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I'm planning on going to Big Ears for the first time this year. I'm just attending Saturday and Sunday. I am going to buy a Saturday Premier pass and a Sunday General Admission pass because there are more must-sees for me on Saturday and I am guessing that Sunday may be less packed. Is this a good strategy?

Just saw additions to the Friday 1/11 marathon, so might try to leave work early to make it in time. 6:20pm Michael Formanek’s Very Practical Trio with Tim Berne and Mary Halvorson at Le Poisson Rouge 7:20pm Alina Engibaryan at SOBS 8:40pm Kurt Rosenwinkel at SOBS 9:40pm Aaron Parks ‘Little Big’ at Subculture 10:40pm Artifacts Trio at Zinc Bar 12:00am Avram Fefer's Calling All Spirits Trio at Zinc Bar 1:20am Tomas Fujiwara's Triple Double at Zinc Bar

I will be there for the Saturday 1/12 marathon. My tentative schedule is as follows. 6:20pm Vijay Iyer & Craig Taborn at Le Poisson Rouge 7:40pm Mathias Eick at Le Poisson Rouge 9:00pm Billy Hart Quartet at Le Poisson Rouge 10:40pm Allison Miller and Carmen Staaf ‘Science Fair’ at Subculture 12:00am JD Allen Encounters David Murray at Subculture 1:20am Kassa Overall Trio feat Mark Shim at Subculture

The schedules for the marathon on Friday and Saturday have been posted: Friday: http://www.winterjazzfest.com/marathon1/ Saturday: http://www.winterjazzfest.com/marathon2/ Too many greats shows, so it's hard to choose. Here's my tentative schedule so far--I may be checking out parts of sets where shows overlap. I am skipping out on Bill Frisell/Thomas Morgan duo so that I don't miss Marc Ribot & the Young Philadelphians. Anybody see Frisell and Thomas Morgan as a duo before? I know they've played at the Village Vanguard in the past as a duo. Fr 1/6 6:40pm Jonathan Finlayson & Sicilian Defense at New School Glass Box Theater 7:20pm Darcy James Argue's Secret Society at Subculture 8:20pm Andrew Cyrille / Bill McHenry Duo at New School Tishman Auditorium 9:40pm Songs of Freedom w/ Dee Dee Bridgewater, Theo Bleckmann, Alicia Olatuja and Music Director Ulysses Owens Jr at New School Tishman Auditorium 11:00pm Jason Moran & The Bandwagon play Monk at New School Tishman Auditorium 12:00am William Parker, Cooper Moore, Hamid Drake, Rob Brown Quartet at New School 12th Street Auditorium 2:00am Ilhan Ersahin's Istanbul Sessions at Nublu Sa 1/7 6:00pm Tomasz Stanko NY Quartet at New School Tishman Auditorium 7:00pm Mary Halvorson Octet at New School 5th Floor Theater 7:20pm Jakob Bro/Thomas Morgan/Joey Baron at New School Tishman Auditorium 8:40pm Ravi Coltrane/David Virelles duo at New School Tishman Auditorium 9:20pm Terri Lyne Carrington & Social Science at SOBs 10:40pm Marc Ribot Young Philadelphians at SOBs 12:00am Ben Wendel Seasons Band at New School Glass Box Theater Updated itinerary as of January 1st: Fr 1/6 6:00pm Tomeka Reid at New School 5th Floor Theater 6:40pm Jonathan Finlayson & Sicilian Defense at New School Glass Box Theater 7:20pm Brian Drye’s Bizingas at New School 5th Floor Theater 8:20pm Andrew Cyrille / Bill McHenry Duo at New School Tishman Auditorium 9:40pm Songs of Freedom w/ Dee Dee Bridgewater, Theo Bleckmann, Alicia Olatuja and Music Director Ulysses Owens Jr at New School Tishman Auditorium 11:00pm Jason Moran & The Bandwagon play Monk at New School Tishman Auditorium 12:00am William Parker, Cooper Moore, Hamid Drake, Rob Brown Quartet at New School 12th Street Auditorium 12:40am Marvin Sewell Group at New School 5th Floor Theater 2:00am Ilhan Ersahin's Istanbul Sessions at Nublu Sa 1/7 6:00pm Peter Evans Sextet at Subculture 7:00pm Mary Halvorson Octet at New School 5th Floor Theater 7:20pm Jakob Bro/Thomas Morgan/Joey Baron at New School Tishman Auditorium 8:40pm Ravi Coltrane/David Virelles duo at New School Tishman Auditorium 10:00pm Bill Frisell/Thomas Morgan duo at New School Tishman Auditorium 10:40pm Ben Allison's Think Free at New School Glass Box Theater 12:00am Ben Wendel Seasons Band at New School Glass Box Theater 1:00am Braxton Cook at Zinc Bar

I can't make it, but wish I could. This is what I would check out. It would be hard to deviate from any of the ECM shows on the 16th. 1/15 6:00pm Matana Roberts solo 7:00pm Alicia Hall Moran with Brandon Ross 8:00pm Craig Taborn solo 9:00pm Avishai Cohen Quartet 10:00pm Ches Smith / Craig Taborn / Mat Maneri 10:40pm Dave King Trucking Company 12:00am Oscar Noriega Quartet 12:40am David Virelles Mboko 1/16 6:00pm Michael Formanek Ensemble Kolossus 7:20pm Theo Bleckmann Elegy 8:40pm Chris Potter Quartet 10:00pm Tim Berne's Sideshow 11:20pm Ralph Alessi Quartet 12:40am Ethan Iverson / Mark Turner

I haven't seen anything (except for Kurt Rosenwinkel) since moving to Seoul in July, but here are my highlights of 2015 chronologically: 1/9 Aaron Parks Little/Big at SubCulture/Winter Jazz Fest 3/1 Robert Glasper Trio at Village Vanguard 3/20-21 Wayne Shorter Quartet at Detroit Symphony Orchestra and the Palladium 5/3 Ghost Quartet at McKittrick Hotel 6/7 Wadada Leo Smith Golden Quartet at Brooklyn Conservatory of Music 6/13 Jack DeJohnette Trio with Ravi Coltrane & Matthew Garrison at the Hamilton 6/29 Becca Stevens Band at the Dakota 6/30 Charles Lloyd Quartet at the Dakota

So, I'm not going to the Vision Festival, but will be coming up to NYC anyway tomorrow for a jazz excursion before I move overseas: (1) Roy Nathanson's Jazz Passengers at Barbes; (2) Russell Malone Quartet at the Vanguard; and (3) John Scofield Trio at Birdland.

I came up from DC for Tuesday's line-up. The sound was not great. Washed out and muddled. Despite that, I still enjoyed Roscoe Mitchell's set. I was excited about Saturday's line-up, but unfortunately, won't be making another trip up because of the sound. I don't think there were any attempts to treat the room to improve the acoustics.

The line-up for the Iowa City Jazz Festival looks appealing, especially July 3rd and 4th which includes Rudresh Mahanthappa's Bird Calls, Dave Douglas' High Risk, Whirlpool with Ron Miles, Julian Lage Trio, Ben Allison's Think Free, and Charles Lloyd Quartet. It will be 5 hour drive for me, however, so not sure if I'll make it. Has anyone been to the Iowa City Jazz Festival before? Any thoughts? http://www.summerofthearts.org/festival-menu/jazz-festival/schedule.aspx

Last night: Jack DeJohnette Trio w/ Ravi Coltrane & Matt Garrison and then Nicholas Payton Trio w/ Vincente Archer & Marcus Gilmore. Another double headliner tonight: AfroHORN and then Paal Nilssen-Love Large Unit!

Also, consider Ron Carter & Ethan Iverson duo at Mezzrow Thursday through Saturday. I come up on Saturday to see Wayne Shorter at Lincoln Center, so I might miss it myself unless the Wayne Shorter show ends early enough for me to catch the late set at Mezzrow.

I agree with the concerns regarding the venue. I only caught one show at the Judson Memorial Church during the last Winter Jazz Fest, and the sound wasn't good from the back of the room where I was standing.

The 20th Vision Festival schedule has been posted. It takes place in July (rather than June) and at the Judson Memorial Church. I am looking forward to the line-ups on Tuesday and Saturday the most. http://www.artsforart.org/event/vf20/schedule

I just bought tickets to the 10:30 Charles Lloyd set at the Vanguard. I will also be seeing Tony Malaby's Paloma Recio at the Greenwich House the same night at 7:30, so I'm quite excited about this NYC trip.

I just checked out the festival website and it looks like Jack DeJohnette's Made in Chicago was added to Saturday's lineup!

Your recommendations are usually spot on for me. Luckily, I will be catching ICP at the Windup Space in Baltimore on January 7th just before the Winter Jazzfest.

Anyone else as excited as me about the festival? I am about 90% sure about the following schedule. I might stick around NYC on Sunday to see Kenny Werner Trio with Johannes Weidenmueller & Ari Hoenig at the Stone and Kurt Rosenwinkel at the Vanguard. Fr 1/9 18:15 Wallace Roney Quintet at Bitter End 19:30 David Murray Clarinet Summit at Minetta 20:45 David Murray, Geri Allen, and Terri Lyne Carrington at Minetta 22:00 TRIO 3 w/ Oliver Lake, Reggie Workman, Andrew Cyrille at Minetta 23:00 Kris Davis Infrasound at Subculture 00:15 Uri Caine / Han Bennink at Subculture 01:30 Aaron Parks Little/Big at Subculture Sa 1/10 18:30 Myra Melford's Snowy Egret at Zinc Bar 19:45 Mark Turner Quartet at Zinc Bar 20:45 The Cookers at Minetta 22:00 Rudresh Mahanthappa's Bird Calls at Minetta 22:45 Jen Shyu's “Solo Rites: Seven Breaths” at Players 00:00 Eivind Opsvik's Overseas at Players 00:45 Nasheet Waits Equality Quartet at Zinc Bar 01:45 Walter Smith III at Bitter End Su 1/11 20:00 Kenny Werner Trio with Johannes Weidenmueller & Ari Hoenig at Stone 22:30 Kurt Rosenwinkel New Quartet at Village Vanguard

Ah! Makes sense. Apparently some of the performances from the concert are online here. Terrific and thanks. I was at the Chicago Jazz Festival for this. Re-listening to the music made my night.

My tentative itinerary is in bold text. The other shows (not in bold text) are just in case I change my mind. I'm passing up a lot of good groups because I've seen them before. FRIDAY 6:15pm Wallace Roney Quintet (Bitter End) 6:30pm Donald Byrd Acoustic Electric Sessions (Le Poisson Rouge) 7:30pm David Murray Clarinet Summit w/ Don Byron, David Krakauer, and Hamiet Bluiett (Minetta) 7:45pm ICP Orchestra (Le Poisson Rouge) 8:00pm Russ Johnson's Still Out To Lunch (Judson) 8:30pm Taylor Eigsti's Free Agency (Subculture) 8:45pm David Murray w/ Geri Allen and Terri Lyne Carrington (Minetta) 9:15pm Dave Douglas Quintet (Judson) 9:45pm Tyshawn Sorey Piano Trio (Subculture) 10:00pm TRIO 3 w/ Oliver Lake, Reggie Workman, Andrew Cyrille and special guest TBA (Minetta) 11:00pm Kris Davis Infrasound (Subculture) 11:15pm Marc Ribot & The Young Philadelphians with Strings (Minetta) 11:15pm Marcus Strickland's Twi-Life feat. Jean Baylor (Bitter End) 11:30pm Allison Miller’s Boom Tic Boom (Zinc Bar) 12:15am Uri Caine / Han Bennink (Subculture) 12:30am Strange and Beautiful: The Music of John Lurie and The Lounge Lizards (Minetta) 1:30am Aaron Parks Little/Big (Subculture) 1:45am Nate Smith + KINFOLK (Bitter End) SATURDAY 6:15pm Oliver Lake Organ Quartet (Bitter End) 6:30pm Myra Melford's Snowy Egret (Zinc Bar) 6:45pm Theo Bleckman Quartet w/ Ambrose Akinmusire (Judson) 7:00pm Dan Weiss Large Ensemble (Players) 7:45pm Mark Turner Quartet (Zinc Bar) 8:00pm Ken Vandermark - Nate Wooley Duo (Judson) 8:15pm Darius Jones Quartet (Players) 8:30pm Lionel Loueke Trio (Subculture) 8:45pm The Cookers (Minetta) 9:00pm David Murray Infinity Quartet w/ Saul Williams (Le Poisson Rouge) 9:15pm Ambrose Akinmusire Quartet (Judson) 9:45pm SFJAZZ Collective: Originals and the Music of Michael Jackson (Subculture) 10:00pm Rudresh Mahanthappa's Bird Calls (Minetta) 10:45pm Ryan Keberle & Catharsis (Players) 12:00am Eivind Opsvik's Overseas (Players) 12:30am Nicholas Payton Trio (Minetta) 12:15am JD Allen Trio w/ Gregg August & Rudy Royston (Subculture) 12:45am Nasheet Waits Equality Quartet (Zinc Bar) 1:45am Walter Smith III (Bitter End)

The marathon schedules for Friday and Saturday have been posted. I would check the website for the latest updates, but here is the schedule as of December 10th. Commentary on what not to miss is invited! FRIDAY, JANUARY 9TH https://winterjazzfest.squarespace.com/marathon1 LE POISSON ROUGE 158 Bleecker Street NY NY 10012 6:30pm Donald Byrd Acoustic Electric Sessions 7:45pm ICP Orchestra 9:00pm Kneebody + Daedelus MINETTA LANE THEATRE - 18-22 Minetta Lane New York, NY 10003 6:15pm TBA 7:30pm David Murray Clarinet Summit w/ Don Byron, David Krakauer, and Hamiet Bluiett 8:45pm David Murray w/ Geri Allen and Terri Lyne Carrington 10:00pm TRIO 3 w/ Oliver Lake, Reggie Workman, Andrew Cyrille and special guest TBA 11:15pm Marc Ribot & The Young Philadelphians with Strings 12:30am Strange and Beautiful: The Music of John Lurie and The Lounge Lizards JUDSON CHURCH - 55 Washington Square Park South 6:45pm Jason Miles & Ingrid Jensen "Kind Of New” 8:00pm Russ Johnson's Still Out To Lunch (Music of Eric Dolphy) 9:15pm Dave Douglas Quintet 10:30pm Travis Laplante's Battle Trance 11:45pm So Percussion feat. Man Forever 1:00am Improvised Round Robin Duets SUBCULTURE - 45 Bleecker Street NYC 6:00pm Arturo O'Farrill's "Boss Level" Septet 7:15pm Linda Oh's Sun Pictures 8:30pm Taylor Eigsti's Free Agency 9:45pm Tyshawn Sorey Piano Trio 11:00pm Kris Davis Infrasound 12:15am Uri Caine / Han Bennink 1:30am Aaron Parks Little/Big THE BITTER END - 147 Bleecker Street NYC (Revive Music Stage) 6:15pm Wallace Roney Quintet 7:30pm The Baylor Project feat. Jean Baylor and Marcus Baylor 8:45pm AFRO HARPING: Brandee Younger's Tribute to Dorothy Ashby feat. Mark Whitfield 10:00pm Igmar Thomas and The Cypher 11:15pm Marcus Strickland's Twi-Life feat. Jean Baylor 12:30am Raymond Angry Celebration of Life Suite 1:45am Nate Smith + KINFOLK THE PLAYERS THEATER - 115 MacDougal Street NYC 7:00pm Joe Locke 'Love Is A Pendulum' 8:15pm Oran Etkin 'Reimagining Benny Goodman 9:30pm Mike Pride's From Bacteria To Boys 10:45pm Jen Shyu’s 'Solo Rites: Seven Breaths' 12:00am Marquis Hill Blackout 1:15am Michael Bates Northern Spy ZINC BAR - 82 West 3rd Street NYC 6:30pm TBA 7:45pm Alicia Olatuja 9:00pm Allan Harris 10:15pm Dafnis Prieto Sextet 11:30pm Allison Miller’s Boom Tic Boom 12:45am Bria Skonberg 2:00am TBA BOWERY ELECTRIC - 327 Bowery NYC 6:30pm TBA 7:45pm The MazzMuse Breakdown 9:00pm Jungle Funk 10:15pm Zongo Junction CARROLL PLACE - 157 Bleecker Street NYC 6:00pm Jovan Alexandre & Collective Consciousness 7:15pm Chris Washburne SYOTOS plays Acid Mambo 8:30pm Anthony Pirog 9:45pm Jay Rodriguez SEVEN 11:00pm Todd Clouser A Love Electric 12:15am Silver with Eddie Henderson 1:30am Frank Catalano SATURDAY, JANUARY 10TH https://winterjazzfest.squarespace.com/marathon2 LE POISSON ROUGE 158 Bleecker Street NY NY 10012 6:30pm Edmar Castaneda Trio w/ Andrea Tierra 7:45pm TBA 9:00pm David Murray Infinity Quartet w/ Saul Williams MINETTA LANE THEATRE 18-22 Minetta Lane New York, NY 10003 6:15pm Kavita Shah 7:30pm Amina Claudine Myers Trio 8:45pm The Cookers 10:00pm Rudresh Mahanthappa's Bird Calls (The Charlie Parker Project) 11:15pm TBA 12:30am Nicholas Payton Trio JUDSON CHURCH 55 Washington Square Park South 6:45pm Theo Bleckman Quartet w/ Ambrose Akinmusire 8:00pm Ken Vandermark - Nate Wooley Duo 9:15pm Ambrose Akinmusire Quartet 10:30pm The Campbell Brothers A Sacred Steel Love Supreme 11:45pm TBA SUBCULTURE 45 Bleecker Street NYC 6:00pm TBA 7:15pm Alfredo Rodríguez Trio 8:30pm Lionel Loueke Trio 9:45pm SFJAZZ Collective: Originals and the Music of Michael Jackson 11:00pm Harriet Tubman 12:15am JD Allen Trio w/ Gregg August & Rudy Royston 1:30am TBA THE BITTER END 147 Bleecker Street NYC (Revive Music Stage) 6:15pm Oliver Lake Organ Quartet 7:30pm Matthew Stevens 8:45pm Soul Understated feat. Mavis Swan Poole 10:00pm Mad Satta 11:15pm Butcher Brown 12:30am Taylor McFerrin 1:45am Walter Smith III THE PLAYERS THEATER 115 MacDougal Street NYC 7:00pm Dan Weiss Large Ensemble 8:15pm Darius Jones Quartet 9:30pm Tomas Fujiwara & The Hookup 10:45pm Ryan Keberle & Catharsis 12:00am Eivind Opsvik's Overseas 1:15am The Cellar and Point ZINC BAR 82 West 3rd Street NYC 6:30pm Myra Melford's Snowy Egret 7:45pm Mark Turner Quartet 9:00pm Hadar Noiberg Trio 10:15pm Kellylee Evans 11:30pm Mino Cinelu World Jazz Ensemble 12:45am Nasheet Waits Equality Quartet 2:00am Loston Harris Trio BOWERY ELECTRIC 327 Bowery NYC 6:30pm Jaimeo Brown Transcendence: Work Songs 7:45pm Dana Leong Trio 9:00pm Ilhan Ersahin's Istanbul Sessions 10:15pm Troker CARROLL PLACE 157 Bleecker Street NYC (Hot Jazz Festival Night) 6:15pm Martina DaSilva's Ladybugs w/ Kate Davis 7:30pm Dan Levinson's Gotham SophistiCats 8:45pm Stephane Wrembel Band 10:00pm Catherine Russell 11:15pm David Ostwald's Louis Armstrong Eternity Band 12:30am Frank Vignola and Friends 1:45am Cynthia Sayer & Her Joyride Band

Yes, they eventually post set times and locations. I'm not sure when they will, however.

I may make it up to Baltimore for both the Ran Blake and Mat Maneri & Lucian Ban New Quintet shows as well. I was debating between Robert Glasper Experiment at Birchmere and Mat Maneri/Lucian Ban at Windup Space (especially to see Billy Hart), but the Glasper show sold out, so the decision has been made for me! BTW, are there any videos or recordings of the Mat Maneri & Lucian Ban Quintet material online, e.g. from when they played in NYC? If I recall correctly, I passed up seeing them at Cornelia Street Cafe for a show at the Stone with Milford Graves/Evan Parker.

The lineup continues to expand with website updates! I already have 30 acts I've marked to see, but I'll have to wait for the schedule of set times before making my itinerary.