A Tenor Saxophone Leads a Late Village Set

David Murray brings his quartet to Blue Note on West 3rd Street, with vocalist Francesca Cinelli joining the front line. Murray plays tenor saxophone in a free, open-ended style, and the group builds long passages rather than running through tight arrangements. The set leans on improvisation more than a fixed song list, and the shape of the night changes with the room. Expect a working jazz quartet stretching pieces out, with solos that run well past the melody.

You come down off West 3rd Street into a low room with tables packed close to the bandstand. Staff seat you, take a drink and food order, and the lights drop when the group walks on. People sit shoulder to shoulder, clap after each solo, and stay quiet while the horn works through a long passage. Almost every seat puts you within a few steps of the players, which is the reason regulars keep coming back. Latecomers wait at the back until a break in the set.

The show runs late on Sunday, September 13 at 131 West 3rd Street in Greenwich Village. Book a table ahead and arrive early. Seating is assigned by the house, and the good spots go first. A per-person minimum applies on food and drinks, worth planning for on top of the ticket. It fits people who want serious improvised jazz at close range, rather than background music with dinner. If you were after a quiet, early night, this is not that.