The versatile keyboard virtuoso Neil Alexander has made a lot of beans via homage and tribute: as a longtime member of the popular Pink Floyd tribute band the Machine; in his labor-of-love Weather Report, Herbie Hancock and Mahavishnu cover projects; and even, one could argue, in the decade or so of his life that he dedicated to developing a technically grueling two-hands piano version of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring. But through it all, Alexander has been a prolific composer and songwriter in his own right, releasing many of his originals under the name NAIL.

Sunday, July 14: Founded by master drummer Hiro Kurashima, Taiko Masala performs a combination of dance, martial arts and extremely percussive music on huge handmade drums and other traditional Japanese instruments: shakuhachi, fue, koto.

July 15-28: Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Summer Jazz Academy, a two-week residential high school summer institute for advanced study in jazz performance, takes place at Bard College and offers locals a number of opportunities to hear great jazz performed by both the Jedis and the Padawans.

The Knaus Gallery & Wine Bar will exhibit a number of Penzato’s paintings from July 13 through 27. Its hours of operation are Wednesdays and Thursdays from 3 to 9 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays from noon to 10 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 9 p.m. The opening reception on Saturday, July 13 will be a fond farewell party. 

The somewhat-reclusive master was friends with the biggest names of the day – Rothko, de Kooning et cetera – but had little use for the spotlight of New York City. In 1967, Guston moved his family to the “arts colony” known as Woodstock and remained there, working and commuting to teach in New York.