Suga in My Bowl radio presents a new feature, On The Bandstand where we collect upcoming NYC area shows from current and past Suga’ guests.

Suga’ in My Bowl is off the air this week and next because of WBAI’s spring fund drive and will be back with a new show on June 1st. If you missed our Amiri Baraka premium, you can still pick one up with a pledge to WBAI. It’s a good excuse to check out our audio archives where we have an entire 4 years of shows for your Sunday night fix. But the music goes on, so we’ve got listings for you.

Pianist Harold Mabern leads a trio at Small’s on May 21st.

Bassist Christian McBride joins the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra at JALC’s Rose Theater on May 22nd and 23rd.

Pianist Randy Weston’s African Rhythms Quintet with bassist Alex Blake and saxophonist Billy Harper performs at the Jazz Standard from May 22nd to 25th. On May 31st, Weston will also lead an African Rhythms Quartet with bassist Alex Blake at the Concord Baptist Church of Christ in Brooklyn.
Photo: Randy Weston by Flickr user El Humilde Fotero del Pánico|Creative Commons/Some Rights Reserved.

Looking further ahead, drummer Jeff “Tain” Watts is at the Village Vanguard from May 27th-June 1st.

Tubist Howard Johnson will perform at the Eric Dolphy Jazz Fest in Montclair, NJ on May 30th.

Those up for a longer roadtrip might want to check out vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater and saxophonist Tia Fuller at Cape May NJ’s Exit Zero Jazz Fest, also on May 30th.

Though summer seems far off, the line-ups of some early NYC area jazz festivals and music series that feature jazz have been announced. In June, Arts for Art’s Vision Fest continues at Brooklyn’s Roulette and the Blue Note Jazz Fest returns at different venues. Those looking for free performances should check out NYC Parks’s Summerstage and Brooklyn’s Celebrate Brooklyn series in Prospect Park. We’ll have a fuller roundup of events later on in a separate post, but now’s a good time to start scanning the schedules.

That’s all for now. Suga’ in My Bowl is back on WBAI June 1st, but we’ll have another edition of “On the Bandstand” online here next Sunday with a fresh set of listings.

Hank Williams is an associate producer for Suga’ in My Bowl on WBAI Radio and webmaster for the Suga’ and Behind the Mic sites. He is also a PhD candidate in English and Africana Studies at the CUNY Graduate Center and teaches at Hunter and Lehman Colleges and The City College of New York.