March 14, 2014
Weekend in NoMad: Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society and Sasha Dobson
Head over to the NoMad District this weekend and check out some of the great shows happening at The Jazz Gallery and Ace Hotel.
Tonight and tomorrow, The Jazz Gallery hosts Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society with their contemporary take on the jazz big band. Vancouver-native, composer Darcy James Argue first caught the spotlight when his 2009 debut album Infernal Machines (New Amsterdam Records) appeared on over 100 best-of-year lists and earned him a Grammy nomination. Time Out New York credits Argue and Secret Society with “making the big band cool again.”
The band will play two sets each night (9 p.m. and 11 p.m.), Performing yet-to-be-recorded works like Codebreaker and All In. Tickets are $20 per set for the public and $10 for Jazz Gallery members.
Round out the weekend, at Ace Hotel’s Sunday Night Live. This week’s feature is the music of Sasha Dobson. Dobson, who happens to be the daughter of pianist Smith Dobson, got her start singing jazz before moving on to sing backup for Norah Jones and working on her own material with producer Joel Hamilton (Black Keys, Tom Waits). Drawing influences from Elliot Smith, George Jones, Kraftwerk and her jazz-rooted upbringing, Dobson’s sound is unique to say the least. The show starts at 8 p.m. and is free and open to the public. Stop by the Ace Hotel Lobby Bar to check it out.