Friday Jan 8th: NYC Live Jazz Gigs

Enjoy your Friday evening with some great jazz:

Chris Botti
Blue Note, Dec. 14-Jan. 10 at 8 and 10:30 p.m.; at 7 and 10 p.m. on Dec. 31

Mr. Botti, whose adult-pop savvy and controlled but brooding trumpet sound have made him a global superstar, descends on the Blue Note every year around this time for an extended stay. This year, his 11th, the engagement began in mid-December and will stretch into the new year, with the usual array of unannounced guests and some special flair on New Year’s Eve.
— Nate Chinen, NYTimes

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Nicholas Payton Trio
Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, Frederick P. Rose Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Jan. 7-10 at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m.

A trumpeter of incisive prowess — and, in recent seasons, dauntless provocation — Nicholas Payton has often sounded best in the sparest settings, which bodes well for this engagement. Working with no pianist, he’ll lead a trio with two veteran collaborators, the bassist Vicente Archer and the drummer Herlin Riley.
— Nate Chinen, NYTimes

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Azar Lawrence Quartet: Tribute to McCoy Tyner
Club Bonafide, Jan. 7-9 at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m.

A powerful tenor saxophonist in the middle of a welcome career resurgence, Mr. Lawrence is best known for his association with the pianist McCoy Tyner, in the 1970s. (He was Mr. Tyner’s surrogate for John Coltrane in the years after Coltrane’s death.) So this tribute comes from a genuine place; it also features a killer rhythm section, with the pianist Benito Gonzalez, the bassist Gerald Cannon and (on Thursday and Jan. 8) the drummer Billy Hart.
— Nate Chinen, NYTimes

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George Cables Trio
Village Vanguard, Jan. 5-10 at 8:30 and 10:30 p.m.

Mr. Cables is a judicious and seasoned pianist whose extensive career as a sideman has finally taken a firm back seat to his profile as a composer-bandleader. He has a sparkling new album, “In Good Company,” that features the same regular partners found here: Essiet Essiet on bass and Victor Lewis on drums.
— Nate Chinen, NYTimes

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Steve Wilson’s Next Generation of Jazz
The Jazz Gallery, Jan. 8-9 at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m.

Mr. Wilson, a saxophonist with a clear and limber sound, has been, in the best possible sense, one of the stalwart utility men of his generation. (He’ll turn 55 next month.) He has also become a bandleader of vision, and with this engagement he uses his stature to showcase some undeniable younger talent: the trumpeter Riley Mulherkar, the pianist Chris Pattishall, the bassist Linda Oh and the drummer Ulysses Owens Jr.
— Nate Chinen, NYTimes

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Mike Moreno Quartet
Smalls Jazz Club, Jan. 8-9 at 10:30 p.m. to 1 a.m.

Mr. Moreno, a guitarist whose temperament runs cool but intense, has a superfine new album, “Lotus,” which builds on his streamlined and melodic vision for modern jazz. He draws from the album with a band featuring Shai Maestro on piano, Rick Rosato on bass and Kendrick Scott on drums.
— Nate Chinen, NYTimes

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Ali Jackson Presents the Classic Quintets
Jazz Standard, Jan. 7-10 at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m.

The drummer Ali Jackson generates a subtle but irresistible force when he plays, making even the smallest gestures advance his agenda of locomotion. He leads a lesson in form this weekend, exploring the repertory of some historic five-piece bands — including Louis Armstrong’s Hot Five and the Charlie Parker-Dizzy Gillespie Quintet — with help from Marcus Printup on trumpet, Craig Handy on tenor saxophone, Emmet Cohen on piano and Yasushi Nakamura on bass.
— Nate Chinen, NYTimes

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via GothamJazz