Tickets: $25 at the door
Exceptet
Exceptet is an “eclectic” and “quirky” (New Yorker) New York-based 501(c)(3) new music septet that features violin/singer, clarinet, bassoon, trumpet, trombone, double bass, and percussion. Described as a “cleverly-named…pocket orchestra” that features a “chattering, post-minimalist sound” (New Sounds), “rambunctious, minimalist, alt-pop energy” (I Care If You Listen), and “excellent playing” that makes for “an appealing, imaginative listen” (Fanfare), Exceptet has played in various festivals and venues across America including Le Poisson Rouge, Roulette, Boston Conservatory, The Donald J. Farish Auditorium at the Providence Public Library, and they have been presented by Con Vivo Music in Jersey City, NJ, The Johnstone Foundation for New Music in Columbus, OH, The Ecstatic Music Festival and MATA Interval Series in New York, and more. They will additionally be featured in 2026 by the Bang On A Can Long Play Festival and Con Vivo. Exceptet is dedicated to commissioning new works from young and emerging composers, including a new work by Max Vinetz, which was generously funded by the Koussevitsky Music Foundation, and a new work by Rome Prize recipient Katherine Balch, which was generously funded by the Barlow Endowment. Exceptet’s debut album, which features “three ingenious pieces” (Fanfare) including Balch’s eponymous work, Tree Lines, was generously supported by The Aaron Copland Fund for Music Recording Grant and released on New Focus Recordings 2025. They were additionally awarded a 2025 Chamber Music America Ensemble Forward Grant to collaborate with consultant Michelle Zarco, and recorded an upcoming album of works by Brendon Randall-Myers which will be released on New Focus Recordings.
Brian Drye & Jacob Sacks Duo
Friends, colleagues, and bandmates for over 25 years, pianist Jacob Sacks and trombonist Brian Drye unite for a special concert featuring originals, jazz standards and improvisation. Jacob and Brian first met and began performing together in a myriad of ensembles and bands starting in 1999. They come together here for the first time as a duo.
Brian Drye is an award-winning jazz trombonist, pianist and educator based in New York City. He has performed and recorded with the Hank Roberts Sextet, Billy Martin’s Wicked Knee, The Wood Brothers, Steven Bernstein, Slavic Soul Party, John Baptiste and Frank London’s Klezmer Brass All-Stars. His debut as a leader, Bizingas was hailed as “one of the best introductions to a new band” by The New York Times. Drye has spent the last two decades exploring and performing the vast array of music that is available in the NYC area including jazz of all eras, rock, funk, salsa, gospel, reggae, Balkan, Pakistani, Mexican, Haitian, Brazilian Forro and Klezmer. In 2024 Brian was recognized as a rising star trombonist by Downbeat magazine and is the original Broadway cast trombonist for the Tony award winning show, Hadestown.
Jacob Sacks is one of the most creative pianists on the NYC jazz scene today. For over 25 years both in NYC and beyond, his strong individual voice has been heard in a variety of settings ranging from the mainstream jazz traditions of the Mingus Big Band and Orchestra to the open approach of the Paul Motian Septet and Octet (+1) to the vamp-based fusion of David Binney’s Balance. Jacob has performed with musicians such as Lee Konitz, Clark Terry, Joe Maneri, Terumasa Hino, Charles Gayle, Eddie Henderson, Tim Berne, Michael Formanek, Tom Rainey, Ralph Alessi, Ben Monder, Rich Perry, Chris Potter, Mark Turner, Adam Rogers, and Matt Wilson, and has also done collaborations with artists such as Orlando Hernandez, Eric Wubbels, Ethan Iverson, Karen Ng, and Liz Kosack. In addition to performing solo piano, Jacob leads several different ensembles – The Jacob Sacks Trio, the Jacob Sacks Chamber Quartet, the Jacob Sacks Quintet, Plaid Fantasy, and the Jacob Sacks Saloon band. Jacob is also a co-leader in the Yoon Sun Choi – Jacob Sacks Duo, Landline, PLAY, Two Miles A Day, 40Twenty. As a side person, Jacob is a current member of the Dan Weiss Trio, Eivind Opsvik’s Overseas, the Hank Roberts Trio and Sextet, Okkyung Lee’s Yeo-Neun, Mike McGinnis + 9, Ohad Talmor’s Newsreel, and the Gonçalo Marques Quartet.