Today’s “Fab 5” / Selected NYCity Events – WEDNESDAY, NOV. 27, 2013

Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade – Balloon Inflation
Only 16 giant balloons make the cut each year. For those who would like to see the balloons spring to life between W 77th and W 81st St., inflation begins at 3 p.m. (until 10PM) outside the American Museum of Natural History, with entry at Columbus Avenue and 79th Street. Even Mayor Bloomberg will be there (77th St./CPW) at 5:30PM.

The balloons can rise as high as five stories and can be difficult to control in wind. With the weather forecast for high winds on Turkey Day, this may be your best chance to see Pikachu, Spider-Man and the other big balloons.

Fred Hersch & Julian Lage
“Much of the greatest jazz is driven by interplay rather than individual statements, as the pianist Fred Hersch and the 25-year-old guitar wiz Julian Lage show in a new album of duets titled “Free Flying.” The guitar and piano generally occupy the same harmonic and even philosophical space, and yet, rather than each staking a claim for their own territory, Mr. Hersh and Mr. Lage blend together. The most recognizable jazz standard on the album, “Beatrice,” has the twosome taking the tune somewhat faster than its composer (the late Sam Rivers on his “Fuchsia Swing Song”), but no less purposefully, deftly exploring the spaces in and around each other.” (WSJ)
Blue Note, 131 West Third Street, Greenwich Village,
At 8 and 10:30 p.m./ $30 cover at tables, $20 at the bar, with a $5 minimum.
475-8592, bluenote.net

RANDY WESTON-BILLY HARPER
“Weston, the venerated eighty-seven-year-old pianist and composer, and Harper, the seventy-year-old tenor saxophonist, have been playing together, on and off, since the early seventies, but their first duo album, “The Roots of the Blues,” which they recently recorded, has only now been released. To no one’s surprise, the veterans sound ideal together, their shared history and love of blues-inflected jazz making for rousing and deeply expressive interaction.” (NewYorker mag)
Iridium Jazz Club, 1650 Broadway, at 51st Street,
At 8 and 10 p.m./ $30 cover, with a $10 minimum.
212-582-2121, theiridium.com

Jason Moran and the Bandwagon* (through Dec. 1)
“Mr. Moran, the broadly heralded pianist and composer, has been busy of late as a bicoastal concert programmer (at the Kennedy Center and the SFJazz Center), and his next album will be a conceptual tribute to Fats Waller. Despite all that, or maybe because of it, he has kept a freshness in his interactions with Tarus Mateen on bass guitar and Nasheet Waits on drums; as the Bandwagon, they still have every bit of the grounded swagger that works so well in rooms like this one (and especially this one).” (Chinen-NYT)
Village Vanguard, 178 Seventh Avenue South, at 11th Street, West Village,
At 8:30 and 10:30 p.m./ $25 cover, with a one-drink minimum.
255-4037, villagevanguard.com

Ms. Lauryn Hill
“Now celebrating its 15th anniversary, “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill” made a star of its namesake creator, who wooed fans of hip-hop soul and has confounded followers ever since. As honored in a recent XXL magazine tribute by the rapper Nas, Ms. Hill’s 1998 album stands as “a timeless record, pure music” that represents a “serious moment in black music, when young artists were taking charge and breaking through doors.”

In the years since, Ms. Hill has garnered a reputation for eccentricity (cancelled concerts, jail time for tax evasion) as well as continued flashes of brilliance. Her recent single, “Consumerism,” is an anxious, angst-ridden rail against capitalism and its discontents.”
(WSJ – ANDY BATTAGLIA)
Bowery Ballroom, 6 Delancey St, near the Bowery
At 6PM & 10:30PM / $100
(212) 533-2111, boweryballroom.com

This is not on Manhattan’s WestSide, but the Bowery Ballroom is a great music venue and a Lauryn Hill performance can be worth the gamble and the trip.
take 1-2-3 to TimesSq, transfer to N/R to Prince St. walk 6 short blks E to Bowery, 2 blks S to Delancy (maybe 10 -12 minutes)

Before making final plans, we suggest you call the venue to confirm dates and check times, as schedules are subject to change. ===============================================================================

Chelsea is the heart of the NYCity contemporary art scene. Home to more than 300 art galleries, the Rubin Museum, the Joyce Theater, and The Kitchen performance spaces, there is no place like it anywhere in the world.

Come here to browse free exhibitions by world-renowned artists and those unknowns waiting to be discovered in an art district that is concentrated between West 18th and West 27th Streets, and 10th and 11th Avenues.

Afterwards stop in the Chelsea Market, stroll on the High Line, or rest up at one of the many cafes and bars and discuss the fine art – my fave is Ovest on W 27th St., where the aperitivo is like Happy Hour on steroids.

WHAT’S ON VIEW: Here are 3 Special Exhibitions in Chelsea Galleries that you may want to see:

Raqib Shaw, “Paradise Lost” (until Sat. Dec 21)
East meets West in the work of this London artist, who originally hails from India, and whose sumptuous, jewel-and-enamel inlaid paintings and intricately detailed sculptures combine numerous traditions and canons—including Indian miniatures and textiles, Old Master painting, Orientalism and Surrealism. His works might be best described as visions of paradise being invaded by the forces of hell. It’s a strange mix that plays upon our notions of exoticism while sending them up. For his debut at Pace, the artist fills all three of the gallery’s Chelsea locations.
Pace Gallery 508 W 25th St. btw Tenth and Eleventh Aves
Tue–Sat 10am–6pm
212-255-4044 / thepacegallery.com

Richard Serra, “New Sculpture” (until Sat. Jan 25 2014)
Gagosian’s double dose of Richard Serra presents dueling sides of the sculptor: the popular artist name checked in a Vampire Weekend song, and the confrontational figure familiar from his earlier career.

The gallery’s West 21st Street location presents the former in fine form, with a single massive work. Curling ribbons of steel, set on edge and towering to ceiling height, nestle together to create Serra’s signature bowing and curving of space. They swallow viewers up in a phenomenological ecstasy one usually associates with, say, walking along a narrow canyon. The metal’s russet color only adds to the sensation of experiencing something more natural than man-made.

The tone, if not the scale, of the work shifts on West 24th Street, with a group of sculptures and nary a bend in sight. Hard-edged steel plates, patinated a carceral gray, get in your way like barricades around a government building. A set of enormous blocks serves as a memorial to the recently deceased sculptor Walter De Maria, a friend of Serra’s. Experiential warmth gives way to cold truths as Serra employs his legendary toughness to challenge not only gravity, but death itself.—(Howard Halle/TONY mag)
Gagosian Gallery, 522 W 21st St, btw 10th/11th Aves
Tue–Sat 10am–6pm
212-741-1717 / gagosian.com

For a listing of 25 essential galleries in the Chelsea Art Gallery District, organized by street, which enables you to create your own Chelsea Art Gallery crawl, see the Chelsea Gallery Guide (nycgo.com)

Or check out TONY magazine’s list of the “Best Chelsea Galleries” and click through to see what’s on view.

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For other selected Museum and Gallery Special Exhibitions see Recent Posts in the right Sidebar: “Selected Events + Special Exhibitions : Manhattan’s WestSide” dated (11/19) and (11/17).