John Pizzarelli returns to the Mahaiwe in Great Barrington, Mass., on Saturday at 8 p.m., with a trio performance titled Stage & Screen. Pizzarelli’s newest show, with Michael Karn on bass and Isaiah J. Thompson on piano, focuses on music from the Broadway stage and the silver screen. Also at the Mahaiwe this weekend, Irish-Canadian music power couple Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy return with their show, A Celtic Family Christmas, on Sunday at 7 p.m. (Sat, Dec 16; Sun, Dec 17)
Multiple Grammy Award-nominee R&B singer-songwriter Emily King brings her unique blend of intimate soul-pop to Levon Helm Studios in Woodstock, N.Y., on Sunday at 8 p.m. On her latest album, Special Occasion, King shares a real-time exploration of the endless dimensions of heartbreak. In 2019, King’s “Look at Me Now” was nominated for a best R&B song Grammy, and in 2020, King was nominated again for her song “See Me.” (Sun, Dec 17)
The Levin Brothers bring their blend of jazz and rock to The Linda, WAMC’s Performing Arts Studio in Albany, N.Y., on Saturday at 8 p.m., and to the Colony in Woodstock, N.Y., on Sunday at 8 p.m. Between the two of them, the brothers have played for a who’s who in rock and jazz. Bassist Tony Levin is best known for his work with Peter Gabriel and King Crimson, and keyboardist Pete Levin has accompanied Miles Davis, Gil Evans, Jimmy Giuffre, Dave Brubeck, Annie Lennox, Charles Mingus, Jaco Pastorius, and Wayne Shorter. The quartet also includes Ken Gioffre on sax and flute and Jeff Siegel on drums. (Sat, Dec 16; Sun, Dec 17)
The New York City-based Talea Ensemble will bring its Solstice Concert, featuring Georg Friedrich Haas’s Solstices (2017) to PS21 in Chatham, N.Y., next Thursday, December 21, at 4:26 p.m., beginning precisely at sunset on the shortest day of the year to mark the passage from autumn to winter. Composed for performance by ten musicians in complete darkness, the absence of light adds a new lens to the ability to relate to sound, bringing together performers and audiences through intensive listening. (Thu, Dec 21)
Klezmer-Yiddish superstars Michael Alpert and Craig Judelman bring their In Der Heym / Down Home: Yiddish Music from the Ukrainian and American Heartlands program to the Woodstock Jewish Congregation in Woodstock, N.Y., next Thursday, December 21, at 7 p.m. In this intimate duo format, Alpert and Judelman present their personal take on Jewish fiddle tunes collected in Ukraine in the early 20th century, songs learned directly from native-born Yiddish culture bearers, as well their own original tunes and songs, evincing their decades of immersion in Eastern European, American, and Celtic folk music. (Thu, Dec 21)
ALSO OF NOTE:
Unsilent Night, Phil Kline’s moving boombox parade, takes place in Kingston, N.Y. on Fri, Dec 15, 6 p.m.
Crescendo performs holiday music at St. Paul’s Church in Stockbridge, Mass. on Sat, Dec 16, at 4 p.m. and at Trinity Church in Lakeville, Conn. on Sun, Dec 17, at 4 p.m.
Aaron Dilloway brings his experimental sounds to the Clark in Williamstown, Mass. on Sun, Dec 17, at 5 p.m.
And the Paul Winter Consort brings its Solstice Celebration to Troy Savings Bank Music Hall next Wed, Dec 20, 6 p.m.
Seth Rogovoy is editor of the Rogovoy Report, available at rogovoyreport.substack.com.
The views expressed by commentators are solely those of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect the views of this station or its management.