Ten curated Scope NYC picks for Monday, May 11.
Housing Works is the right setting for an author night with more civic texture than the average Monday book launch.
A direct Smalls set in the early slot, useful if you want serious jazz without making the whole night revolve around it.
Ornithology gives this piano-focused series the neighborhood-musician context that makes it sharper than a generic recital.
A clean McNally pairing for readers who want a literary stop that still feels like part of the night out.
This is the stronger Monday rock pick: two names with enough old-indie gravity to make Elsewhere feel specific.
Bareket, Castro, and Sumbry at Close Up is a compact modern-jazz bill with real player-to-player interest.
Film Forum adding a filmmaker introduction gives this screening enough live context to beat the usual repertory default.
Pioneer Works turns a public-health topic into the kind of cross-disciplinary evening that fits Red Hook better than a lecture hall.
The Bell House is built for a roomful of people listening hard, and The Moth still lands when the storytellers are on.
The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra is a Monday institution for a reason, and still one of the safest bets in the city for big-band heat.