VILLAGE VARIETY

We jazz June, we thrive soon

Comments (0) By Jim Macnie Tuesday, Jun 8 2010

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It's best not to starve yourself before a rich repast—nibbling a bit helps the body gear up for the onslaught. With the Vision Fest and Carefusion bashes on the jazz horizon, the Undead Festival is the wise way to prime your palette. It's basically a twin of the celebrated Winter Jazzfest: three Village venues become a carousel of action, delivering 35-plus bands to Bleeckerville while engendering a trillion Tweets from hopped-up j'heads thriving on such overstimulation. It's also a nexus of now-prov leaders that arrives with a sub-agenda of youth, stretching from cornetist Taylor Ho Bynum to guitarist Mary Halvorson to saxophonist Ben Wendel. It's not about killing your idols, though. Roswell Rudd's elastic trombone, Steve Coleman's itchy alto, and Tim Berne's restless mind all bring crucial career lessons to the party.
Through June 13, (le) poisson rouge, 158 Bleecker Street; Kenny's Castaways, 157 Bleecker Street; Sullivan Hall, 214 Sullivan Street, undeadjazzfest.com
Sat., June 12; Sun., June 13, 2010