YEAR THREE. More fun with tunes @recirculation.nyc ! This time with more DJs (@am_nazz @uptownvinylsupreme @oneshotbuddy @joshhubi @delaceiba @amirimikel & more) more vendors (@novakogram @karlheis @neckcarpenter @recordsbywoof @mikeshothoney @bretropalace & many more) and more coffee! (@cafeloiza ). Come on down! I'll be at the Recirculation / @wordupbooks table - come talk to me about these leadbelly 78s

I didn't make a big enough deal about the *one year anniversary* so will now mark the 14th month of Uptown Out! Thanks to the space and volunteer support @recirculation.nyc , we have had consistently great nights featuring our crew of Uptown- and Bronx-based improvisers--with a few special guests traveling from afar. Before we take a summer break, we have two noteworthy shows this weekend. // On Friday 6/20, @rasmoshe makes the trip Uptown to join me and @marceloalexi (...and maybe a 4th?...) for the first set, joined for our usual rotating second set by regulars @freebssn @lambiasematt @stephaniegriffinviola and Mary Cherney. // On Saturday 6/21, @acmpmusic hosts a unique @makemusicny workshop / concert event! The former is at 3:30pm, with @hilliardgreene @mattlavelle411 and @christophergordonforbes leading players of any ability in an improv workshop; the latter is a special edition of Matt's mighty 12 Houses band! (They will also be at @scholesstreetstudio Sunday playing in memorial to the great Claire Daly). // After that, #uptownout breaks til fall. Join us on 2nd Thursdays starting in September........

Circumstances have aligned to celebrate the album we released late last year, in a manner fitting to its creation: two guys in a room with a piano and a drumset, all acoustic. We will be playing songs from the album as well as channeling its qualities of exploration and reflection. // Sonic comrade @uptowndollyandvenus on the 1s and 2s, befores and afters. // @Recirculation has been on a tear with great music events in '25, so here is a chance to join in the vibes, in a welcoming late-afternoon format. 3/22/25 at 4pm// Our thanks again to everyone who helped us put the record together. (& If you can't make it the 22nd know that you can order the LP & download from our bandcamp page, or buy the record in Manhattan at Recirculation, @wordupbooks or @djrockandsoul )

March 1, 2025, 12pm-6pm. How do I know this year's Uptown Record Fair will be even better than last year's?? For starters we have many returning vendors (including the almighty @djrockandsoul !) plus promising newcomers bringing the heat. For another, the decks will once again be blessed by @delaceiba @oneshotbuddy / @uptownvinylsupreme , @am_nazz , now also joined by the great @eliefibrasil and the master of ceremony-ing skills of @maniphes . Some gracious neighbors have donated a slew of classic wax for our own @recirculation.nyc / @wordupbooks record table. AND we are pleased to supplement the Word Up collective's bake sale bonanza with the coffee stylings of @cafeloiza !! Come on down! Saturday March 1, 12pm-6pm Recirculation 876 Riverside Dr

🚨 @jazzfoundationofamerica x @wordupbooks collab @recirculation.nyc next Saturday--some of the finest musicians on planet earth take us to the cosmos. Arkestra alumni in small groups, on 2 stages. The galaxy's awaiting!🪐 Free and open to the public; please RSVP on withfriends

Our Uptown Out series @recirculation.nyc continues 2nd Thursdays in 2025. This week's edition features the grand debut of our new (old) piano!! Excited to get into it with @lambiasematt @freebssn Mary Cherney, and with Virg and Carol breaking in the keys.

Today is release day for our self-titled full-length! And first project on vinyl. // This one is (nearly) all original songs, composed spontaneously. A platform for some deep grooves--inspired by the Bronx, Uptown, Buffalo, and Detroit--it is also basically an exercise in free improvisation. Recorded in two sessions coming out of the pandemic, with @marceloalexi on an upright and @willglassbreaks on drums and engineering, it captures a vibe// Much gratitude to @jerkfacemccatkittens for deft mixing and editing, @harrisnewman12 for mastering, @mawski for design help, and @shots_fired_snap for the dope cover photo. Thanks to @jazzfoundationofamerica for use of the piano and office space. Pressed at Microforum. (Also thanks to @elbacanadian for the low key art direction)// LP and digital at our bandcamp page, link in bio. Streaming on all platforms too. 📸 #4 @rmariz78 from a show last year @_fouroneone_

Just about 25 years ago, a tall friendly guy I had met briefly before approached me at the pool table at the Miami Bar and asked if I would be interested in playing music sometime. He later told me that seeing me play a free jazz show (The Peter Turner Tree-O) in a Husker Du t-shirt had suggested that I might have the mix of styles that he was interested in exploring. Thus began a thrilling 4 year stint with Crackpot. // As a 19-year old raised on Dinosaur Jr and the Velvet Underground, it was all too much of a dream come true to be playing behind 3 gifted rockers (Chris Burns, Simon Fazakerley, Mike Burns) all more than 10 years my senior, who could burn through endless covers, write ace material, improvise with abandon, spin long humorous yarns at epic practices and, in the case of Chris, perform seemingly impossible feats like running across all the tabletops in the bar while playing a solo. My time in the band ended only because circumstances brought me to NYC, but Chris has remained my big brother in music ever since. We have done an occasional improv duo as Glass Burns, and generally kept up the thread, though regular song-based collaboration hasn't been practical, given that we're in different cities/countries. // By some dint of fate, at the tail end of the pandemic, the drummer who had been playing in Chris' Going Concerns was unable to make a long-germinating recording session that would capture some of Chris' finest material for the ages, and I got to do the record. (Alongside Joe Chamandy on guitar and Kate Erickson on bass + fun cameos; recorded in 48 hours by old pal Thierry Amar). 10 tunes, exactly half of them from back in the Crackpot days, and half of them newer and unsurprisingly awesome. Perennially stuck in my head gems like "My Monkey's on Fire" and "Hey There Miss Castanets" alongside new heaters "Slaphappy Days" and " Arsonhole", a brave and bonkers head-on confrontation with the fire that destroyed his home over a decade ago (also, I believe, the inspiration for the album title). // Kablooey! officially came out this weekend via @celluloidlunchrecords . Cause for celebration. It's on yer platforms and also on vinyl via their bandcamp.

Parlor entertainment harlem 32ND ANNUAL JAZZ AT THE MANSION CONCERT! SATURDAY AND SUNDAY AUGUST 24TH AND 25TH. 2P - 6P BOTH DAYS. FREE!

Uptown Out #3 this Thursday, @Recirculation w/ different combinations of @lambiasematt @hilliardgreene @stephaniegriffinviola & @freebssn // 876 Riverside Dr, at 160th St

Uptown Record Fair! March 9! @recirculation.nyc ! Boom! We've been working on this idea for a while, and are excited it's finally coming together. In addition to many fine vendors, excellent DJs, a bake sale vibe, and popcorn, we will be selling the last specialty items from Tom's collection....some finds to be found. Thanks to @cid_network for the awesome art and @ellenlindna for the lovely flyer! Many more talented folks on board for this one, more announcements to come. DM me if you're interested in tabling.

20 years ago today I drove a uhaul from Montreal to NYC. There's a longer story about losing the uhaul keys I'll have to tell another time, but for now what's been on my mind was how exciting it was, at that time, to be moving so close to the exact location of Hip Hop's point of origin. (In Washington Heights, about 2 miles from 1520 Sedgwick). It felt right to be celebrating 20 years in NYC at the same time as #hiphop50, the same week as a classic show (forgot 2 take pics as usual!!) with @_lexiglass_ (w/@marceloalexi ), hip hop band of my dreams, and also the same week that marks 10 years of dayjobbin' @jazzfoundationofamerica , an endless music education, endlessly rewarding. Playing @parlorentertainmentharlem 's amazing Jazz at the Mansion for I think the 4th time brought it all home. Above all, grateful to have created 2 New Yorkers. Shout out to them and to @elbacanadian , stuck home with covid this magical week.