Listen Up
By Jalylah Burrell
From New York Press

Since mid-September, music lovers have been heading uptown for 90-minute breakdowns of jazz courtesy of the 4-year old Jazz Museum in Harlem. Equal parts lecture, Q&A and live performance, Jazz for Curious Listeners is the museum’s new initiative to flatten the steep listening curve daunting so many potential jazz fans. So far it’s galvanized an eager cross-section of New Yorkers from college students to retirees. Loren Schoenberg, the museum’s executive director, facilitates most of the themed sessions but recently handed teaching duties over to bassist Christian McBride, the museum co-director, and his trusty iPod for a guided listening session. The programs aren’t cumulative nor do they require any previous knowledge, so the audience can change week to week. Pop in this Tuesday as the quick-witted pianist Eric Reed caps off a three-week guest instructor stint with an exploration of jazz and entertainment—which may even include a brief performance.

Nov. 7. Metropolitan Community United Methodist Church, 1975 Madison Ave. (at 126th St.), 212-348-8300; 7, free.