TYSHAWN SOREY
Village Vanguard178 7th Avenue South, New York 10014
Tyshawn Sorey is billed for a trio performance at Village Vanguard. The event materials supplied here do not name his fellow musicians, so this is a trio setting without a confirmed lineup for the night. The music will be heard in the Vanguard’s triangular basement room, where the stage sits at its point and tables fan out toward it; the club asks for silence before the concert begins.
Newark-born Sorey is a composer and multi-instrumentalist whose work spans drums and percussion, piano, and trombone. He is known for bringing composition and improvisation into close contact, an approach his label describes as exploring “the intersection between improvisation and composition.” His collaborators include Vijay Iyer, John Zorn, Wadada Leo Smith, Anthony Braxton, Steve Coleman, and Dave Douglas. Writing about Sorey’s trio work, The New York Times called the music “quietly stunning,” while critic That Gene Seymour praised its “austere, simple-but-spacious approach.” The Guardian wrote that the group’s standard-song interpretations “don’t sound like anybody else’s.”
A narrow basement staircase leads to a triangular room with a red curtain and a stage at the point, where musicians play for a small audience of 123. Tables open like spokes from the stage, and the walls hold portraits of jazz legends. The acoustics are excellent, and the only sound before the music begins is the hum of the room. No food is served, only drinks at a bar. Shows start at 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m., with seating beginning at 7:00 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. respectively. The atmosphere is focused entirely on the music, with silence requested before the concert begins.