NICK DUNSTON - Melissa Almaguer - Eliana Fishbeyn
Close Up154 Orchard St, New York 10002
Nick Dunston brings a three-way electroacoustic encounter to Close Up with Melissa Almaguer and Eliana Fishbeyn. Dunston plays amplified washboard, Almaguer contributes tap dance, and Fishbeyn handles electronics, making the evening a meeting of percussive motion, amplified texture, and electronic sound. The program is presented in two sets.
Dunston is an acoustic and electroacoustic composer, improviser, and sound artist active in the Berlin and New York experimental music scenes. His work engages ancestral memory, materiality, embodiment, decolonization, and Afro-surrealism. The New York Times has called him an “indispensable player on the New York avant-garde,” while Pitchfork wrote of his 2022 trio album Spider Season: “Even in a trio setting, Dunston’s curiosity creates a plethora of possibilities. No two songs of his ever sound alike.” His collaborators include Marc Ribot, Vijay Iyer, Mary Halvorson, Tyshawn Sorey, Moor Mother, JACK Quartet, Son Lux, Ingrid Laubrock, and Dave Douglas. His latest album, the Afro-surrealist anti-opera COLLA VOCE, arrived in 2024, and his performing and improvising can also be heard on the Oscar-winning score for Everything Everywhere All at Once.
Close Up offers a focused jazz experience in a sleek, minimalist space on Manhattan's Lower East Side, where the sound system and acoustics bring every note into sharp relief. The venue features a small back room that invites close connection with the performers, creating a setting where music is the main event and distractions are minimal. Shows run six nights a week with multiple sets, encouraging a deep dive into the music rather than a casual night out. A bar serves Latin American-inspired bites and cocktails, complementing the listening experience without overwhelming it. The crowd tends to be attentive, drawn by the artist-driven programming that blends classic jazz traditions with fresh, innovative sounds. This is a place to settle in, listen closely, and savor the evolving jazz scene in a refined yet approachable environment.