John Zorn (pictured left) is perhaps the closest thing to a demigod in the downtown New York City avant-garde music scene, so it’s appropriate that his record label is called Tzadik, which means “holy man” in Hebrew. And it’s fun to celebrate the experiments, outrages and achievements of unorthodox musicians, so the folks at Tzadik have somewhat arbitrarily chosen the upcoming 220th Tzadik release as a good excuse to have a Tzadik Festival and Celebration at the Tonic nightclub. The festival will continue until Oct. 6.
Notable performances from the jazz avant-garde include organist Jamie Saft playing his Sovlanut at 10 pm on Oct. 2, guitarist Marc Ribot performing Zorn’s Book of Heads at 8 pm on Oct. 4, violinist Mark Feldman going solo at 8 pm on Oct. 5, and a performance of Harry Partch’s 17 Lyrics of Li Po at 8 pm on Oct. 6.
Tonic is located at 107 Norfolk Street in lower Manhattan. For more information on upcoming shows, call 212-358-7501 or visit www.tonic107.com. For more information about upcoming releases from Tzadik, visit their website at www.tzadik.com.
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