Welcome to Moment’s Notice, WRTI’s regular guide to the Philadelphia jazz scene. We’re here to tip you off to the best shows during the week ahead. Sign up now to receive this service in your inbox every week. And if you want to let us know about a show on the horizon, or share any other feedback, drop us a line!
Spotlight: Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis — Jan. 21, Verizon Hall
We’ve been in full celebration mode over the 100th birth anniversary of Max Roach, whose innovations at the drumset helped revolutionize jazz, and whose tireless political engagement did the same for American culture. Next Sunday, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis will focus on both aspects of Roach’s legacy in this special touring concert presentation. It falls the day after a two-night run at JALC’s home in New York, with music direction by drummer Obed Calvaire, and guest appearances by singer Shenel Johns and Chorale Le Chateau led by Damien Sneed. (If you’re reading this before the stroke of midnight, you can still enter to win a pair of tickets from WRTI.)
Jan. 21 at 5 p.m., Verizon Hall, Ensemble Arts Philly, 300 South Broad Street, $55 to $95, tickets and information.
My Words Are Music — Thursday, Solar Myth
Released last year, My Words Are Music: A Celebration of Sun Ra's Poetry sets out to do precisely what its title implies — celebrate the poetical side of our music’s most celebrated intergalactic traveler. The album naturally opens with a recitation by Arkestra bandleader and saxophonist Marshall Allen, who leads his Ghost Horizons at Solar Myth this week, with guests including Jive Poetic, Mahogany L. Browne, Tara Middleton and Abiodun Oyewole of The Last Poets, all of whom are featured on the album.
Jan. 18 at 8 p.m., Solar Myth, 1131 South Broad Street, $30; tickets and information.
Brian Charette Organ Quartet — Friday at Chris’ Jazz Cafe
A Hammond B-3 organist with an approach both soulful and state-of-the-art, Brian Charette swings through town this weekend with a quartet featuring Ken Fowser on tenor saxophone, Matt Rotker Lynn on guitar and Brian Floody on drums. They’ll draw in part from Jackpot, a fine album released in 2022 and still in the Top 20 on the JazzWeek radio chart.
Jan. 19 at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m., Chris’ Jazz Cafe, 1421 Sansom Street, $25 to $100, with dinner packages; tickets and information.
Ghost-Note — Friday at Ardmore Music Hall
The two funkiest regular members of Snarky Puppy — drummer-keyboardist Robert “Sput” Searight and percussionist Nate Werth — form the core of Ghost-Note, a whip-smart band that can turn any groove into a full-body experience. This week brought the announcement of a new album, Mustard n’Onions, due out in the spring and featuring guests like Karl Denson and Marcus Miller. It’s a good bet we’ll get a preview of that material here.
Jan. 19 at 8 p.m., Ardmore Music Hall, 23 East Lancaster Avenue, Ardmore, PA, $25 to $55; purchase tickets.
Wolf Eyes and Anthony Braxton — Friday at Solar Myth
Composer, multireedist and educator Anthony Braxton is 78, and could be forgiven for focusing his energies on chamberlike or contemplative concerns. But there’s never been a complacent side to Braxton, who will roll into Philly this week with the industrial noise duo Wolf Eyes. It’s a pairing with ample precedent, and it never fails to wallop audiences. Brace for impact.
Jan. 19 at 8 p.m., Solar Myth, 1131 South Broad Street, $40; tickets and information.
