM one of the western world’s premier Middle Eastern ensembles, Bassam Saba and the NY Arabic Orchestra at Damrosch Park out back of Lincoln Center, free.

8/5, 8 PM a roots reggae triplebill with the Rootsetters, Tronika and the Hard Times at Shrine.

8/5, 9:30 PM noir Americana pop band Little Embers followed by exhilarating Radiohead-influenced art-rockers My Pet Dragon playing their cd release show at the Mercury, $10 gen adm.

8/5 kick ass Americana rockers Tom Clark & the High Action Boys at Lakeside, 11 PM.

8/6 jazz trumpeter Leron Thomas – a fearless, charismatic, frequently hilarious performer – plays the cd release show for his characteristically eclectic new cd Dirty Draws Volume Three at the 92YTribeca, 9 PM, $10 adv tix highly rec.

8/6, 9 PM satirical Chinese-American hip-hop crew the Notorious MSG play the cd release show for their new one at the Mercury, $10 gen adm.

8/7, 7 PM haunting hypnotic Sephardic soundscapes and rock songs with Galeet Dardashti and Divahn at Pier One on the upper west

8/7, 9:30 PM hip-hop/Afrobeat innovator/bandleader Blitz the Ambassador at Damrosch Park out back of Lincoln Center, free.

8/7, 10ish excellent Boston honkytonk rockers Girls Guns & Glory play songs off their highly anticipated forthcoming album Sweet Nothings at Rodeo Bar

8/8, 8:30 PM bassist Chris Tordini’s Tiger Blood with Jeremy Viner , tenor sax, clarinet; Sasha Brown, guitar; Kris Davis, piano; Jim Black, drums at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10

8/9 noir retro rock bandleader Nicole Atkins in the parking lot out behind City Winery, 5:30 PM, free.

8/9, 7 PM vibraphone/harp/percussion new music ensemble Percussia at Gantry Plaza State Park in Long Island City.

8/9-13, 7:30/9:30 PM guitarist Ed Cherry leads an intriguing trio with killer B3 organist Pat Bianchi at Dizzy’s Club, $30 seats avail.

8/9, 7:30 PM members of the Jupiter Symphony play Schubert, Mozart and Dvorak at the Naumburg Bandshell in Central Park, early arrival advised if you want a seat.

8/9, 8 PM classic roots reggae with the Abyssinians and Black Uhuru’s Mykal Rose at Highline Ballroom, $18 adv tix rec.

8/9, 8 PM purist new jazz with saxophonist Marcus Strickland with drummer Eric Harland at the 92YTribeca, $12 adv tix rec.

8/10, 7 PM oldschool latin soul stars Johnny Colon and Joe Bataan at Central Park Summerstage

8/10, 7:30 PM violinist/composer Todd Reynolds, beatboxer Adam Matta and vaudevillian Luminescent Orchestrii bandleader Sxip Shirey with Caleb Burhans, Conrad Harris, Pauline Kim Harris, Yuki Numata, Courtney Orlando, and Ben Russell followed by Laurie Anderson at Damrosch Park out back of Lincoln Center, free.

8/11, 7 PM two generations, two continents of Ethiopian grooves with Fendika and Debo Band at Damrosch Park out back of Lincoln Center, free.

8/10, 11 PM eclectic, completely original psychedelic funk/Afrobeat band the Peoples Champs at the big room at the Rockwood.

8/11, 5:30 PM highly regarded Americana songwriter James Maddock on the plaza at the World Financial Center.

8/11, 8 PM oldschool soul duo Dwight & Nicole at the big room at the Rockwood. He plays purist Steve Cropper-style guitar; she works the ethereal sultry tip for an classic wee-hours vibe.

8/11, midnight, North Carolina’s Kickin Grass play sizzling modern bluegrass at the small room at the Rockwood

8/12, 8:30ish the Detroit Cobras at the Bell House, $15 gen adm.

8/12, 9 PM Tris McCall at Littlefield. By day, he chronicles boring corporate pop music for a suburban New Jersey newspaper; at night, he sheds his skin, plugs in his keyboard and becomes one of the most acerbic, tuneful songwriters out there.

8/12, 9 PM Korean vocalese chanteuse Seung-Hee with Adam Kolker, tenor sax, bass clarinet; Ike Sturm, bass; George Schuller, drums; Seung-Hee, voice, compositions; Toru Dodo, piano at Cornelia St. Cafe, $15.

8/12, 10 PM clever, funny hip-hop/Americana band Under the Elephant at the small downstairs studio space at Webster Hall

8/13, 1 and 3 PM pioneering new-music string quartet Ethel play a free show on Governors Island, free ferries leave from the old Staten Island ferry terminal every hour on the half hour

8/13 clawhammer banjo player/songwriter Abigail Washburn at 4 PM at the plaza on the northwest side of Lincoln Center, free.

8/13, 7 PM Brooklyn’s best band, tuneful anti-gentrification punk rockers the Brooklyn What – sort of the teens equivalent of what the Dead Boys were in the 70s – at Europa, dirt cheap, $8

8/13, 7 PM 1950s rockabilly legend Sonny Burgess followed by Marty Stuart at Damrosch Park out back of Lincoln Center, free.

8/13, 9 PM a monster triplebill at Freddy’s: Americana chanteuse Rebecca Turner, Brooklyn’s own man in black, John Pinamonti and charismatic noir rocker Tom Warnick & World’s Fair at Freddy’s.

8/13, 9 PM soundtrack mini-orchestra Morricone Youth at the big room at the Rockwood.

8/14, 4:45 PM Michael Bower plays an organ recital at St. Patrick’s Cathedral

8/14, 7 PM the Bar-Kays plus Steve Cropper with Bettye LaVette, Ellis Hooks and Dylan Leblanc at Damrosch Park out back of Lincoln Center, free.

8/14, 7 PM Cuban son montuno powerhouse Los Soneros de Oriente at Pier One on the upper west

8/15 Queen Latifah at Wingate Field in Crown Heights, early arrival 6:30 PM highly advised.

8/15 and 8/17 Sameer Gupta’s Namaskar trio play hypnotic Indian jazz at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10

8/16, 7ish Bachata Heightz at Highbridge Park in Harlem, 171st and Amsterdam, A/C to 168th St.

8/17, 7 PM legendary 70s psychedelic art-rock band Nektar – who were sort of a cross between Pink Floyd and the Grateful Dead – with original members Roye Albrighton and Ron Howden at B.B. King’s, $25.

8/18, 8 PM one of the year’s best triplebills with Bakersfield-style country twanglers Alana Amram & the Rough Gems, the Texas honkytonk and zydeco of the Doc Marshalls and haunting intense original acoustic Nashville gothic/bluegrass of Frankenpine at Union Hall, $7.

8/18, 8 PM deviously fun, virtuoso art-rock piano chanteuse Greta Gertler solo at Waltz-Astoria, 24th and Ditmars Blvd., Astoria, N to Ditmars Blvd. and a six block walk

8/19, 7 PM torchy oldtime Americana quartet the Dirty Urchins at the small room at the Rockwood

8/19, 9 PM wild crazy female-fronted gypsy band Fishtank Ensemble at Union Hall, $10.

8/19 torchy intense theatrical oldtimey chanteuse April Smith & the Great Picture Show at Bowery Ballroom, 9 PM, $15 gen adm.

8/19, midnight, African roots reggae legend Tiken Jah Fakoly at SOB’s $25 adv tix highly rec., this will probably sell out. He’s also headlining Central Park Summerstage on 8/20 around 5:30, early arrival around 3 PM a must.

8/20 African reggae with Meta & the Cornerstones and Ivoirien star/freedom fighter Tiken Jah Fakoly at Central Park Summerstage, 3 PM early arrival a must.

8/20 ageless ska/rock/soul party machine the Slackers play a Rocks Off Concert Cruise aboard the Star of Palm Beach, boarding at 7, leaving at 8 from Pier 40, Houston St. and the westside highway, $30 adv tix avail. at the Highline Ballroom box ofc.

8/20, 8 PM a killer oldtimey/Americana acoustic night at the Bell House with the Resurrectionists, Woodpecker and satirical faux-country girls Menage a Twang.

8/21 oldschool hip-hop stars EPMD at Central Park Summerstage, 3 PM early arrival highly advised.

8/22 really oldschool soca with Mighty Sparrow and oldschool 80s dancehall reggae with Shaggy at Wingate Field in Crown Heights, early arrival 6:30 PM highly advised

8/22, 7:30 PM the Knights play Schubert and Liszt at the Naumburg Bandshell in Central Park, early arrival advised if you want a seat.

8/22 creepy indie band Deerhunter at Webster Hall, 10ish. If you’re going to miss the Eels, these guys are very similar.

8/23, 7ish Tito Rojas at East River Park, Grand St. and the river, F to East Broadway or J/M to Delancey.

8/23-28 the JD Allen Trio at the Vanguard, 7:30/9:30 PM. This is a good year for good artists and composers winning awards: tenor sax powerhouse Allen has been long, long overdue for his Downbeat #1 Rising Star award this year. His trio with Gregg August on bass and Rudy Royston on drums hit a lot of transcendent notes back in May at le Poisson Rouge.

8/24, 7ish the Cold Crush Brothers at East River Park, Grand St. and the river, F to East Broadway or J/M to Delancey.

8/25, 5:30 PM NYC’s own hypnotic Balinese gamelan orchestra, Gamelan Dharma Swara at MOMA’s Summergarden, 5:30 PM, free w/$20 museum adm.

8/26 smart, lyrical Irish-American rock legends Black 47 play a Rocks Off Concert Cruise aboard the Half Moon, boarding at 7, leaving at 8 from the heliport at 23rd St.and the FDR, $25 adv tix avail. at the Highline Ballroom box ofc.

8/26, 7 PM cellist Marika Hughes at the small room at the Rockwood.

8/26, 8 PM deviously fun, virtuoso art-rock piano chanteuse Greta Gertler followed at 1 by lush “historical orchestrette” Pinataland playing the cd release show for their long-anticipated new one Hymns for the Dreadful Night at Barbes

8/26, 9 PM garage punk guitar genius Deniz Tek of Radio Birdman in a rare trio show with Art and Steve Godoy, at the Bell House, $10 adv tix rec., this will sell out.

8/27, 1 PM day one of the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival has Tia Fuller and James Carter at Marcus Garvey Park in Spanish Harlem

8/28, 1 PM day two of the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival with the Gerald Clayton trio, Ali Jackson and the Archie Sheppp Quartet at Tompkins Square Park.

8/28, 3 PM accordion-driven klezmer quintet Danzanova at Bargemusic $25/$20 stud/srs.

8/30, 11 PM sultry chanteuse Marilyn Carino – Paula’s big sister – does her Little Genius project at the small room at the Rockwood

8/31 cutting edge melodic jazz with the John Farnsworth Quintet at Bryant Park, 6 PM, free.

8/30-31 fascinating tuneful piano-based free jazz with Pilc/Moutin/Hoenig at the Blue Note, 8/10:30 PM, $10 seats avail.

9/4, 1 and 3 PM pianists Blair McMillen and Pam Goldberg play Bach, John Adams and others with a string ensemble on Governors Island, free ferries leave from the old Staten Island ferry terminal every hour on the half hour.

9/4 Manu Chao at Terminal 5 is sold out but the 9/5, 8 PM show still has $35 tix avail.

9/8-9 plus 9/15-16, 9 PM Ian Hunter at City Winery, $35 tix avail.

9/9 Chinese-American hip-hop sensations the Notorious MSG at Southpaw, 10 PM, $10.

9/11, 7 PM at Symphony Space, free, a 9/11 memorial concert, “will feature appearances by some of New York’s most illustrious artists, actors, athletes and politicians!” How about Melora Creager of Rasputina, one of the few artists unafraid to acknowledge that 9/11 was an inside job engineered by Dick Cheney? How about Mike Piazza and John Kerry? And if there are any politicians in the house who benefited from the police state tactics that the Bush regime put into effect that fall, we encourage you to vent your frustration as sadistically as possible.

9/13, 8 PM Steve Earle at the Town Hall, $35 tix avail. at the Irving Plaza box ofc.

9/15, 8 PM the recently regrouped Klezmatics at Highline Ballroom.

9/16-17 majestic yet funk jazz piano titan Marc Cary’s Focus Trio at Smoke uptown

9/20 interestingly weird avant/indie/pop band Deerhoof at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, 11 PM, $17 gen adm.

9/21-22 Beirut at Terminal 5, 8 PM, $27 adv tix onsale 7/8.

9/23 Sameer Gupta’s amazing, hypnotic Indian-flavored jazz group with Marc Cary on piano at Baruch College Auditorium, 23rd St. and Lex., time/price TBA

9/27, 8 PM Malian guitar legend Boubacar Traore at the Bell House, $17 adv tix very highly rec.

9/27, 8 PM dark Middle Eastern-tinged instrumentalist Sir Richard Bishop opens for the Swans at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, $30 adv tix avail. at the Mercury weekdays til 7 PM, this may sell out.

9/28, 8:30ish a killer eclectic triplebill with desert blues-influenced Chicago band Pillars and Tongues, Bay area gypsy/balkan supernova A Hawk & a Hacksaw and gypsy punk band Dark Dark Dark at the Bell House, $13 adv tix very highly rec.

10/1, 10ish long-runnning original punk-pop band the Vibrators at Union Hall – the venues keep getting smaller, they keep playing the nostalgia angle – $13 adv tix rec.

10/22, 8 PM popular Americana chanteuse Gillian Welch at the Beacon Theatre, $35 tix avail.

11/17 well-loved harmony-driven Americana trio Red Molly – whose new lineup is just as captivating as the previous one – at the big room at the Rockwood, 7:30 PM

12/21 it’s Make Music Winter. Inspired by Phil Kline’s famous Gulf War-era interactive antiwar composition Unsilent Night, the Make Music NY organizers are working to schedule another citywide day/night of interesting, free live music. Pure genius. Watch this space for updates.

WEEKLY EVENTS

Sundays there’s a klezmer brunch at City Winery, show starts around 11:30 AM – 2 PM, $10 cover, no minimum, lots of good bands.

Sundays from half past noon to 3:30 PM, bluegrass cats Freshly Baked (f.k.a. Graveyard Shift), featuring excellent, incisive fiddle player Diane Stockwell play Nolita House (upstairs over Botanica at 47 E Houston). Free drink with your entree.

Sundays at 7:30 at Theatre 80 St. Marks the world’s most socially aware “reverend” and activist, Rev. Billy and his wild, ecstatic 30-piece gospel Church of Earthalujah Choir, $10 cover but “no one turned away.”

Every Sunday the Ear-Regulars, led by trumpeter Jon Kellso and (frequently) guitarist Matt Munisteri play NYC’s only weekly hot jazz session starting around 8 PM at the Ear Inn on Spring St. Hard to believe, in the city that springboarded the careers of thousands of jazz legends, but true. This is by far the best value in town for marquee-caliber jazz: for the price of a drink and a tip for the band, you can see world-famous players (and brilliant obscure ones) you’d usually have to drop $100 for at some big-ticket room. The material is mostly old-time stuff from the 30s and 40s, but the players (especially Kellso and Munisteri, who have a chemistry that goes back several years) push it into some deliciously unexpected places.

Every Sunday, hip-hop MC Big Zoo hosts the long-running End of the Weak rap showcase at the Pyramid, 9 PM, admission $5 before 10, $7 afterward. This is one of the best places to discover some of the hottest under-the-radar hip-hop talent, both short cameos as well as longer sets from both newcomers and established vets.

Mondays at the Fat Cat the Choi Fairbanks String Quartet play a wide repertoire of chamber music from Bach to Shostakovich starting at 7.

Mondays starting a little after 7 PM Howard Williams leads his Jazz Orchestra from the piano at the Garage, 99 7th Ave. S at Grove St. There are also big bands here most every Tuesday at 7.

Mondays in August the Quavers – who mix trippy downtempo art-rock with indie pop – play Barbes early at 7 PM

Mondays at the Jazz Standard it’s all Mingus, whether with the Mingus Orchestra, Big Band or Mingus Dynasty: you know the material and the players are all first rate. Sets 7:30/9:30 PM, $25 and worth it.

Also Monday nights Vince Giordano’s Nighthawks, a boisterous horn-driven 11-piece 1920s/early 30’s band play Sofia’s Restaurant, downstairs at the Edison Hotel, 221 West 46th Street between Broadway & 8th Ave., 3 sets from 8 to 11, surprisingly cheap $15 cover plus $15 minimum considering what you’re getting. Even before the Flying Neutrinos or the Moonlighters, multi-instrumentalist Giordano was pioneering the oldtimey sound in New York; his long-running residency at the old Cajun on lower 8th Ave. is legendary. He also gets a ton of film work (Giordano wrote the satirical number that Willie Nelson famously sang in Wag the Dog).

Mondays at Tea Lounge in Park Slope at 9 PM trombonist/composer JC Sanford books big band jazz, an exciting, global mix of some of the edgiest large-ensemble sounds around. If you’re anybody in the world of big band jazz and you make it to New York, you end up playing here: what CBGB was to punk, this unlikely spot promises to be to the jazz world. No cover.

Mondays at the Vanguard the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra – composer Jim McNeely’s reliably good big band vehicle – plays 9/11 PM, $30 per set plus drink minimum.

Mondays in July Spanglish Fly, with their sultry retro 60s latin soul vibe, play Barbes at 9:30 PM while Chicha Libre is off doing other things

Also Mondays in July Rev. Vince Anderson and his band play Union Pool in Williamsburg, two sets starting around 11 PM. The Rev. is one of the great keyboardists around, equally thrilling on organ or electric piano, an expert at Billy Preston style funk, honkytonk, gospel and blues. He writes very funny, very politically astute, sexy original songs and is one of the most charismatic, intense live performers of our time. It’s a crazy dance party til past three in the morning. Paula Henderson from Burnt Sugar is the lead soloist on baritone sax, with Dave Smith from Smoota and the Fela pit band on trombone, with frequent special guests.

Tuesdays at 7 PM in July it’s a classical piano series playfully titled Upright Piano Brigade, an A-list of classical talent playing the brand-new Sauter piano at Barbes.

Tuesdays in July clever, fiery, eclectic Balkan/hip-hop/funk brass maniacs Slavic Soul Party play Barbes at 9. Get here as soon as you can as they’re very popular.

Tuesdays in July the Dred Scott Trio play astonishingly smart, dark piano jazz at the smaller room at the Rockwood at midnight.

Wednesdays in July Andy Shernoff of the Dictators and the Masterplan plays Lakeside early at 7 PM. Working up new material, no doubt. Worth checking out if edgy oldschool NYC rock is your thing

Wednesdays at 9 PM Feral Foster’s Roots & Ruckus takes over the Jalopy, a reliably excellent weekly mix of oldtimey acts: blues, bluegrass, country and swing.

Wednesdays in July at midnight, multi-instrumentalist Thad Debrock plays the small room at the Rockwood. He’s played brilliantly on so many Americana and singer-songwriter albums it’s not funny; it’ll be interesting to hear him do his own stuff.

Every Thursday the Michael Arenella Quartet play 1920s hot jazz 8-11 PM at Nios, 130 W 46th St.

Thursdays and Fridays in July at Mehanata it’s Bulgarian sax powerhouse Yuri Yukanov and the Grand Masters of Gypsy Music, 10 PM, $10.

Fridays at 8:30 PM adventurous cellist/composer Valerie Kuehne books an intriguing avant garde/classical/unclassifiable “weekly experimental cabaret” at Cafe Orwell in Bushwick, 247 Varet St. (White/Bogart), L to Morgan Ave. It’s sort of a more outside version of Small Beast, a lot of cutting-edge performers working out new ideas in casual, unstuffy surroundings. Kuehne promises “never a dull moment.”

Fridays in July at 9 Naomi Shelton and the Gospel Queens play oldschool 1960s style gospel at the Fat Cat.

Saturdays at 1 PM continuing through August (except for August 13), at 1 PM there are free concerts at Bargemusic – early arrival advised. Usually these are piano recitals, with the occasional string ensemble.

Saturdays eclectic compelling Brazilian jazz chanteuse Marianni and her excellent band at Zinc Bar, three sets starting at 10 PM.

NYC Live Music Calendar for February and March 2011

The latest calendar for March and April is here.

 A few things you should know about this calendar: acts are listed here in order of appearance, NOT headliner first and supporting acts after; showtimes listed here are actual set times, not the time doors open. If a listing here says something like ”9 PM-ish,” chances are it’ll run late. Cover charges are those listed on bands’ and venues’ sites: always best to click on the band link provided or go to the venues page for confirmation since we get much of this info weeks in advance. As always, weekly events first followed by the daily listings:

Sundays there’s a klezmer brunch at City Winery, show starts around 11:30 AM – 2 PM, $10 cover, no minimum, lots of good bands.

Sundays from half past noon to 3:30 PM, bluegrass cats Freshly Baked (f.k.a. Graveyard Shift), featuring excellent, incisive fiddle player Diane Stockwell play Nolita House (upstairs over Botanica at 47 E Houston). Free drink with your entree.

Through May of 2011, the series of free organ concerts at 5:15 PM continues most every week (holidays excepted) at St. Thomas Church, 53rd St. and 5th Ave.

Sundays in March the Chico O’Farrill latin Jazz Orchestra at Birdland, sets 8/10:30 PM, $30 seats avail

Stephane Wrembel plays Sundays at Barbes at 9. He’s something of an institution here, plan on arriving EARLY, 45 minutes early isn’t too soon since the whole bar gets packed fast. The guitarist has few if any equals as an interpreter of Django Reinhardt, but it’s where he takes the gypsy jazz influence in his own remarkably original, psychedelic writing – and what he brings to the Django stuff – that makes all the difference. One of the most interesting players in any style of music, anywhere in the world.

Every Sunday the Ear-Regulars, led by trumpeter Jon Kellso and (frequently) guitarist Matt Munisteri play NYC’s only weekly hot jazz session starting around 8 PM at the Ear Inn on Spring St.  Hard to believe, in the city that springboarded the careers of thousands of jazz legends, but true. This is by far the best value in town for marquee-caliber jazz: for the price of a drink and a tip for the band, you can see world-famous players (and brilliant obscure ones) you’d usually have to drop $100 for at some big-ticket room. The material is mostly old-time stuff from the 30s and 40s, but the players (especially Kellso and Munisteri, who have a chemistry that goes back several years) push it into some deliciously unexpected places.

Every Sunday, hip-hop MC Big Zoo hosts the long-running End of the Weak rap showcase at the Pyramid, 9 PM, admission $5 before 10, $7 afterward. This is one of the best places to discover some of the hottest under-the-radar hip-hop talent, both short cameos as well as longer sets from both newcomers and established vets.

Mondays at the Fat Cat the Choi Fairbanks String Quartet play a wide repertoire of chamber music from Bach to Shostakovich starting at 7.

Mondays starting a little after 7 PM Howard Williams leads his Jazz Orchestra from the piano at the Garage, 99 7th Ave. S at Grove St. There are also big bands here most every Tuesday at 7.

Mondays at the Jazz Standard it’s all Mingus, whether with the Mingus Orchestra, Big Band or Mingus Dynasty: you know the material and the players are all first rate. Sets 7:30/9:30 PM, $25 and worth it.

Also Monday nights Vince Giordano’s Nighthawks, a boisterous horn-driven 11-piece 1920s/early 30’s band play Sofia’s Restaurant, downstairs at the Edison Hotel, 221 West 46th Street between Broadway & 8th Ave., 3 sets from 8 to 11, surprisingly cheap $15 cover plus $15 minimum considering what you’re getting. Even before the Flying Neutrinos or the Moonlighters, multi-instrumentalist Giordano was pioneering the oldtimey sound in New York; his long-running residency at the old Cajun on lower 8th Ave. is legendary. He also gets a ton of film work (Giordano wrote the satirical number that Willie Nelson famously sang in Wag the Dog).

Mondays at Tea Lounge in Park Slope at 9 PM trombonist/composer JC Sanford books big band jazz, an exciting, global mix of some of the edgiest large-ensemble sounds around. If you’re anybody in the world of big band jazz and you make it to New York, you end up playing here: what CBGB was to punk, this unlikely spot promises to be to the jazz world. No cover.

Mondays at the Vanguard the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra – composer Jim McNeely’s reliably good big band vehicle – plays 9/11 PM, $30 per set plus drink minimum.

Also Mondays in March the Barbes house band, Chicha Libre plays there starting around 9:30. They’ve singlehandedly resurrected an amazing subgenre, chicha, which was popular in the Peruvian Amazon in the late 60s and early 70s. With electric accordion, cuatro, surf guitar and a slinky but boisterous rhythm section, their mix of obscure classics and originals is one of the funnest, most danceable things you’ll witness this year.

Also Mondays in March Rev. Vince Anderson and his band play Union Pool in Williamsburg, two sets starting around 11 PM. The Rev. is one of the great keyboardists around, equally thrilling on organ or electric piano, an expert at Billy Preston style funk, honkytonk, gospel and blues. He writes very funny, very politically astute, frequently salacious original songs and is one of the most charismatic, intense live performers of our time. It’s a crazy dance party til past three in the morning. Paula Henderson from Burnt Sugar is the lead soloist on baritone sax, with Dave Smith from Smoota and the Fela pit band on trombone, with frequent special guests.

The second and fourth Tuesday of the month there are free organ concerts at half past noon at Central Synagogue, 652 Lexington Ave @ 55th St. curated by celebrated organ adventurer Gail Archer, a global mix of veteran and up-and-coming talent.

Tuesdays in March Balkan brass maniacs Slavic Soul Party  play Barbes at 9. Get here as soon as you can as they’re very popular.

Tuesdays Julia Haltigan plays 11th St. Bar at 10 “for the rest of her life.” A nuanced, cleverly lyrical country/Americana chanteuse with a terrific band behind her and a growing catalog of first-class original songs. See her now before it costs you big bucks at the Beacon.

Tuesday nights at 10, Marc Ribot has taken on booking a weekly show at Watty & Meg, 248 Court St. in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn: two guitarists each week, each playing solo, then trading songs, ideas, conversations, possibly jamming, $15 cover includes a drink.

Tuesdays in March the Dred Scott Trio play astonishingly smart, dark piano jazz at the smaller room at the Rockwood at midnight.

Wednesdays at 9 PM Feral Foster’s Roots & Ruckus takes over the Jalopy, a reliably excellent weekly mix of oldtimey acts: blues, bluegrass, country and swing.

Every Thursday the Michael Arenella Quartet play 1920s hot jazz 8-11 PM at Nios, 130 W 46th St.

Thursdays and Fridays in March at Mehanata it’s Bulgarian sax powerhouse Yuri Yukanov and the Grand Masters of Gypsy Music, 10 PM, $10.

Fridays at 8:30 PM adventurous cellist/composer Valerie Kuehne books an intriguing avant garde/classical/unclassifiable “weekly experimental cabaret” at Cafe Orwell in Bushwick, 247 Varet St. (White/Bogart), L to Morgan Ave. It’s sort of a more outside version of Small Beast, a lot of cutting-edge performers working out new ideas in casual, unstuffy surroundings. Kuehne promises “never a dull moment.”

Fridays in March at 9 Naomi Shelton and the Gospel Queens play the Fat Cat.

Saturdays in February slinky yet edgy tropicalia chanteuse Marianni plays Zinc Bar at 10 PM with her band

2/1 trombone free jazz legend Steve Swell with Perry Robinson on clarinet and Max Johnson on bass at 7 at Barbes, followed at 9 by Slavic Soul Party who also know a thing or two about good trombone.

2/1, 7 PM the Pride of the Subway Ceili Band at Banjo Jim’s followed at 9 by the NYCity Slickers playing classic and original bluegrass.

2/1, 8 PM, hypnotic, lush, atmospheric art-rockers the Quavers open for southwestern gothic legends Giant Sand at City Winery, $22 standing room tix avail.

2/1, 8 PM Caithlin DeMarrais plays the Mercury. One of the few truly spellbinding singers of our time – she was good in Rainer Maria and she’s pretty amazing now. And a haunting, pensive songwriter with a promising new album in the works.

2/1 midnight-ish lyrical star Talib Kweli at the Brooklyn Bowl, $10.

2/2, 7:30 PM the latest in edgy pianist Alexandra Joan’s Kaleidoscope series features her alongside fiery Balkan clarinetist Vasko Dukovski, Icelandic cellist Saeunn Thorsteinsdottir and violinist Erno Kallai performing Bartok: Contrasts for Piano, Violin and Clarinet: Brahms: Clarinet Trio, op. 114; Messiaen: Quartet for the End of Time at WMP Concert Hall, 31 E 28th St. $25/$15 stud. Most of this crew delivered one of last year’s best concerts together; this could be another one.

2/2, 8 PM an excellent Afrobeat doublebill with Ikebe Shakedown and Zongo Junction at Brooklyn Bowl, $5

2/2, 8:30 PM female-fronted Canadian rock with Toronto’s edgy danceable postpunk People You Know and ferocious powerpop/punkpop Hunter Valentine at the Knitting Factory, adv tix $8 rec., all ages.

2/2, 9 PM the Mercenaries at Lakeside – Altogether Steve and the rest of the crew are still kicking ass after all these years, sort of the NYC version of the Replacements.

2/3 a 90th Birthday Celebration for Egyptian composer Halim El-Dabh, 6 PM at Bruno Walter Auditorium at the NYPL for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center – performers include soprano Christine Moore, violinist Luis Casal, and pianists Ruzan Asatryan and Katie Reimer. Free, early arrival advised.

2/3-6, 7:30/9:30 PM tenor saxophonist and Miles Davis/Max Roach alum George Coleman leads an interesting quintet lineup including Larry Goldings on organ and Peter Bernstein on guitar at the Jazz Standard

2/3 subversive comedic musical duo Mel & El at Comix 353 W. 14th St, 7:30 PM, $10

2/3, 7:30 PM guest conductor George Steel leads the Trinity choir in a wonderful, often haunting program of 13th-16th century English renaissance choral works by Tallis, Sheppard and Parsons and others at Trinity Church, $20, early arrival rec.

2/3, 8 PM kick-ass new intelligent Brooklyn-bred rock with Mussels, the incomparably funny and assaultive Brooklyn What, the Proud Humans and Steer at Rock Shop in Gowanus, $8

2/3, 8 PM Pierre de Gaillande’s Bad Reputation doing their hysterically funny, vicious Georges Brassens songs in English, followed by the charming, sultry Les Chauds Lapins – who mine French chanson that predates Brassens by about 20 years- at Barbes. It was bound to happen.

2/3, 8 PM tuneful mathrock/metal band Stats, beautifully ugly/assaultive guitar jazz with the felicitously named Seabrook Power Plant and then Mantra Percussion playing Iannis Xenakis at Littlefield.

2/3, 8 PM edgy, snarky British postpunk/dance rockers Deluka at the Bell House, $15 gen adm.

2/3, 9 PM jaunty oldtimey swing and country with Miss Tess & the Bon Ton Parade at the Jalopy followed at 10 by gypsy jazz power trio Ameranouche.

2/3, 9:30 PM eclectic latin jazz bandoneon player Gregorio Uribe’s Big Band at Zinc Bar.

2/3, 10 PM eclectic cosmopolitan songwriter Tajna Tanovic at the downstairs cafe at Symphony Space, free

2/3, 10ish multistylistic, deliriously fun, danceable all-purpose Brazilian/country band Nation Beat at Rodeo Bar.

2/3, 11 PM psychedelic, fearlessly obscene French garage/surf rockers La Femme play Lit.

2/3, 11:30 PM the Hollows play their irrepressibly fun oldtimey bluegrass/hillbilly music at the Knitting Factory

2/3, 11:30 PM sharp literate tuneful downtempo Aimee Mann-ish rockers Elizabeth & the Catapult play the big room at the Rockwood.

2/4, 7 PM pianist Simone Dinnerstein hosts a program feat. cellist Wendy Sutter and violinist Maria Bachmann playing Kodaly’s Duo for Violin and Cello, plus a preview of a new duo written by Philip Glass at PS 142, 100 Attorney St. (Rivington/Delancey), $15 tix go to benefit the 4th/5th grade band program at the school. “The Neighborhood Classics series is designed for families, but is enjoyed by audience members of all types.”

2/4, 7:30 PM the MSM Philharmonia play Villa-Logos: Uirapuru (The Enchanted Bird); Francaix: Clarinet Concerto; Sibelius: Symphony No. 1 in E Minor, op.39 at Borden Auditorium at Borden Auditorium at Manhattan School of Music, $10/$5 stud/srs.

2/4, 7:30 PM the reliably comedic Erin & Her Cello at the big room at the Rockwood followed eventually at 10:30 by the brassy, funky Sister Sparrow & the Dirty Birds (who are back again the following night, same time, same room).

2/4, 8 PM cleverly lyrical, socially aware, inspiringly tuneful janglepop duo Left on Red take a break from busking for a show at Bar 82, just north of St. Mark’s on 2nd Ave.; 2/14 they’re at the NYC Transit Museum

2/4 Mr. Ho’s Orchestrotica, the “world’s only ensemble dedicated to the space-age big band music of Juan Garcia Esquivel,” 8 PM at Barbes followed at 10 by the martini cowboy himself, the Jack Grace Band.

2/4, 8ish, smart twangy literate Americana rock with Chip Robinson backed by the Roscoe Trio at Lakeside followed at 11 by the even higher-energy Tom Clark & the High Action Boys.

2/4, 9 PM jazz/third-stream chanteuse/composer Sara Serpa with a first-rate band: Andre Matos- guitar; Kris Davis- piano; Matt Brewer-bass; Tommy Crane- drums, at the Cornelia St. Cafe. Serpa is scary-good, one of the most original singers and writers in any style around these days: her latest album with noir jazz piano legend Ran Blake is transcendent.

2/4, 9 PM Nashville guitar/piano legend – Jerry Lee stomp and ferocious pickin -with Greg Garing at the Jalopy

2/4 the jangly, effervescent, irrepressible Mexican Go-Go’s – Pistolera – at Joe’s Pub, 9:30 PM, $15.

2/4, 10 PM Jennifer Choi (violin) Wendy Law (cello) Justin Hines (percussion) Rubin Kodheli (electric cello) “Classical Jam Trio and special guest Rubin Kodheli, featured performer and composer in the movie “Precious,” join forces in an evening of composed and improvised music including Osvaldo Golijov’s tango inspired cello solo, Ômaramor, Hines’ Samai’i Shira based on rhythms and melodies with Arabic influences, A.C.T. Amplified Cardbord Tube for solo percussion, Choi’s flamenco inspired Madrileño, and Kodheli’s Jungle and Nightengale” at the Stone, $10

2/4, 11 PM lush, atmospheric, socially aware, Radiohead-influenced rockers My Pet Dragon at the Bitter End.

2/4 garage rockers the Thigh Highs play midnightish at Hank’s

2/5, 7 PM an underworldly noir chanteuse doublebill with the Nashville gothic Lorraine Leckie and the Coney Island gothic Carol Lipnik at Banjo Jim’s – yum.

2/5, 7 PM fiery, funky Chicago-style electric blues guitarist Bobby Radcliff at Terra Blues

2/5 the year’s best doublebill so far: rustic, darkly intricate gypsy-inspired rockers Kotorino at 8 PM followed by ferocious pan-Balkan band Ansambl Mastika – whose new album is the best one we’ve heard so far this year – at Barbes.

2/5, 8 PM, free, pianist Chie Sato Roden and cellist Jody Redhage’s excellent chamber jazz ensemble Fire in July celebrate the release of their CD “Streetcar Journey,” featuring the music of beloved American film composer Alex North (1910-1991) and his magnificent, jazz-inflected score to the 1951 classic “A Streetcar Named Desire” at the Tenri Cultural Institute, 43A West 13th Street between 5th and 6th Aves.

2/5 starting at 8 the Truants, Bongo Surf, Mr.Neutron, Blue Wave Theory and the Tarantinos NYC at Unsteady Freddie’s surf music extravaganza at Otto’s.

2/5, 8 PM unusually tuneful mathrock with Stats at Cake Shop.

2/5, 8:30 PM edgy, funky songwriter Shayna Zaid & the Catch at the big room at the Rockwood

2/5, 9ish David First’s legendary late 70s noise-rock band the Notekillers – who were doing Sonic Youth stuff ten years before Sonic Youth – at Coco 66.

2/5 9 PM careening southwestern gothic/C&W band the Newton Gang at 68 Jay St. Bar

2/5 the Mighty Paradocs play their blend of hip-hop and punk at 9 followed by Rockers Galore playing dub reggae at Shrine at 10.

2/5, 9:30 PM sophisticated, torchy, eclectic Americana chanteuse Hope DeBates & North Forty at Caffe Vivaldi.

2/5 Taj Weekes & Adowa – who are about the best thing happening in roots reggae right now – at Joe’s Pub, 9:30 PM, $14

2/5, 10 PM crazed gypsy punks Bad Buka at Mehanata.

2/5, 90s Britrock style melodic powerpop with the Royal Chains, 10 PM at the Cameo Gallery

2/5, midnight the Jack Grace Band at the small room at the Rockwood.

2/6, 8 PM original and classic Cuban songs with low-register instruments: bass, baritone sax, baritone guitar, tuba, et al. with Gato Loco at Bowery Poetry Club.

2/6, 9 PM twisted Merle Haggard covers done free jazz style by Bryan & the Haggards at Rodeo Bar.

2/6, 10 PM fiery and sultry Roulette Sisters frontwoman/bluesmama Mamie Minch at the Jalopy

2/6, 11:30 AM or so cleverly virtuosic mostly female original klezmer band Isle of Klezbos at City Winery for brunch, $10, no minimum

2/6, 3 PM organist Gail Archer plays Liszt at the Church of St. John the Baptist, Lexington at 76th St.

2/6, 6:30 PM Matei Varga on piano playing Enescu, Janácek, Bartók, and Szymanowski at le Poisson Rouge, $15

2/7, 7 PM sultry oldtimey chanteuse Robin Aigner and her band at the small room at the Rockwood.

2/7, 8:30 PM Leif Arntzen’s TLAB: Leif Arntzen, trumpet; Ryan Blotnick, guitar; Michael Bates, bass; Miles Arntzen, drums at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10

2/7 charismatic noir powerhouse Vera Beren takes a turn booking Small Beast: so far she’s the only one who’s consistently been able to evoke the intense 2008-09 transcendence of the weekly dark rock show. On the bill: 9 PM Hypnofolk, 10 PM Lone Vein, 11 PM Beren’s own astonishingly powerful Gothic Chamber Blues Ensemble and eclectic surf instrumentalists the Tarantinos NYC at midnight.

2/7, 9 PM edgy Japanese big band jazz with the Yaozeki Big Band at Tea Lounge in Park Slope

2/8, 7:30 PM at Barbes Petr Cancura’s Down Home: his “attempt to capture the nostalgia of classic b & W photography with music steeped in Americana,” with Skye Steele – violin; Petr Cancura – sax, clarinet, mandolin; Scott Kettner – drums, percussion; Garth Stevenson – bass and Jesse Lewis – guitar.

2/8-13 alto saxophonist Steve Wilson’s weeklong 50th birthday celebration at the Jazz Standard: 2/8 with guests Carla Cook and Karrin Allyson; 2/9 a quartet show with strings; 2/11 a quintet featuring Mulgrew Miller, Lewis Nash and Christian McBride; 2/12-13 Tain Watts takes over the drum chair.

2/8 rare solo sets from an especially choice bunch of edgy songwriters: indie pop goddess Kendall Jane Meade of Juicy and Mascott, 90s luminary Richard Balayut of Versus and terse, intense, guitarishly spot-on Jennifer O’Connor, 9 PM at Rock Shop in Gowanus, $10

2/8, 8 PM politically potent dancehall reggae star Anthony B at B.B. King’s, $20 adv tix rec.

2/8, 8:30 PM And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead’s cd release show at Littlefield, $12 adv tix highly rec., this will sell out.

2/8, 9 PM smartly lyrical retro soul/rock songwriter Dina RuDean at the small room at the Rockwood.

2/8, 9 PM alto saxophonist David Binney leads an inspired quartet with Jacob Sacks on keys, Thomas Morgan on bass and Dan Weiss on drums at 55 Bar

2/8, 9ish Adult Themes play Death by Audio. Distorted keys, fuzz bass, chick vocals, primitive garage rock meets noise but purposefully – cool stuff.

2/8 vintage R&B flavored powerpop powerhouse the Brilliant Mistakes at Rodeo Bar, 10ish.

2/8, 11 PM sprawling dark Americana band Bogs Visionary Orchestra at Goodbye Blue Monday – sort of the prototype for O’Death

2/9, 6 PM torchy sultry bluesy jazz chanteuse Natalie Galey leads a quartet at Caffe Vivaldi.

2/9, 8 PM dark guitar atmospherics with Spooky Ghost at the Stone, $10.

2/9 an impressively strong, cheap quadruple bill at Southpaw starting at 8:30 with pensive, jazz-tinged Canadian songwriter Chloe Charles, fiery gypsy punks Kagero, the ragtime dance-punk of Apocalypse Five and Dime and garage-soul rockers Billy Woodward & the Senders, $10

2/9, 9 PM noir singer Nicole Atkins & the Black Sea at Bowery Ballroom, $16 adv tix rec.

2/9 tropical punk madness at midnight-ish with Chicolina Sound Machine feat. Pedro Erazo of Gogol Bordello at Bowery Electric; even more amazing skaragga/metal cumbia rockers Escarioka open the show at around 9. CSM are also here on 2/23.

2/9, 10 PM tuneful up-and-coming jazz guitar star Ila Cantor shows off her pop songwriter side at the Cornelia St. Cafe, $10

2/9, 10ish tongue-in-cheek, period-perfect early 50s style country from Susquehanna Industrial Tool & Die Co. at Rodeo Bar.

2/9, 11 PM big psychedelic funk band Turkuaz at Cake Shop

2/10, rustic old hillbilly songs with the Weal and the Woe at 8 followed at 10 PM by retro country legend Greg Garing at Barbes.

2/10 Israeli roots reggae with Moshav Band at the Canal Room, 8 PM, $10 adv tix. rec.

2/10, 9 PM the Michael Winograd Klezmer Trio at the Jalopy followed at 10:30 by pyrotechnic Balkan brass band Veveritse.

2/10, 9 PM ten-piece, six-trumpet funk band the Chase Experiment at Spike Hill.

2/10 LES punk/surf/soul legend Simon and the Bar Sinisters, 10ish at Rodeo Bar; he’s at Lakeside at the same time on 2/12.

2/11 artist Robin Hoffman, whose vibrant illustrations have documented the equally vibrant oldtimey/Americana scene at the Jalopy, celebrates the release of her latest coffee-table book there at 6 PM.

2/11 Ethiopian-inspired big band jazz legends Either/Orchestra’s 25th Anniversary Concert, 6 PM at le Poisson Rouge, $20 adv tix very highly rec.

2/11, 7 PM witty, legendary Clash collaborator and Americana chanteuse Ellen Foley at Lakeside

2/11, 7 PM the Bantu Dub Project play dub reggae at Shrine

2/11, 7:30 PM pianist Edmund Arkus plays Brahms, Liszt and Haydn at the Third St. Music School Settlement, free

2/11, 8 PM House of Stride: Allison Leyton-Brown – piano; Russ Meissner – drums; Jim Whitney – upright bass and special guest Daria Grace at Barbes followed at 10 by Smokey Hormel’s Roundup doing their western swing thing.

2/11, 9 PM Changing Modes – the cleverly eclectic, sometimes new wave tinged female-fronted art-pop/punk band responsible for our choice of best song of 2010 – at Fontana’s.

2/11, 9:30 PM the Sometime Boys – a sometimes haunting, sometimes slinky and funky, sometimes rustically fun acoustic Americana spinoff of fiery art-rockers System Noise – at Branded Saloon, 603 Vanderbilt Ave. at Bergen, Ft. Greene, Brooklyn. Directions: 2/3/4 train to Bergen. Walk east on Bergen about 2 blocks to Vanderbilt. Or take the B/Q to 7th Ave/Brighton and walk north on Carlton 3 short blocks. Take a right on Bergen and walk one block to Vanderbilt

2/11 up-and-coming jazz vibraphonist Tyler Blanton and band at Miles Cafe, 9:30 PM $20 includes a drink and “snacks.”

2/11, 10 PM latin soul big band the Brooklyn Boogaloo Blowout at 55 Bar.

2/11, 10:30 PM cool improvs with Nasheet Waits’ Equality Band: Logan Richardson, alto sax; John Hebert, bass; Nasheet Waits, drums at the Cornelia St. Cafe, $10.

2/11, 10:30 PM big band bassist/composer Joris Teepe leads a quintet at the Fat Cat.

2/11 Belgian barroom accordion jazz revivalists Musette Explosion at City Winery, 11 PM, free w/rsvp before 2/8 to concierge@citywinery.com

2/11, 11 PM SOJA (formerly Soldiers of Jah Army) play roots reggae at Bowery Ballroom, $25 gen adm.

2/11, 11:30ish noir rock legend Martin Bisi with Brian Viglione of the Dresden Dolls on drums at Bruar Falls, early arrival advised.

2/11 ska-punk with the Rudie Crew at Otto’s at midnight.

2/11, midnight, wittily tuneful, original jazz trumpeter John McNeil and his Quartet at Puppets Jazz Bar

2/12, 1 PM a free concert at Bargemusic, program TBA, most likely piano music, early arrival advised.

2/12, 6:30 PM ecstatic oldschool New Orleans funk/soul with Brother Joscephus and The Love Revival Revolution Orchestra at le Poisson Rouge, $10 adv tix rec.

2/12, 8 PM, repeating 2/13, 3 PM the Park Avenue Chamber Symphony plays Tschaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1 with the fiery, virtuosic Karine Poghosyan on piano and Rachmaninoff: Symphony #2 at All Saints Church, 230 E 60th St. (2/3rd Aves)., adv. tix $20 rec.

2/12, 8 PM Bassam Saba and the 30-piece New York Arabic Orchestra at Symphony Space, $30/$20 stud/srs. Arguably the foremost Middle Eastern orchestra in North America, Saba also has an extraordinary new album out, Wonderful Land, a tribute to his native Lebanon. This will sell out, adv tix. absolutely required.

2/12, 8 PM global brass madness with Veveritse Brass Band followed at 10 by Red Baraat at Barbes.

2/12 a tasty ska doublebill with the Forthrights and the Pietasters at the Brooklyn Bowl, 8 PM.

2/12, 8:15 PM smart, socially aware Americana/acoustic psychedelic songwriter Allysen Callery at Caffe Vivaldi.

2/12, 8:30 PM Balkan-tinged jazz with the Ben Holmes Quartet feat. Ben Holmes (trumpet); Curtis Hasselbring (trombone); Geoff Kraly (bass); Vinnie Sperrazza (drums) at I-Beam.

2/12, 9 PM relentless, psychedelic Mississippi hill country style blues guitarist Will Scott – a worthy heir to the RL Burnside/Junior Kimbrough throne – at 68 Jay St. Bar.

2/12, 9 PM imaginative large country band Yarn – whose horn section makes perfect sense – at Sullivan Hall, $12.

2/12, 10 PM Kevin Batchelor’s Grand Concourse feat. members of Rocksteady 7, The Stingers & Westbound Train plays classic and original ska at Two Boots Brooklyn.

2/13, 3 PM the Greenwich Village Orchestra play an all-Brahms bill: Hungarian Dance No. 5; the Double Concerto for Violin, Cello and Orchestra, and Symphony No. 2 at Washington Irving HS Auditorium, $20 sug don. They’ve done all these previously, and brilliantly.

2/13 Frances-Marie Uitti, cello and Lisa Bielawa, composer/vocalist playing and singing Xenakis, Luciano Berio, and improvised settings of sonnets by Christian Hawkey, 6:30 PM at le Poisson Rouge, $15.

2/13, 7 PM violinist Hye-Jin Kim at Barbes, program TBA, followed at 9:30ish by jazz manouche monster Stephane Wrembel.

2/13, 8:30 PM the massively hilarious all-female accordion ensemble Main Squeeze Orchestra play the cd release show for their new one at Drom.

2/13, 9 PM Virginia’s hottest original bluegrass band the Dixie Bee-Liners at the Jalopy.

2/13, 11 PM literate powerpop star Patti Rothberg plays the cd release for her somewhat controversial new one Overnite Sensation at Otto’s. Only in New York – most recently she’s playing some stadium with the B-52’s, but she’s doing her cd release at Otto’s late on a Sunday. Early arrival advised.

2/14, 6 PM classic tango with the Hector Del Curto Tango Orchestra at the World Financial Center, free

2/14, 9 PM big band jazz night with the Delphian Jazz Orchestra at Tea Lounge in Park Slope

2/14, 9ish a rare Rosie Flores solo acoustic show at Bowery Electric, $10 adv tix rec.

2/14 oldtimey swing with Daria Grace and the Pre-War Ponies – “the best Valentines band in New York City” – 10ish at Rodeo Bar.

2/14, 10 PM Ghanian-American hip-hop powerhouse Blitz the Ambassador and his wild Afrobeat band at the new cafe at the Apollo Theatre, $15 adv tix rec.

2/15, 7 PM jazz/Americana violin star Jenny Scheinman at Barbes followed at 9 by Slavic Soul Party

2/15-20 intense jazz vibraphonist Joe Locke w/Geoffrey Keezer, George Mraz, Clarence Penn & Kenny Washington on vocals, 7:30/9:30 PM at Dizzy’s Club, $30 tix avail.

2/15, 7:30/9:30 PM saxophonist Seamus Blake leads a quartet with David Kikoski – piano; Matt Penman – bass; Victor Lewis – drums at the Jazz Standard, $20

2/15 tango nuevo bandoneon genius Raul Jaurena leads a trio with Pablo Aslan on bass and Roger Davidson on piano at Caffe Vivaldi, 8:15 PM.

2/15 compelling, frequently creepy art-folk chanteuse Larkin Grimm at Union Pool, 11 PM

2/16, 6:30 PM innovative violinist/composer Ana Milosavljevic plays an eclectic bill with Kathleen Supové on piano feat. TAKE Dance Music by Aleksandra Vrebalov, Eve Beglarian, Svjetlana Bukvich-Nichols and Milosavljevic herself at le Poisson Rouge, $10 adv tix rec. She played most of this program last year at Lincoln Center and it was very hypnotic and interesting.

2/16, 7:30/9:30 PM saxophonist Noah Preminger leads the quartet who play on his absolutely brilliant, terse new ballads album Before the Rain: Frank Kimbrough at the piano, John Hebert on bass and Matt Wilson on drums at the Jazz Standard, $20 – could be one of those shows people will be talking about for a long time.

2/16, 7:30 PM opening night of the Tune-In Festival at the Park Ave. Armory, 643 Park Ave. features Sympho, New York Polyphony, and Charles Perry Sprawls playing Arvo Pärt’s epic Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten plus the otherworldly world premiere of ARCO co-composed by Paul Haas, Paul Fowler and Bora Yoon, $25

2/16, 7:30 PM Georgy Valtchev, violin; Amir Eldan, cello; Lora Tchekoratova, piano  play Beethoven: Sonata in A Major, op 69; Sonata in A Major, op. 47, “Kreutzer;” Piano Trio in B-flat Major, “Archduke” at the Bulgarian Consulate, 121 E 62nd. St., free.

2/16, 8 PM subtle, soulful jazz/rock/Americana wordsmith/tunesmith Dina RuDean at Bowery Electric

2/16, 8 PM psychedelic Australian art-rock legends the Church play three of their classic albums in their entirety: Untitled #23, Starfish and Priest = Aura at the Highline, tix are painfully expensive ($39.50) but are probably worth it. on 2/17 they’re at B.B. King’s

2/16-18, 8 PM flamenco jazz piano titan Chano Dominguez’ Flamenco Hoy music/dance spectacular at NY City Center, 55th St. (6/7 Aves.), $35 tix avail.

2/16, 8 PM sharply literate, understatedly intense soul/rock songwriter Dina Rudeen with her excellent band at Bowery Electric

2/16, 8:30 PM a potentially alchemical bill with Brandon Ross – guitar/banjo/vocal with Stomu Takeishi – acoustic bass guitar and JT Lewis – drums at Roulette, $15

2/16 scorching Nashville gothic/paisley underground rockers the Newton Gang at Lakeside at 9 PM.

2/16, 10 PM virtuosic cello metal with Stratuspheerius at Fat Baby.

2/16, 10ish Vagina Panther at Death by Audio – snarling, in-your-face, female-fronted riff-metal.

2/17, 7:30 PM violinist Gil Morgenstern’s latest Reflections Series concert – this time with pianist Jonathan Feldman – explores the influence of location and dislocation on creativity with music by Ernest Chausson, Erin Schulhoff, Bedrich Smetana, Frédéric Chopin and Leoš Janácek. At WMP Concert Hall, 31 East 28th St.

2/17, 7:30 PM night two of the Tune-In Festival at the Park Ave. Armory, 643 Park Ave. features diverse politically-inspired avant garde music: ferocious, fearless new music ensemble Newspeak doing Matt Marks: A Portrait of Glenn Beck (2009), Eighth Blackbird playing Rzewski’s Attica memoir Coming Together, plus an all-star crew playing Andriessen’s Worker’s Union, $30.

2/17 cleverly lyrical classic pop/janglerock goddess Patti Rothberg at the Parkside, 8:30 PM

2/17, 8:30/10:30 smart new alto sax compositions with Jacam Manricks – saxes, Matt Wilson – drums and Sam Yahael- organ at the Bar Next Door.

2/17 worldbeat siren Chiwoniso plays Zimbabwean mbira funk at the Atrium at Lincoln Center, 8:30 PM, free, early arrival advised.

2/17 all-purpose jazz/Americana stringed instrument virtuoso Matt Munisteri at Barbes, 10 PM.

2/17, 10 PM Ilamawana play original roots reggae at Shrine.

2/18, 7:30 PM NYC noir art-rock legends Elysian Fields at le Poisson Rouge, $15

2/18-20 the Mingus Big Band and then on 2/21 the Mingus Orchestra at the Jazz Standard, 7:30/9:30 PM, $25-30 tix rec.

2/18, 7:30 PM the MSM Philharmonia play Sejourne: Marimba Concerto; Rimsky-Korsakov: Capriccio Espagnol, op.34; Brahms: Symphony No. 2 in D Major, op. 73 at Borden Auditorium at Manhattan School of Music, $10/$5 stud/srs.

2/18, 8 PM devious intense, literate, charismatic ukelele siren/songwriter Kelli Rae Powell solo at Jimmy’s 43, 43 East 7th St, eet in the East Village

2/18 smart eclectic new jazz and funk with trumpet star Leron Thomas, Boston band Six Figures and saxophonist Logan Richardson at the 92YTribeca, 9 PM, $10 adv tix rec.

2/18 Scott Kettner’s Forro Brass Band at Barbes at 8 followed by hip-hop/soul/jazz crew Peoples Champs at 10 feat. members of Slavic Soul Party, Meta and the Cornerstones, Baye Kouyate, Jo Jo Kuo and His Afrobeat Collective, Sister Sparrow and the Dirty Birds, Afrodesia, Nation Beat.

2/18, 8:30 PM Dawn of Midi: Indian contrabassist Aakaash Israni, Pakistani percussionist Qasim Naqvi, and Moroccan pianist Amino Belyamani plus celebrated electric guitar quartet Dither playing new works including world premieres by Brent Miller, Adam Fong and Denise Gilson, and music by Lisa R. Coons from Dither’s 2010 album at Issue Project Room, $10.

2/18, 10 PM fiery noir guitar rocker Nathan Halpern and band – sort of the cross between Orbison and Pulp – at Sunny’s in Red Hook

2/18 sly western swing/country crooner Sean Kershaw and the New Jack Ramblers 10ish at Rodeo Bar.

2/19, 11 AM this year’s free marathon at Symphony Space is “young concert artists,” that is if you think under 50 is young. OK, by some standards it is. The complete schedule is here: the choicest hours seem to be the Bach hour at 11 AM and the Chopin hour (which you might think of arriving early for) at 3.

2/19, 8 PM at Trash the Brooklyn What’s monthly ass-kicking rock throwdown: big powerpop buzz band New Atlantic Youth, clever, percussively hypnotic indie duo Eleanor, Let Me Crazy, the Nuclears, the Brooklyn What and rock/ska en Espanol titans Escarioka, who are as good a pick as any for best live band in NYC. Wow.

2/19, 8 PM French early music choir le Poeme Harmonique sing a program titled Esperar, Sentir, Morir at Church of St. Mary the Virgin, 145 W 4th St., $35 tix avail.

2/19, 9 PM Middle Eastern multi-instrumentalist legend Ali Jihad Racy makes his debut at Alwan for the Arts, $25/$20 stud/srs. – this program focuses on the classical musical traditions of the Ottoman Sufi world featuring peformances on the buzuq and ney. Early arrival very highly advised, this will sell out.

2/19, 9 PM the Roulette Sisters – whose innuendo-steeped yet deep oldtime blues harmony album is a top contender for the year’s best – at the Jalopy.

2/19 and again on 2/26 deviously smart, edgy pianist/songwriter Lee Feldman plays the Path Cafe, 131 Christopher near Hudson, at 9 followed by singer-songwriter Daniel Hartnett who comes with some psych rock and Americana cred.

2/19, 10 PM legendary literate Irish punk/janglerockers Black 47 at Connolly’s

2/19, 11 PM NYC’s fun, funny, fiery counterpart to X, Spanking Charlene at Lakeside.

2/19, 11:30 PM snarling 90s indie rock trio Versus at the Mercury, $12

2/20 a rare solo appearance by legendary chanteuse Tracey Thorn of Everything but the Girl at Caffe Vivaldi, 8 PM.

2/20 multi-reed man Ben Kono’s cd release show with a choice band: Ben Kono, tenor sax, oboe, english horn, clarinets, flutes, compositions; Pete McCann, guitar; Henry Hey, piano; John Hollenbeck, drums, percussion; John Hebert, bass; Heather Laws, voice, French horn at the Cornelia St. Cafe, 8:30 PM, $10.

2/20, 9:30 PM agelessly assaultive faux-metal terrorists Gwar at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, $25 gen adm.

2/21, 4 PM now everybody wants to do their own Bang on a Can marathon – which is ok with us. The latest avant festival is at Symphony Space, it’s cheap ($10) and features an “85th birthday tribute to Gunther Schuller performed by Ensemble Pi, the US debut of Ireland’s Fidelio Trio performing works by Charles Wuorinen and Evan Ziporyn, new songs from Errollyn Wallen, visual musical collaboration as performances by Matt Sullivan on oboe with live electronics and by jazz pianist Gustavo Casenave are accompanied by live painting from artists Ken Cro-Ken and Vicky Barranguet. Also featured is the Cassatt Quartet joined by Ursula Oppens, and appearances by composers Joan Tower, Huang Ruo, Tania Leon, David Del Tredici, and Amir El Saffar, among others.”

2/21, 6:30 PM soaring, intense, original country rockers Her & Kings County at the Mercury, $10. They were good when they were playing Hank’s five years ago – touring nationally now, they’re even better.

2/21 the Enso Quartet at Advent Church, 93rd and Broadway, 7:30 PM, free.

2/21, 8:30/10:30 PM haunting and sometimes quirky vocalese fueled jazz with Sara Serpa – vocals; Andre Matos – guitar; Matt Brewer – bass at the Bar Next Door.

2/21 eclectic Balkan/Greek/Jewish powerhouse Klezwoods and intense Eastern European juggernaut Raya Brass Band at Coco 66, 9ish.

2/21, 9 PM the Mike Fahie Jazz Orchestra (led by the first trombonist in Darcy James Argue’s band) at Tea Lounge in Park Slope.

2/21, 9:30 PM a rare small club appearance by the JD Allen Trio (with Dezron Douglas on bass this time around, maybe working up some new tunes) at Smalls. Allen might be the most consistently interesting composer in jazz right now – if you’re free this could be a night to remember.

2/22, 6 PM in the Alice Tully Hall outer lobby International Contemporary Ensemble performing the world premiere of Nathan Davis’ Bells, free.

2/22, 8 PM southpaw guitarslinger Sam Sherwin – who’s doing the catchy Jakob Dylanesque janglerock/soul thing now – at Arlene’s

2/22-26 alto sax legend Dave Liebman with his famous 80s quartet including pianist Richie Beirach, bassist Ron McClure and drummer Billy Hart, 8:30/11 PM at Birdland, $30 tix avail.

2/23, 6 PM avant sounds from Allison Miller & Boom Tic Boom followed by Gutbucket playing the cd release for their new one at le Poisson Rouge, $12.

2/23, 8 PM the New York Chamber Virtuosi play Schubert (Piano Quintet in A Major, D. 667), Saint Saens, Rossini, Weber and more at a “soiree” at the Gershwin Hotel

2/23, 8 PM ferocious psychedelic country/psychedelic rockers the Newton Gang upstairs at the National Underground.

2/23, 8:30 PM soaring Americana with banjo player Hilary Hawke & the Flipsides at 68 Jay St. Bar.

2/23, 8:30 PM a benefit concert “for education and to celebrate the Egyptian Revolution, feat. Shadia Mansour, Lowkey, Logic, Narcycist, Marcel Cartier, Mazzi of S.O.U.L. Purpose, Lah Tere of Rebel Diaz, Likwuid, Jody McIntyre. Proceeds to benefit Egypt Relief: Resala, LEAP, and Existence is Resistance” at Galapagos, $20 adv tix rec.

2/23, 10 PM subtle, psychedelic, completely original roots reggae/dub/worldbeat band Kiwi play at Shrine.

2/24, 7:30 PM irrepressible, irresistible Americana harmony trio Red Molly at the big room at the Rockwood welcoming new member Molly Venter, $10.

2/24, 7:30 PM fearless, politically aware new music group Newspeak play the world premiere of Darcy James Argue’s The Sleep Room; Argue’s Secret Society big band plays works by Vijay Iyer and Newspeak’s David T. Little at Merkin Concert Hall, $25 tix rec.

2/24 Irish and American new music with the Fidelio Trio and Evan Ziporyn, 7:30 PM at Symphony Space, $15

2/24, 8 PM clever, entertaining toy piano aficionado Phyllis Chen at Barbes.

2/24, 8 PM a rare worthwhile concert at Irving Plaza – roots reggae nostalgia with 80s stars the Itals, the Skatalites (probably no original members) and crooner Barrington Levy, $32.50 adv tix rec. at the box office.

2/24, 8 PM a rare acoustic duo show by Americana roots rock maven Jon Sobel and smart roots-pop tunesmith Elisa Peimer at Uncle Bourbon’s, 691 Bay St., Staten Island

2/24, 8:30 PM African-flavored jazz with percussionist Kahil El’Zabar’s Ethnic Heritage Ensemble feat. Corey Wilkes and Ernest Dawkins at the Atrium at Lincoln Center, free, early arrival advised.

2/24 Pauline Oliveros performs Oracle Bones, a work corresponding to the Taoist Cardinal Directions, on accordion along with the spoken word of Ione and the koto of Miya Masaoka, 9 PM at Roulette, $15

2/24, 9 PM nobody but roots rock fanatics remembered who Wanda Jackson was until she made an album with Jack White and now all of a sudden all the trendoids are all over it. But anyway, she’s good – nice to see her get a $30 headline gig at Bowery Ballroom.

2/24, 9/10:30 PM brooding, intense Argentinian piano eclecticist Fernando Otero leads a sextet at the Jazz Gallery, first set $15, second one is $10, band includes Fernando Otero – piano, Nick Danielson – violin, Juan Pablo Jofre Romarion – bandoneon, Martin Moretto – guitar, Pablo Aslan – bass, David Silliman – drums.

2/25, 7:30 PM adventurous Hungarian world music ambassadors Czik Band at Symphony Space, $30 adv tix rec

2/25, 7:30 PM reliably adrenalizing alto saxophonist Jaleel Shaw leads a trio at the Bar Next Door.

2/25, 8 PM the wry, tongue-in-cheek instrumentalists Songs for Unusual Creatures at Barbes feat. Michael Hearst, Allyssa Lamb, Ben Holmes and Kristin Mueller (the same people who brought you Songs for Ice Cream Trucks).

2/25, 8 PM deviously funny, brilliantly tuneful songwriter Sharon Goldman in the round with the similar Americana-influenced Carolann Solebello and blue eyed soul siren Meg Braun at the Good Coffeehouse Music Series at the Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture, 53 Prospect Park West, Park Slope, 2 train to Grand Army Plaza

2/25, 8 PM Boston garage rockers Jenny Dee & the Deelinquents open for third-wave surf superstars Los Straitjackets at the Bell House, 8 PM, $15.

2/25, 8 PM drummer Neal Smith leads a quintet with Eric Alexander, tenor saxophone, Mark Whitfield, guitar, Mulgrew Miller, piano, Neal Smith, drums, Nat Reeves, bass at the Miller Theatre at Columbia Univ., 116th and Broadway, $25/$15 stud.

2/25 a classic oldschool NYC avant lineup: Susie Ibarra, drums, percussion, composer; Bridget Kibbey, harp; Jennifer Choi, violin; Kathleen Supové, piano 8:30 PM at Roulette, $15

2/25 la Fleur Fatale play 9 PM at Union Hall – majestic tuneful hard-hitting psychedelic powerpop from Sweden.

2/25, 9/10:30 PM bassist Gregg August leads a quartet with Sam Newsome – soprano saxophone, Luis Perdomo – piano, Rudy Royston – drums at the Jazz Gallery

2/25, 10 PM the irrepressible clown prince of oldschool country music, the Jack Grace Band at Rodeo Bar.

2/25, 11 PM the hilarious, X-rated girlgroup parody band Cudzoo & the Fagettes at Arlene’s – kind of the ultimate Friday night madness that would have fit in perfectly in this neighborhood ten years ago when it was still cool.

2/25, 11 PM Cleveland surf rock legends Purple K’nif – with the Waitresses’ Chris Butler on drums – at Lakeside.

2/26, 7 PM up-and-coming Americana chanteuse/songwriter Sarah Jarosz at the little room at the Rockwood

2/26, 7 PM hypnotic cello/marimba duo Goli open for goth-tinged art-rock songwriter Kristin Hoffmann at Caffe Vivaldi

2/26 ageless, fearless chamber-goth cello band Rasputina at the Highline Ballroom, 8 PM, $15 adv tix rec. Voltaire – who’s most recently been ripping off Mark Sinnis’ Nashville gothic sound – opens at 7.

2/26, 7:30 PM dark French psychedelic pop with Revolver at the Mercury, $10.

2/26, 8 PM the Lewis Nash Quintet : Jeremy Pelt, trumpet; Jimmy Greene, saxophone; Renee Rosnes, piano; Lewis Nash, drums; Peter Washington, bass at the Miller Theatre at Columbia Univ., 116th and Broadway, $25/$15 stud

2/26, 8 PM deviously torchy, wickedly lyrical ukelele siren Kelli Rae Powell opens for  prolific, lyrically intense Americana songwriter Jessi Robertson, playing the cd release show for her impressive new one Small Town Girls at 10 PM at Bar 4.

2/26, 8 PM Tony Malaby’s Novela featuring Kris Davis conducting from the piano at I-Beam

2/26, 9 PM soulful powerhouse Lebanese singer Naji Youssef performs Melkite and Maronite hymns and chants at Alwan for the Arts, $20/$15 stud.

2/26, 9 PM the Dysfunctional Family Jazz Band at Rodeo Bar.

2/26, 10:30 PM 1960s New Orleans soul survivor Willie West makes his NYC debut at Southpaw, $10 adv tix rec.

2/26, 11 PM the world’s funniest bar bandleader Jesse Bates & His Flying Guitars feat. various members of the Fleshtones at Lakeside

2/26, 11 PM East Village Pharmacy play dub reggae and psychedelic latin grooves at Shrine

2/26 Bill Ware’s Vibes Quartet at midnight 9 PM at Puppets Jazz Bar

2/27, 7:30 PM, an avant evening with Tristan Perich with Loud Objects, Jakum Ciupinski and the Syzygy New Music Ensemble at Galapagos, $12

2/27, 9 PM darkly comedic, intense, politically aware singer/composer Ted Hearne – whose Katrina Ballads album made our Best of 2010 list – at Littlefield, $10.

2/27, 10ish Iraqi metal monsters Acrassicauda at Bowery Electric, $15.

2/28 The Noriko Ueda Jazz Orchestra 9 PM at Tea Lounge in Park Slope.

2/28, 10 PM Motorhead at the Nokia Theatre, adv tix $37.50 available

3/1 drummer John Hollenbeck’s epically good Large Ensemble at the Jazz Standard, sets 7:30/9:30 PM.

3/2 creepy, cinematic, noir instrumentalists Mojo Mancini at the big room at the Rockwood ,7 PM $10

3/2, 7:30 PM the Wiyos at Rock Shop in Gowanus, $10

3/3, 7ish smart lo-fi garage duo the Fools, the Debutante Hour’s reliably entertaining, clever Susan Hwang and fearless punk cabaret songwriter Sabrina Chap among others at Goodbye Blue Monday.

3/3, 8 PM modern roots reggae with Giant Panda Guerrilla Dub Squad and Rebelution at Irving Plaza, $20 adv tix rec.

3/3 Police cover band NY’s Finest at 9 followed by Tammy Faye Starlite’s hilarious Blondie tribute/spoof band the Pretty Babies at 10 at R Bar

3/3, 9 PM lushly rustic atmospheric Americana duo Arborea followed at 10 by lutenist Jozef Van Wissum at Littlefield, $10.

3/3, 10:30 PM Whiting Tennis – the former Scholars frontman and arguably the finest practitioner of Pacific Northwest gothic rock – at Pete’s.

3/4-5, 8 PM at the Kitchen: “Inspired by her immigrant grandfather, a junk dealer in the Lower East Side who recycled scrap metal and other byproducts of the industrial age, Annie Gosfield will sample the sounds of metal, machines, and factories, and transform these raw materials into something new. Featuring two ensembles: the Annie Gosfield Ensemble, with Gosfield on sampling keyboard, Roger Kleier on electric guitar, and Ches Smith on drums and percussion; and Real Quiet with Felix Fan on cello, piano by Andrew Russo, and guest percussionist Alex Lipowski. Also pianist Stephen Gosling performs a selection of Gosfield solos.”

3/4 entertaining, intense Boston horror-surf rockers Beware The Dangers Of A Ghost Scorpion at Otto’s; they’re at Spike Hill on 3/27

3/4, 10ish the New Collisions at Union Hall; 3/5 they’re at the little downstairs room at Webster Hall at 8 followed by Deluka at 9. Good doublebill!

3/4, 11 PM hypnotic, melodic cellist/composer Julia Kent at Littlefield, $8

3/5, 8 PM utterly original cantorial riff-rockers Sway Machinery open for Malian psychedelic desert blues goddess Khaira Arby at the Bell House, 8 PM, $15 adv tix rec.

3/5, 8 PM, repeating on 3/6, 3 PM the Chelsea Symphony plays Sibelius’ lush, lyrical Fifth Symphony and other works at St. Paul’s Church, 315 W 22nd St.

3/5 gypsy punk with Bad Buka (FKA Panonian Wave) at Mehanata, 10 PM

3/5, 10 PM Koony plays darkly intense, lyrical African Francophone roots reggae at Shrine.

3/5 hilariously satirical, lyrically-driven torch song parody band the Debutante Hour’s cd release show, 11 PM at Bowery Electric.

3/7 the uncommonly imaginative Christine Jensen Jazz Orchestra at Dizzy’s Club 7:30/9:30 PM, $20

3/8, 8 PM Ice Cube – yeah, the guy from the Friday movies, doing his rap thing (back in the day he was one of the great ones) at B.B. King’s, $27 adv tix rec.

3/8, guessing sometime around 11ish, Raekwon plays a cd release show at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, $15 adv tix rec.

3/8-12, 11 PM bassist Jennifer Leitham leads a trio with Sherrie Maricle on drums and Tomoko Ohno (not to be confused with the former Red Sox pitcher) on piano at Dizzy’s Club, $10 tix avail.

3/8, 11 PM Eli Paperboy Reed at the Knitting Factory, $15, all ages

3/9 adventurous string quartet Brooklyn Rider with Iranian spike fiddle virtuoso/composer Kayhan Kalhor at Alice Tully Hall, 7:30 PM, $20.

3/9, 7:30 PM cello-driven world music band Deoro plays the big room at the Rockwood.

3/10 NYC indie/janglerock legends Scout 8 PM at the small room at the Rockwood

3/10 Stephan Said’s Magic Orchestra, 8 PM at Drom, $10 – fiery, socially aware rock, hip-hop, Balkan and reggae tunes

3/10 Burnt Sugar play Bowie at the Atrium at Lincoln Center, 8:30 PM.

3/10, 9 PM two of the funniest and most period-perfect songwriters in oldtimey Americana, Al Duvall and Robin Aigner at Rest Au Rant, 30-01 35th Ave., Long Island City.

3/11-12, 8 PM the long-awaited debut of The Songs of Buelah Rowley, by the brilliantly eclectic Mary Lee Kortes at the Cell Theatre, 338 W. 23rd St. (8th and 9th Aves.): “A song cycle with narration and projections based on the biography of Beulah Rowley, a regionally-known depression-era singer and songwriter from the Midwest,” $20 adv tix rec.

3/11, 8 PM the Budos Band at the Bell House, $15.

3/11, 9 PM powerpop/oldschool R&B with the Brilliant Mistakes at the small room at the Rockwood.

3/11-12 Wess Anderson, Charles McPherson and others play music from Charlie Parker’s Bird with Strings at Rose Theatre at Lincoln Center, $30 tix avail.

3/12, 7:30 PM psychedelic Middle Eastern/Balkan/Asian jamband Tribecastan at Joe’s Pub, $15 adv tix rec.

3/12, 8 PM lush, clever, quirky art-rockers the Universal Thump at Barbes.

3/13, 3 PM organist Gail Archer plays Liszt at West End Collegiate Church, West End Ave. at 77th St.

3/13, 7 PM, hot modern klezmer with the Klez Dispensers at Drom, $10.

3/13, 9 PM a wild cerebral exuberant intense psychedelic doublebill at Joe’s Pub with the incomparable Rachelle Garniez opening for Electric Junkyard Gamelan. The former topped our best albums list in 2007; the latter played arguably the best concert we saw all year long in 2010.

3/15-16, 9ish Godspeed You Black Emperor at the Brooklyn Masonic Temple, $TBA, this may sell out, no word on adv tix.

3/18, 7 PM pianist Simone Dinnerstein PS 142, 100 Attorney St. (Rivington/Delancey), $15, program TBA, possibly Bach from her ridiculously popular new cd.

3/18, 7:30 PM the NYC debut of big band arrangements of Esquivel “compositions” by Mr. Ho’s Orchestrotica at le Poisson Rouge, $20 adv tix rec

3/18, 8 PM, repeating 3/19/11 at 9 PM at Symphony Space, legendary Lebanese expat oud icon/composer Marcel Khalife in the US premiere of his Concerto Al Andalus for oud and orchestra; Armenia’s most renowned kanun (zither) virtuoso, Karine Hovhannisyan, performing the concerto for kanun and orchestra by Khachatur Avetisyan; and clarinetist David Krakauer playing the NY premiere of the Klezmer Concerto by Ofer Ben-Amots for strings, harp, percussion and clarinet; plus the eclectic Orchestra Celebrate, conducted by Laurine Celeste Fox, $25 adv tix avail. at the World Music Institute box office and highly rec.

3/18 Richard Thompson at NJPAC in Newark – $35 tix still available according to their website.

3/18, 8 PM new music ensemble Detour at Galapagos, program TBA, $10

3/19 irrepressible folk/Americana harmony trio Red Molly with Pat Wictor on guitar at the First Acoustics Coffeehouse in downtown Brooklyn, $30 adv tix rec.

3/21 Israeli Jam/Buzzcocks ripoff Electra at Bruar Falls

3/23-24 Lila Downs at City Winery

3/23, 7:30 PM, new music ensemble Le Train Bleu plays their debut performance of Stravinsky’s Histoire du Soldat at Galapagos, $20/$10 stud.

3/23, 7:30 PM Pedro Diaz, oboe; Milan Milisavljevic, viola; Anna Stoytcheva, piano play Schumann, Brahms, Saint-Saens and Loeffler at the Bulgarian Consulate, 121 E 62nd. St., free.

3/23 former Verve frontman Richard Ashcroft at Bowery Ballroom, 9ish

3/24, 8 PM the Talea Ensemble play new works by Evan Ziporyn, Rand Steiger, Fred Lerdahl, David Fulmer, Elizabeth Hoffman, and Aaron Cassidy: “a highlight on the program will be a world premiere by Rand Steiger entitled A Menacing Plume (2011) which is a musical response to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.” At Merkin Concert Hall, $20

3/25,9 PM charming, sultry French chanson revivalists les Chauds Lapins play the cd release show for their long awaited second album Amourettes at the 92YTribeca, $12.

3/27, 6:30 PM the Jack Quartet plays György Ligeti, Steve Lehman, and Horatiu Radulescu at le Poisson Rouge, $15

3/28 the Jasper Quartet at Advent Church, 93rd and Broadway, 7:30 PM, free.

3/31, 8 PM the Chiara String Quartet’s latest Creator/Curator concert features Lutoslawski’s String Quartet (with improvisations) and Daniel Ott’s String Quartet No. 2

at Galapagos, $10 adv tix rec

4/2 Graham Parker at City Winery.

4/3, 2 (two) PM the Parker String Quartet free at Flushing Town Hall.

4/5, 9 PM Wire at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, $20 adv tix rec.

4/9, 8 PM up-and-coming southwestern gothic star Kerry Kennedy – part noir femme fatale, part fiery bandleader – at Union Hall, $12 adv tix highly rec.

4/9, 10 PM the Black Angels at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, $20 adv tix. on sale 2/4

NYC Live Music Calendar for January-February 2011

The new calendar for February and March is here. 

A few things you should know about this calendar: acts are listed here in order of appearance, NOT headliner first and supporting acts after; showtimes listed here are actual set times, not the time doors open. If a listing here says something like ”9 PM-ish,” chances are it’ll run late. Cover charges are those listed on bands’ and venues’ sites: always best to click on the band link provided or go to the venues page for confirmation since we get much of this info weeks in advance. As always, weekly events first followed by the daily listings:

Sundays there’s a klezmer brunch at City Winery, show starts around 11:30 AM – 2 PM, $10 cover, no minimum, lots of good bands.

Sundays at noon starting 1/23 through 2/20, legendary New Orleans soul pianist/songwriter/producer and Elvis Costello collaborator Allen Toussaint plays Joe’s Pub, $30/$15 12 and under

Sundays from half past noon to 3:30 PM, bluegrass cats Freshly Baked (f.k.a. Graveyard Shift), featuring excellent, incisive fiddle player Diane Stockwell play Nolita House (upstairs over Botanica at 47 E Houston). Free drink with your entree.

Through May of 2011, the series of free organ concerts at 5:15 PM continues most every week (holidays excepted) at St. Thomas Church, 53rd St. and 5th Ave.

Stephane Wrembel plays Sundays at Barbes at 9. He’s something of an institution here, plan on arriving EARLY, 45 minutes early isn’t too soon since the whole bar gets packed fast. The guitarist has few if any equals as an interpreter of Django Reinhardt, but it’s where he takes the gypsy jazz influence in his own remarkably original, psychedelic writing – and what he brings to the Django stuff – that makes all the difference. One of the most interesting players in any style of music, anywhere in the world.

Every Sunday the Ear-Regulars, led by trumpeter Jon Kellso and (frequently) guitarist Matt Munisteri play NYC’s only weekly hot jazz session starting around 8 PM at the Ear Inn on Spring St.  Hard to believe, in the city that springboarded the careers of thousands of jazz legends, but true. This is by far the best value in town for marquee-caliber jazz: for the price of a drink and a tip for the band, you can see world-famous players (and brilliant obscure ones) you’d usually have to drop $100 for at some big-ticket room. The material is mostly old-time stuff from the 30s and 40s, but the players (especially Kellso and Munisteri, who have a chemistry that goes back several years) push it into some deliciously unexpected places.

Every Sunday, hip-hop MC Big Zoo hosts the long-running End of the Weak rap showcase at the Pyramid, 9 PM, admission $5 before 10, $7 afterward. This is one of the best places to discover some of the hottest under-the-radar hip-hop talent, both short cameos as well as longer sets from both newcomers and established vets.

Mondays at the Fat Cat the Choi Fairbanks String Quartet play a wide repertoire of chamber music from Bach to Shostakovich starting at 7.

Mondays starting a little after 7 PM Howard Williams leads his Jazz Orchestra from the piano at the Garage, 99 7th Ave. S at Grove St. There are also big bands here most every Tuesday at 7.

Mondays at the Jazz Standard it’s all Mingus, whether with the Mingus Orchestra, Big Band or Mingus Dynasty: you know the material and the players are all first rate. Sets 7:30/9:30 PM, $25 and worth it.

Also Monday nights Vince Giordano’s Nighthawks, a boisterous horn-driven 11-piece 1920s/early 30’s band play Sofia’s Restaurant, downstairs at the Edison Hotel, 221 West 46th Street between Broadway & 8th Ave., 3 sets from 8 to 11, surprisingly cheap $15 cover plus $15 minimum considering what you’re getting. Even before the Flying Neutrinos or the Moonlighters, multi-instrumentalist Giordano was pioneering the oldtimey sound in New York; his long-running residency at the old Cajun on lower 8th Ave. is legendary. He also gets a ton of film work (Giordano wrote the satirical number that Willie Nelson famously sang in Wag the Dog).

Mondays at Tea Lounge in Park Slope at 9 PM trombonist/composer JC Sanford books big band jazz, an exciting, global mix of some of the edgiest large-ensemble sounds around. If you’re anybody in the world of big band jazz and you make it to New York, you end up playing here: what CBGB was to punk, this unlikely spot promises to be to the jazz world. No cover.

Mondays at the Vanguard the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra – composer Jim McNeely’s reliably good big band vehicle – plays 9/11 PM, $30 per set plus drink minimum.

Also Mondays in February the Barbes house band, Chicha Libre plays there starting around 9:30. They’ve singlehandedly resurrected an amazing subgenre, chicha, which was popular in the Peruvian Amazon in the late 60s and early 70s. With electric accordion, cuatro, surf guitar and a slinky but boisterous rhythm section, their mix of obscure classics and originals is one of the funnest, most danceable things you’ll witness this year.

Also Mondays in February Rev. Vince Anderson and his band play Union Pool in Williamsburg, two sets starting around 11 PM. The Rev. is one of the great keyboardists around, equally thrilling on organ or electric piano, an expert at Billy Preston style funk, honkytonk, gospel and blues. He writes very funny, very politically astute, frequently salacious original songs and is one of the most charismatic, intense live performers of our time. It’s a crazy dance party til past three in the morning. Paula Henderson from Burnt Sugar is the lead soloist on baritone sax, with Dave Smith from Smoota and the Fela pit band on trombone, with frequent special guests.

The second and fourth Tuesday of the month there are free organ concerts at half past noon at Central Synagogue, 652 Lexington Ave @ 55th St. curated by celebrated organ adventurer Gail Archer, a global mix of veteran and up-and-coming talent.

Tuesdays in February Balkan brass maniacs Slavic Soul Party  play Barbes at 9. Get here as soon as you can as they’re very popular.

Tuesdays Julia Haltigan plays 11th St. Bar at 10 “for the rest of her life.” A nuanced, cleverly lyrical country/Americana chanteuse with a terrific band behind her and a growing catalog of first-class original songs. See her now before it costs you big bucks at the Beacon.

Tuesday nights at 10, Marc Ribot has taken on booking a weekly show at Watty & Meg, 248 Court St. in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn: two guitarists each week, each playing solo, then trading songs, ideas, conversations, possibly jamming, $15 cover includes a drink.

Tuesdays in February the Dred Scott Trio play astonishingly smart, dark piano jazz at the smaller room at the Rockwood at midnight.

Wednesdays at 9 PM Feral Foster’s Roots & Ruckus takes over the Jalopy, a reliably excellent weekly mix of oldtimey acts: blues, bluegrass, country and swing.

Every Thursday the Michael Arenella Quartet play 1920s hot jazz 8-11 PM at Nios, 130 W 46th St.

Thursdays at 9 PM in February smart dark Americana chanteuse Jessie Kilguss plays Goodbye Blue Monday

Fridays at 8:30 PM adventurous cellist/composer Valerie Kuehne books an intriguing avant garde/classical/unclassifiable “weekly experimental cabaret” at Cafe Orwell in Bushwick, 247 Varet St. (White/Bogart), L to Morgan Ave. It’s sort of a more outside version of Small Beast, a lot of cutting-edge performers working out new ideas in casual, unstuffy surroundings. Kuehne promises “never a dull moment.”

Fridays in January at 9 Naomi Shelton and the Gospel Queens play the Fat Cat

Fridays at Mehanata it’s Bulgarian sax powerhouse Yuri Yukanov and the Grand Masters of Gypsy Music, 10 PM, $10.

Fridays in January at midnight Streams of Whiskey play Pogues covers at Arlene’s.

1/3, 8 PM sly southpaw powerpop guitarslinger Sam Sherwin at the Mercury followed by David Peel (you know, the Have a Marijuana guy).

1/3, 8 PM, Balkan trumpeter Ben Holmes leads his Trio at Barbes.

1/4, 6:30 PM TwoSense – Ashley Bathgate, cello and Lisa Moore, piano plus guests Iva Bittova (voice/violin), Kelli Kathman (flute) and Andy Akiho (steel pan) play their own music plus compositions by Stephen Feigenbaum, Paul Kerekes, Jerome Kitzke, Leos Janacek and Kate Moore at le Poisson Rouge, $15

1/4, 7:30ish Nation Beat bandleader Scott Kettner’s Forro Brass Band at Barbes.

1/4 ferocious, atmospheric, swirling cello rock band Blues in Space at Highline Ballroom, 9 PM, $10 gen adm

1/4, 8 PM, multistylistic Americana chanteuse Julia Haltigan at the big room at the Rockwood.

1/4-8, 11 PM Matt Slocum, Gerald Clayton & Massimo Biolcati at Dizzy’s Club, $10 tix avail. – not bad for a first-class jazz trio like this…

1/4, 9:30 PM, Meta & the Cornerstones at Joe’s Pub, $17. Diverse, politically aware, hypnotic roots reggae with a global cast and charismatic Senegalese frontman.

1/5 “Phil Ochs: There But For Fortune,” the new film about the iconic lyrical rocker premieres at the IFC Center (a.k.a. the Waverly).

1/5, 6 PM Gloria Cheng, piano and the Calder Quartet playing Messiaen, Boulez, Saariaho, Stravinsky, Adès, Vivier, and Godfrey at le Poisson Rouge, $20.

1/5, 7 PM up-and-coming third-stream pianist Jo-Yu Chen plus guitarist Gilad Hekselman at the cafe out front at the 92YTribeca, free

1/5, 8 PM pianist Taka Kigawa plays Stravinsky – Trois Mouvements de Petrouchka; Dai Fujikura – Joule; Toshio Hosokawa – Haiku; and Debussy – Preludes for Piano, Book II at Bargemusic, $35.

1/5, 9 PM Balkan behemoth Raya Brass Band at Radegast Hall – loud enough and fun enough to make you forget about the crowd who usually hangs out at this place.

1/5, 9:15ish Maynard & the Musties at Lakeside. This is the sprawling Tom Waits orchestra edition of the band with violin, trombone and a guest jazz g guitarist from out of state playing their increasingly gothic Nashville gothic songs.

1/5, 10 PM the Tyler Trudeau Attempt play stagy, cynical, bittterly lyrical 60s psychedelic pop with 80s goth tinges at Spike Hill. Their song I Just Want Things to Be Different ought to be mandatory listening for any alienated kid.

1/6, 7 PM Melvin Van Peebles backed by a soul band featuring baritone sax sorceress Paula Henderson and the core of Burnt Sugar at Joe’s Pub, $17. They’re also here on 1/27 at 7.

1/6 an eclectic bill of world music chanteuses at Drom starting at 7 with Somi, Tamar-kali, Meklit Hadero & Pyeng Threadgill.

1/6, 7:30 PM subversive musical comediennes Mel and El (notorious for Mel and El: Gay Married) at Comix, 353 W. 14th St, $10 –  “This month’s show will feature original songs like “Facebook Is Evil”, “Pamela Handerson” and “White Lady with a Black Baby.”

1/6, 8 PM eclectic Greek oud virtuoso/composer Mavrothi Kontanis with his band at Barbes.

1/6, 8 PM Steven Bernstein’s Millennial Territory Orchestra playing Sly Stone followed by new generation big band jazz with Richmond’s rhythmically intense Fight the Big Bull and then Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society at Littlefield, $15 adv tix rec.

1/6 a fun Americana roots triplebill at Ace of Clubs starting at 8:30 with the jangly, amusing Honey West Band, smart acoustic Americana band the Buckstops and comedic blues band Jimmy & the Wolfpack doing songs with titles like Stick Out Your Can

1/6, 8:30 PM carnivalesque Luminescent Orchestrii frontman Sxip Shirey does his solo thing at the Atrium at Lincoln Center.

1/6, 8:30/10:30 PM alto sax powerhouse Jon Irabagon & Collective Language plays Thelonious Monk at Iridium, $25.

1/6 subversive comedienne Tammy Faye Starlite’s characteristically hilarious and surprisingly spot-on Blondie cover band the Pretty Babies play R Bar, 9 PM

1/6 Chicago oldtimey/Americana band Dastardly at Arlene’s, 9 PM.

1/6-8, 9:30 PM a trio summit of sorts: Peter Bernstein – guitar, Larry Goldings – organ, Bill Stewart – drums at Smalls.

1/6, 10 PM AE – pronounced “ash,” this is Eva Salina Primack and Aurelia Shrenker’s otherworldly, hypnotic, intense duo vocal project that interpolates old Appalachian songs with Balkan folk tunes, at Pete’s

1/6, 11 PM ageless faux-French garage rockers les Sans Culottes at Spike Hill.

1/7, 7 PM Americana chanteuse and Clash collaborator Ellen Foley at Lakeside.

1/7 an amazing quadruple bill at Drom starting at 7 with haunting, multistylistic oud band the Maeandros Ensemble, Bulgarian sax powerhouse Yuri Yunakov, newschool retro levantine chanteuse Gaida with her band and then clarinet monster Ismail Lumanovski’s reliably excellent, electric NY Gypsy All-Stars at Drom, $10.

1/7 saxophonist Paul Carlon leads a nonet playing Strayhorn at Miles Cafe, 7:30 PM, $20 includes a drink and “snacks.”

1/7, 8 PM an excellent cheap world music quadruple bill with gypsy singer Sanda Weigl, Malagasy chanteuse Razia, then at 11 PM wild cumbia punks Very Be Careful and at midnight Nonstop Bhangra at the 92YTribeca, $15

1/7 the Portland Cello Project – will they have 8 cellos? 16? and violinist/composer Emily Wells, 9ish at City Winery, $15.

1/7-8 it’s the Winter Jazzfest where a bunch of the cheesy Bleecker St. clubs host an astounding mix of jazz legends and future legends:  last year’s (known as the Undead Jazz Festival) was amazing by all accounts. The complete schedule is here.

1/7 a rare chance to see popular Ethiopian chanteuse Meklit Hadero in a small club setting: she’s at Barbes at 8 PM.

1/7, 9 PM Thunda Vida plays latin reggae and dub at Shrine uptown.

1/7, 10 PM the latest oldschool funk/soul rediscovery, Lee Fields & the Expressions at Bowery Balllroom, $17 adv tix rec.

1/7 oldschool Colombian-style cumbia punk hellraisers Very Be Careful, 11 PM at Bowery Poetry Club; they’re also at Coco 66 in Greenpoint at 11ish on 1/8.

1/7, 11 PM Americana roots with the Third Wheel Band, hilarious cover project the Toys and Tiny Instruments Orchestra and the No Small Money Afrobeat brass band at Littlefield, $10.

1/7, 11 PM the Reformed Whores play satirical faux-oldtimey songs at at Pete’s. They’re also at Ace of Clubs on 1/21 at 11 for $10.

1/8, 5 PM, torchy oldtime harmonies and songwriting with the Parkington Sisters at the small room at the Rockwood.

1/8, 8 PM a phenomenal quintuple (!!!!!) bill at Drom starting at 8 with Pierre de Gaillande’s Bad Reputation playing hilariously filthy English-language covers of Georges Brassens songs, les Chauds Lapins playing torchy retro French chanson, psychedelic Peruvian surf revivalists Chicha Libre,  funk orchestra Brooklyn Qawwali Party and then minor-key blues/klezmer/reggae jamband Hazmat Modine.

1/8, 8 PM the monthly ska show at the Knitting Factory has a characteristically good lineup this time around with the Forthrights, Kevin Batchelor & Grand Concourse and Westbound Train, $10 adv tix rec

1/8 three pianists (Steven Beck, Stephen Gosling, and Taka Kigawa) playing Haydn: Il Maestro e lo Scolare; Ligeti: Four Hands; Brahms: Hungarian Dances; Stravinsky: Rites of Spring, 8 PM at Bargemusic, $35.

1/8 8 PM snarling female-fronted punk/metal band Vagina Panther at Trash

1/8, 8:30 PM the Steve Swell Trio: Pandelis Karayorgis, piano; Guillermo Gregorio, clarinet; Steve Swell, trombone at I-Beam $10 sugg. Plenty of smart listening, interpolation, conversation, musical mutilation possible as well.

1/8 what could be a real powerhouse evening: Jaleel Shaw – saxophones, Lawrence Fields – piano, Boris Kozlov – bass, Johnathan Blake – drums, 8:30 PM at the Jazz Gallery, $20

1/8, 9 PM legendary Texas Americana guitar god/crooner Junior Brown at B.B. King’s, $25 adv tix rec.

1/8, 9 PM Will Scott – NYC’s most entertaining yet hypnotic blues guitarist – at 68 Jay St. Bar

1/8, 9 PM Bel Air play tuneful, upbeat, uncommonly interesting country and Americana rock at Spike Hill.

1/8, 9ish soulful, psychedelic country band Alana Amram & the Rough Gems followed by Daptone project the Del Reys and new psychedelic soul crew Hallelujah at Littlefield, $10.

1/8, 9 PM mi a seh, dem a riddim call blues and reggae, dem ah play at Tea Lounge in Park Slope, band name World Revelation Band. Yeah mon!

1/8, 9:30 PM trombonist Rick Parker leads an adventurous, tuneful quintet with Logan Richardson – alto saxophone; Sam Barsh – piano; Shawn Conley – bass; Ziv Ravitz – drums at Miles Cafe, $20 includes a drink and “snacks.”

1/8, 10 PM the funniest oldschool country band around, the Jack Grace Band at Rodeo Bar. They’re also at the Ear Inn on 1/10 at midnight.

1/8, 11 PM a hot doublebill with Ethiopian/Afrobeat monsters Debo Band and Balkan brass whirlwind Slavic Soul Party at the 92YTribeca, $10 adv tix rec

1/8, 11 PM punk/rockabilly/surf guitar monster Simon & the Bar Sinisters at Lakeside

1/9 cheap tix for Globalfest at Webster Hall are SOLD OUT.

1/9, 11:30AMish the most diverse klezmer band on the planet, Metropolitan Klezmer at City Winery for brunch, $10, no minimum, kids under 13 free.

1/9, 1 (one) and 3 PM Jamaican piano jazz legend Monty Alexander and his Harlem Kingston Express at Iridium, $25

1/9, 3 PM the Antara Ensemble play Foote, Vivaldi, Bartók, Mercadente at St. Andrew’s Church, 2065 Fifth Avenue at 127th Street, NYC, $25/$20 stud/srs.

1/9, 4:45 PM Maurizio Corraza of Rome, Italy plays the organ at St. Patrick’s Cathedral

1/9, 5 PM, funny folk parody band the Lascivious Biddies at the small room at the Rockwood.

1/9, 6 (six) PM the Third Wheel Band play catchy, fun oldtimey swing and hillbilly songs with ukele, mandolin and upright bass at Spike Hill.

1/9, 7 PM original, eclectic all-female string band the Real Vocal String Quartet at Drom, free.

1/9, 8 PM John Hollenbeck’s Claudia Quintet plus Matt Mitchell on piano at the Stone, $10

1/9 Bay Area gypsy jazz monsters Gaucho at 8 PM at the Mercury followed eventually at 10 by conscious, politically aware jazz crew the Marcus Shelby Quintet feat. Howard Wiley on sax and Faye Carol on vocals. Gaucho are somehow going to magically teleport themselves to Shrine uptown for a 10 PM set afterward.

1/9, 10 PM a killer quadruple bill with adventurous string quartet Moira Smiley & VOCO, eclectic chanteuse Jessica Fichot, oldtimey swing/jazz crew Miss Tess and the Bon Ton Parade, and then gypsy jazz with the George Cole Quintet and the blissfully intense Fishtank Ensemble, $10 at le Poisson Rouge.

1/10, 7:30 PM Jan Bell’s gorgeously harmony-driven Americana trio the Maybelles, gypsy jazz with the George Cole Quintet, the sly oldtimey Two Man Gentlemen Band and another evening of Romanian gypsy mayhem with Fishtank Ensemble at Sullivan Hall, $10

1/10, 8/10 PM Anais Mitchell’s Hadestown – a potently apocalyptic contemporary retelling of the Orpheus/Euridyce myth – at the big room at the Rockwood – full band performance featuring “the Hadestown Orchestra/Michael Chorney Sextet.”

1/10, 8 PM a rare small club appearance by Sierra Leone’s Refugee All-Stars at Drom, $20 adv tix very highly rec., this will sell out.

1/10 Huun Huur Tu – the group that brought central Asian throat singing to the masses – at Hiro Ballroom, $15 adv tix available at the Highline Ballroom box office. Show starts at 7 – bands on the bill (not necessarily in order) include Red Baraat, De Temps Antan, accordionist Hector del Curto, Los Texmaniacs, Lucia Pulido; HHT should hit at about 11.

1/10, 9 PM the Nathan Parker Smith Big Band at Tea Lounge in Park Slope

1/11, 7 PM marvelously creepy noir soundtrack/downtempo instrumentalists Mojo Mancini at the big room at the Rockwood, $10.

1/11-16 the Clayton Brothers Band with bassist/bandleader John Clayton, Jeff Clayton, Gerald Clayton, Terell Stafford & Obed Calvaire 7:30/9:30 PM at Dizzy’s Club $30 tix avail. – their January shows here are reliably packed with clever, sometimes wildly intense moments

1/11, 7:30 PM Neil Rolnick night $15 at le Poisson Rouge – it’s the Extended Family cd release show (a vividly bitter, crazed musical memoir of family mischegas at the time of his mother’s death) plus excerpts from Shadow Quartet, performed by ACME, (Rob Moose and Laura Lutzke, violins; Nadia Sirota, viola; Clarice Jensen, cello.) plus Faith for solo piano, performed by Bob Gluck; plus Rolnick dj’ing on his laptop.

1/11 powerhouse trumpeter Ben Syversen’s wild, crazy noise/jazz project Cracked Vessel at 8 PM at Local 269.

1/11, 8:30 PM a killer triplebill with indie guitar legend Chris Brokaw, tersely intense, smart songwriter Amy Bezunartea and the powerfully tuneful, catchy Jennifer O’Connor at Rock Shop in Gowanus.

1/11, 9 PM Walter Ego plays Banjo Jim’s. LJ Murphy’s ex-bassist is a ferociously literate, funny songwriter whose amusing, theatrical stage show is a lot of fun, maybe comic relief from the power and intensity of his post-Costello janglerock and powerpop songs.

1/11, 10 PM intense guitarist Joel Harrison & Spartacus with Gary Versace, Stephan Crump, Jordan Perlson at Korzo

1/11 swirling female-fronted psychedelic pop/80s goth band Religious to Damn at 11ish at Glasslands.

1/11, 11:30 PM Derya Köroglu – haunting, pensive founder of legendary gypsyish/psychedelic folk-rock Turkish group Yeni Türkü – plays a very rare NYC show at Drom, adv tix $25 very highly rec.

1/12, 8 PM the American String Quartet play Mozart: Adagio and Rondo, K. 617; Schoenberg (arr. Webern): Kammersymphonie, op. 9; Beethoven: Quartet in C-sharp Minor, op. 131 at Merkin Concert Hall, $15. A group we take too much for granted: the Beethoven will be full of poignancy and wait til they sink their fangs into Schoenberg!

1/12, 8 PM sharp at Littlefield, only $5 for a double feature: North Dixie Drive (“Often compared to Errol Morris’ Vernon, Florida, Mahoney’s debut film wonderfully showcases an eccentric group of characters in today’s Middle America”) followed at 9:15 sharp by Sometimes, City (“Jim Jarmusch’s cross-section of interviewees from all walks of life including cartoonist Harvey Pekar, explores a city plagued by racial division, poverty and urban decay”).

1/12 hot new buzz band New Atlantic Youth – with Jesse Katz from the Brooklyn What- at Cake Shop, 8:30ish

1/12, 9 PM uncommonly smart, oldtimey style guy/girl folk duo A Brief View of the Hudson at Spike HIll followed at 10 by country/western swing guy Raphael McGregor.

1/12 the scheduled doublebill with Les Nubians and Blitz the Ambassador & the Embassy Ensemble featuring Baloji at SOB’s has been rescheduled to 1/16 at 9 PM. He’s still on the bill at BAM Cafe on Friday.

1/12, 10 PM country siren Drina & the Deep Blue Sea at Banjo Jim’s.

1/12, 10ish tongue-in-cheek, period-perfect early 50s style country from Susquehanna Industrial Tool & Die Co. at Rodeo Bar.

1/12, 8 PM a benefit for the Street Pianos project (you know, the day when all these random pianos appear on the street for you to play) at Southpaw feat. Annie Rossi, Greene Girls, Emily Wells and Balthrop Alabama’s Georgiana Starlington, $10.

1/13, 1 (one) PM – Salley Koo, violin; Aron Zelkowicz, cello; Vanessa Fadial, piano at Trinity Church, free

1/13, 6 (six) PM Sabrina Chap plays Caffe Vivaldi. Fearless, funny, tuneful, punk-inspired, cabaret-influenced songwriting.

1/13-16 a rare US appearance by trumpeter and Kryzstof Komeda collaborator Tomasz Stanko at the Jazz Standard. Moody, brooding, but just as likely to go completely off in a bop direction. The lineup is Stanko plus Chris Potter – tenor sax (except early set on 1/13), Craig Taborn – piano, Thomas Morgan – bass, Jim Black – drums, sets 7:30/9:30 PM, $25

1/13, 7:30 PM Windscape plus the Orion String Quartet play Bach’s Art of the Fugue (BMV 1080) at Greenfield Hall at Manhattan School of Music, free.

1/13, 8 PM hilariously lyrical janglemeisters Jay Banerjee & the Heartthrobs, the retro surf/rockabilly Roebucks, oldschool soul juggernaut Shakedown at the Majestic and garage rockers the Thigh Highs are this month’s Hipster Demolition Night at Public Assembly – the promoters are threatening to make this the last one, say it isn’t so guys!!!!

1/13 eerie, haunting soundtrack composer Thomas Simon at the Gershwin Hotel, 8 PM, $10.

1/13-15, hypnotic, bewitching rustic Italian percussion/chant crew Alessandra Belloni & I Guillari di Piazza play their Tarantella Spider Dance, 8 PM, repeating at 3 PM on 1/16. at Theatre for the New City 155 First Ave., near 10th Street, tix $30

1/13, 8:30 PM the Second Fiddles play rousing hokum blues and oldtimey tunes at Hill Country

1/13, 8:30 PM string/flute trio Silver Roots juxtapose global folk dance tunes with new avant garde compositions at the Atrium at Lincoln Center.

1/13, 9 PM crazy Danish Balkan brass band Bjonko & Copenhagen Chalgija at Drom, $10.

1/13, 9ish self-styled “bebop terrorists” Mostly Other People Do the Killing and the Weasel Walter/Mary Halvorson/Peter Evans trio at Littlefield, $8 adv tix rec.

1/13 hypnotic Middle Eastern psychedelic rockers the Mast at Joe’s Pub, 9:30 PM, $15.

1/13, 9:30 PM trombonist/composer JC Sanford takes a break from conducting his deviously fun big band to play with this excellent quartet including Nate Radley – guitar; Dave Ambrosio – bass; Russ Meissner – drums at Tea Lounge in Park Slope

1/13 fiery ska/reggae band the Hard Times play two sets, the second backing Slackers mastermind Vic Ruggiero at Otto’s, 10 PM.

1/14, 7 PM a ska-punk extravaganza at Sullivan Hall with Last Shot Fired, 45 Shootout, Across the Aisle, Jah Sticks, Rudie Crew, $TBA

1/14, 7 PM ageless oldschool R&B revivalists the Brilliant Mistakes at the small room at the Rockwood

1/14, 7:30 PM and 1/15, 6 PM Golden Festival, NYC’s annual Eastern European music summit moves to Grand Prospect Hall, 263 Prospect Ave. in Brooklyn feat. dozens of bands incl. Ansambl Mastika, Raya Brass Band, Veveritse Brass Band, Lunas Altas, and of course Zlatne Uste, your best deal is $60 two-night admission.

1/14, a killer Middle Eastern fueled triplebill at Zebulon starting 8ish with slinky golden age Egyptian film music revivalists Zikrayat followed by Bay Area Balkan/Turkish hellraisers MWF and then equally fiery Turkish folk crew Dan Kanli (Turkish for “crazy blood”).

1/14, 8 PM potently lyrical, lush, sultry art-rockers the Snow at Rock Shop in Gowanus.

1/14, 8 PM reliably adventurous, interesting new chamber group Sybarite5 (Sami Merdinian and Sarah Whitney, violins; Angela Pickett, viola; Laura Metcalf, cello; and Louis Levitt, bass) play a set selected by their ipod shuffle at the Cell Theatre 338 West 23rd St. (8/9th Aves), $20/$10 stud. Radiohead? Sabbath? Mozart? Who knows?

1/14 tasteful purist Chicago blues guitarist Irving Louis Lattin at Lucille’s 8 PM; also here on 1/28.

1/14, 8 PM Rhythms of Rajasthan – North Indian music and dance extravaganza – at Symphony Space, $35/$20 stud.

1/14, 9 PM jangly plaintive  Bill Frisell-style Americana jazz with Jeremy Udden’s Plainville at Tea Lounge in Park Slope.

1/14 trumpeter Leron Thomas – a true original with a snarling, surreal wit and ferocious talent – with Mark Kelley, Jason Moran, Josh Mease, Kendrick Scott and Nicole Hurst as part of piano star Moran’s jazz night featuring Houston expats at the 92YTribeca – evening starts at 9, Thomas’ set at 10, $25 gen adm.

1/14-15 Avishai Cohen on trumpet with a monster rhythm section: Omer Avital – bass, Nasheet Waits – drums, 9 PM at the Jazz Gallery, $20

1/14, midnight sly acoustic jamband Tall Tall Trees at the big room at the Rockwood.

1/15, 7 PM a killer triplebill at Caffe Vivaldi starting with blue-eyed soul siren Meg Braun followed by smartly pensive, lyrical songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Carolann Solebello (of Red Molly) and then at 10:30 Hope DeBates and North 40 playing smart, oldschool countrypolitan, jazz and Americana with an excellent band.

1/15 the Brooklyn What, unsurprisingly, have put together the best bill of the year so far: 8 PM slinky ska and rocksteady with the Forthrights, charismatic gypsy punk/metal cumbia/skaragga monsters Escarioka at 9- arguably the best live band in NYC, bar none – the brilliant and hilarious Brooklyn What , riding the wave of their scorchingly good new series of singles – at 10, powerful noir ska rockers Tri-State Conspiracy at 11 and then third-wave ska legends the Scofflaws at midnight at Trash – plus free drinks (PBR and wells) from 8 to 9 PM with paid admission.

1/15, 8 PM, absurdly funny Merle Haggard cover band Bryan & the Haggards (a bunch of jazz guys having fun with country) at Banjo Jim’s.

1/15, 8 PM innovative dual flute/electronics duo Flutronix with the Itkus Percussion Quartet at the Cell Theatre, 338 West 23rd St. (8/9th Aves), $20/$10 stud.

1/15 haunting Irish-American songwriter Susan McKeown – whose latest album Singing in the Dark is excellent – at Highline Ballroom, 8 PM, $18 adv tix rec.

1/15 back by popular demand, Derya Köroglu – haunting, pensive founder of legendary gypsyish/psychedelic folk-rock Turkish group Yeni Türkü – at Drom, 8:30 PM, $20 adv tix very highly rec.

1/15 the Brixton Riot – smart tuneful two-guitar powerpop band – at Maxwell’s, 8:30 PM

1/15, 9 PM uncategorizable funny guy Tim Fite and sprawling acoustic Nashville gothic band O’Death at the Bell House, $10 adv tix rec

1/15, 9 PM sharp, literate downtempo rockers Elizabeth & the Catapult at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, $15.

1/15 torchy songwriter Abby Payne at Pete’s, 9 PM. She’s also at the Rockwood on 1/25 at 11.

1/15, 9:30 PM clever urban country band Miller’s Farm plays Hill Country

1/15, 11 PM NYC’s fiery, amusing answer to X, Spanking Charlene at Lakeside.

1/15, 1 AM (actually morning of 1/16) the Grey Race play Zombies-esque psychedelic pop at the Rockwood.

1/16, 6 PM, repeating on 1/23 the Grneta Duo+ (Balkan clarinet monsters Vasko Dukovski, Ismail Lumanovski and casually brilliant pianist Alexandra Joan) play Bela Bartok, Gerald Cohen, Felix Mendelssohn, Nicholas Csicsko, Mohammed Fariouz, Vittorio Monti at Drom, $10 or $30 incl. prix fixe dinner (food at the club is delicious, and we have seen and enthusiastically reviewed this program – it is phenomenal!).

1/16, 7:30 PM the Rudie Crew and Royal City Riot open for third-wave ska legends the Toasters at the Knitting Factory, $12 adv tix rec., all ages.

1/16, 8:15 PM hilarious, politically aware acoustic punk rocker Paranoid Larry & His Imaginary Band at Otto’s.

1/16, 8:30 PM jazz vibraphonist Tyler Blanton play the cd release for his tropical new cd Botanic at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10.

1/16, 11 PM Ronald Reagan at Banjo Jim’s: “Boston’s premier 80’s pop saxophone duo aim to revitalize America’s economy by promoting large tax cuts & a revival of 80’s pop music. Their sidemen went on strike, violating a band regulation prohibiting critical players from striking. Ronald Reagan stated that if the musicians ‘did not return to work within 48 hours, they have forfeited their jobs, and will be terminated.’ They are seeking (non-union) musicians in anticipation of a 2011 tour to Grenada.”

1/17 the Ecstatic Music Festival at Merkin Concert Hall kicks off with a free 7-hour marathon from 2-9 PM. Take a deep breath, here’s the lineup: Ne(x)tworks – Julius Eastman, Stay On It; Timo Andres – Charles Ives, The Alcotts; Timo Andres, “Everything is an Onion” from It takes a long time to become a good composer; Face the Music – Missy Mazzoli, Death Valley Junction; Christine Southworth, Volcano; So Percussion – Selections from Imaginary City and Amid the Noise; NOW Ensemble – Judd Greenstein, City Boy; Chiara String Quartet – Jefferson Friedman, String Quartet No. 3; John Matthias, Adrian Corker & Andrew Prior – John Matthias, What Happens & Cortical Songs/Mercedes the Dancer (U.S. Premiere); Vicky Chow – Daniel Wohl, Aorta; NOW Ensemble with Corey Dargel & Nathan Koci – Corey Dargel, Other People’s Love Songs; Ashley Bathgate & Lisa Moore – Kate Moore, Velvet; Ashley Bathgate – Michael Gordon, Industry; Gabriel Kahane – A selection of songs by Gabriel Kahane; Nadia Sirota – Nico Muhly, Keep in Touch; Buke and Gass with Victoire – TBA.

1/17, 7 PM ferocious, multistylistic Balkan hellraisers Raya Brass Band at Barbes followed by Chicha Libre.

1/17, 9 PM big band night with Frank Carlberg and Nicholas Urie’s City Band at Tea Lounge in Park Slope

1/18-19 Jeff Tain Watts with Steve Coleman and Robert Hurst at the Jazz Standard sets 7:30/9:30 PM, $25 – good times guaranteed, then 1/20-23 they switch out Coleman for Marcus Strickland and add David Kokoski on piano for new levels of intensity.

1/18 moody, thoughtful jazz pianist Mika Pohjola with Dan Loomis on bass and Kyle Struve on drums at Miles Cafe, 7:30 PM.

1/18 a good quadruple bill at Spike Hill starting at 8 PM with neosoul/downtempo Teletextile followed by female-fronted Radiohead-powerpop band Mixtape, 10 PM by retro 80s Cure/janglepop band Bona to Vada and then at 11 PM, sharp, smart guitar-and-violin-driven indie rockers Bern & the Brights. B&tB’s are also at Maxwell’s on 1/21 at 8:30.

1/18, 8 PM ageless noir cabaret accordion chanteuse Phoebe Legere at Iridium, $30

1/18-22, 8:30 PM 40 Twenty: Vinnie Sperrazza – drums; Jacob Sacks – piano; Dave Ambrosio – bass; Jacob Garchik – trombone at I-Beam, $10 sugg.

1/18 soaring oldtimey Americana/country songwriter Alanna Fugate at Cake Shop, 9 PM.

1/18, 9:30 PM Dwight & Nicole at the big room at the Rockwood. He plays guitar in a virtuosic, laid-back oldschool Steve Cropper kind of way; she sings with a subtly torchy warmth. If oldschool soul music is your thing and you like it chill and hypnotic, Bill Withers style, this is for you.

1/19, 8 PM slinky low-register retro Cuban band Gato Loco – with baritone guitar, baritone sax, tuba and bas – plus eclectic Argentinian pianist Emilio Teubal and his quartet at Drom, $10 tix highly rec.

1/19, 10ish baritone country/western swing crooner Sean Kershaw & the New Jack Ramblers at Rodeo Bar.

1/20, 6-8 PM the opening reception for J Henry Fair’s interactive photo exhibit Landscapes of Extraction: The Collateral Damage of the Fossil Fuels Industries: “an eye-opening look at the increasingly extreme industrial processes used to extract fossil fuels including mountain top removal, deep sea drilling and hydro-fracking” at the second-floor gallery at Cooper Union.

1/20, 7 PM potently lyrical songwriter Dan Sallitt of Blow This Nightclub infamy plays solo followed at 8 by charming yet edgy Americana chanteuse Rebecca Turner at Banjo Jim’s

1/20, Electric Junkyard Gamelan, with their homemade instruments and swirling psychedelic trip-hop vortex of a show at Dixon Place Theatre, 8 PM.

1/20, 8 PM winds/vibes/percussion trio Ensemble Helacious play the world premiere of Untitled Number Nine plus their composition MC5 (dedicated to the Murder City rockers) at Greenwich House Music School on Barrow St., $15/$10 stud.srs.

1/20, 8 PM eclectic, witty jazz guitarist Matt Munisteri at Barbes followed at 10 by the crazy Indian brass band sounds of Red Baraat.

1/20, 8:30 PM, repeating 1/21 at 9/10:30 PM George Garzone on tenor backed by a bunch of inspired Australians: Jamie Oehlers, tenor; Graham Wood, piano; Sam Anning, bass; Ari Hoenig, drums, 8:30 PM at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10.

1/20, 9 PM cutting-edge big band jazz with the Russ Flynn Large Ensemble at Tea Lounge in Park Slope

1/20, 10 PM classic film score covers with Morricone Youth at Fontana’s

1/21 slinky Middle Eastern/East African classics from the 20s and 30s with Sounds of Taraab at Barbes at 8 followed at 10 by Brian Carpenter’s Ghost Train Orchestra playing obscure hot jazz from the 20s.

1/21, 8 PM the St. Petersburg String Quartet at Bargemusic playing Shostakovich String Quartet No.1, Op. 49; String Quartet No. 2, Op. 68; Beethoven String Quartet No. 7 in F major, Op. 59, No. 1, $35 – also here playing more of the Shostakovich quartets and Beethoven late quartets on 1/22 at 8 and 1/23 at 3. The series repeats 2/18-20.

1/21, 10 PM Space Church – Vijay Iyer (piano) Matana Roberts (alto sax) Gerald Cleaver (drums) at the Stone.

1/21 the NY Gypsy All-Stars play a final show with their bassist Pano and keyboardist Jason Lindner at Drom, 10 PM, early arrival advised.

1/21 the Boss Guitars play surf classics and obscurities at Lakeside, 11 PM.

1/21, 11 PM sarcastic Japanese postpunk band the Hard Nips at Spike Hill

1/22, 1 PM a free concert at Bargemusic – program TBA, most likely piano music, early arrival advised.

1/22, 7:15 PM minor-key acoustic blues/klezmer/reggae/New Orleans jamband monsters Hazmat Modine at Terra Blues

1/22 harpist/archivist Benjamin Bagby’s ensemble Sequentia sing French choral music from the 12th and 13th century at the Church of St. Mary the Virgin, 8 PM adv. tix $35/21 stud. rec.

1/22, 8 PM Pierre de Gaillande’s Bad Reputation Georges Brassens cover band at Barbes followed at 10 by accordionist Rob Curto’s Forro for All.

1/22, 9 PM Finotee plays roots reggae at Shrine

1/22 wild intense original bluegrass band Thy Burden at Lakeside, 11 PM.

1/23, 7 PM at Europa in reverse order: vintage or vintage-sounding hardcore with Reagan Youth, Yuppicide, Beer & Cable and Agitator opening, $8, 16+

1/23, 8 PM bluegrass legends the Grascals at Highline Ballroom, $12 adv tix rec.

1/23, 8 PM smart soul/funk bandleader Stephanie Rooker & the Search Engine at the big room at the Rockwood.

1/23 innovative Greek-American blues guitarist Spiros Soukis at Lucille’s, 8 PM

1/23, 8:15 PM the LeBoeuf Bros. jazz quintet feat. Nir Felder on guitar, Linda Oh on bass and Henry Cole on drums – big buzz about them. Ready for the big leagues or is it time to back to the minors? Go find out.

1/24 the East Coast Chamber Orchestra (ECCO) at Advent Church, 93rd and Broadway, 7:30 PM, free.

1/24, 7:30 PM the Roulette Sisters’ sultry oldtime resonator guitarist/songwriter Mamie Minch at the Castello Plan, 1213 Cortelyou Rd. at Westminster, Crown Heights.

1/24, 8 PM at Merkin Concert Hall the Da Capo Chamber Players perform Duo (2003) – (Premiere of revised version) by Anthony Korf; Canto V (1968) by Samuel Adler; Primavera Amarilla (1997) by Samuel Adler; From Here On Farther (1969) by Stefan Wolpe; Cuatro Bosquejos Pre-Incaicos (2006) by Gabriela Lena Frank; Quintet (2008) by Shen Yiwen. Guest artists include Lucy Shelton, soprano, Jo-Ann Sternberg, bass clarinet, Matthew Gold, percussion, Alex Lipowski, percussion and Matthew Ward, percussion, $20/$10 stud/srs.

1/24, 8:30/10 PM eclectic pan-latin chanteuse/songwriter Marta Topferova plays a duo set with Ben Monder on electric guitar followed by a full band set at Cornelia St. Cafe $10.

1/24, 9 PM the somewhat legendary Asuka Kakitani Jazz Orchestra at Tea Lounge in Park Slope

1/25 soulful jazz/bossa/Americana chanteuse Sasha Dobson at Barbes at 8 followed at 10 by Slavic Soul Party.

1/25 oldschool soul/funk with the Mehahan St. Band and Charles Bradley’s cd release show at Southpaw, 8:30 PM, $12 adv tix rec.

1/25-29, 9/11 PM Nicholas Payton (trumpet) Javon Jackson (sax) George Cables (piano) Dwayne Burno (bass) Lenny White (drums) play Freddie Hubbard at Birdland, $30 seats avail.

1/26, 7 PM subversive comedienne Tammy Faye Starlite – who also knows a thing or two about country music- opens for Carlene Carter solo at Joe’s Pub: “It’s like the New York Dolls opening for the Rolling Stones.” $25 adv tix highly rec.

1/26 the Wayne Escoffery Quintet: Wayne Escoffery – tenor saxophone; Adam Holzman – keyboards; Orrin Evans – piano; Hans Glawischnig – bass; Jason Brown – drums, 7:30/9:30 PM at the Jazz Standard, $20.

1/26, 8:30 PM, charismatic oldtimey Americana band the Wiyos play a rare small club date at Cornelia St. Cafe, $15.

1/27, 1 (one) PM pianist Alexandria Le at Trinity Church, free, program TBA

1/27, 6:30 PM environmentalist Helena Norberg-Hodge’s documentary, The Economics of Happiness “advocates for localization — the rebuilding of communities and regional economies as the foundation of an “economics of happiness” to improve sustainability, raise cultural awareness and address societal woes tied to globalization,” at Cooper Union’s Great Hall (7 East 7th Street b/w 3rd and 4th Avenues), free.

1/27, 7:30 PM alto saxophonist Alexander McCabe leads a killer quartet with Uri Caine – piano; Ugonna Okegwo – bass; Rudy Royston – drums at Miles Cafe, $20 cover includes a drink.

1/27, 7:30 PM  Songwriters in the round were never this fearless and funny: Americana rock maven Rebecca Turner, devastating, intense, noir jazzy Erica Smith and hilariously lyrical janglerock genius Paula Carino at the Parkside.

1/27, 7:30 PM Israeli Chamber Project plays Debussy, Galina Ustvolskaya, Sebastian Currier, Beethoven, and the world premiere of Amit Gilutz’s New Work for clarinet, violin, cello, harp, and piano at Symphony Space, $29 adv tix rec.

1/27 torchy lyrical art-rockers the Snow at Barbes at 8 followed at 10 by Red Baraat.

1/28, 7 PM unusually melodic, interesting modern jazz quintet the Flail at the Fat Cat.

1/27, 8 PM Mosaic Foundation plays roots reggae at Shrine followed at 9 by ska/rocksteady/punk crew the Big Takeover.

1/27, 8 PM veteran blues crooner Bobby Bland’s birthday show at B.B. King’s, $27.50 adv tix rec.

1/27, 8:30 PM Stonerway play reggae-rock at Ace of Clubs.

1/27, 8:30 PM clever, tongue-in-cheek early 50s hillbilly parodists Susquehanna Industrial Tool and Die Co. at Otto’s, 8:30 PM

1/27, 8:30 PM, the Becca Stevens Band at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10. She’s also at the Bar Next Door on 1/31 at 8:30.

1/27 hypnotic, haunting Balkan/Appalachian vocal duo AE collaborate with Roulette Sisters resonator guitarist/ringleader Mamie Minch at the Jalopy, 9 PM

1/27, 9 PM monster clarinetist Ismail Lumanovski’s self-explanatory NY Gypsy All-Stars at Drom, $10.

1/27, 9:30 PM, sly witty powerpop tunesmith Patti Rothberg – who in her own way is sort of a female Elvis Costello – at the Delancey

1/28, 8 PM Songs for Unusual Creatures at Barbes, brought to you by many of the same people behind Songs for Ice Cream Trucks: “A celebration of the under-appreciated creatures that roam the planet. From the Australian Bilby to the deep-sea Magnapinna Squid, to the Saddleback Caterpillar. The songs are brought to life by a gaggle of curious instruments and peculiar sounds including theremin, claviola, stylophone, and more..with Michael Hearst, Allyssa Lamb, Ben Holmes and Kristin Mueller.”

1/28, 8 PM subtle, interestingly visual indie chamber rock band Colorform – who play accompanied by live painting – at Banjo Jim’s

1/28 hypnotic roots reggae grooves with Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad, 8 PM at the Nokia Theatre, $25.

1/28, 8:30 PM, fiery, tuneful drummer-led rock en Espanol powerhouse trio New Madrid at the downstairs “studio” at Webster Hall, $10

1/28 bassist Linda Oh leads her Ensemble with strings: Steve Wilson – saxophones, Sam Harris – piano, Joe Saylor – drums plus the Sirius String Quartet (Fung Chern Hwei/Gregor Huebner – violins, Ron Lawrence – viola, Jeremy Harman – cello), 9 PM at the Jazz Galley, $20

1/28, 9 PM pensive atmospheric rockers Hurricane Bells at Bowery Ballroom, $15 gen adm.

1/28, 9 PM cellist Marika Hughes plays the cd release show for her two new ones at the 92YTribeca with an unbelievable ensemble: Kyle Sanna—guitar, Shahzad Ismaily—guitar, Todd Sickafoose—bass, Mathias Kunzli—drums, plus special guests Jim Campilongo—guitar, Charlie Burnham—violin, Mazz Swift—violin, Jessica Troy—viola, Elana Arian—violin and Jenny Scheinman—violin, $12.

1/28, 9 PM a killer doublebill at Union Pool with the Lorquistas (Rima Fand of Luminescent Orchestrii, haunting Balkan chanteuse Eva Primack and others doing Frederico Garcia Lorca lyrics set to original music), followed by the hilarious and completely original Spinal Tap of Balkan music, Stagger Back Brass Band.

1/28, 9 PM smart acoustic Americana roots with Julia Haltigan & the Hooligans and the James Maddock Band at the Knitting Factory, $12, all ages

1/28, 9:30 PM, a rare appearance by Pam Fleming & Fearless Dreamer with all the original members at Miles Cafe: the peerless/fearless one on trumpet and flugelhorn plus Allen Won – saxes; Jim West – piano, keys; Peter Calo – guitar; Leo Traversa – bass; Todd Isler – drums, $20 cover includes a drink and munchies.

1/28 ominously funny bluespunk band the Five Points Band at Rodeo Bar 10:30 PM.

1/28, 11 PM Drina & the Deep Blue Sea at Banjo Jim’s. Multistylistic, soaring, frequently haunting Americana singer with one of the best country bands in town – nice to a talented harmony singer take centerstage and own it like she does.

1/28, 11ish, smart catchy keyboard-based indie pop with the Secret History at Glasslands, $10 adv tix rec.

1/29, 7 PM, hypnotically captivating duo Goli – marimba and cello duo – at Caffe Vivaldi followed at 9 by long-running goth/pop chanteuse Kristin Hoffmann.

1/29, 7 PM up-and-coming Americana chanteuse Sarah Jarosz at the little room at the Rockwood

1/29, 7 PM, Huun Huur Tu – the legendary throat singers of the former Soviet republic of Tuva – at Joe’s Pub, $25.

1/29, 7:30 PM witty alto sax powerhouse Jon Irabagon with Pat Bianchi – organ, Rudy Royston – drums at the Bar Next Door.

1/29, repeating on 1/30, 3 PM the Chelsea Symphony plays Bedford: Persephone, 1930: A Ballet in One Act for Orchestra (world premiere); Saint-Saëns: Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso in A minor, Op. 28 – Yura Alexov, Violin; Beethoven: Symphony No.5 at St. Paul’s Church at 315 West 22nd St., $20 sugg don.

1/29, 8:30 PM swirling, atmospheric, anthemic, socially aware art-rockers My Pet Dragon at Bowery Ballroom, 8:30 PM, adv tix $13 at the Mercury

1/29, 9 PM classical Indian sitar music with Ustad Ikhlaq Hussain Khan plus Dibyarka Chatterjee on tabla at Alwan for the Arts, $20/$15 stud.

1/29, 9 PM Promised Land feat. Myra Melford, Brandon Ross, Stomu Takeishi at the 92YTribeca, $12 adv tix rec. Pianist Melford and guitarist/inventor Ross are known quantities; the ringer is Takeishi, who has the capability to add atmospherics…or totally gunk up the works by overplaying.

1/29 tango nuevo-tinged big band jazz with the Pedro Giraudo Jazz Orchestra, 9 PM at the Jazz Gallery, $20.

1/29 Dave Fiuczynski’s Kif at BAM Cafe, 9 PM. Remember the Screaming Headless Torsos? That was this guy. This is his Middle Eastern/North African guitar project.

1/29, 10 PM the haunting, slinky, psychedelic harmony-driven retro latin group Las Rubias del Norte at Barbes.

1/29, 10 PM Spanglish Fly – who put a catchy, sly, original new spin on classic 60s latin bugalu dance tunes – at Mehanata

1/29, 10 PM Khalilah plays roots reggae at Shrine.

1/29, 11 PM entertaining soul/funk siren Shayna Zaid & the Catch upstairs at the National Underground.

1/30, 2:15 PM Sounds of Korea (traditional percussion/dance/chamber ensemble) at Flushing Town Hall, $12 tix avail.

1/30, 4 PM organists Kent Tritle, Renée Anne Louprette, and Nancianne Parrella perform and lead choral works by legendary, haunting French composer Jehan Alain at the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola on the upper east.

1/30, 5 PM cutting-edge works by Gregor Huebner, David Wallace, Neil Rolnick, Gordon Green, David Lang and Lisa Bielawa; several of the composers are accompanied by Astrid Schween, Yari Bond, Evelyne Luest and Justin Hines. At the Lounge at Hudson View Gardens, 128 Pinehurst Ave. at 183rd St., $12 incl. big yummy buffet afterward!

1/30 Mike Baggetta, Kirk Knuffke and Jeff Davis, an auspicious new guitar/trumpet/drums trio, 6 PM at Downtown Music Gallery.

1/30, 6:30 PM Joshua Rifkin plays Bach and Joplin at le Poisson Rouge, $20 adv tix rec.

1/30, 7 PM the playful, adventurous Threeds Oboe Trio – Kathy Halvorson, Mark Snyder and Katie Scheele – at Caffe Vivaldi.

1/30, 7 PM Composers Play Composers at Drom: over 20 composers including Joseph Pehrson, Dan Cooper, Gene Pritsker, John Clark, Luis Andrei Cobo, Patrick Grant play new material, $20 cover includes a drink.

1/30, 8 PM eclectic, subtly amusing Pearl & the Beard cellist Emily Hope Price at the Sidewalk.

1/30 haunting, intense southwestern gothic psychedelic band Kerry Kennedy’s Ghostwise at the Mercury, 9 PM

1/30, 9:30 PM haunting, phantasmagorical, improvisational art-song/avant garde ensemble Dollshot’s cd release show at le Poisson Rouge, $10 adv tix very highly rec.

1/30 the Dysfunctional Family Jazz Band at Rodeo Bar, 9ish.

1/31 Robbie Fulks – who has a killer new double live album out – at the Mercury, 7:15 PM, $12 adv tix rec

1/31, 8 PM powerful soul/Americana chanteuse Jo Williamson’s cd release show at the big room at the Rockwood.

1/31 guitarist Russ Spiegel’s Jazz Orchestra 9 PM at Tea Lounge in Park Slope.

1/31, 9 PM a Small Beast bill at the Delancey that lives up to the glory of its first couple of years when Paul Wallfisch was booking it: Slovakian songwriter Tajna Tanovic, jazz crew Glass Buffalo at 10ish and noir accordion chanteuse Marni Rice headlining.

1/31 Daria Grace & the Pre-War Ponies play torchy 20s/30s swing/jazz obscurities at Rodeo Bar 10ish.

2/1 trombone free jazz legend Steve Swell with Perry Robinson on clarinet and Max Johnson on bass at 7 at Barbes, followed at 9 by Slavic Soul Party who also know a thing or two about good trombone.

2/1, 7 PM the Pride of the Subway Ceili Band at Banjo Jim’s followed at 9 by the NYCity Slickers playing bluegrass.

2/1, 8 PM, hypnotic, lush, atmospheric art-rockers the Quavers open for southwestern gothic legends Giant Sand at City Winery, $22 standing room tix avail.

2/1 midnight-ish Talib Kweli at the Brooklyn Bowl, $10.

2/2, 8 PM an excellent Afrobeat doublebill with Ikebe Shakedown and Zongo Junction at Brooklyn Bowl, $5

2/2, 8:30 PM female-fronted Canadian rock with Toronto’s edgy danceable postpunk People You Know and ferocious powerpop/punkpop Hunter Valentine at the Knitting Factory, adv tix $8 rec., all ages.

2/2, 9 PM the Mercenaries at Lakeside – Altogether Steve and the rest of the crew are still kicking ass after all these years, sort of the NYC version of the Replacements.

2/3 a 90th Birthday Celebration for Egyptian composer Halim El-Dabh, 6 PM at Bruno Walter Auditorium at the NYPL for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center – performers include soprano Christine Moore, violinist Luis Casal, and pianists Ruzan Asatryan and Katie Reimer. Free, early arrival advised.

2/3-6, 7:30/9:30 PM tenor saxophonist and Miles Davis/Max Roach alum George Coleman leads an interesting quintet lineup including Larry Goldings on organ and Peter Bernstein on guitar at the Jazz Standard

2/3 subversive comedic musical duo Mel & El at Comix 353 W. 14th St, 7:30 PM, $10

2/3, 7:30 PM guest conductor George Steel leads the Trinity choir in a wonderful, often haunting program of 13th-16th century English renaissance choral works by Tallis, Sheppard and Parsons and others at Trinity Church, $20, early arrival rec.

2/3, 8 PM Pierre de Gaillande’s Bad Reputation doing their hysterically funny, vicious Georges Brassens songs in English, followed by the charming, sultry Les Chauds Lapins – who mine French chanson that predates Brassens by about 20 years- at Barbes. It was bound to happen.

2/3, 8 PM tuneful mathrock/metal band Stats, beautifully ugly/assaultive guitar jazz with the felicitously named Seabrook Power Plant and then Mantra Percussion playing Iannis Xenakis at Littlefield.

2/3, 8 PM edgy, snarky British postpunk/dance rockers Deluka at the Bell House, $15 gen adm.

2/3, 9 PM jaunty oldtimey swing and country with Miss Tess & the Bon Ton Parade at the Jalopy followed at 10 by gypsy jazz powerhouse trio Ameranouche.

2/3, 10ish multistylistic, deliriously fun, danceable all-purpose Brazilian/country band Nation Beat at Rodeo Bar

2/4, 7 PM pianist Simone Dinnerstein hosts a program feat. cellist Wendy Sutter and violinist Maria Bachmann playing Kodaly’s Duo for Violin and Cello, plus a preview of a new duo written by Philip Glass at PS 142, 100 Attorney St. (Rivington/Delancey), $15 tix go to benefit the 4th/5th grade band program at the school. “The Neighborhood Classics series is designed for families, but is enjoyed by audience members of all types.”

2/4 Mr. Ho’s Orchestrotica, the “world’s only ensemble dedicated to the space-age big band music of Juan Garcia Esquivel,” 8 PM at Barbes followed by the martini cowboy himself, the Jack Grace Band.

2/4, 8ish, smart twangy literate Americana rock with Chip Robinson backed by the Roscoe Trio at Lakeside followed at 11 by the even higher-energy Tom Clark & the High Action Boys.

2/4, 9 PM jazz/third-stream chanteuse/composer Sara Serpa with a first-rate band: Andre Matos- guitar; Kris Davis- piano; Matt Brewer-bass; Tommy Crane- drums, at the Cornelia St. Cafe. Serpa is scary-good, one of the most original singers and writers in any style around these days: her latest album with noir jazz piano legend Ran Blake is transcendent.

2/4, 9 PM Nashville guitar/piano legend – Jerry Lee stomp and ferocious pickin -with Greg Garing at the Jalopy

2/4 the jangly, effervescent, irrepressible Mexican Go-Go’s – Pistolera – at Joe’s Pub, 9:30 PM, $15.

2/4, 11 PM lush, atmospheric, socially aware, Radiohead-influenced rockers My Pet Dragon at the Bitter End.

2/4 garage rockers the Thigh Highs play midnightish at Hank’s

2/5, 7 PM an underworldly noir chanteuse doublebill with the Nashville gothic Lorraine Leckie and the Coney Island gothic Carol Lipnik at Banjo Jim’s – yum.

2/5 the year’s best doublebill so far: rustic, darkly intricate gypsy-inspired rockers Kotorino at 8 PM followed by ferocious pan-Balkan band Ansambl Mastika – whose new album is the best one we’ve heard so far this year – at Barbes.

2/5 starting at 8 the Truants, Bongo Surf, Mr.Neutron, Blue Wave Theory and the Tarantinos NYC at Unsteady Freddie’s surf music extravaganza at Otto’s.

2/5, 8 PM unusually tuneful mathrock with Stats at Cake Shop.

2/5, 9ish David First’s legendary late 70s noise-rock band the Notekillers – who were doing Sonic Youth stuff ten years before Sonic Youth – at Coco 66

2/5 the Mighty Paradocs play their blend of hip-hop and punk at 9 followed by Rockers Galore playing dub reggae at Shrine at 10.

2/5, 9:30 PM sophisticated, torchy, eclectic Americana chanteuse Hope DeBates & North Forty at Caffe Vivaldi.

2/5 Taj Weekes & Adowa – who are about the best thing happening in roots reggae right now – at Joe’s Pub, 9:30 PM, $14

2/5, 10 PM crazed gypsy punks Bad Buka at Mehanata.

2/5, 90s Britrock style melodic powerpop with the Royal Chains, 10 PM at the Cameo Gallery

2/5, midnight the Jack Grace Band at the small room at the Rockwood.

2/6 artist Robin Hoffman, whose vibrant illustrations have documented the equally vibrant oldtimey/Americana scene at the Jalopy, celebrates the release of her latest coffee-table book there at 6 PM.

2/6, 8 PM original and classic Cuban songs with low-register instruments: bass, baritone sax, baritone guitar, tuba, et al. with Gato Loco at Bowery Poetry Club.

2/6, 9 PM twisted Merle Haggard covers done free jazz style by Bryan & the Haggards at Rodeo Bar.

2/6, 10 PM fiery and sultry Roulette Sisters frontwoman/bluesmama Mamie Minch at the Jalopy

2/6, 11:30 AM or so cleverly virtuosic mostly female original klezmer band Isle of Klezbos at City Winery for brunch, $10, no minimum

2/6, 3 PM organist Gail Archer plays Liszt at the Church of St. John the Baptist, Lexington at 76th St.

2/6, 6:30 PM Matei Varga on piano playing Enescu, Janácek, Bartók, and Szymanowski at le Poisson Rouge, $15

2/7, 7 PM sultry oldtimey chanteuse Robin Aigner and her band at the small room at the Rockwood.

2/7, 8:30 PM Leif Arntzen’s TLAB: Leif Arntzen, trumpet; Ryan Blotnick, guitar; Michael Bates, bass; Miles Arntzen, drums at Cornelia St. Cafe, $10

2/7 charismatic noir powerhouse Vera Beren takes a turn booking Small Beast: so far she’s the only one who’s consistently been able to evoke the intense 2008-09 transcendence of the weekly dark rock show. On the bill: 9 PM Hypnofolk, 10 PM Lone Vein, 11 PM Beren’s own astonishingly powerful Gothic Chamber Blues Ensemble and eclectic surf instrumentalists the Tarantinos NYC at midnight.

2/8, 7:30 PM at Barbes Petr Cancura’s Down Home: his “attempt to capture the nostalgia of classic b & W photography with music steeped in Americana,” with Skye Steele – violin; Petr Cancura – sax, clarinet, mandolin; Scott Kettner – drums, percussion; Garth Stevenson – bass and Jesse Lewis – guitar.

2/8-13 alto saxophonist Steve Wilson’s weeklong 50th birthday celebration at the Jazz Standard: 2/8 with guests Carla Cook and Karrin Allyson; 2/9 a quartet show with strings; 2/11 a quintet featuring Mulgrew Miller, Lewis Nash and Christian McBride; 2/12-13 Tain Watts takes over the drum chair.

2/8, 8 PM politically potent dancehall reggae star Anthony B at B.B. King’s, $20 adv tix rec.

2/8, 8:30 PM And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead’s cd release show at Littlefield, $12 adv tix highly rec., this will sell out.

2/8, 9 PM smartly lyrical retro soul/rock songwriter Dina RuDean at the small room at the Rockwood.

2/8, 9 PM alto saxophonist David Binney leads an inspired quartet with Jacob Sacks on keys, Thomas Morgan on bass and Dan Weiss on drums at 55 Bar

2/8, 9ish Adult Themes play Death by Audio. Distorted keys, fuzz bass, chick vocals, primitive garage rock meets noise but purposefully – cool stuff.

2/8 vintage R&B flavored powerpop powerhouse the Brilliant Mistakes at Rodeo Bar, 10ish.

2/8, 11 PM sprawling dark Americana band Bogs Visionary Orchestra at Goodbye Blue Monday – sort of the prototype for O’Death

2/9, 6 PM torchy sultry bluesy jazz chanteuse Natalie Galey leads a quartet at Caffe Vivaldi

2/9, 9 PM noir singer Nicole Atkins & the Black Sea at Bowery Ballroom, $16 adv tix rec.

2/9 tropical punk madness at midnight-ish with Chicolina Sound Machine feat. Pedro Erazo of Gogol Bordello at Bowery Electric; even more amazing skaragga/metal cumbia rockers Escarioka open the show at around 9. CSM are also here on 2/23.

2/9, 10 PM tuneful up-and-coming jazz guitar star Ila Cantor shows off her pop songwriter side at the Cornelia St. Cafe, $10

2/9, 10ish tongue-in-cheek, period-perfect early 50s style country from Susquehanna Industrial Tool & Die Co. at Rodeo Bar.

2/9, 11 PM big psychedelic funk band Turkuaz at Cake Shop

2/10, rustic old hillbilly songs with the Weal and the Woe at 8 followed at 10 PM by retro country legend Greg Garing at Barbes.

2/10 Israeli roots reggae with Moshav Band at the Canal Room, 8 PM, $10 adv tix. rec.

2/10, 9 PM the Michael Winograd Klezmer Trio at the Jalopy followed at 10:30 by pyrotechnic Balkan brass band Veveritse.

2/10, 9 PM ten-piece, six-trumpet funk band the Chase Experiment at Spike Hill.

2/10 LES punk/surf/soul legend Simon and the Bar Sinisters, 10ish at Rodeo Bar; he’s at Lakeside at the same time on 2/12

2/11 Ethiopian-inspired big band jazz legends Either/Orchestra’s 25th Anniversary Concert, 6 PM at le Poisson Rouge, $20 adv tix very highly rec.

2/11, 7 PM witty, legendary Clash collaborator and Americana chanteuse Ellen Foley at Lakeside

2/11, 7 PM the Bantu Dub Project play dub reggae at Shrine

2/11, 7:30 PM pianist Edmund Arkus plays Brahms, Liszt and Haydn at the Third St. Music School Settlement, free

2/11, 8 PM House of Stride: Allison Leyton-Brown – piano; Russ Meissner – drums; Jim Whitney – upright bass and special guest Daria Grace at Barbes followed at 10 by Smokey Hormel’s Roundup doing their western swing thing.

2/11, 9 PM Changing Modes – the cleverly eclectic, sometimes new wave tinged female-fronted art-pop/punk band responsible for our choice of best song of 2010 – at Fontana’s.

2/11, 10 PM latin soul big band the Brooklyn Boogaloo Blowout at 55 Bar.

2/11, 10:30 PM cool improvs with Nasheet Waits’ Equality Band: Logan Richardson, alto sax; John Hebert, bass; Nasheet Waits, drums at the Cornelia St. Cafe, $10.

2/11, 10:30 PM big band bassist/composer Joris Teepe leads a quintet at the Fat Cat.

2/11 Belgian barroom accordion jazz revivalists Musette Explosion at City Winery, 11 PM, free w/rsvp before 2/8 to concierge@citywinery.com

2/11, 11 PM SOJA (formerly Soldiers of Jah Army) play roots reggae at Bowery Ballroom, $25 gen adm.

2/11, 11:30ish noir rock legend Martin Bisi with Brian Viglione of the Dresden Dolls on drums at Bruar Falls, early arrival advised

2/12, 1 PM a free concert at Bargemusic, program TBA, most likely piano music, early arrival advised.

2/12, 6:30 PM ecstatic oldschool New Orleans funk/soul with Brother Joscephus and The Love Revival Revolution Orchestra at le Poisson Rouge, $10 adv tix rec.

2/12, 8 PM, repeating 2/13, 3 PM the Park Avenue Chamber Symphony plays Tschaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1 with the fiery, virtuosic Karine Poghosyan on piano and Rachmaninoff: Symphony #2 at All Saints Church, 230 E 60th St. (2/3rd Aves)., adv. tix $20 rec.

2/12, 8 PM Bassam Saba and the 30-piece New York Arabic Orchestra at Symphony Space, $30/$20 stud/srs. Arguably the foremost Middle Eastern orchestra in North America, Saba also has an extraordinary new album out, Wonderful Land, a tribute to his native Lebanon. This will sell out, adv tix. absolutely required.

2/12, 8 PM global brass madness with Veveritse Brass Band followed at 10 by Red Baraat at Barbes.

2/12 a tasty ska doublebill with the Forthrights and the Pietasters at the Brooklyn Bowl, 8 PM.

2/12, 8:15 PM smart, socially aware Americana/acoustic psychedelic songwriter Allysen Callery at Caffe Vivaldi.

2/12, 8:30 PM Balkan-tinged jazz with the Ben Holmes Quartet feat. Ben Holmes (trumpet); Curtis Hasselbring (trombone); Geoff Kraly (bass); Vinnie Sperrazza (drums) at I-Beam

2/13, 3 PM the Greenwich Village Orchestra play an all-Brahms bill: Hungarian Dance No. 5; the Double Concerto for Violin, Cello and Orchestra, and Symphony No. 2 at Washington Irving HS Auditorium, $20 sug don. They’ve done all these previously, and brilliantly.

2/13 Frances-Marie Uitti, cello and Lisa Bielawa, composer/vocalist playing and singing Xenakis, Luciano Berio, and improvised settings of sonnets by Christian Hawkey, 6:30 PM at le Poisson Rouge, $15.

2/13, 7 PM violinist Hye-Jin Kim at Barbes, program TBA, followed at 9:30ish by jazz manouche monster Stephane Wrembel.

2/13, 9 PM Virginia’s hottest original bluegrass band the Dixie Bee-Liners at the Jalopy.

2/14, 9ish a rare Rosie Flores solo acoustic show at Bowery Electric, $10 adv tix rec.

2/14 oldtimey swing with Daria Grace and the Pre-War Ponies – “the best Valentines band in New York City” – 10ish at Rodeo Bar.

2/14, 10 PM Ghanian-American hip-hop powerhouse Blitz the Ambassador and his wild Afrobeat band at the new cafe at the Apollo Theatre, $15 adv tix rec.

2/14 the massive hilarious all-female accordion ensemble Main Squeeze Orchestra at Drom, time TBA.

2/15, 7 PM jazz/Americana violin star Jenny Scheinman at Barbes followed at 9 by Slavic Soul Party

2/15-20 intense jazz vibraphonist Joe Locke w/Geoffrey Keezer, George Mraz, Clarence Penn & Kenny Washington on vocals, 7:30/9:30 PM at Dizzy’s Club, $30 tix avail.

2/15, 7:30/9:30 PM saxophonist Seamus Blake leads a quartet with David Kikoski – piano; Matt Penman – bass; Victor Lewis – drums at the Jazz Standard, $20

2/15 tango nuevo bandoneon genius Raul Jaurena leads a trio with Pablo Aslan on bass and Roger Davidson on piano at Caffe Vivaldi, 8:15 PM

2/16, 6:30 PM innovative violinist/composer Ana Milosavljevic plays an eclectic bill with Kathleen Supové on piano feat. TAKE Dance Music by Aleksandra Vrebalov, Eve Beglarian, Svjetlana Bukvich-Nichols and Milosavljevic herself at le Poisson Rouge, $10 adv tix rec. She played most of this program last year at Lincoln Center and it was very hypnotic and interesting.

2/16, 7:30/9:30 PM saxophonist Noah Preminger leads the quartet who play on his absolutely brilliant, terse new ballads album Before the Rain: Frank Kimbrough at the piano, John Hebert on bass and Matt Wilson on drums at the Jazz Standard, $20 – could be one of those shows people will be talking about for a long time.

2/16, 7:30 PM opening night of the Tune-In Festival at the Park Ave. Armory, 643 Park Ave. features Sympho, New York Polyphony, and Charles Perry Sprawls playing Arvo Pärt’s epic Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten plus the otherworldly world premiere of ARCO co-composed by Paul Haas, Paul Fowler and Bora Yoon, $25

2/16, 7:30 PM Georgy Valtchev, violin; Amir Eldan, cello; Lora Tchekoratova, piano  play Beethoven: Sonata in A Major, op 69; Sonata in A Major, op. 47, “Kreutzer;” Piano Trio in B-flat Major, “Archduke” at the Bulgarian Consulate, 121 E 62nd. St., free.

2/16, 8 PM subtle, soulful jazz/rock/Americana wordsmith/tunesmith Dina RuDean at Bowery Electric

2/16, 8 PM psychedelic Australian art-rock legends the Church play three of their classic albums in their entirety: Untitled #23, Starfish and Priest = Aura at the Highline, tix are painfully expensive ($39.50) but are probably worth it. on 2/17 they’re at B.B. King’s

2/16-18, 8 PM flamenco jazz piano titan Chano Dominguez’ Flamenco Hoy music/dance spectacular at NY City Center, 55th St. (6/7 Aves.), $35 tix avail.

2/16 scorching Nashville gothic/paisley underground rockers the Newton Gang at Lakeside at 9 PM.

2/16, 10 PM virtuosic cello metal with Stratuspheerius at Fat Baby.

2/16, 10ish Vagina Panther at Death by Audio – snarling, in-your-face, female-fronted riff-metal.

2/17, 7:30 PM violinist Gil Morgenstern’s latest Reflections Series concert – this time with pianist Jonathan Feldman – explores the influence of location and dislocation on creativity with music by Ernest Chausson, Erin Schulhoff, Bedrich Smetana, Frédéric Chopin and Leoš Janácek. At WMP Concert Hall, 31 East 28th St.

2/17, 7:30 PM night two of the Tune-In Festival at the Park Ave. Armory, 643 Park Ave. features diverse politically-inspired avant garde music: ferocious, fearless new music ensemble Newspeak doing Matt Marks: A Portrait of Glenn Beck (2009), Eighth Blackbird playing Rzewski’s Attica memoir Coming Together, plus an all-star crew playing Andriessen’s Worker’s Union, $30.

2/17, 8:30/10:30 smart new alto sax compositions with Jacam Manricks – saxes, Matt Wilson – drums and Sam Yahael- organ at the Bar Next Door.

2/17 all-purpose jazz/Americana stringed instrument virtuoso Matt Munisteri at Barbes, 10 PM.

2/17, 10 PM Ilamawana play original roots reggae at Shrine.

2/18-20 the Mingus Big Band and then on 2/21 the Mingus Orchestra at the Jazz Standard, 7:30/9:30 PM, $25-30 tix rec.

2/18 Scott Kettner’s Forro Brass Band at Barbes at 8 followed by hip-hop/soul/jazz crew Peoples Champs at 10 feat. members of Slavic Soul Party, Meta and the Cornerstones, Baye Kouyate, Jo Jo Kuo and His Afrobeat Collective, Sister Sparrow and the Dirty Birds, Afrodesia, Nation Beat.

2/18, 8:30 PM Dawn of Midi: Indian contrabassist Aakaash Israni, Pakistani percussionist Qasim Naqvi, and Moroccan pianist Amino Belyamani plus celebrated electric guitar quartet Dither playing new works including world premieres by Brent Miller, Adam Fong and Denise Gilson, and music by Lisa R. Coons from Dither’s 2010 album at Issue Project Room, $10

2/18 sly western swing/country crooner Sean Kershaw and the New Jack Ramblers 10ish at Rodeo Bar.

2/19, 11 AM this year’s free marathon at Symphony Space is “young concert artists,” that is if you think under 50 is young. OK, by some standards it is. The complete schedule is here: the choicest hours seem to be the Bach hour at 11 AM and the Chopin hour (which you might think of arriving early for) at 3.

2/19, 8 PM le Poeme Harmonique sing a program titled Esperar, Sentir, Morir at Church of St. Mary the Virgin, 145 W 4th St., $35 tix avail.

2/19, 9 PM Middle Eastern multi-instrumentalist legend Ali Jihad Racy makes his debut at Alwan for the Arts, $25/$20 stud/srs. – this program focuses on the classical musical traditions of the Ottoman Sufi world featuring peformances on the buzuq and ney. Early arrival very highly advised, this will sell out.

2/19, 9 PM the Roulette Sisters – whose innuendo-steeped yet deep oldtime blues harmony album is a top contender for the year’s best – at the Jalopy.

2/19, 10 PM legendary literate Irish punk/janglerockers Black 47 at Connolly’s

2/19, 11 PM NYC’s fun, funny, fiery counterpart to X, Spanking Charlene at Lakeside.

2/20 a rare solo appearance by Tracy Thorn of Everything but the Girl at Caffe Vivaldi, 8 PM.

2/20 multi-reed man Ben Kono’s cd release show with a choice band: Ben Kono, tenor sax, oboe, english horn, clarinets, flutes, compositions; Pete McCann, guitar; Henry Hey, piano; John Hollenbeck, drums, percussion; John Hebert, bass; Heather Laws, voice, French horn at the Cornelia St. Cafe, 8:30 PM, $10.

2/21 the Enso Quartet at Advent Church, 93rd and Broadway, 7:30 PM, free.

2/21, 8:30/10:30 PM haunting and sometimes quirky vocalese fueled jazz with Sara Serpa – vocals; Andre Matos – guitar; Matt Brewer – bass at the Bar Next Door.

2/21 eclectic Balkan/Greek/Jewish powerhouse Klezwoods and intense Eastern European juggernaut Raya Brass Band at Coco 66, 9ish

2/22, 6 PM in the Alice Tully Hall outer lobby International Contemporary Ensemble performing the world premiere of Nathan Davis’ Bells, free

2/22-26 alto sax legend Dave Liebman with his famous 80s quartet including pianist Richie Beirach, bassist Ron McClure and drummer Billy Hart, 8:30/11 PM at Birdland, $30 tix avail.

2/23, 10 PM subtle, psychedelic, completely original roots reggae/dub/worldbeat band Kiwi play at Shrine

2/24, 7:30 PM fearless, politically aware new music group Newspeak play the world premiere of Darcy James Argue’s The Sleep Room; Argue’s Secret Society big band plays works by Vijay Iyer and Newspeak’s David T. Little at Merkin Concert Hall, $25 tix rec.

2/24, 8 PM clever, entertaining toy piano aficionado Phyllis Chen at Barbes.

2/24, 8 PM a rare worthwhile concert at Irving Plaza – roots reggae nostalgia with 80s stars the Itals, the Skatalites (probably no original members) and crooner Barrington Levy, $32.50 adv tix rec. at the box office

2/24 irrepressible, irresistible Americana harmony trio Red Molly at the big room at the Rockwood welcoming new member Molly Venter.

2/24, 9 PM nobody but roots rock fanatics remembered who Wanda Jackson was until she made an album with Jack White and now all of a sudden all the trendoids are all over it. But anyway, she’s good – nice to see her get a $30 headline gig at Bowery Ballroom.

2/24, 9/10:30 PM brooding, intense Argentinian piano eclecticist Fernando Otero leads a sextet at the Jazz Gallery, first set $15, second one is $10, band includes Fernando Otero – piano, Nick Danielson – violin, Juan Pablo Jofre Romarion – bandoneon, Martin Moretto – guitar, Pablo Aslan – bass, David Silliman – drums.

2/25, 7:30 PM reliably adrenalizing alto saxophonist Jaleel Shaw leads a trio at the Bar Next Door.

2/25, 8 PM the wry, tongue-in-cheek instrumentalists Songs for Unusual Creatures at Barbes feat. Michael Hearst, Allyssa Lamb, Ben Holmes and Kristin Mueller (the same people who brought you Songs for Ice Cream Trucks).

2/25, 8 PM Boston garage rockers Jenny Dee & the Deelinquents open for third-wave surf superstars Los Straitjackets at the Bell House, 8 PM, $15.

2/25, 8 PM drummer Neal Smith leads a quintet with Eric Alexander, tenor saxophone, Mark Whitfield, guitar, Mulgrew Miller, piano, Neal Smith, drums, Nat Reeves, bass at the Miller Theatre at Columbia Univ., 116th and Broadway, $25/$15 stud

2/25 la Fleur Fatale play 9 PM at Union Hall – majestic tuneful hard-hitting psychedelic powerpop from Sweden.

2/25, 9/10:30 PM bassist Gregg August leads a quartet with Sam Newsome – soprano saxophone, Luis Perdomo – piano, Rudy Royston – drums at the Jazz Gallery

2/25, 10 PM the irrepressible clown prince of oldschool country music, the Jack Grace Band at Rodeo Bar.

2/25, 11 PM the hilarious, X-rated girlgroup parody band Cudzoo & the Fagettes at Arlene’s – kind of the ultimate Friday night madness that would have fit in perfectly in this neighborhood ten years ago when it was still cool.

2/25, 11 PM Cleveland surf rock legends Purple K’nif – with the Waitresses’ Chris Butler on drums – at Lakeside.

2/26, 7 PM hypnotic cello/marimba duo Goli open for goth-tinged art-rock songwriter Kristin Hoffmann at Caffe Vivaldi

2/26 ageless, fearless chamber-goth cello band Rasputina at the Highline Ballroom, 8 PM, $15 adv tix rec. Voltaire – who’s most recently been ripping off Mark Sinnis’ Nashville gothic sound – opens at 7.

2/26, 7:30 PM dark French psychedelic pop with Revolver at the Mercury, $10.

2/26, 8 PM the Lewis Nash Quintet : Jeremy Pelt, trumpet; Jimmy Greene, saxophone; Renee Rosnes, piano; Lewis Nash, drums; Peter Washington, bass at the Miller Theatre at Columbia Univ., 116th and Broadway, $25/$15 stud

2/26, 8 PM deviously torchy, wickedly lyrical ukelele siren Kelli Rae Powell opens for  prolific, lyrically intense Americana songwriter Jessi Robertson, playing the cd release show for her impressive new one Small Town Girls at 10 PM at Bar 4.

2/26, 8 PM Tony Malaby’s Novela featuring Kris Davis conducting from the piano at I-Beam

2/26, 9 PM soulful powerhouse Lebanese singer Naji Youssef performs Melkite and Maronite hymns and chants at Alwan for the Arts, $20/$15 stud.

2/26, 9 PM the Dysfunctional Family Jazz Band at Rodeo Bar.

2/26, 11 PM the world’s funniest bar bandleader Jesse Bates & His Flying Guitars feat. various members of the Fleshtones at Lakeside

2/26, 11 PM East Village Pharmacy play dub reggae and psychedelic latin grooves at Shrine

2/27, 9 PM darkly comedic, intense, politically aware singer/composer Ted Hearne – whose Katrina Ballads album made our Best of 2010 list – at Littlefield, $10.

2/27, 10ish Iraqi metal monsters Accrasaudica at Bowery Electric, $15

3/1 drummer John Hollenbeck’s epically good Large Ensemble at the Jazz Standard, sets 7:30/9:30 PM.

3/3, 7ish smart lo-fi garage duo the Fools, the Debutante Hour’s reliably entertaining, clever Susan Hwang and fearless punk cabaret songwriter Sabrina Chap among others at Goodbye Blue Monday.

3/3, 8 PM modern roots reggae with Giant Panda Guerrilla Dub Squad and Rebelution at Irving Plaza, $20 adv tix rec.

3/4-5, 8 PM at the Kitchen: “Inspired by her immigrant grandfather, a junk dealer in the Lower East Side who recycled scrap metal and other byproducts of the industrial age, Annie Gosfield will sample the sounds of metal, machines, and factories, and transform these raw materials into something new. Featuring two ensembles: the Annie Gosfield Ensemble, with Gosfield on sampling keyboard, Roger Kleier on electric guitar, and Ches Smith on drums and percussion; and Real Quiet with Felix Fan on cello, piano by Andrew Russo, and guest percussionist Alex Lipowski. Also pianist Stephen Gosling performs a selection of Gosfield solos.”

3/5, 8 PM utterly original cantorial riff-rockers Sway Machinery open for Malian psychedelic desert blues goddess Khaira Arby at the Bell House, 8 PM, $15 adv tix rec.

3/5, 8 PM, repeating on 3/6, 3 PM the Chelsea Symphony plays Sibelius’ lush, lyrical Fifth Symphony and other works at St. Paul’s Church, 315 W 22nd St.

3/5, 10 PM Koony plays darkly intense, lyrical African Francophone roots reggae at Shrine.

3/5 hilariously satirical, lyrically-driven torch song parody band the Debutante Hour’s cd release show, 11 PM at Bowery Electric.

3/7 the uncommonly imaginative Christine Jensen Jazz Orchestra at Dizzy’s Club 7:30/9:30 PM, $20

3/8, 8 PM Ice Cube – yeah, the guy from the Friday movies, doing his rap thing (back in the day he was one of the great ones) at B.B. King’s, $27 adv tix rec.

3/8-12 11 PM bassist Jennifer Leitham leads a trio with Sherrie Maricle on drums and Tomoko Ohno (not to be confused with the former Red Sox pitcher) on piano at Dizzy’s Club, $10 tix avail.

3/8, 11 PM Eli Paperboy Reed at the Knitting Factory, $15, all ages

3/9 adventurous string quartet Brooklyn Rider with Iranian spike fiddle virtuoso/composer Kayhan Kalhor at Alice Tully Hall 7:30 PM, $20.

3/10 Stephan Said’s Magic Orchestra, 8 PM at Drom, $10 – fiery, socially aware rock, hip-hop, Balkan and reggae tunes

3/10 Burnt Sugar play Bowie at the Atrium at Lincoln Center, 8:30 PM.

3/10, 9 PM two of the funniest and most period-perfect songwriters in oldtimey Americana, Al Duvall and Robin Aigner at Rest Au Rant, 30-01 35th Ave., Long Island City.

3/11, 8 PM the Budos Band at the Bell House, $15.

3/11-12 Wess Anderson, Charles McPherson and others play music from Charlie Parker’s Bird with Strings at Rose Theatre at Lincoln Center, $30 tix avail.

3/12, 7:30 PM psychedelic Middle Eastern/Balkan/Asian jamband Tribecastan at Joe’s Pub, $15 adv tix rec

3/13, 3 PM organist Gail Archer plays Liszt at West End Collegiate Church, West End Ave. at 77th St.

3/13, 7 PM, hot modern klezmer with the Klez Dispensers at Drom, $10.

3/13, 9 PM a wild cerebral exuberant intense psychedelic doublebill at Joe’s Pub with the incomparable Rachelle Garniez opening for Electric Junkyard Gamelan. The former topped our best albums list in 2007; the latter played arguably the best concert we saw all year long in 2010.

3/15-16, 9ish Godspeed You Black Emperor at the Brooklyn Masonic Temple, $TBA, this may sell out, no word on adv tix.

3/18, 7 PM pianist Simone Dinnerstein PS 142, 100 Attorney St. (Rivington/Delancey), $15, program TBA, possibly Bach from her ridiculously popular new cd.

3/18, 8 PM, repeating 3/19/11 at 9 PM at Symphony Space, legendary Lebanese expat oud icon/composer Marcel Khalife in the US premiere of his Concerto Al Andalus for oud and orchestra; Armenia’s most renowned kanun (zither) virtuoso, Karine Hovhannisyan, performing the concerto for kanun and orchestra by Khachatur Avetisyan; and clarinetist David Krakauer playing the NY premiere of the Klezmer Concerto by Ofer Ben-Amots for strings, harp, percussion and clarinet; plus the eclectic Orchestra Celebrate, conducted by Laurine Celeste Fox, $25 adv tix avail. at the World Music Institute box office and highly rec.

3/18 Richard Thompson at NJPAC in Newark – $35 tix still available according to their website.

3/19 irrepressible folk/Americana harmony trio Red Molly with Pat Wictor on guitar at the First Acoustics Coffeehouse in downtown Brooklyn, $30 adv tix rec.

3/23-24 Lila Downs at City Winery

3/23, 7:30 PM Pedro Diaz, oboe; Milan Milisavljevic, viola; Anna Stoytcheva, piano play Schumann, Brahms, Saint-Saens and Loeffler at the Bulgarian Consulate, 121 E 62nd. St., free.

3/25 les Chauds Lapins play the cd release show for their long awaited second album Amourettes at the 92YTribeca

3/28 the Jasper Quartet at Advent Church, 93rd and Broadway, 7:30 PM, free.

4/2 Graham Parker at City Winery.

4/3, 2 (two) PM the Parker String Quartet free at Flushing Town Hall.

4/9 up-and-coming southwestern gothic star Kerry Kennedy – part noir femme fatale, part fiery bandleader – at Union Hall, $12 adv tix highly rec.

NYC Live Music Calendar for November-December 2010

The December-January live calendar is up now, click here.

A few things you should know about this calendar: acts are listed here in order of appearance, NOT headliner first and supporting acts after; showtimes listed here are actual set times, not the time doors open. If a listing here says something like ”9 PM-ish,” chances are it’ll run late. Cover charges are those listed on bands’ and venues’ sites: always best to click on the band link provided or go to the venues page for confirmation since we get much of this info weeks in advance. As always, weekly events first followed by the daily listings:

Saturdays in November, 11/6, 13 and 20, reliably charming oldtimey/Hawaiian harmony band the Moonlighters at the Loving Cup Cafe in Williamsburg with Jim Fryer (Vince Giordano’s Nighthawks, Boardwalk Empire) on horns.

Sundays there’s a klezmer brunch at City Winery, show starts around 11:30 AM – 2 PM, $10 cover, no minimum, lots of good bands.

Sundays from half past noon to 3:30 PM, bluegrass cats Freshly Baked (f.k.a. Graveyard Shift), featuring excellent, incisive fiddle player Diane Stockwell play Nolita House (upstairs over Botanica at 47 E Houston). Free drink with your entree.

Sundays through May of 2011 the series of free organ concerts at 5:15 PM continues most every week (holidays excepted) at St. Thomas Church, 53rd St. and 5th Ave.

Sundays in November steampunk goddess Bliss Blood of the Moonlighters plays with her new project Evanescent feat. Al Street (of Spacemen 3) on guitar at Bruar Falls starting at 8ish along with featured performers including Jamie Scandal, Craig Robertson, J. Walter Hawkes, Al Duvall, Not Waving But Drowning, the Ukemen and Marni Rice. Essentially, this is Small Beast relocated to Williamsburg. Kudos to Bliss for bringing so much coolness to such an unexpected location.

Stephane Wrembel plays Sundays at Barbes at 9. He’s something of an institution here, plan on arriving EARLY, 45 minutes early isn’t too soon since the whole bar gets packed fast. The guitarist has few if any equals as an interpreter of Django Reinhardt, but it’s where he takes the gypsy jazz influence in his own remarkably original, psychedelic writing – and what he brings to the Django stuff – that makes all the difference. One of the most interesting players in any style of music, anywhere in the world.

Every Sunday the Ear-Regulars, led by trumpeter Jon Kellso and (frequently) guitarist Matt Munisteri play NYC’s only weekly hot jazz session starting around 8 PM at the Ear Inn on Spring St.  Hard to believe, in the city that springboarded the careers of thousands of jazz legends, but true. This is by far the best value in town for marquee-caliber jazz: for the price of a drink and a tip for the band, you can see world-famous players (and brilliant obscure ones) you’d usually have to drop $100 for at some big-ticket room. The material is mostly old-time stuff from the 30s and 40s, but the players (especially Kellso and Munisteri, who have a chemistry that goes back several years) push it into some deliciously unexpected places.

Every Sunday, hip-hop MC Big Zoo hosts the long-running End of the Weak rap showcase at the Pyramid, 9 PM, admission $5 before 10, $7 afterward. This is one of the best places to discover some of the hottest under-the-radar hip-hop talent, both short cameos as well as longer sets from both newcomers and established vets.

Mondays at the Fat Cat the Choi Fairbanks String Quartet play a wide repertoire of chamber music from Bach to Shostakovich starting at 7.

Mondays starting a little after 7 PM Howard Williams leads his Jazz Orchestra from the piano at the Garage, 99 7th Ave. S at Grove St. There are also big bands here most every Tuesday at 7.

Mondays at the Jazz Standard it’s all Mingus, whether with the Mingus Orchestra, Big Band or Mingus Dynasty: you know the material and the players are all first rate. Sets 7:30/9:30 PM, $25 and worth it.

Mondays in January the Williamsburg Salsa Orchestra play the Brooklyn Bowl at 6 PM, free

Also Monday nights Vince Giordano’s Nighthawks, a boisterous horn-driven 11-piece 1920s/early 30’s band play Sofia’s Restaurant, downstairs at the Edison Hotel, 221 West 46th Street between Broadway & 8th Ave., 3 sets from 8 to 11, surprisingly cheap $15 cover plus $15 minimum considering what you’re getting. Even before the Flying Neutrinos or the Moonlighters, multi-instrumentalist Giordano was pioneering the oldtimey sound in New York; his long-running residency at the old Cajun on lower 8th Ave. is legendary. He also gets a ton of film work (Giordano wrote the satirical number that Willie Nelson famously sang in Wag the Dog).

Mondays at Tea Lounge in Park Slope at 9 PM trombonist/composer JC Sanford books big band jazz, an exciting, global mix of some of the edgiest large-ensemble sounds around. If you’re anybody in the world of big band jazz and you make it to New York, you end up playing here: what CBGB was to punk, this unlikely spot promises to be to the jazz world. No cover.

Mondays at the Vanguard the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra – composer Jim McNeely’s reliably good big band vehicle – plays 9/11 PM, $30 per set plus drink minimum.

Also Mondays in November the Barbes house band, Chicha Libre plays there starting around 9:30. They’ve singlehandedly resurrected an amazing subgenre, chicha, which was popular in the Peruvian Amazon in the late 60s and early 70s. With electric accordion, cuatro, surf guitar and a slinky but boisterous rhythm section, their mix of obscure classics and originals is one of the funnest, most danceable things you’ll witness this year.

Also Mondays in November the Flanks play Pete’s, 9:30 PM. They’re sort of the quintessential Pete’s band, but louder – their virtuosic acoustic rustic Americana rocks this room more than most any band who’s ever played here.

Also Mondays in November Rev. Vince Anderson and his band play Union Pool in Williamsburg, two sets starting around 11 PM. The Rev. is one of the great keyboardists around, equally thrilling on organ or electric piano, an expert at Billy Preston style funk, honkytonk, gospel and blues. He writes very funny, very politically astute, frequently salacious original songs and is one of the most charismatic, intense live performers of our time. It’s a crazy dance party til past three in the morning. Paula Henderson from Burnt Sugar is the lead soloist on baritone sax, with Dave Smith from Smoota and the Fela pit band on trombone, with frequent special guests.

The second and fourth Tuesday of the month there are free organ concerts at half past noon at Central Synagogue, 652 Lexington Ave @ 55th St. curated by celebrated organ adventurer Gail Archer, a global mix of veteran and up-and-coming talent.

Tuesdays in November Balkan brass maniacs Slavic Soul Party  play Barbes at 9. Get here as soon as you can as they’re very popular.

Tuesdays Julia Haltigan plays 11th St. Bar at 10 “for the rest of her life.” A nuanced, cleverly lyrical country/Americana chanteuse with a terrific band behind her and a growing catalog of first-class original songs. See her now before it costs you big bucks at the Beacon.

Tuesdays in November (also 12/7 and 12/14), 10 PM Palomar plays Rock Shop in Gowanus, $10. Tuneful female-fronted powerpop/jangle band who were one of the 90s/early zeros best indie label groups. For a band that doesn’t draw on a trendoid crowd (who don’t have to work for a living and can go out any night they want), a Tuesday residency in a distant part of town like this is tough, plus every show here is a benefit for a cause. Get out and support if you like these folks.

Tuesdays in November the Dred Scott Trio play astonishingly smart, dark piano jazz at the smaller room at the Rockwood at midnight.

Tuesdays in January Johnny Winter plays B.B. King’s

Wednesdays at 9 PM Feral Foster’s Roots & Ruckus takes over the Jalopy, a reliably excellent weekly mix of oldtimey acts: blues, bluegrass, country and swing.

Every Thursday the Michael Arenella Quartet play 1920s hot jazz 8-11 PM at Nios, 130 W 46th St.

Every Friday in November at 9 PM at the Fat Cat Naomi Shelton & the Gospel Queens bring an authentic here-and-now Brooklyn church vibe, no slick theatrics, just soul.

Fridays at Mehanata it’s Bulgarian sax powerhouse Yuri Yukanov and the Grand Masters of Gypsy Music, 10 PM, $10.

11/3 sharp, smoky, literate, Aimee Mann-inflected chamber rockers Elizabeth & the Catapult at Joe’s Pub

11/3 Kent Tritle conducts the MSM Symphony and Symphonic Chorus in Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem, 7:30 PM at Manhattan School of Music, $10.

11/3-7 Christian McBride & Inside Straight: Steve Wilson – saxophones; Warren Wolf – vibraphone; Christian Sands – piano; Christian McBride – bass; Carl Allen – drums at the Jazz Standard sets, 7:30/9:30 PM, $25

11/3 torchy chanteuse Sari Schorr at Southpaw 8:30 PM with Liberty DeVito from Billy Joel’s band (good player, actually) on drums

11/3, 9 PM, haunting, mesmerizing, intense improvisational somewhat noir rock siren Katie Elevitch at Banjo Jim’s.

11/4, 6 PM a screening of Fred Zara’s new documentary film Average Community about Italian-American kids in decaying NJ cities in the punk and hardcore scenes, at the John D. Calandra Italian-American Institute, 25 W 43rd St. (5th/6th Ave.).

11/4 Missy Mazzoli’s hypnotic, atmospheric,haunting art-rock ensemble Victoire at Smack Mellon Gallery in Dumbo, free.

11/4, 7 PM long-running retro 60s R&B revivalists the Brilliant Mistakes at the big room at the Rockwood

11/4, 8 PM artsy, smart, funny pop siren Elaine Romanelli at Banjo Jim’s followed by Americana chanteuse Drina Seay with diversely talented, ubiquitous lead guitarist Homeboy Steve Antonakos at 9.

11/4, 8 PM intense yet emotionally diverse piano powerhouse Karine Poghosyan plays DeFalla, Komitas and Stravinsky at the Church of the Ascension, 221 W 107th St., 8 PM, $10 sugg don

11/4 celebrated Brazilian pianist Marcelo Bratke and Camerata Brasil play a Villa-Lobos retrospective at Carnegie Hall, 8 PM, $30 includes free cd/dvd box set.

11/4 tuneful, intense, smart powerpop from the Brooklyn What’s John-Severin & the Quiet 1s at Union Hall, 8 PM

11/4, 8 PM, an amazing Middle Eastern-flavored triplebill: vintage Egyptian film music revivalists Zikrayat,  rockers Raquy & the Cavemen and then hypnotic groove/trance band Copal playing the cd release for their new one at Drom, $15 adv tix highly rec.

11/4 bluegrass band Hot Rize play their first NYC show in ten years at B.B. King’s, 9 PM, $25 adv tix rec.

11/4, 9 PM DIY rock legend R. Stevie Moore followed by the equally legendary Brute Force playing the cd release show for the reissue of his 1967 debut album (also including bonus tracks including the legendary banned single The King of Fuh, produced by George Harrison), at Secret Project Robot, 210 Kent Ave. (corner of River St., enter through the loading dock), Williamsburg. Does this mean that the bedhead-and-trust-fund set has discovered these guys and thinks they’re kitschy?

11/4, 9 PM Evanescent (the Moonlighters’ Bliss Blood’s new project with Al Street of Spacemen 3) at Castello Plan, 1213 Cortelyou Rd. (Argyle/Westminster) in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn, 2 1/2 blocks from the B/Q train. They’re also here on 11/18.

11/4, 10 PM the Black Angels – who absolutely ripped up the Orensanz Center a month ago – at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, $20

11/4 we don’t usually list nights like this but there’s free whiskey upstairs at the Delancey from 10 to 11 while they screen vintage chicha footage (the club seems to want to start a night dedicated to metal cumbia, skaragga and rock en Espanol). Cool, huh?

11/4, 11 PM Vic Ruggiero, soulful frontman of the Slackers in a semi-rare solo show at Desmond’s

11/5, 7 PM the comedic, virtuosic Erin & Her Cello at the small room at the Rockwood

11/5, 8 PM at Dave Liebman and Randy Brecker with the Manhattan School of Music Jazz Philharmonic Orchestra performing John Coltrane’s “Meditations Suite” arranged by Gunnar Mossblad at Manhattan School of Music, 120 Claremont Avenue (Broadway and 122nd St).$10 adults; $5 srs/stud.

11/5, 9 PM the Dandy Warhols at the Bell House are SOLD OUT. Good for them.

11/5, 9 PM it’s soul/funk night with Sister Sparrow & the Dirty Birds followed by the Pimps of Joytime at Highline Ballroom, $10 adv tix rec.

11/5, 9 PM sprawling oldtime country crew M Shanghai String Band at the Jalopy, $10

11/5, 9:30 PM fiery Nashville gothic rockers Ninth House at the Knitting Factory, get on the guest list for $5 (half price).

11/5 zydeco and Texas honkytonk with the Doc Marshalls at Hill Country, 9:30 PM.

11/5, 10 PM all-female Japanese-American punk/popsters the Hard Nips followed by the ageless, hilariously potent punk of the Live Ones at Matchless in Williamsburg

11/5, 11 PM Exit Clov at the big room at the Rockwood.

11/6 Serial Underground (Jed Distler, Celia Cooke, Kathleen Supove) plus the cd release for the new one Reflections by the wonderful violinist Ana Milosavljevic at the Cornelia St. Cafe, 6 PM, $10

11/6 jazz pianist Vijay Iyer solo at Flushing Town Hall, free, 7 PM, early arrival highly advised.

11/6 noir rocker night: Lorraine Leckie at Banjo Jim’s 7 PM followed by Carol Lipnik and Spookarama at 8.

11/6 the monthly ska/punk show at the Knitting Factory is a good one starting at 8 with Across the Aisle,the Drastics, the King Django Septet and Big D & the Kids’ Table, $12 adv tix rec.

11/6, 8 PM Adela y Lupita at Barbes – violin/guitar/vocals in the classic Mexican tradition of Las Hermanas Huertas or Lena y Lola

11/6, 8 PM Adrienne Cooper plays the cd release show for her new Yiddish song cd at Drom with an all-star band: Marilyn Lerner (piano) Mike Winograd (clarinet), Benjy Fox-Rosen (bass), Avi Fox-Rosen (guitar), Patrick Farrell, (accordion), Chris Berry (drums), Jon Singer (marimba), Ben Holmes (trumpet), and Sarah Mina Gordon (back-up vocals), $15 adv tix rec.

11/6 Ameranouche play gypsy jazz at 68 Jay St. Bar, 8 PM.

11/6 a doublebill at the Parkside starting at 8 with – gasp – two jangly bands influenced by middle-period REM who actually don’t suck, the louder Cementhead followed by the janglier Electric Engine at 9

11/6 surf music night at Otto’s has been moved to the Delancey in the wake of the fire: for a cheap $5 cover you can see the amazingly multistylistic Tarantinos NYC at 9, the ferociously macabre Coffin Daggers at 11 and the equally intense El Muchacho at midnight.

11/6, 9 PM: Jay Banerjee & the Heartthrobs’ album (cd and vinyl!!) release show at Crash Mansion. Not only is Banerjee the best rock promoter in town (his Hipster Demolition Nights will be legendary someday), he’s also a first-class powerpop/janglerock songwriter with a Byrds fixation. Which is a very good thing. This typically first-class quadruple bill begins at 9 with the Neutron Drivers followed by the Naturals at 10, the Hotcakes at 11 and then Banerjee and his band at midnight

11/6 the most eclectic and entertaining klezmer revivalists on the planet, Metropolitan Klezmer at the Brooklyn Museum, free, 9 PM.

11/6 Transylvanian jazz with Lucian Ban, piano; Mat Maneri, viola; Bruce Williams, alto sax, flute; Gerald Cleaver, drums; Bob Stewart, tuba at the Cornelia St. Cafe 9/10:30 PM, $15

11/6 Dance and Music Performance – Raqs Arabi: Karim Nagi and the Arab Dance Seminar at Alwan for the Arts, 9 PM, $20.

11/6 gypsy punks Bad Buka at Mehanata, 9:30 PM

11/6, 9:30 PM clever, sometimes funny experimental pop duo Goli – marimba/cello/vocals – at Caffe Vivaldi, 9:30 PM.

11/6 playful satirical songwriter Danielle Ate the Sandwich at Littlefield, 9:30 PM, $10, all ages

11/6, 11 PM the Subway Surfers – instrumental rockers who are more subway than surf – at Lakeside.

11/6 soaring, ethereal, anthemic, socially aware art-rock band My Pet Dragon play 11 PM at the Cameo Gallery. Their Saturday residency here last winter was intense.

11/6, 1 AM (wee hours of 11/7, actually) Streams of Whiskey at Arlene’s playing Pogues classics.

11/7 violin/cello duo the Tiger Lilies play western and Indian classical music at Caffe Vivaldi, 6 PM

11/7, 6:30 PM Bloodshot Records’ annual BBQ at the Bell House feat. (probably in reverse order) the Bottle Rockets, Graham Parker, Cordero, the Scotland Yard Gospel Choir and Lydia Loveless, $10.

11/7 at Bruar Falls the Moonlighters’ Bliss Blood’s edgy ukelele night starting at 8 featuring Jamie Scandal, Evanescent (Bliss Blood & Al Street) and ambitiously noirish gypsy punk/cabaret band Not Waving But Drowning.

11/7, 8 PM low-register (tuba/baritone guitar/baritone sax/bass) vintage Cuban revivalists who play excellent originals in the same vein, Gato Loco at Bowery Poetry Club.

11/7, 8 PM bluegrass legend Dr. Ralph Stanley at B.B. King’s, $29.50 adv tix highly rec.

11/7 and 11/14 violinist to the stars, Susan Mitchell at Caravan of Dreams (the vegetarian place that doesn’t believe in salt or spices) on E 6th St., just east of Sidewalk, 8 PM.

11/7, 8 PM Swiss chanteuse Tatiana Fleischmann sings world-weary, haunting French and Russian songs at the Jalopy, $10

11/7 Spiros Soukis plays innovative Greek-tinged electric blues at Lucille’s, 8 PM

11/7 Memphis groove band and Booker T. soundalikes the City Champs at Rose Bar.

11/7, 9 PM powerpop guitar god Pete Galub plus band at Banjo Jim’s

11/7 cutting-edge trombonist Josh Roseman with Peter Apfelbaum on organ and bass plus Dave Treut on drums and special guests at Zebulon, 9:30ish.

11/8 haunting, eclectic Syrian-American chanteuse Gaida opens for Natacha Atlas – who’s reinvented herself as a Fairouz-class chanteuse, playing stuff from her amazing new cd Mounqaliba – at le Poisson Rouge, 7 PM.

11/8, 7:30 PM the Borromeo Quartet playsWebern: Quartet in E flat major for String Quartet, Langsamer Satz; Bartok, String Quartet #6; Beethoven, String Quartet Op. 95, “Serioso,” free at Advent Lutheran/ Broadway United Church, NE corner of Broadway/93rd St.

11/8 the reliably inspired, innovative Sospiro Winds play quintets by Ravel, Haas, Barber, and Villa-Lobos (a composer whose work they really excel at) at CUNY’s Elebash Hall, 365 Fifth Avenue (34th/35th), 8 PM.

11/8 the Pete McGuinness Jazz Orchestra at Tea Lounge in Park Slope, 9 PM

11/8 the “weirdo country sounds” of the Jack Grace Band at the Ear Inn at midnight.

11/9 6:30 PM pianist Marilyn Nonken plays new and iconic avant garde material: Miguel Chuaqui: Blues en el Corazon and Frederic Rzewski/Ethan Iverson: The People United Will Never Be Defeated! at le Poisson Rouge, $20

11/9 underground Manhattan songwriting legend Willie Nile 7 PM at Joe’s Pub, full band show, $25.

11/9, 8 PM at Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall classical guitar luminary Benjamin Verdery plus students playing world premieres and works by nine Yale composers: Martin Bresnick; Aaron Jay Kernis; Ezra Laderman; David Lang; Ingram Marshall; Jack Vees; Kathryn Alexander; Samuel Adams, $15 tix avail.

11/9, 8 PM Eyal Maoz plays his dark Middle Eastern surf/jazz guitar instrumentals at Goodbye Blue Monday

11/9 authentically oldschool LES punk/folk acoustic rocker Donna Susan at Banjo Jim’s, 8 PM

11/9-10 bassist Kyle Eastwood (Clint’s kid – he’s actually good, like his dad) and band at the Blue Note, 8:30/10 PM.

11/9, 11 PM torchy jazz/soul pianist/singer Abby Payne at the small room at the Rockwood

11/9 haunting gothic Americana with Whispering Tree at R Bar, 11 PM.

11/10, 6 (six) PM jazz violinist Zach Brock & the Magic Number at the small room at the Rockwood

11/10, 8 PM Americana chanteuse Stephanie Finch followed by her longtime bandmate/mentor, guitar monster Chuck Prophet – one of the few players in the world who can solo for ten minutes straight and leave you wanting more – at Union Hall, $12.

11/10, 8 PM Carmen Staaf (piano, accordion) Kendall Eddy (acoustic bass) Austin McMahon (drums) at the Stone, $10; she does a duo show with bass legend Henry Grimes there at 10 for a $20 separate admission

11/10, 8ish at Littlefield the eclectic reed player Anat Cohen leads her Quintet. All ages: over 21 $14 (+$6 drink min.), under 21: $10 (+$3 drink min.).

11/10, 9ish hypnotic, intense noise-rock band Adult Themes – who mix swoopy organ with fuzz bass, screaming guitar and surprisingly interesting drums – at Coco 66

11/10 Deer Tick at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, 9 PM, $17 adv tix. rec. at the Mercury box office.

11/10, 9:30 PM a “75th birthday celebration for Arvo Part and Giya Kancheli” with music of Part, Kancheli and Bach performed by Andrei Pushkarev, vibraphone and Andrius Zlabys, piano at le Poisson Rouge free w/rsvp

11/10 oldschool country satirists/revivalists Susquehanna Industrial Tool & Die Co. at Rodeo Bar 10:30 PM

11/10 grasscore pioneers Slim Cessna’s Auto Club at the Mercury, as wild and intense as ever, 10:30 PM, $10.

11/11, 7:30 PM Paul Rosenthal, violin and Kazuko Hayami, piano play sonatas by Bach, Taneyev and Beethoven at the marvelous Gilded Age confines of the Fabbri Library, 7 E 95th St.

11/11, 9 PM Hipster Demolition Night at Public Assembly: this one’s a powerpop-flavored extravaganza with the Jupiter Deluxe at 9, the punk/pop blaze of True Love at 10 and NYC’s best rock promoter, Jay Banerjee & the Heartthrobs doing their deliciously jangly, Byrds-tinged stuff at 11.

11/11-13, 8:30 PM it’s the Vital Vox fest of avant-garde vocal music at Issue Project Room, 8:30 PM, $10. The 11/11 program includes Inner Chapters performed by Jen Shyu; Songs for Double Bass and Voice by the Dirty Projectors’ Nat Baldwin; River of Painted Birds by Sabrina Lastman; and The Art of the Diff by Chris Mann.

11/11 Patti Smith and Lenny Kaye at Southpaw – benefit for FortnightJournal.com

11/11, 8 PM dark, gritty rock legend Ian Hunter at Highline Ballroom, adv tix $27 rec.

11/11-12, 8 PM Trio Vela (Olga Vinokur, piano; Asmira Woodward Page, violin; Amy Barston, cello) play trios by Lera Auerbach, Victoria Bond, Lili Boulanger, Germaine Tailleferre, and Joan Tower at Bargemusic, $35/$30 srs/$15 stud.

11/11 the diversely bluesy, captivating Sister Sparrow & the Dirty Birds’ cd release show at Sullivan Hall, 8 PM.

11/11, 8:30 PM and 11/13-14 8 PM the Cypress String Quartet in their NYC debut at the Tenri Cultural Institute, 43A W 13th St., releasing their last cd of the late Beethoven quartets in 2011.

11/11 theatrical, reliably amusing cabaret/folk duo the Reformed Whores at Pete’s, 10 PM

11/11, 9 PM the incomparable, lyrical, eclectic noir/cabaret/punk/country Rachelle Garniez followed by the equally intense and much louder Veveritse Brass Band at 10:30 at the Jalopy, $10

11/11 ferociously literate somewhat noir ukelele siren Kelli Rae Powell with band at Hill Country, 9 PM followed by country comedienne Lindy Loo at 10 and then the Michaela Ann Band at 11

11/11, 9 PM dark, pensive songwriter Stephanie Finch and then Chuck Prophet – arguably the greatest American rock lead guitarist right now – at 10 at Bowery Electric, $12 adv tix highly rec.

11/11, 9 PM literate southwestern gothic rocker Tom Shaner at Lakeside

11/11 9 PM Toots & the Maytals at the Brooklyn Bowl $26 adv tix rec.

11/11, 9 PM neo-bluegrass with Trampled by Turtles followed by the Infamous Stringdusters at Bowery Ballroom, $15.

11/11, 9 PM tuneful keyboard-driven indie pop band the Secret History at Rock Shop, $14

11/11, 9 PM powerpop bandleader Mikal Evans at the small room at the Rockwood

11/11, 10 PM Nation Beat frontwoman Liliana Araujo’s Forro de Madame project at Barbes

11/11 noir retro rock menace with the Reid Paley Trio at Rodeo Bar, 10:30 PM

11/12 the Orchestra of St. Luke’s plays an all-Faure program at St. Thomas Church including the iconic Requiem along with the Cantique de Jean Racine.

11/12, 8 PM new music pioneer (vocals/cello/keys) Audrey Chen at the Stone, $10

11/12, 9:30 PM funny, politically-fueled punk rocker Paranoid Larry & His Imaginary Band downstairs at the Delancey, $5

11/12, 8 PM oldtimey stars the Asylum Street Spankers play their farewell NYC show – for real – at Highline Ballroom, $25 adv tix rec.

11/12, 8 PM literate funk/soul songwriter Chocolate Genius with his band at the Bell House, $15.

11/12 and again on 11/19 purist expat Chicago blues guitarist Irving Louis Lattin at Lucille’s, 8 PM

11/12 edgy acoustic songwriter Jessi Robertson plays her birthday show at Bar 4, 8 PM.

11/12 plaintive, literate, amusing 6/8 songwriter (she loves that time signature and is very good at it) Elisa Flynn at the Loving Cup Cafe in Williamsburg, 8:30 PM

11/12, 8:30 PM the Vital Vox Fest at Issue Project Room continues with Inflections in a Vibratory Field by Samita Sinha; Improvisations 11-12-10 by C Spencer Yeh; and Gatekeeper by Joan La Barbara

11/12, 8:30 PM the Ghazal Ensemble feat. Kayhan Kalhor and Shujaat Hussain Khan at Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall, $38 tix avail.

11/12-13 “steampunk big band” Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society at the Jazz Gallery, 9 PM, $20.

11/12, 9 PM hilarious, lyrically intense lyrical rock songwriters: Marcellus Hall followed by Wreckless Eric and Amy Rigby at Bowery Electric, $12 adv tix highly rec.

11/12 Man or Astroman – the original band – at Bowery Ballroom, 9 PM, $15. They’re also at the Music Hall of Williamsburg on 11/13 for the same price, adv tix available at the Mercury.

11/12-13, 11 PM dark Syd Barrett/Stooges-inflected nuevo garage rockers Obits at the Knitting Factory, $13 adv tix rec.

11/13, 7:15 PM rustic, psychedelic, gypsyish minor-key harmonica-driven two-guitar jam band Hazmat Modine at Terra Blues

11/13, 7:30 PM Ehud Asherie – who’s got a killer new B3 groove record out – plays solo piano at Smalls

11/13 this month’s edition of the Brooklyn County Fair at the Jalopy starts at 8 with free beer for an hour with $10 admission. Music starts at 8 with Savannah Sky, Blue Harvest, the brilliantly dark, psychedelic, paisley underground/outlaw country Newton Gang at 10, the equally eclectic honkytonk/Texas zydeco band the Doc Marshalls at 11 and the reliably surreal, smartly retro, western swing-tined Sean Kershaw & the New Jack Ramblers at midnight

11/13 soaring, sharply literate, slyly amusing Americana chanteuse Robin Aigner at Barbes with her band, 8:30 PM.

11/13, 8:30 PM the final night of the Vital Vox Fest at Issue Project Room has the Takadimi Duo (Lori Cotler with Glen Velez); Untitled for 2010 by Audrey Chen; Present, Past and Future Sees by Sasha Bogdanowitsch; and Gisburg’s The Rainer Werner Fassbinder Songs performed by Magic Names.

11/13, 9 PM NYC’s most original, exciting blues guitarist, Will Scott – who mines the same dark hypnotic territory as RL Burnside and Junior Kimbrough – at 68 Jay St. Bar

11/13, 9 PM Wind of Anatolia feat. Esat Seyho – vocals; Ismail Siglam – baglama; Fatih M. Bayram – guitar; Ozcan Atav – darbuka, bendir, drums playing classic and obscure folk music from all over Turkey at Alwan for the Arts, $15.

11/13, 9 PM Azizah & the Tribal Council play roots reggae at Shrine

11/13 fiery, virtuosic gypsy punk band Kagero at Mehanata, 9:30 PM.

11/13, 10 PM slashingly lyrical, cleverly retro new wave rockers the Larch followed by the recently reinvigorated artrock/funk/noiserock powerhouse System Noise at 11 at the Parkside.

11/13, 10 PM AwShockKiss play Sidewalk – fiery tuneful female-fronted anthemic rock with an 80s vibe that’s not cheesy. They played one of the year’s best triple bills earlier in the year with a couple of Canadian bands, if you can believe that.

11/13, 10:15ish punk/surf/soul/rockabilly rock guitar genius Simon & the Bar Sinisters at Lakeside

11/13, 11 PM hip-hop/trance/funk with Thousands of One at Shrine

11/14, 3 PM the Greenwich Village Orchestra play Bruch – Violin Concerto no. 1 in G Minor, with special guest 12-year-old violin sensation Alice Ivy Pemberton (whom we’ve seen, and is the real deal); and Vaughan Williams – Symphony No. 2 “A London Symphony” at Washington Irving HS Auditorium, Irving Pl./17th St., $20 don., a steal.

11/14, 4 PM new music titans ACME play Philip Glass, Phil Kline, Nico Muhly, and Sarah Kirkland Snider at PS 142, 100 Attorney St., $15.

11/14, 4:45 PM Joel Gregory plays an organ recital at St. Patrick’s Cathedral

11/14 violinist Jennifer Choi and pianist Kathleen Supove play Vijay Iyer, Preston Stahly, Jacob TV and Randall Woolf at the Cell Theatre in Chelsea, email for info.

11/14, 6 PM Kirk Knuffke and Kenny Wollesen play trumpet/drums duos at Downtown Music Gallery

11/14, 7 PM violist Jennifer Stumm at Barbes playing Bach, Britten and Ligeti.

11/14, 7:30 PM, dark all-original rockabilly/surf trio Catspaw at the Delancey, downstairs, free (note new venue).

11/14 at Bruar Falls the Moonlighters‘ Bliss Blood’s edgy ukelele night starting at 8 featuring Boston’s clever Craig Robertson, haunting Piaf scholar/accordionist/chanteuse Marni Rice, the hilarious master of oldtime banjo innuendo songs, Al Duvall and Evanescent (Bliss Blood & Al Street)

11/14, 9 PM smart, fiery, politically aware new music chamber orchestra Newspeak play the cd release show for their new one Sweet Light Crude at Littlefield

11/14, 9 PM Nick Cave’s noisy power trio Grinderman at the Nokia Theatre, $37.50.

11/14, 9:30 PM the Randy Weinstein Group plays eclectic original harmonica-driven blues and jazz at the Jalopy, $10

11/14 Dysfunctional Family Jazz Band at Rodeo Bar 10:30 PM

11/15, 7:30 PM the launch party for Meet the Composer Studio feat. previews of new works by Kati Agócs, Marcos Balter, Yu-Hui Chang, Glenn Kotche, Dohee Lee, and Ken Ueno at the 92YTribeca, $15 adv tix rec.

11/15, 8 PM haunting guitar atmospherics with Spooky Ghost at the big room at the Rockwood

11/15, 9ish Semi-Free feat. chanteuse Janine Nichols with guitarist Brandon Ross and Shahzad Ismaily followed by phantasmagorical noir siren Carol Lipnik & Spookarama at 10 and then the equally noir, haunting Sally Norvell at 11 at Small Beast at the Delancey.

11/15, 9 PM the Andrew Rathbun Large Ensemble play the weekly big band jazz extravaganza at Tea Lounge in Park Slope

11/15, 9 PM Americana violinist Hilary Hawke  and her band at Banjo Jim’s.

11/16, 6:30 PM at le Poisson Rouge, $15 adv tix rec., the 6th annual reading of In C by Terry Riley: you can never have too much Terry Riley, Nick Hallett, Zach Layton, Kathleen Supove, le Poisson Rouge, or In C in your life…..

11/16, 7 PM star jazz violinist/Americana singer Jenny Scheinman at Barbes.

11/16, 9 PM Americana/soul songwriter Jo Williamson followed eventually at 11 by noir accordionist Marni Rice at Banjo Jim’s.

11/16, 9 PM original alt-country crooner Jesse Lenat at the Jalopy, $10.

11/16, 10:30 PM a killer large-ensemble Americana doublebill: on the acoustic side, the Woes; on the more electric one, Alana Amram & the Rough Gems at Union Pool

11/16, 11 PM trumpeter Ben Syversen’s amazingly intense noiserock/jazz/Balkan project Cracked Vessel at Korzo in Park Slope/Sunset Park; also at University of the Streets, 130 E 7th St. at 10 PM for $10 on 12/7.

11/17, a murderously good trio show: Jeff “Tain” Watts (drums) Henry Grimes (bass, violin) Scott Robinson (reeds) 8/10 PM at the Stone, $20

11/17 charming, boisterous Americana harmony trio Red Molly at City Winery, 8 PM.

11/17 eclectic percussionist Jaimeo Brown’s Transcendence – Calcutta meets Alabama – w/guitarist Chris Sholar, tenor sax titan JD Allen at Smalls, 8:30 PM

11/17, 8:30 PM pianist Gabriel Kahane plays new commissions from Timo Andres, Andrew Norman, Yotam Haber, Joseph Hallman, Chris Thile, Shara Worden, Paola Prestini, Brett Banducci, and Ted Hearne along with Schumann’s song cycle Dichterliebe at Issue Project Room, $10.

11/17, 9 PM careening, improvisational Balkan monsters Raya Brass Band at Radegast Hall

11/17, 9 PM darkly anthemic Slovakian rockers Para at Drom, 9 PM, $10 adv tix rec.

11/17, 9 PM Uncle Monk (Tommy Ramone’s bluegrass project) at Banjo Jim’s

11/18 the Hot Club of San Francisco play gypsy jazz at the Atrium at Lincoln Center, 7:30 PM arrival advised

11/18, 7:30 PM, “The second concert of this season’s Reflections Series takes us inside the celebrated Parisian salon of famed salonière Winnaretta Singer, heiress to the Singer Sewing Machine fortune. Music to be performed includes works commissioned by her, dedicated to her, or premiered at her salon by Ravel, Fauré, Stravinsky, Debussy, de Falla, Satie and Percy Grainger. Soprano Deborah Selig and pianist Donald Berman will join violinist Gil Morgenstern for this performance,” at WMP Concert Hall, 31 E 28th St., $25.

11/18, 7:30 PM altoist Marc McDonald leads a trio with Jim Ridl on piano and Sim Cain on drums at Miles Cafe

11/18, 8 PM Terry Dame (mastermind of the phenomenally psychedelic Electric Junkyard Gamelan) at Barbes playing new works on newly created instruments along with fellow instrument inventor Ken Butler and bassoonist Sara Schoenbeck.

11/18, 8 PM cutting-edge electroacoustic new music ensemble Nextworks (with violinist Cornelius Duffalo and vocalist Joan La Barbara) plays the release show for their latest CD, NxW Live, Vol. 1, with works by Jon Gibson, Leroy Jenkins, and Arthur Russell, and a little-known score by Edgard Varèse at Greenwich House Music School, 46 Barrow Street (between Bedford St. & 7th Ave. S), $15

11/18, 8 PM torchy, bluesy, no-nonsense piano chanteuse Jeanne Marie Boes at Bar 4 in Brooklyn.

11/18 sultry, smart oldtimey blues/Americana siren Mamie Minch at 9 followed at 10:30 by the utterly unique acoustic gypsy punk Gomorran Aid & Social Pleasure Club at the Jalopy, $10

11/18, 9/10:30 PM up-and-coming soul/jazz reed star Tia Fuller leads her Quintet at the Jazz Gallery, first set $15, second $10.

11/18, 9ish, members of Antibalas, Pimps of Joytime, Zongo Junction, Meta and the Cornerstones, Easy Star All-Stars and Akoya Afrobeat Ensemble play a Gregory Isaacs tribute at Rose Bar in Williamsburg, $5 sugg don.

11/18, 10 PM the electric NY Gypsy All-Stars feat. sensational clarinetist Ismail Lumanovski at Drom, adv tix $10 very highly rec.

11/18 hilarious metal parody band Mighty High at Lit, 10:30 PM – last time they played a Manhattan gig the cops shut them down after 4 songs.

11/19, time TBA, the Amina Claudine Myers/Reggie Nichols Duo and the Wadada Leo Smith Silver Orchestra at Community Church of New York, 40 East 35th Street, $30/$15 srs/stud.

11/19 at Symphony Space, 7 PM (and at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on 11/20, 7 PM) the NY Phil’s CONTACT series features Alan Gilbert conducting the world premiere of a new work by Magnus Lindberg (a New York Philharmonic commission), and Gerard Grisey’s Quatre Chants Pour Franchir le Seuil, featuring soprano Barbara Hannigan at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, $20 adv tix highly rec., this will sell out.

11/19, 7:30 PM, amusing, virtuosic oldtimey hokum blues and hillbilly tunes with the Second Fiddles at Hill Country.

11/19, 8 PM soulful twangy country-rock with the Karen Hudson River Band feat. special guest Deb O’Nair of garage rock legends the Fuzztones at Banjo Jim’s at 7 followed eventually at 9 by Austin noir cabaret cello/accordion duo Just Desserts.

11/19, 8 PM Gyan Riley (Terry’s talented guitarist kid) at Barbes.

11/19 a very cool diverse bill at Trash starting at 8 PM with energetic, noisy indie duo Eleanor, the Highway Gimps – the Jesus & Mary Chain meets My Bloody Valentine – Suzanne Beale, then the Shirts (Annie Golden’s new wave legends?) and then at 11 the fiery, hilarious, brilliantly punk/soul inspired anti-gentrification rockers the Brooklyn What, absurdly cheap at $7.

11/19, 9 PM the Highway Gimps – the missing link between My Bloody Valentine and Motorhead – at Tommy’s Tavern in Greenpoint

11/19 legendary late 70s postpunk/dance/trance synth experimentalists Crash Course in Science at Issue Project Room, $10, 9 PM

11/19 bassist Linda Oh leads a trio with Ambrose Akinmusire on trumpet and Nasheet Waits on drums at the Jaz Gallery, 9/10:30 PM, $20.

11/19, 9:30 PM noir garage/Americana siren Lorraine Leckie & Her Demons at the Postcrypt.

11/19, 10 PM hypnotic postpunk guitar legends Band of Outsiders followed by the Big Star-inspired janglerock of the Nu-Sonics at 11 at the Parkside.

11/19 soul/funk singer Stephanie Rooker and band at the 92YTribeca, 10ish, $12 adv tix. rec. to benefit Housing Is a Human Right.

11/19, 10ish a cool study in contrasts: funk madness with the MK Groove Orchestra followed by the hypnotic atmospherics of Burnt Sugar the Arkestra Chamber at Coco 66

11/19, 10:30ish noirish, Patti Smith-inspired siren Katie Elevitch at Banjo Jim’s  playing a full band show and promising “improv, experiments, new songs, 1 AM police activity?”

11/19 surf music classics and obscuities with the Boss Guitars at Lakeside, 11 PM.

11/20, 1 PM a free concert at Bargemusic, early arrival advised, piano or string quartet most likely.

11/20, 3 PM Antisociales (Puerto Rican power-pop), Un Final Fatal (hardcore punk from Puerto Rico), Philly punk band Stockpile at ABC No Rio

11/20, 7 PM NYC noir rock legend LJ Murphy at Banjo Jim’s.

11/20, 7-8:30 blue-eyed soul siren Meg Braun and Red Molly multi-instrumentalist/songwriter Carolann Solebello at Caffe Vivaldi followed at 9 by Kristin Hoffmann and her ornate goth-tinged piano pop.

11/20, 8 PM the reliably amusing Erin & Her Cello at the big room at the Rockwood

11/20, 8 PM the hilarious, lyrically charged, philosophically inclined, sultry cello/guitar trio the Debutante Hour at Barbes

11/20, 8 PM, classical vocal quartet NY Polyphony sing a program titled Giants of the Flemish Renaissance at Church of St. Mary the Virgin, 145 W 4th St., $35 tix avail.

11/20 sly acoustic Americana jam band Tall Tall Trees at the Mercury, 8:30 PM, $10

11/20, 9 PM artsy, counterintuitive, lyrically potent, gorgeously melodic 90s style Britrock with Special Patrol Group at Arlene’s

11/20, 9 PM Irish-American punk/literate rock legends Black 47 at Connolly’s; they’re also here on 12/11

11/20, 9 PM an oldschool soul/funk summit: Charles Bradley & the Menahan Street Band followed by Lee Fields & the Expressions at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, $17 adv tix rec.

11/20, 9 PM a female-fronted, more newschool funk doublebill at BAM Cafe with the latin flavored Dawn Drake & ZapOte and Shelley Nicole’s blaKbüshe.

11/20 arguably the most ecstatically fun live band in NYC, “turbo tropical cumbia tangomuffins (?)” Escarioka at Mehanata, 9:30 PM.

11/20 dusky,hypnotoic, hauntingly psychedelic southwestern gothic rocker James Apollo at Sycamore Bar in Ditmas Park, Brooklyn, 10 PM, $10

11/20, 10 PM Lenny Molotov – the American Richard Thompson, with his rustic, bluesy songs, virtuosic guitar chops and fiery lyrics – at the Parkside

11/20, 10 PM gypsy punks Karikatura followed by Akilles playing roots reggae at Shrine uptown.

11/20 the bubonically, chronically psychedelic Giant Panda Guerrilla Dub Squad at the Mercury, 10:30 PM, separate admission, $12.

11/20 Spanking Charlene plays their frontwoman Charlene McPherson’s birthday bash at Lakeside, 11 PM. The edgy punk/Americana rockers promise special treats and surprises: you might get to spank Charlene (dangerous idea: she’s not somebody you would want to hit), or she might spank you…

11/20, 11 PM gypsy punks Karikatura followed by Akilles playing roots reggae at Shrine.

11/20, 11 PM psychedelic, sweepingly anthemic, socially aware art-rockers My Pet Dragon at the small room at the Rockwood

11/21, 3 PM the Third Street Philharmonia Orchestra under guest conductor Leslie B. Dunner with soloists Raul Jaurena, bandoneon, Nadav Lev, guitar, and Marguerite Krull, soprano are performing De Falla’s “El Amor Brujo”, Arriaga’s “Los Esclavos Felices,” and Piazolla’s double concerto for guitar and bandoneon.at St. Mark’s Church at 2nd Ave. and 10th St.

11/21 “The belly dance event of the year” feat. Layla Isis, Azza, Laura, Sherine, Marayah, Yowalka and Jaidabacked by the incomparable Zikrayat playing Mohammed Abdel Wahab classics at Galapagos, 7 PM, $15 adv tix very highly rec.

11/21, 7:15 PM amusing, sharply lyrical, satirical torch song/Americana trio the Debutante Hour at the Mercury, $10

11/21 at Bruar Falls the Moonlighters’ Bliss Blood’s edgy ukelele night starting at 8 with the delightfully named Sonic Uke, the satirical Ukemen, Jamie Scandal, Evanescent (Bliss Blood & Al Street with Jim Fryer on horns) and rockers Tom Clark and Craig Chesler (of Clark’s High Action Boys)

11/21 the JC Hopkins Big Band open for Mose Allison at City Winery, 8 PM, $30 tix avail.

11/21 pianist Bobby Avey’s cd release show for his brilliant new one A New Face at the Cornelia St. Cafe, shows 8:45/10 PM, $10.

11/21 a stunning program of original Azeri music with jazz, Arabic and avant garde tinges: the cd release show for the latest one by violinist Sabina Rakcheyeva (the first Azeri to graduate from Juilliard) and her Ensemble, featuring Kinan Azmeh at Alwan for the Arts, 8 PM, $20

11/21 hilarious cowpunk band Uncle Leon & the Alibis at Rodeo Bar, 10:30 PM.

11/22, 8 PM Aimee Mann at the Music Hall of Williamsburg – worth checking to see if there are any scalpers who haven’t been able to unload their $35 tix

11/22 the Marc Cary Focus Trio at the Blue Note, sets 8/10:30 PM, $10 seating avail. Ridiculously cheap way to see the intense, brooding, brilliantly eclectic and melodic jazz pianist in a sonically superb setting.

11/22 west coast gypsy punk/brass hellraisers the Gomorrans at Banjo Jim’s, 8 PM

11/22, 9 PM the lush, surprising, eclectic David Schumacher Jazz Orchestra at Tea Lounge in Park Slope

11/22, 8 PM noir Americana siren/songwriter Jessie Kilguss at Goodbye Blue Monday

11/22 charming oldtimey swing/Americana with Daria Grace and the Pre-War Ponies at Rodeo Bar, 10:30 PM.

11/22, midnight, Stringbean & the Stalkers play oldschool Chicago blues harp jams at the Ear Inn.

11/23-28 the Maria Schneider Orchestra at the Jazz Standard, sets 7:30/9:30 PM, $35.

11/23, 7:30 PM the phenomenal, intense, Balkan-tinged two-clarinet-and-piano Grneta Duo+ with Vasko Dukovski and Ismail Lumanovski on reeds plus star pianist Alexandra Joan at WMP Concert Hall, 31 E 28th St., $25

11/23 Darker My Love 8 PMish at Webster Hall.

11/23, 8 PM, free, the Mannes Orchestra in a performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 4, Isaac Selya conducting; and Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5, Taeyoung Lee conducting at Symphony Space, early arrival encouraged

11/23-26 old-fashioned toe-tapping music with the Ken Peplowski/Bucky Pizzarelli quartet at Dizzy’s Club, 8/10 PM, $30 tix avail (11/25 be aware that there’s a prix-fixe Thxgiving dinner requirement as well).

11/23 fascinating, noirish vibraphonist Tom Beckham leads his jazz group at the Cornelia St. Cafe, 8:30 PM

11/23-25 lyrical Jamaican jazz piano legend Monty Alexander leads a quintet at Birdland, sets 8:30/11, $30 seats avail.

11/23, 9 PM Balkan  trumpeter Ben Syversen’s Cracked Vessel – whose noisy, rumbling new album is deliciously intense – at Cafe Orwell, 247 Varet St, Bushwick

11/23, 9:30 PM PUBLIQuartet play Bach Cello Suites arranged for bassoon, Mozart Flute Quartet, arranged for bassoon by Rebekah Heller along with the Britten String Quartet No. 2 at Caffe Vivaldi.

11/23, 10 PM, 90s style melodic Britrock with the Royal Chains at Union Hall.

11/24, 6:30 PM Madalyn Parnas, violin; Cicely Parnas, cello; Yaron Kohlberg, piano play music of Martinu, Hindemith, Lutoslawski, Janácek and Shostakovich at le Poisson Rouge, $15.

11/24, 7:30 PM the Jared Gold organ quintet play Jimmy Smith style grooves at Miles Cafe in midtown

11/24, 8 PM paradigm-shifting pan-Asian avant garde siren Jen Shyu at Barbes, $10, early arrival advised, this will sell out quickly. You want fearless? There’s nobody more fearless on the mic than she is.

11/24 electric blues guitar star Bobby Radcliff, 8 PM at P&G Bar on the upper west

11/24, 9 PM a Guinness-fueled Irish dance party with Shilelagh Law at Connolly’s.

11/24, 9:30 PM anthemic, hypnotic, socially aware Radiohead-influenced art-rockers My Pet Dragon at the big room at the Rockwood.

11/25 hot 20s jazz with the Blues Vipers of Brooklyn, 7:30 PM at the Atrium at Lincoln Center

11/25 bassist Omer Avital leads a combo featuring latin jazz pianist Jason Lindner at Smalls, 9:30 PM

11/26 a good Americana roots doublebill at Hill Country with the oldschool country of the Jack Grace Band at 7:30 followed by the swampy Chicago harmonica blues of BBQ Bob & the Spareribs at 9:30

11/26 a country music summit with Nashville legend Greg Garing at 8 followed by one from NYC, Jack Grace at 10 at Barbes.

11/26 tuneful, ferociously lyrical powerpop siren Patti Rothberg at Caffe Vivaldi, 9:30 PM.

11/27, 8 PM Czech-American choral group Kackala at Barbes: “Hilary Binder as Backdoor Bobbi; Eva Kubesová as Luscious Lucille; Katerina Kubesová as Pretty Pink Pussy; Stacey Rubin as Ruby Royale and Lexa Walsh as Black Belt Betty”

11/27, 9 PM haunting but sometimes playfully fun acoustic Nashville gothic band Bobtown at 68 Jay St. Bar.

11/27, 9/10:30 PM wry, clever jazz trumpeter John McNeil’s Urban Legend at the Cornelia St. Cafe

11/27 charming, innuendo-driven French chanson revivalists les Chauds Lapins at Pete’s, 10 PM

11/27, 11 PM sprawling funk orchestra Turkuaz at the big room at the Rockwood, $7

11/27 ecstatic, charismatic oldschool Memphis soul revivalists the One and Nines at midnight at Maxwell’s, $8

11/27 oldschool soul duo Dwight & Nicole’s cd release show at the Blue Note, half past midnight, $15. Dwight Ritcher’s purist Steve Cropper guitar and Nicole Nelson’s breathy yet unselfconscious intensity create the kind of ambience you rarely see these days, perfect for a wee hours show like this.

11/28, 3 PM The Queen’s Chamber Trio (Robert Zubrycki, violin; Peter Seidenberg, cello; Elaine Comparone, harpsichord) continues their popular Haydn cycle at St. Marks Church (2nd Ave/10th St.), $25/$12.50 stud/srs/musicians half price.

11/29 nouveau Indian brass band Red Baraat at the Atrium at Lincoln Center, 6 PM arrival advised

11/29, 6:30 PM the Claremont Trio play Beethoven, Ravel, Piazzolla, and New York premieres by Nico Muhly and Donald Crockett at le Poisson Rouge, $15 adv tix rec. At 10 (separate admission), there’s a benefit for our pals over at Search and Restore featuring a “Night of Round Robin Improvised Duets” w/ Ben Allison (bass) , Steven Bernstein (trumpet) , Ralph Alessi (trumpet) , Jason Lindner (keys) , Tim Lefebvre (bass) , Reid Anderson (bass) , Dan Weiss (drums) , Mark Guiliana (drums) , Roswell Rudd (trombone) , Matt Wilson (drums) , Avishai Cohen (trumpet) and Theo Bleckmann (voice), $30 to a good cause and a good website.

11/29, 9 PM the Middle Eastern/klezmer tinged Idan Santhaus Big Band at Tea Lounge in Park Slope.

11/30, 6:30 PM Anthony de Mare plays Frederic Rzewski, Jerome Kitzke, Laurie Anderson and Derek Bermel, lyrics by Allen Ginsburg and Oscar Wilde

11/30-12/1 the Peter Bernstein Quartet: Peter Bernstein – guitar; Mike LeDonne – piano; John Webber – bass; Joe Farnsworth – drums at the Jazz Standard, sets 7:30/9:30 PM, $20.

11/30 proto-hip-hop lyrical soul/funk legend Gil Scott-Heron at SOB’s, 8 PM, adv tix $30 highly rec.

11/30, 9 PM the original steampunk songwriter, Dan Hicks at City Winery, $28 tix avail.

11/30 Yahoos drummer Terry Anderson’s hilarious, smart Americana rock band OAKTeam (a.k.a. the Olympic Ass Kicking Team) at Lakeside, 10 PM

11/30, 10 PM third-wave garage rock with the Greenhornes at Bowery Ballroom, $15.

12/1, 4 PM at Galapagos composer Lisa Bielawa celebrates the releases of two new albums – Chance Encounter and In medias res. “The performance will feature music from both albums including selections from Bielawa’s Double Violin Concerto for violinist/vocalist Carla Kihlstedt and violinist Colin Jacobsen and from Chance Encounter for soprano Susan Narucki and the Knights, as well as Bielawa’s Synopses solo pieces for Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP) members pianist Sarah Bob, percussionist Robert Schulz, and harpist Ina Zdorovetchi.” $15

12/1, 8 PM conscious hip-hop with the Peace Poets and Genesis Be, then intense hypnotic Iranian/American psychedelic rockers Haale and the Mast and then literate, politically aware songwriter Stephan Said at Drom, $15

12/1, 8 PM at Issue Project Room, legendary avant-garde composer Luciano Berio’s complete Sequenzas performed by Claire Chase (flute), Shelley Burgon (harp), Daisy Press (voice), Stephen Gosling (piano), Chris McIntyre (trombone) John Pickford Richards (viola), James Austin Smith (oboe), Jennifer Choi (violin), Joshua Rubin (clarinet), and Gareth Flowers (trumpet).

12/1, 8 PM saxophonist Erik Lawrence’s Honey Ear Trio at Barbes

12/2, 2 PM, cellist Friedrich Kleinhapl plays Zemlinsky, Schittke, Beethoven, Gulda and Rachmaninoff at Town Hall, $12.

12/2, 6 PM the legendarily clever Spinal Tap of jazz, the Microscopic Septet at Birdland playing selections from their brand-new cd Friday the 13th: The Micros Play Monk, $20

12/2 Mr. Ho’s Vibraphone quartet (vibraphonist Mr. Ho (Brian O’Neill) Geni Skendo on bass flute/woodwinds, Noriko Terada on percussion, and Jason Davis on acoustic bass) plays Esquivel rarities at Caffe Vivaldi, 7 PM.

12/2-5, jazzy tango nuevo with the Pablo Ziegler Quartet: Pablo Ziegler – piano; Claudio Ragazzi – guitar; Hector Del Curto – bandeon; Pedro Giraudo – bass plus Prometheus Jenkins (12/2-3( and Regina Carter (12/4-5), 7:30/9:30 PM at the Jazz Standard, $30.

12/2, 8 PM the Spokes, who “may be the most portable group in jazz” at Barbes: Andy Biskin: clarinet; Phillip Johnston: soprano saxophone; Curt Hasselbring: trombone

12/2, 8 PM bluegrass with the Union St. Preservation Society at the National Underground.

12/2 check this out for a bizarrely good doublebill: Williamsburg jazz legends the Old Rugged Sauce open for Geen Ween’s acoustic show at the Knitting Factory, 9 PM, $25.

12/2, 9 PM haunting, hypnotic Middle Eastern chamber rock group Pharaoh’s Daughter at the 92YTribeca, $15 adv tix rec

12/2 fiery improvisational rock siren Katie Elevitch’s birthday show at Banjo Jim’s 10 PM.

12/2 danceable Brazilian/C&W/New Orleans band Nation Beat at Rodeo Bar, 10:30 PM

12/3, 7:30 PM pianist Tatyana Sirota plays Beethoven and Schubert at the Third St. Music School Settlement auditorium, free.

12/3, 7:30 PM singer Lainie Fefferman’s Quartet “Phthia” – a quirky acoustic ensemble of all-star players (Sara Budde on clarinets; James Moore on banjo, guitar, and mandolin; and Missy Mazzoli on melodica) plus ubiquitously good avant clarinetist/reedman Ken Thomson and Slow Fast celebrate the release of their new CD It Would Be Easier If at the First Presbyterian Church of Brooklyn, 124 Henry St., downtown Brooklyn, $10.

12/3 at BB King’s, 8 PM: George Clinton & the P-Funk Allstars

12/3 terse expat Chicago blues guitarist Irving Louis Lattin at Lucille’s, 8 PM.

12/3, 8 PM the Particle Ensemble – Thomas Buckner (baritone), Earl Howard (electronics and saxophones), Mari Kimura (violin and electronics), and J.D. Parran (winds) play premieres by the group members at Greenwich House Music School, 46 Barrow Street (between Bedford St. & 7th Ave. S), $15/$10 stud/srs.

12/3, Andy Laster’s Yiash play arrangements of early 20th-Century Egyptian pop by Jewish composers Zaki Murad and Dawud Husni, among others, followed by the world premiere of Laster’s new string trio plus works for string quartet and quintet, 8:30 PM at Roulette.

12/3, 8:30 PM literate indie rock songwriter Richard Buckner at the Mercury, $15

12/3 darkly lyrical indie folk songwriter Richard Buckner at the Mercury, 8:30 PM, $12 adv tix rec

12/3 soul, funk and Ethiopian-tinged instrumental grooves with the Budos Band at Bowery Ballroom, 9 PM, $15.

12/3, 9 PM jazz/classical pianist/composer Nicole Zuraitis plays Shrine followed by Zion Judah’s roots reggae grooves.

12/3, 10 PM haunting 1950s/60s style Mexican/Pan-American harmony band las Rubias del Norte at Barbes – their new album Ziguala is a strong contender for best of 2010.

12/3 clever, wry Americana tunesmith Luther Wright & the Wrongs at Rodeo Bar 10:30 PM

12/3-4, 11:30 PM lyrical soul bandleader Chocolate Genius at Joe’s Pub, $TBA.

12/4, 7 PM noir garage rocker Lorraine Leckie solo acoustic at Banjo Jim’s: “Lets get drunk after cause Christmas is coming and thats always a horror show!!!!”

12/4 haunting, ornate, majestic, lyrically brilliant art-rockers the Snow at 8 PM at Pete’s.

12/4, 8 PM sharp at Barbes – a screening of the new documentary Soul Power, about the legendary 1974 soul concert in Kinshasa, Zaire featuring James Brown, Bill Withers, Celia Cruz, Yomo Toro, Franco, Rochereau, the Spinners, Miriam Makeba.

12/4, 8/9:30 PM klezmer brass with Frank London’s All Star Jew Review at Drom, adv tix $10 highly rec

12/4, 8 PM fiery, smart Chicago style electric blues guitarist Bobby Radcliff at Terra Blues

12/4, 8 PM at the Greene Space pianist Fei-Fei Dong and author Gish Jen collaborate on a Global Piano and Literary Salon: All Along the Silk Road, includes a drink (they have good wine here!),

12/4, 8 PM, Beefstock comes to Bay Ridge at 3 Jolly Pigeons, 6802 3rd Ave. for jamband drum legend Joe Filosa’s bday bash feat. Beefheart cover band Shmeefbrain, plus retro soul crew the Nopar King, spectacular all-female noise-punk trio Out of Order, punk/metal monsters Black Death and others.

12/4, 8 PM, Luther Wright & the Wrongs – the clever Canadian acoustic Americana songwriter responsible for the bluegrass version of Pink Floyd’s The Wall – at 68 Jay St. Bar.

12/4, 8 PM the Brentano Quartet plays Schumann: Quartet in F Major, Op. 41, No. 2; Berg: Quartet, Op. 3; Beethoven: Quartet in E flat Major, Op. 127 at Washington Irving HS Auditorium, $12.

12/4, 8 PM a choreographed baroque/contemporary concert by Anthony Roth Costanzo, countertenor, with Joelle Harvey, soprano and the Second Instrumental Unit, that “explores human expression as conceived in baroque terms. Incorporating music, dance, and spoken text, the evening touches upon three questions: How can we communicate our deepest hollows? How can we start a conversation between the internal and the external? How can we make pain beautiful?” Yikes! $20 at Abigail Adams Smith Auditorium, 417 E 61st St. between York and First Ave.

12/4, 9 PM George Ziadeh – vocals and oud with Tareq Abboushi – buzuq; Amir ElSaffar – santoor and trumpet; Zafer Tawil – violin and percussion at Alwan for the Arts, $15, playing classic Egyptian repertoire including Oum Kaltsoum classics.

12/4, 9 PM smartly aware, funny hardcore punk and hip-hop with Prayers for Atheists at Bowery Poetry Club, $7

12/4 Unsteady Freddie’s monthly surf rock show returns triumphantly to the now-reopened Otto’s; show starts at 9 with Preston Wayne, the Surfalicious Dudes at 10, the North Shore Troubadours at 11 and Thee Icepicks at midnight.

12/4, 9 PM the hilarious, theatrical oldtimey Ukuladies’ cd release show at the Jalopy, $10.

12/4 at 9/10:30 PM and repeating on 12/5 at 8:30 PM the Joel Harrison Septet:Joel Harrison, guitar; Zach Brock, violin; Donny McCaslin, saxophones; Dana Leong, cello; Gary Versace, piano; Stephan Crump, bass; Clarence Penn, drums at the Cornelia St. Café

12/4, 9ish country rock band John Xavier & the Bowerytones followed by ageless, hypnotic, swirling psychedelic punk pioneers Band of Outsiders at Bowery Electric, $10

12/4 growling indie rockers Pink Noise at 9 followed by Senegalese roots reggae grooves from Meta & the Cornerstones at the 92YTribeca, $12

12/4 ska sax legend Dave Hillyard’s Rocksteady 7 at Two Boots Brooklyn, 10 PM.

12/4 ferocious, intense Radio Birdman style garage punk band the Mess Around at Trash, 11 PM

12/4, 11ish oldschool 70s style soul/funk with JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound at Public Assembly.

12/4, 11 PM Antibalas take a break from being the Fela pit band with a gig at le Poisson Rouge

12/5, 2 (two) PM klezmer violin titan the Alicia Svigals Trio at Flushing Town Hall, $16.

12/5, 4:30 PM the Chiara String Quartet plays Gorecki’s String Quartet No. 2 and Huang Ruo’s Calligraffiti (World Premiere) at Galapagos, $15. It’s the second in the ongoing series of Creator/Curator concerts where the Chiaras play a new commission plus other material chosen by the composer.

12/5, 8 PM the gorgeous retro country harmonies of the Sweetback Sisters at the Jalopy, $10

12/5, 8 PM violist Lars Anders Tomter with pianist Nelson Padgett playing Schubert, Britten, Grieg plus the US premiere of Ragnar Söderlind’s Friesiche Landschaft at Church of Christ and St. Stephen’s, 120 W 69th St. (Columbus/Broadway), $15/$10 srs/$5 stud.

12/5 Streams of Whiskey play Pogues classics at 9 followed by Pork Chop Willie’s Mississippi hill country blues at 10 at Spike Hill.

12/5, 10 PM lyrical powerpop monsters John-Severin & the Quiet 1s (who are not so quiet) at Trash.

12/6, 8:30 PM intense, haunting, soaring Americana chanteuse/songwriter Jan Bell at Rock Shop in Gowanus, $10

12/6, 9 PM captivating, hypnotically lyrical noir rocker Alice Texas, Avondale Airforce (Peter Aaron from the Crome Cranks with Stanton Warren) at 10 and then ferociously charismatic siren Vera Beren’s Gothic Chamber Blues Ensemble at 11 at Small Beast at the Delancey

12/6 Ted Leo Pharmacists at 9 followed by the New Pornographers at Terminal 5, all ages, $30 adv tix rec.

12/7, 7 PM jazz/Americana violin multistylist Jenny Scheinman at Barbes

12/7 star reedman Doug Wieselman plays solo at 8 followed at 10 by his Trio S with Jane Scarpantoni on cello and Kenny Wollesen on drums at the Stone, $10.

12/8, 6 PM highly regarded Latvian pianist Vestard Shimkus plays Beethoven, Chopin, Soler and Gershwin at the Yamaha Piano Salon, $TBA.

12/8, 7 PM the Arcos Orchestra play G. F. Handel – Judas Maccabaeus Overture; Samuel Adler – Concertino No 3; Dimitri Terzakis – Nymphs of Night and Fire (world première) and Béla Bartók – Divertimento, free at Temple Emmanu-El, Fifth Ave/65th St.

12/8 a first-rate pop/soul triplebill: British expat Edward Rogers, who really nails the 70s Birmingham sound, followed by multi-instrumentalist/soul singer Don Piper and then sometimes soaring, sometimes haunting, multistylistic Americana/pop siren Maura Kennedy at Bowery Electric, $10

12/8 rustic, hypnotic, cutting-edge Applachian/Balkan harmony sirens AE at 8 followed eventually at 10 by slinky, low-register vintage Cuban band Gato Loco at Union Pool

12/8, 8 PM los Crema Paraiso play funky Venezuelan psychedelic grooves at Shrine.

12/8 Americana rock siren Jo Williamson at 8 PM at Banjo Jim’s followed by Carol Lipnik and Matt Kanelos’ new apocalyptic song project Ghosts in the Ocean.

12/8-9, 9 PM witty oldschool country followed by one of the more popular alt-country bands of the 90s: Hayes Carll followed by the Old 97s at Bowery Ballroom (SOLD OUT), $25. Tix still available for the 12/10 show at the Music Hall of Williamsburg for the same price.

12/8 hilarious period-perfect early 50s hillbilly rock satirists Susquehanna Industrial Tool & Die Co at Rodeo Bar, 10:30 PM

12/9, 7:30 PM, ISSA Sonus Ensemble incl. Laura Falzon (flute); Emily Ondracek (violin); Erik Peterson (viola) and Adrian Daurov (cello), perform the New York premiere of Munir Beken’s A Turk in Seattle and other works by NY women composers at Symphony Space, $15 adv tix rec.

12/9 this month’s Hipster Demolition Night at Public Assembly – NYC’s most consistently entertaining monthly rock show – starts at 8 with the garage rocking Demands, jangly Byrdsophiles Jay Banerjee & the Heartthrobs, psychedelic rockers Whooping Crane and oldschool soul stylists the Solid Set.

12/9, 8 PM lyrical, tuneful, Aimee Mann-inflected songwriter Andrea Wittgens at Caffe Vivaldi

12/9, 8 PM the Weal and Woe: “vintage country, gospel classics and close harmony” at Barbes followed at 10 by Nashville piano/guitar legend Greg Garing.

12/9, 9 PM intense, chromatically charged Veveritse Brass Band’s cd release show at the Jalopy, $10

12/9, 9 PM Americana rocker Serena Jean followed by the surprisingly intricate country sounds of the Basement Band at Spike Hill.

12/10, 7 PM captivating noir rocker Peg Simone at Bowery Poetry Club.

12/10 Tommy Ramone’s Americana duo Uncle Monk at 7 PM at Banjo Jim’s followed eventually by the Big Star style sounds of the Nu-Sonics at 9

12/10, 8ish a heavenly noiserock night with the Sediment Club, Nice Face at 9ish, K-Holes at 10ish and Woman – whose screaming noir blues/noise album from last year was one of our favorites – headlining at 11 or so at Death by Audio.

12/10, 8 PM House of Stride with Allison Leyton-Brown – piano; Russ Meissner – drums; Jim Whitney – upright bass and special guest Daria Grace at Barbes followed at 10 by Red Baraat and their Indian brass band madness.

12/10, 8 PM the Chelsea Symphony play Dai: The Night Before Christmas; Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 5 at St. Paul’s Church, 315 W 22nd St., $20 sugg don.

12/10, 8 PM Latin-Jazz Coalition Big Band led by Demetrios Kastaris performs with special guest, trombonist, Steve Turre; bouzouki player Theofilos Katechis plays folkloric Greek music with jazz trumpeter Yiannis Economides. Making their debut, Conjunto Kathari plays gospel salsa with four trombones at Flushing Town Hall, $15.

12/10, 9 PM anthemic, ridiculously catchy, smartly lyrical highway rock band Wormburner at the Mercury, $12 adv tix rec. If Springsteen still wrote good songs he’d sound like these guys.

12/10 sly banjo-driven acoustic Americana jam band Tall Tall Trees followed by the funky Brooklyn Qawwali Party and then the eclectically danceable Brazilian/C&W/New Orleans sounds of Nation Beat at Littlefield, 9 PM, $10 adv tix rec.

12/10, 10 PM smart eclectic Americana chanteuse Julia Haltigan at the small room at the Rockwood.

12/10 raucous, virtuosic barrelhouse blues with the 4th St. Nite Owls at Two Boots Brooklyn, 10 PM.

12/10 innovative yet retro latin soul revivalists Spanglish Fly at Rose Bar in Williamsburg, 10 PM

12/10 sharply lyrical, dark indie popsters Elizabeth & the Catapult followed by retro torchy soul chanteuse April Smith & the Great Picture Show at Maxwell’s, 10:e0 PM, $10 adv tix rec.

12/11 hypnotic, tuneful, torchily captivating indie pop/downtempo trio Mattison play their 7″ release show at Cake Shop

12/11, 8 PM the Microscopic Septet at the Gershwin Hotel, playing “at least two sets” of selections from their brand-new cd Friday the 13th: The Micros Play Monk, $25

12/11, 8 PM Nellie McKay playing stuff from her new one Home Sweet Mobile Home at Highline Ballroom, $20 adv tix rec.

12/11 klezmer/bluegrass titan Andy Statman at Barbes, 8 PM, $10.

12/11, 9 PM, Abdel Rahim Boutat on the Algerian loutar plus Ahmed Sahel and Adel Bror on the bandir playing hypnotic, haunting sounds at Alwan for the Arts, $15

12/11, 9 PM Finotee play roots reggae followed by conscious hiphop/groove band Thousands of One.

12/11 dark low-key Americana-tinged rock with Mad Juana at Bowery Electric, 10 PM

12/11, 10 PM scorchingly noisy, distantly Balkan tinged avant jazz/rock with Ben Syversen’s Cracked Vessel at Freedom Garden, 294 Troutman St, Bushwick.

12/11 punk/rockabilly/surf guitar genius Simon & the Bar Sinisters at Lakeside, 10:15ish

12/11, 11 PM art-rock songwriter Christina Courtin at the big room at the Rockwood.

12/12, 4 (four) PM the reliably fun, satirical Lascivious Biddies at the small room at the Rockwood. Torchy pianist/singer Abby Payne plays her cd release show there later at 9.

12/12, 7 PM the Enso String Quartet at Barbes followed at 9 by gypsy guitar powerhouse Stephane Wrembel

12/12, 8 PM and repeating 12/13 at 2 PM Gamelan Dharma Swara play their annual holiday concert featuring music from this year’s Bali concert tour/competition at the Indonesian Consulate, 5 East 68th St. between 5th and Madison. The program will include “‘a performance of Kebyar Legong, the famously challenging 30 minute dance work of the virtuosic kebyar repertoire, the first time the complete work, composed in the 1920s by I Wayan Wendres, will be performed outside of Bali’” These concerts sell out fast, get your tickets now.

12/12, 8 PM BedStuy Ewe play Afrobeat at Shrine.

12/12 darkly torchy Americana rock siren Essie Jain at Glasslands, 11ish.

12/12, 11:30 PM artsy noir rock legends Elysian Fields at Joe’s Pub.

12/13, 7 PM new music guitar styles Gyan Riley at Barbes followed at 9:30 by the incomparably fun 70s Peruvian style chicha/surf band Chicha Libre

12/13, 7:30 PM the Sospiro Winds plus violinist Miranda Cuckson and pianist Aaron Wunsch, playing music of Gyorgi Ligeti at Advent Church, 93rd and Broadway, 7:30 PM, free.

12/13, 7 PM at Galapagos the American Modern Ensemble presents “an evening of sextets by eight of America’s most talented composers under 40” incl. A Matter of Truth by New York’s own Hannah Lash, OK Feel Good by Jonathan Newman and Robert Paterson’s Sextet, inspired by criminals on Route 66 as well as Action Figure by Washington DC based composer Armando Bayolo and Haiku Catharsis by Philadelphia composer David Ludwig, as well as Chris Chandler’s the resonance after…, the winning work of AME’s Fifth Annual Composition Competition. All of the composers will be in the audience, $20

12/13, 8ish at the Knit, hilarious, politically incorrect X-rated faux girl-group punks Cudzoo & the Fagettes,$10

12/14, 9 PM alt-country husband-and-wife duo Bruce Robison and Kelly Willis at Bowery Ballroom, $25.

12/14 Miss Tess & the Bon Ton Parade play torchy swing jazz and countrypolitan songs at Rodeo Bar, 10:30 PM

12/15 cruel choice at 7 PM at the Rockwood: intense lyrical rocker Matt Keating in the small room or haunting Middle Eastern tinged art-rock trio Deoro feat. chanteuse Dina Fanai in the big one? Maybe shuttle between rooms?

12/15, 9:30 PM at the Tank: Dialogues of Silence by Sabrina Lastman, Armored Old Banger by Marcos Wasem & Out of the Word, into the Sound by Ernesto Estrella Cózar: existentialist multiamedia poetry; poems based on excerpts taken from interviews to Israeli soldiers on duty in checkpoints in the occupied territories during the 02-03 intifada and sonically reprocessed poems from the Hispanic tradition, $10

12/16, 1 PM pianist Akimi Fukuhara plays a free lunchtime show at Trinity Church.

12/16, singer-songwriter Rebecca Martin airs out her jazz book with Bill McHenry on tenor sax and Larry Grenadier on bass, 7:30/9:30 PM at the Jazz Standard, $20

12/16-17, 8 PM and repeating on 12/18 at 2 PM and 8 PM, the Paul Winter Consort plays their annual solstice shows at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine with Armenian vocalist Arto Tunçboyaciyan, gospel singer Theresa Thomason and the Forces of Nature Dance Theatre, who lit up the show last year. The Consort includes Paul Winter, soprano sax, double-reed master Paul McCandless, Eugene Friesen on cello, keyboardist Paul Sullivan, percussionists Jamey Haddad and Bill Cahn and Tim Brumfield on the Cathedral’s pipe organ. $35 tix avail.

12/16-18, 7:30 PM and repeating 12/19 at 3 PM, Craig Harris’ God’s Trombones – a musical interpretation of James Weldon Johnson’s 1927 collection of poems – at Aaron Davis Hall uptown, $35 adv tix highly rec.

12/16, 8:30 PM Balthrop Alabama play a Xmas show at the Atrium at Lincoln Center, free, get there at least a half hour early or get shut out. Just letting you know a little ahead of time.

12/16 Brubeck-esque jazz composer and pianist Fahir Atakoglu at Drom, 9 PM, $25 adv tix rec

12/16, 9/10:30 PM the Alan Ferber Nonet with Strings at the Jazz Gallery, $20.

12/16, 10 PM jazz/Americana guitarist/banjoist Matt Munisteri at Barbes

12/16, 10:30 PM AwShockKiss at the Mercury, $10. Retro 80s anthemic pop in the best possible retro way – good tunes, catchy choruses, a soulful, fiery frontwoman in Kiri Jewell and smart songwriting by multi-instrumentalist Stef Bassett. Last spring they played one of the best shows we’ve seen this year.

12/17, 7:30 PM Erin & Her Cello’s full-band “holiday spectacular” at the big room at the Rockwood.

12/17 the amazingly psychedelic Electric Junklyard Gamelan with their hypnotic beats and homemade instruments at Barbes 8 PM followed at 10 by the carnivalesque hot 20s jazz sounds of Brian Carpenter’s Ghost Train Orchestra

12/17, 80s Americana rock legends Beat Radio followed by the raucous acoustic Americana of the Woes at Rock Shop in Gowanus, 8 PM, $TBA

12/17, 9 PM Pierre de Gaillande’s Bad Reputation plays his incredibly clever English translations of Georges Brassens song feat. special guests Joel Favreau (Brassens’ lead guitarist), and Jean Jacques Franchin at the 92YTribeca, $15.

12/17-18, 9/10:30 PM jazz guitarist Rez Abbasi’s Invocation: Vijay Iyer, piano; Rudresh Mahanthappa, alto saxophone; Johannes Weidenmueller, bass; Dan Weiss, drums at the Cornelia St. Café, $15

12/17, Causing A Tiger: Carla Kihlstedt (violin, vocals) Matthias Bossi (drums, piano, vocals) Shahzad Ismaily (electric bass) 10 PM at the Stone, $10.

12/17 the Boss Guitars play surf classics and obscurities at Lakeside, 11 PM

12/18 this year’s New York area Unsilent Night procession takes place on December 18, leaving at 7 PM at the arch at Washington Square Park and marching to Tompkins Square Park. Arrival by about 6:40 PM is advised.

12/18 at Trash hilarious, ferocious anti-gentrification rockers the Brooklyn What’s monthly kick-ass rock night starting with the Proud Humans at 8 followed by New Atlantic Youth, Pistols 40 Paces, the Highway Gimps (the missing link between My Bloody Valentine and Motorhead), the Brooklyn What and then Mussles. Open bar on PBR/wells from 8-9. What a great night.

12/18, 8 PM the ferociously funny, politically charged all-star Citizens Band at Highline Ballroom, $35.

12/18, 8 PM legendary third-wave ska/soul band the Slackers at Brooklyn Bowl, $12 tix rec.

12/18, 8 PM the NY Philharmonic’s exciting cutting-edge new music series Contact at Symphony Space, $21.

12/18, 8 PM and repeating 12/19, 3 PM Trio Vela play Mozart, Tschaikovsky and Rachmaninoff’s legendary Trio Elegiaque at Bargemusic, $35, $30 srs./$15 stud

12/18, 10 PM Roots Vibration play roots reggae at Shrine.

12/18 the hellraising Jack Grace Band play classic 60s style country from their excellent new album Drinking Songs for Lovers at Rodeo Bar, 10:30 PM.

12/18 smart, funny, X-ish Americana punk rockers Spanking Charlene at Lakeside, 11 PM

12/18, midnight, lyrical Americana rocker Derek James and band at the big room at the Rockwood. His first album was excellent. His second one was beautifully produced but not so good. Worth seeing what he’s up to now.

12/19, 3 PM the Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra plays Saint-Saens: La Muse et Le Poete with Judy Spokes, violin and David Cho, cello followed by Dvorak: Symphony #6 at St. Ann’s Church in downtown Brooklyn.

12/19, 8 PM dreampop with Su (ex-Susu), assaultive free jazz with Talibam and then legendary psychedelic/noir rocker Martin Bisi with his old pal Bill Laswell at the Knit, $8 dirt cheap

12/19, 10 PM noirish art-folk siren Larkin Grimm and legendary, charismatic noir psychedelic art-rocker (and Sonic Youth producer) Martin Bisi at the Knit.

12/21, 9 PM charming, virtuosic oldtimey swing/blues band Lake Street Dive at the small room of the Rockwood followed by torchy chanteuse Marilyn Carino and bassist Ben Rubin of Mudville – who sound like Goldfrapp but better – at 11.

12/21, 9 PM Americana pop/rocker Craig Chesler, Bliss Blood’s barrelhouse blues project Delta Dreambox at 10 and then boisterious oldtimey trombonist J. Walter Hawkes at the Jalopy, $5

12/22, 9 PM intense, unpredictable Balkan party band Raya Brass Band at Radegast Hall.

12/22, 9:30 PM trombonist Alan Ferber leads his tuneful, cutting-edge Nonet at Smalls

12/23, 7:30 PM the Sweet Divines’ Holiday Soul Spectacular with special guests Maxine Brown and Eli “Paperboy” Reed at the Atrium at Lincoln Center, get there early.

12/23 lush, romantic, innuendo-driven French chanson revivalists les Chauds Lapins at Barbes at 8.

12/23 a rare reunion show by one of the best bands ever to come out of NYC, the Hangdogs – the missing link between Waylon Jennings and the Dead Kennedys – at Rodeo Bar, 10:30 PM

12/24 Bill Ware – the noir genius from the Jazz Passengers – leads his vibraphone combo at Puppets Jazz Bar, 9 PM.

12/24 eclectic world music/Middle Eastern/rock guitarist Demir Demirkan at Drom, 10 PM, $25 adv tix rec.

12/25, 8:30 PM at the Sixth St. Synagogue the unstoppable big-band golem Ayn Sof Arkestra & Bigger Band, trumpet star Frank London’s Hasidic New Wave, the klezmer/bop synthesis of Paul Shapiro’s Midnight Minyan, ancient/modern Jewish power trio Rashanim with Jon Madof on guitar, Shanir Ezra Blumenkranz on bass and Mathias Kunzli on drums, and Pitom, guitarist and composer Yoshie Fruchter’s Jewish jazz-punk-country-metal hybrid. Acts will probably perform in reverse order. $20 adv tix very highly rec.

12/26 kick-ass intelligent hip-hop with Strong Arm Steady, Jean Grae and Talib Kweli plus special guests at Highline Ballroom, 10PM, adv tix $22 very highly rec.

12/26, 10:30 PM colorful, phantasmagorical metal satirists Gwar at the Nokia Theatre, $22.50.

12/27 Daria Grace’s charming obscure swing revivalists the Pre-War Ponies at Rodeo Bar, 10:30 PM

12/28-30 the Dr. Lonnie Smith Trio at the Jazz Standard 7:30/9:30 PM $30 ($35 on 12/30); 1/2 he’s playing a new trio show with Neel Murgai on sitar and Sameer Gupta on tabla.

12/28, 9:30 PM the John Farnsworth Quartet with Jeremy Pelt: John Farnsworth – tenor sax , Jeremy Pelt – trumpet , Lucas Brown – organ , Peppe Merolla – drums at Smalls

12/28-30 the annual rent party at the Stone. A cynic would say this is a lot of usual suspects – but it’s a hell of a cast of suspects! Ned Rothenberg, Sylvie Courvoisier, Dave Douglas, Peter Evans, Erik Friedlander, Brandon Ross, Zeena Parkins, etc., and John Zorn leading the jams. $20, sets at 8/10 PM, check the club calendar for the various nights’ lineups.

12/30 the Grey Race at the small room at the Rockwood 10 PM.

12/30 eerie bluespunks the Five Points Band at Rodeo Bar, 10:30 PM

12/31 at Puppets Jazz Bar “legendary jazz all-stars playing all night long” which is no joke – and it’s free and you get champagne at midnight, no cover but donations to help pay the rent are gladly accepted

12/31 the most lyrical and probably most cost-effective New Years Eve show is Black 47 at Connolly’s – they’re just far enough away from Times Square amateur city for you to make your getaway via an east side train.

12/31 the gypsiest New Years Eve show is at Mehanata with Kagero at 9:30 PM.

12/31 the most goth New Years Eve show in NYC is Kristin Hoffmann and NLX at Caffe Vivaldi, 10ish

12/31 the most bang for your buck New Years Eve show is at Maxwell’s with the Detroit Cobras at 10:30 followed by the Fleshtones, $20 adv tix at the club and at Other Music.

12/31 the only possibly tourist/gentrifier-free New Years Eve show  in the East Village is Tammy Faye Starlite’s side-splittingly funny Stones cover band the Mike Hunt Band at Lakeside, 11 PM

12/31 this year’s most danceable New Years Eve show is retro 60s latin soul/bugalu revivalists Spanglish Fly at Barbes, 11 PM, $15.

12/31 if you want to avoid the tourists on the LES on New Years Eve, the Birdhive Boys are playing bluegrass at the National Underground, 11 PM

1/1 Gogol Bordello at Terminal 5, 10 PM, $35 adv tix onsale now.

1/5 “Phil Ochs: There But For Fortune,” the new film about the iconic lyrical rocker premieres at the IFC Center (a.k.a. the Waverly

1/7-8/11 Winter Jazzfest is coming; just to give you a heads-up, last year’s (known as the Undead Jazz Festival) was amazing by all accounts.

1/9 Globalfest at Webster Hall, 3 stages including Ballaké Sissoko & Vincent Segal, Creole Choir of Cuba, Diblo Dibala, Kaumakaiwa Kanaka’ole, La-33, Mustafa Özarslan (U.S. debut), Novalima, Orquestra Contemporânea de Olinda, Pedro Martinez Project (not the ex-Red Sox hurler), RAM, Red Baraat, Rhythms of Rajastan, Yoro Ndiaye (U.S. debut), tix $35 before Nov 30 at the World Music Institute box office.

1/13 hypnotic Middle Eastern psychedelic rockers the Mast at Joe’s Pub

1/15 8 PM Tim Fite and O’Death at the Bell House $10 adv tix rec

1/15, 9 PM Elizabeth & the Catapult at the Music Hall of Williamsburg, $15.

1/24/11 the East Coast Chamber Orchestra (ECCO) at Advent Church, 93rd and Broadway, 7:30 PM, free.

1/28 hypnotic roots reggae grooves with Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad, 8 PM at the Nokia Theatre, $25

1/28, 9 PM cellist Marika Hughes plays the cd release show for her two new ones at the 92YTribeca with an unbelievable ensemble: Kyle Sanna—guitar, Shahzad Ismaily—guitar, Todd Sickafoose—bass, Mathias Kunzli—drums, plus special guests Jim Campilongo—guitar, Charlie Burnham—violin, Mazz Swift—violin, Jessica Troy—viola, Elana Arian—violin and Jenny Scheinman—violin, $12

2/2 Mr. Ho’s Orchestrotica, the “world’s only ensemble dedicated to the space-age big band music of Juan Garcia Esquivel,” 8 PM at Barbes.

2/4/11, 9 PM jazz/third-stream chanteuse/composer Sara Serpa with a first-rate band: Andre Matos- guitar; Kris Davis- piano; Matt Brewer-bass; Tommy Crane- drums, at the Cornelia St. Cafe. Serpa is scary-good, one of the most original singers and writers in any style around these days: her latest album with noir jazz piano legend Rank Blake is transcendent.

2/21 the Enso Quartet at Advent Church, 93rd and Broadway, 7:30 PM, free

3/18/11, 8 PM, repeating 3/19/11 at 9 PM at Symphony Space, legendary Lebanese expat oud icon/composer Marcel Khalife in the US premiere of his Concerto Al Andalus for oud and orchestra; Armenia’s most renowned kanun (zither) virtuoso, Karine Hovhannisyan, performing the concerto for kanun and orchestra by Khachatur Avetisyan; and clarinetist David Krakauer playing the NY premiere of the Klezmer Concerto by Ofer Ben-Amots for strings, harp, percussion and clarinet; plus the eclectic Orchestra Celebrate, conducted by Laurine Celeste Fox, $25 adv tix avail. at the World Music Institute box office and highly rec.

3/18/11 Richard Thompson at NJPAC in Newark – $35 tix still available according to their website