Rova:Arts will produce Fly! Fly! Fly! Fly! Fly!, a special tribute concert in honor of the avant-garde jazz composer, pianist, and poet Cecil Taylor, who died on April 5 of last year. Last year Rova presented their first tribute to Taylor, a concert entitled Air. Next month’s affair will be more extensive and involve many more performers.

Rova’s primary contribution will be a reworking of Taylor’s Dark to Themselves, an album-length composition. For this endeavor they will be joined by four additional players, guitarists Jean-Paul Bourelly and Henry Kaiser, drummer Don Robinson, and Jason Hoopes on bass. Rova has expanded its resources in the past, and these enlarged groups have performed under the name Orkestrova.

In addition, the duo B. combo of Lisa Mezzacappa on bass and Jason Levis on percussion will present excerpts from Mezzacappa’s transcription of Taylor’s album Air Above Mountains. The program will then conclude with a second duo performance, coupling reed player Oluyemi with vocalist Ijeoma Thomas. They will present interpretations of Taylor’s poetry, as well as original works.

This tribute concert will be given only one performance, beginning at 8 p.m. on Saturday, April 20. The venue will be CounterPulse, which is located near Union Square at 80 Turk Street, just West of where Mason Street intersects Market Street.

TICKETS (Box office opens at 7:15pm)