[ jazz ]
This Fire Museum-presented bill pairs two sonic adventurers, both able to conjure more sounds alone than many ensembles can manage while crowding a stage. British saxophonist John Butcher started out as a physicist, and there remains something of the exacting laboratory environment about the way he tests, examines and dissects the range of sound emanating from his horn. He came up alongside the greats of U.K. improvisation, names like John Stevens, Derek Bailey and Steve Beresford. Philly's own Toshi Makihara takes a playfully spiritual approach to expanding on a seemingly limited palette; not long ago, he spent a year airing daily improvisations on a single snare drum on YouTube. Duos can be hushed and intimate, and these two likely will be that at times, but don't let the numbers fool you: This could end up being downright symphonic.
Sat., May 26, 8 p.m., $8, Highwire Gallery, 2040 Frankford Ave., museumfire.com/events.
