Jim Black

An expertise in abstract designs gives the drummer a refreshingly wayward approach to trad time-keeping, but the raucous pummeling and florid crashes that he’s honed into a personal lingo over the last two decades provide his outfits with a sage physicality – it’s not impossible to see him as a Keith Moon of jazz improv. This week’s stretch of shows finds him in duets with percussionist Ches Smith, a trumpet hook up with Peter Evans, a threesome that features pianist Teddy Klausner, and the return of the long gone Bloodcount, the revered ‘90s quartet that includes Tim Berne, Chris Speed and Mike Formanek. Caprice is a bedrock element of the entire program.

March 25-30, 8 & 10 p.m., 2014