Jen Shyu returns to the Jazz Gallery after two years, on May 1–2 to present an in-progress edition of her epic project ”Fertile Land, Fertile Body,” a multilingual ritual opera comprising ancient and original music, dance, and projection; exploring the loss of mother, loss of motherhood, and human-caused environmental toxicity and genocide’s effects on climate change and our fertility.
“I’ve been working on this opera, first unconsciously, then consciously, ever since I began my fertility journey in 2019 after the sudden passing of my father,” said Shyu. “I realized through talking with many women, as well as men, about their fertility struggles, that it made me question the whole world of ART [Assisted Reproductive Technology] and the misguided illusion that we humans have control over Mother Nature.”
This exceptional chamber ensemble of enticing strings and vocals features violinist Layale Chaker, flautist Alexandria DeWalt, violist Melanie Dyer, cellist Elizabeth Kate, and drummer Lesley Mok, with Shyu as composer, librettist and vocalist, on gayageum, Taiwanese moon lute, piano, movement, and raw video footage.
“Creating this piece and performing it with incredible women and singing truth to power is my way of resisting and demanding that we do things differently while offering hope in a hopeless time,” said Shyu.
Two shows, 7 p.m. and 9 p.m., and available via livestream. This show is part of the Jazz Gallery X NoMad Jazz Festival: First Friday! Series. For reservations, visit jazzgallery.org.
Tables and chairs are rarely pushed to the side for enthusiastic jazz fans to satisfy their dancing urge, but it happens regularly at Dizzy’s Salsa Meets Jazz series. The title says it all: It’s impossible not to dance, shake, move, groove, turn, or swing when live salsa music is playing!
Some have noted the salsa series brings back memories of the old Carso or Palladium. Don’t take their word: On May 5, put on your dancing shoes and run down to Dizzy’s for Salsa Meets Jazz: Monk Con Clave Album Release spotlighting music director and bassist Carlos Henriquez (longtime Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra).
Monk’s music gets a Latin jazz spin in this edition of Salsa Meets Jazz, inspired by Henriquez’s album “Monk con Clave.” He and a full big band bring Monk’s intriguing melodies into the groove of the clave, letting the rhythms open up and the band lean into the swing. It’s lively, rhythmic, and full of the kind of musical conversation that keeps people on the jazz dance floor. Two shows, 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. For reservations, visit jazz.org.
Some years ago, while visiting Johannesburg, South Africa, a friend in the arts introduced me to fellow jazz enthusiast Sam Nhlengethwa, one of the country’s most prominent artists. He invited me to his home, where we enjoyed an exceptional lunch over an invigorating conversation about jazz and, of course, art. My joy was viewing his personal art collection up close — mostly jazz pieces hanging prominently throughout the house, a large piece of Miles Davis hung in the dining room. (Ssshhh! Sam doesn’t know, but I did touch a few pieces just to feel the texture.) After lunch we discussed more music while listening to a few Miles and Herbie Hancock albums — vinyl, not CDs — from his extensive record collection.
His international reputation comes from his exemplified abstraction canvas acrylic works; many of his jazz pieces are acrylic and collage on canvas. He is part of a pioneering generation of South African artists whose work reflects the sociopolitical history and everyday life of his country.
Sam returned to New York City earlier this year 2026 for his second solo exhibit since 2011. This one that ended in March and was held at Manhattan’s Goodman Gallery (for more info, visit goodman-gallery.com/artists/sam-nhlengethwa). The exhibition was entitled “All Blues” and focused on a series of 10 square works measuring 55 x 55 cm. Sam’s 55th birthday and the historic 50th anniversary of Miles’s groundbreaking album “Kind of Blue” both occurred in 2010.
To honor the celebration, he staged an exhibition of the same name at Goodman Gallery in Johannesburg. Sam set aside the 10 works produced during that time — a sequence spelling out “All Blues” — as a private gift to himself. For this exhibition, 15 years later, the artist returned to these paintings, revisiting their structures and extending their logic into a fresh series.
Jazz sounds spark Sam’s inspiration as he paints, giving each piece a unique sound that comes alive. They include the dark silhouette “After Miles Davis,” hand-woven mohair tapestry (2021), Tribute to Bueki Mseleku, acrylic and collage on canvas (2025), Ode to John Coltrane, lithograph on paper (2025), Ode to Acoustic Bass Jazz Musicians, acrylic and collage on paper (2025). His acrylic and collage work add another dimension to his work
What’s the astrology equation connecting Sam and Miles? His birthday and Miles’s “All Blues” 50th anniversary were in the same year; now, Sam’s 2026 “All Blues” exhibit falls in the same year as Miles’s centennial and they both painted. Miles once stated, “Music is art for listening and art is music for seeing.”
The artist’s late musician brother Ranky introduced him to jazz greats like Miles, Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, and Charles Mingus. “Being acknowledged as one of South Africa’s great artists makes me feel honored and overwhelmed,” said Sam during our what’sapp interview. “This New York exhibit enhances my global platform, for which I am very thankful.”