by Steven Pisano

(All photos by Steven Pisano)

Alex Weiser is a young composer who writes ethereal and quietly emotional music that always sounds like a soul alone in the universe looking for love. Not pining away in loneliness, but forever seeking a higher, purer love, almost religious in nature, like someone who, in Weiser's program notes, is "seeking God without believing in God."

On Monday night, Roulette presented three of Weiser's pieces: last year's Three Epitaphs, Dreaming of Love from 2015, and his newest work and all the days were purple, which was commissioned by Roulette with support from the Jerome Foundation as part of Roulette's Generate program, which helps composers write "ambitious, complex, and often large-scale experimental projects" they might not otherwise be able to do on their own.

Three Epitaphs is a haunting piece that has lingered with me since I first heard it a year ago at Kettle Corn New Music, which Weiser co-founded. (One of the premises of Kettle Corn is that new "classical" music can be enjoyed with a beer and bag of popcorn and need not require cummerbunds and spats.) The lyrics are three poems by William Carlos Williams, Seikilos, and Emily Dickinson, and offer a look back on love lost and the ephemerality of life. As Seikilos writes "While you live, shine/Don't suffer anything at all." This is an insightful work of great poetic depth, made more so by the excellent singing of soprano Eliza Bragg, who not only played violin to start off the piece, but who throughout the night was the compelling core of the concert.

It's Memorial Day weekend, which means it's time for the music to head outdoors into the parks, piers and schoolyards throughout the five boroughs (and beyond). As is our catholic, omnivorous nature here at FoM, our picks for the summer of '17 rolls everything up into just two categories: Free (or mostly free) and Not Free. Don't forget your sunblock.

(Mostly) Free:

Celebrate Brooklyn: (June 7-August 12) The city's best outdoor music series returns to the Prospect Park Bandshell for its 39th year on June 7 with a free show by Brooklyn soul rockers Lake Street Dive. Other highlights from the worlds of indie, folk, jazz and world music include Yeasayer, Poliça and Cymbals Eat Guitars (June 22), Andrew Bird and Esperanza Spalding (July 28), Béla Fleck (August 3) and Youssou N'Dour (August 12). Not to mention benefit concerts by Conor Oberst, Sufjan Stevens, and Fleet Foxes. 

Summerstage (June 3-September 2): This sprawling series reaches into all five boroughs with a potpourri of shows that run the gamut of rock, opera, R&B and more. Highlights include the Met Opera Recital Series (June 12-24) the Robert Glasper Experiment (June 25), and a Fela Kuti tribute with Roy Ayers and Seun Kuti (July 16).

NY Philharmonic Concerts in the Parks (June 13-18): Alan Gilbert has made it a hallmark of his tenure as the NY Phil's music director to conduct the annual parks concerts himself, which have typically been handled by a string of B-list guest conductors. (Gilbert grew up in NYC, and says the parks concerts were formative experiences for him.) Bring your blanket and come cheer Alan one last time as he closes out his eight-year run with an American-flavored program of music by Bernstein, Gershwin and Dvorák (the "New World" symphony). Followed by fireworks, of course. 

Make Music New York (June 21): Celebrate the longest day of the year with this citywide musical happening, with performances on street corners and in the parks. Grab an instrument and join in! 

Warm Up at MoMA PS1 (July 1-September 2): Now in it's 20th year, the summer's best outdoor dance party returns to Long Island City with ten Saturdays of DJ's and live acts performing in the courtyard of MoMA PS1. Tickets ($18-$22) include museum admission. (LI City residents get in for free.)

Lincoln Center Out of Doors (July 26-August 13): This year's Damrosch Park season includes performances by Angelique Kidjo (August 2), Rumer w/special guest Dionne Warwick (July 29), Nick Lowe (August 5), and a tribute to Pauline Oliveros (July 28). 

Charlie Parker Jazz Festival (August 24-27): The summer winds down with the 25th edition of this always-superb free weekend of jazz, which this year expands to four days with the Anat Cohen Tentet, Lee Konitz, Terry Lyne Carrington, Tia Fuller, Lou Donaldson, Joshua Redman, and others. 

If the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, then Antonia Bennett should be able to lay claim to some of the ripest fruit in jazz vocals. The daughter of legendary singer Tony Bennett, Antonia has been opening for her father on tour for the past decade while steadily building her own career. With her famous father seated at a front row table, Antonia made her debut at the Café Carlyle last Tuesday, backed by her seasoned trio (Spike Willner, piano, Paul Newinsky, bass, Anthony Pinciotti, drums.)

To cut to the chase: Bennett's thin, high-pitched voice bears little resemblance to her father's honeyed warmth and booming power, but her command of the Great American Songbook was rock solid, even displaying a bit of Brazilian flair in Gershwin's "Fascinating Rhythm" and Jobim's own "No More Blues." And, just in case we needed any reminder of her peerless pedigree, Bennett peppered her songs with casual anecdotes about the famous personalities who used to stop by the house, such as Rosemary Clooney and Frank Sinatra. That's the kind of lustre any singer should be so lucky to have rub off on them.

Antonia Bennett appears at the Carlyle through June 3. Tickets and info available on the Carlyle's website. More pics on the photo page.