A $10 Jazz Piano Night in a Historic Queens Church

Thursday Night Jazz runs on the second Thursday of every month from October to May, and the November slot goes to Idris Frederick. He is a Detroit-born pianist who studied at The New School, and his own writing has been called ethereal, heavy hitting, funky, and infectious; he also tours and music directs for artists such as Topaz Jones and Cleo Reed. The series is curated by Rio Sakairi of The Jazz Gallery, which keeps the booking open to revered masters and newer voices. Sets start at 8 PM and end around 9:30 PM.

General admission is $10, and a JCAL membership opens the full jazz season for free. JCAL sets aside blocks of free seats at every concert for seniors 62 and older and for students who live or work in a 114 zip code. Those blocks are limited and go first come, first served, so claim a seat early. Show a photo ID and a piece of mail with your current address, and the ticket is free. The ticketing page adds its fee at checkout and shows the final total there.

The room is a 400-seat theater inside a landmarked former Dutch Reformed church at 153-10 Jamaica Avenue, and the E, J or Z drops you at Jamaica Center, a short block away. It is built for a seated theater performance rather than a casual bar set, so plan to stay through the set. Delicious Restaurant is about five minutes west for dinner before the music. La Cabaña Peruana and Chapines Bakery sit roughly fifteen minutes east, an optional add-on.