Saturday presents the toughest scheduling decisions for Big Ears this year.

The main event is at the premier venue, the majestic and lovely Tennessee Theater.  Saturday is Day One of a two-day John Zorn residency, and just like Friday at The Bijou, I could do worse than spend all day in the plush velour seats of the Tennessee. 

In fact, that's my initial plan:

12:00-1:00 - John Zorn: Nove Cantici per Francesco d’Assisi

2:30-3:30 - John Zorn: Suite for Piano

Nove Cantici per Francesco d’Assisi is the guitar trio of Bill Frisell, Julian Lage & Gyan Riley. If you're at all familiar with the genius of Frisell and Lage you already understand why I chose that set, and Gyan is the son of legendary minimalist composer Terry Riley and a great musician in his own right.  The piano in Suite for Piano will be played by Brain Marsella, backed by Jorge Roeder on bass and the great drummer Ches Smith. The only real tradeoff in picking these two sets is that it means missing Christian McBride's New Jawn (1:00-2:15), although it is technically possible to dash from the Nove Cantici to catch McBride in progress and then make it back for the start of Suite for Piano in 15 minutes. It will also mean missing Sam Gendel's Concert Group, but if I've stuck to my schedule, I will have already seen Sam twice that weekend, and, well, enough is enough. 

After Suite for Piano, the Zorn residency will present a set of a capella vocal music. While in sure - positive - Zorn will come up with something more than interesting with that format, I'm going to head up to The Mill & Mine instead for my next set.

4:45-6:00 - The Bad Plus

The Bad Plus were a popular piano trio for years, but have recently shaken things up.  The pianist left, and the remaining two artists brought in a sax player and a guitarist to replace him.  I like what I've heard from the new lineup and look forward to hearing them live.  But good lord!, what a price I'll have to pay.  Hearing The Bad Plus means not only missing Zorn's vocal ensemble, but legendary and revered jazzman Charles Lloyd (who I've always wanted to see and, let's face it, at 84, I may not have many more chances).  It also means missing William Parker's Mayan Space Station - a bracing and exciting free-jazz electric guitar trio.  It also means missing avant-garde musicians Jeff Coffin at the Old City Performing Arts Center and David Virelles at The Point. If I decide to pass on The Mill & Mine and The Bad Plus but still forego Zorn's vocal ensemble, I'll probably head to The Standard for Mayan Space Station.

Things don't get any easier after that.  The Zorn residency at The Tennessee continues with Incerto, which is basically the Suite for Piano lineup (Marsella, Roeder, and Smith) with the addition of the sublime guitarist Julien Lage.  Meanwhile, the Sun Ra Arkestra takes the stage at The Mill & Mine, and electronic musician Kali Malone has a drone set at the Old City PAC.  

If I'm at The Mill & Mine anyway for The Bad Plus, the easiest thing would be to just hang around and catch the Sun Ra Arkestra. But I've seen Sun Ra countless times since the 1970s, and Sun Ra himself has returned to the astral plane. The Arkestra is now led by the great alto saxophonist Marshall Allen, but at 98 years, that may not continue much longer.  I'll probably pass on Sun Ra because a) I've seen them so many times, and b) I don't want to blame Allen's eventual passing on my "Big Ears Curse" (many artists I've seen at the festival - Alvin Lucier, Harold Budd, Jaimie Branch, Mimi Parker - have died within a year of me seeing them at Big Ears).   

I can't think of a single reason not to see Kali Malone at the Old City PAC, but all other things being equal, just to hear guitarist Julien Lage a second time that day, I'll probably go with:

7:30-8:30 - John Zorn: Incerto 

Surprisingly, as we head toward the headliner sets, the decisions are less difficult.  The next Zorn residency set is from his Bagatelles compositions and features guitarist Mary Halvorson.  But I'll already have heard Halvorson the day before, so after Incerto, it's most likely:

9:30-10:30 - Zoh Amba

12:00-1:15 - Charlotte Adigéry & Bolis Pupul

Zoh Amba is a young tenor saxophonist who plays furious free jazz in the Albert Ayler tradition. Adigéry and Pupul are just plain fun. Easy decisions, and the only thing I'll be missing would be the Zorn/Halvorson set.  

So that's the plan for another day at Big Ears.  But who knows?, part of the joy of the festival is throwing your schedule to the wind and catching something you've never even heard of before but becomes your new favorite thing. Or at least entertains you for an hour before you get back on with your life.