NYC Digest - 2026-09-09

A proper midweek menu: free lunchtime ragtime at Bryant Park and pop-up music in Greeley Square this afternoon, Taste of Times Square takes over Restaurant Row tonight with live Broadway acts, then a trap-jazz orchestra and a free comedy night close the evening — tomorrow brings the Jazz Gallery’s free photography opening and the Bryant Park salsa-and-swing dance party, and Harlem’s Sunday jazz is on the horizon.

Live Music

• Piano in Bryant Park — TODAY 12:30–2:30pm, Upper Terrace, Bryant Park: free lunchtime ragtime, stride and jazz — the daily weekday series’ Wednesday edition, still on through Oct 1.
• Midtown Music in Greeley Square Park — TODAY 2:30–5:30pm, Greeley Square Park (32nd St & Broadway): free pop-up live performances — the series’ Wednesday slot, an easy after-lunch walk from the office.
• The Trap Music Orchestra — TONIGHT 7pm + 9pm sets, The Jazz Gallery, 1158 Broadway (27th St): Ryan Easter’s ensemble reimagines trap and hip-hop through orchestral jazz, pulling in Panamanian folk, disco and Debussy — a monthly residency worth catching; ticketed via The Jazz Gallery.
• Bryant Park Picnic Performance: Dance Party All-Stars — TOMORROW Thu 9/10, 7–9pm, Bryant Park Lawn: free Lindy hop with the George Gee Swing Orchestra, then salsa and Latin jazz from Alfredo De La Fé’s All Star Band.
• Jazz in the Park at Ralph Ellison — Sun 9/13, 2–5pm, Ralph Ellison Plaza (150th St): Berta Indeed’s “Let the Music Play” free community jazz in Harlem — the standing Sunday series’ next edition, for the weekend plan.

Food & Festivals

• Taste of Times Square — TODAY 4–8pm, along W 46th St (Restaurant Row, 7th→9th Aves) + Broadway plazas 45th–47th: the Times Square Alliance’s 40+ vendor outdoor food festival is free to enter — Becco, Carmine’s, Junior’s, Serendipity 3 and more, tastings $5–$10, with live music and Broadway performances on the plazas.

Theater & Comedy

• Free Comedy Show at Rose’s R&R — TONIGHT, Rose’s R&R Bar, 457 Graham Ave, Williamsburg: new free bi-weekly comedy night mixing stand-up, sketch and character work with NYC history, hosted by Brooklyn comic and licensed tour guide Christine Fiala — free, 21+, sponsored by Ayrloom; set time in thread.

Art Openings & Exhibits

• Steven Sussman: Jazz, Seen — opening reception TOMORROW Thu 9/10, 5–7pm, The Jazz Gallery, 1158 Broadway: free reception for Sussman’s photographs of jazz musicians in performance since 2002 — see the exhibit before the gallery’s evening Roy Hargrove Big Band residency takes the stage.