A Vocalist Builds Jazz Out of East African Rhythm

Somi writes from a Rwandan and Ugandan background and trained in the American jazz vocabulary, and the songs carry both without treating either as decoration. Rhythmic patterns arrive from East African forms while the harmony stays jazz. Lyrics run narrative rather than standards, often following one person through a whole song. The band reads small and acoustic. Sets lean on her own catalogue instead of covers. Arrangements leave room for the band to stretch between verses.

Sony Hall sits below street level under the Paramount Hotel on West 46th, a former supper club with a barrel-vaulted ceiling and Art Deco fittings. Tables run down to the stage with standing room behind. Seated tickets come with a table, and the kitchen serves through the set. Sightlines from the rear banquettes stay clear. The room holds a few hundred rather than a few thousand. Coat check sits by the stairs down from the lobby entrance.

The show plays Thursday, October 1 at 235 West 46th Street. The listing carries a placeholder start time. Confirm the hour with the box office before you head out. Table seating is a separate ticket type from standing, and the tables go first. The A, C and E stop at 42nd Street, three blocks south. Anyone after a loud late night should look at a different room. The Yakiniku Gen listing below sits further downtown, a short subway ride away.