Ensemble Newsletter · August 3, 2026
Tony Bennett at 100, Andrew Cyrille at the Vanguard, and Cuban-Middle Eastern jazz in Bed-Stuy
NYC picks, jazz and classical, updated weekly
Three picks for the week of August 3, from a Columbus Circle big band to a Village Vanguard residency and a Brooklyn group that cannot decide between Havana and the Levant. It is an all-jazz week, and a deep one. Here is where we would be.
Joe Gransden Big Band: The Good Life — Dizzy's Club
Trumpeter Joe Gransden and his 16-piece big band mark Tony Bennett's centennial, on the day itself, with a full evening of golden-age swing. Expect the Sinatra-to-Armstrong standards that defined the era, carried by the easy groove a horn section this size was built for. It is the kind of Monday that argues against staying in.
Event details →Andrew Cyrille Quartet — Village Vanguard
Drummer Andrew Cyrille, an NEA Jazz Master whose touch has anchored the avant-garde for six decades, holds the Vanguard bandstand with a quartet built for texture: Bill Frisell on guitar, David Virelles on piano, Ben Street on bass. This is music that rewards leaning in, all color and conversation rather than fireworks. The run holds through Sunday, but the early nights tend to be the loose ones.
Event details →Itai Kriss & Telavana — Bar Lunàtico
Flutist Itai Kriss brings Telavana to Bar Lunàtico, a band that splices Middle Eastern melody onto Cuban timba and lets the two argue productively. The lineup runs deep, with trumpet, piano, bass, drums, and congas pushing the groove from both hemispheres at once. Two sets in Bed-Stuy, at a room whose kitchen is worth arriving early for.
Event details →