NEW JAZZ UNDERGROUND

TRIBECA PAC / FEBRUARY 7

The saxophonist Abdias Armenteros, bassist Sebastian Rios and drummer TJ Reddick – composers one and all – may have a certain “undergroundness” about them. Especially since they exploded on the "overground" scene with a song featuring the sensational – albeit risqué – lyrical lines (appropriately bleeped here to protect the faint-hearted): “they can hate but we still swingin’”, “f**k/s**t/c**t/jazz,” “sad boy jazz…” But their music has a technical rigor and elegance that was born of street-cred and sophisticated, elegant conservatoire-driven education at the Julliard School. Which is why there ain’t no one who can ignore them, and why they performed with the likes of Jon Batiste and Sullivan Fortner, Emmet Cohen and ELEW ... and have even broadcast on NPR. where they have flashed like so much powerful, elegant fire. RDG