On February 4, I’m going to perform a new through-composed piece, Dance Sonata, at Halyards in Gowanus. This work was commissioned by Dance Heginbotham and will get a proper premiere at Jacob’s Pillow this summer with choreography by John Heginbotham.

Dance Sonata is in four movements — Allegro, Andante, Scherzo, Rondo — and is completely written out. The piece may be played solo piano but will be even more effective with bass and drums; I will be joined by Dylan Reis and Vinnie Sperrazza both at Halyards and at the Pillow. (To be brutally frank, we are making the demo tape for John the next day and a little Brooklyn gig will be a good opportunity to tighten up the polyrhythms.)

The aesthetic of  Dance Sonata will be no surprise for those that have heard Pepperland or Concerto to Scale. I guess I have truly arrived at “my style” when it comes to formal composition. Well, I turn 47 in February, so it’s certainly about time!

At Halyards, Dylan, Vinnie, and I will also play some normal jazz to fill out the hour. We start at 8, Diego Voglino takes over for the second set. Donation.

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Easter Weekend, Friday and Saturday April 10 and 11: Ethan Iverson All -Star Quartet Featuring Al Foster, Chris Potter and Ben Street at Iridium.

The blurb:

Ethan Iverson was a founding member of The Bad Plus, who the New York Times said was, “…Better than anyone at melding the sensibilities of post-60’s jazz and indie rock.” Iverson has released two acclaimed albums on ECM in the last two years: Temporary Kings, a duo recital with Mark Turner, and Common Practice, a live quartet featuring Tom Harrell. He is a member of the Billy Hart Quartet and composes scores for the Mark Morris Dance Group and Dance Heginbotham. An interest in combining the very new with the very old led Iverson to start the website Do the Math, a beloved repository of wonky analysis and musician-to-musician interviews, and surely one reason Time Out New York selected Iverson as one of 25 essential New York jazz icons: “Perhaps NYC’s most thoughtful and passionate student of jazz tradition—the most admirable sort of artist-scholar.”

For this special engagement Iverson is joined by a truly formidable cast. Chris Potter is everyone’s favorite tenor saxophonist, a player who commands any idiom with style and virtuosity. Ben Street has joined Iverson in many collaborations and is widely regarded as one of the most swinging bassists in New York. However, the real star is Al Foster, the legendary drummer who was a key sideman with Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins, Joe Henderson, and many others. Iverson and Foster have played as a trio with Ron Carter, Christian McBride, and Larry Grenadier, but this is their first meeting in a quartet. Watch the sparks fly! The repertoire will include toe-tappers from Duke Ellington and Count Basie, steeplechases like “Giant Steps” and “Moment’s Notice” selected just for Mr. Potter, and new music written especially for this one-time-only engagement.