NYC-based saxophonist/composer Lena Bloch returns to the Valley to play with the Green Street Trio at the Northampton Jazz Workshop, taking place as always at City Sports Grille, hidden inside Spare Time Northampton, on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
The calm, quirky, Moscow-born Bloch has long been a regular guest of the Green Street crew (pianist Paul Arslanian, bassist George Kaye and drummer Jon Fisher) — I saw her perform in the area with the guys at their previous home venue, the Loft Lounge at the Clarion Hotel — but it’s been a few years since her last performance. Bloch was hard at work on new music, and she put out a new record a few months ago, entitled “Heart Knows.”
The album begins with “Lateef Suite,” an extended piece in memory of her mentor, Yusef Lateef. It moves mysteriously, with an enigmatic theme bookending spacious solo sections and improvisations. The record is full of thoughtful, unhurried pieces, with “Newfoundsong” and the title track being two of the prettiest.
Bloch has her own rich saxophone sound and way with arrangements. At her last Valley appearance, Arslanian described her version of the popular tune “Star Eyes” as a “dark Russian variation on an American standard.”
As always, stick around after the main performance for the Open Jazz Jam, which goes from 8:30 to 10:30 p.m. Sit back and enjoy the local talent — or, if you want to participate, bring your instrument (or voice) and sign up to sit in with the house trio.
Multi-instrumentalist Tony Trischka (banjo, pedal steel) and his quartet Early Roman Kings interpret Bob Dylan songs at The Parlor Room in Northampton on Friday at 7 p.m.
A diverse bill of New England-based bands — Les Dérailleurs (pre/post-punk from Holyoke), Perennial (art-punk from CT), OroborO (“bendy loud sounds” from western/central MA) and Frozen Corn (“songs from the olden times” with banjos, acoustic guitar and the deep voice of Chris Carlton) — join forces for a benefit show for Flywheel, the Valley’s longest-running DIY arts collective, at Flywheel itself in Easthampton on Friday at 7 p.m.
Big Mean Sound Machine is a funky ensemble from Ithaca, New York, with a new album out this year, “Runnin’ For the Ghost” (released in the US by the local label Peace & Rhythm). It’s a dance-minded groovy roar of Afrobeat, funk, Latin, psychedelia and more. The band plays The Root Cellar in Greenfield on Friday at 9 p.m.
Singer/songwriter Pamela Means plays The Parlor Room in Northampton on Saturday at 7 p.m. Rob Maher and Matthew Thornton start off the night.
The Slambovian Circus of Dreams brings its “Very Slambovian Christmas” show — traditional Christmas songs with a twist, plus original holiday songs and non-traditional music featuring the band’s rock/folk/“hillbilly Pink Floyd” sound — to The Iron Horse on Saturday at 7 p.m.
The Doug Hewitt Group perform songs from their album “Roots In the Sky,” as well as covers of jazz classics, at the Luthier’s Co-op in Easthampton on Saturday at 9:30 p.m. It’s part of the “Luthier’s Jazz Night,” which also features Rite of Swing at 6 p.m., Berkshire Jazz Underground at 7, and Masala Jazz at 8.
Boston indie-rockers Vundabar team up with local quartet Ex-Temper at The Iron Horse on Saturday at 10 p.m.
Arthur Brooks Ensemble V — led by old-school new music trumpeter Brooks, an adventurous improviser for more than 40 years — are the special guests at Spontaneous Combustion, a monthly workshop/discourse centered on improvised music. At the Brick House Community Resource Center in Turners Falls on Sunday at 8 p.m. Concertgoers are encouraged to bring their own instruments, too.
Local bands Beach Honey, Tundra Toddler and Mibble
(at left) are the triple-bill for this week’s Lowdown showcase at The Basement in Northampton on Wednesday at 8 p.m.
Mystics Anonymous, Lauri McNamara, Bob Fay, and Wednesday Knudsen (with between-sets record/tape-spinning by DJ Dutch) appear at John Doe Jr. Books & Records in Greenfield on Wednesday at 8 p.m.
Heavy Necker, Uncomfortables and The Immolators play the hard-rocking Reanimate the Baystate show at The Sierra Grille in Northampton on Thursday at 10 p.m.