Today’s “Fab 5” / Selected NYCity Events – WEDNESDAY, APR. 09, 2014.
For other useful and curated NYCity event info for Manhattan’s WestSide check out:
♦ “Notable NYC Events-April”, and also “on Broadway”, and “Top10 Free” in the header above.
♦ For NYCity trip planning see links in “Resources” and “Smart Stuff” in the header above.
Lecture and Performance: Interpreting DOLCE VITA:
An Engagement with Images, Music and Narrative
On the occasion of the presentation of: Dolce Via, Italy in the 1980’s
(Damiani Grafiche, 2013)
A photographic monograph by Charles H. Traub
A reading by distinguished scholar and poet Luigi Ballerini
An original score by pianist and composer Massimo Bianchi
Comments by esteemed critic Max Kozloff
Traub’s images are marked by a candid intimacy that combines humor and spontaneity, making us long for an Italy that once was—or perhaps only existed in our romantic, brightly hued imaginations. In his Dialog of the Street The Photographer and his Muse, Ballerini humorously questions what the foreigner sees versus what was and what is, Italy. Bianchi accompanies with a musical improvisation of the performance that is Italy. Direction by Andrew Landauro, filmmaker and installation artist. Scripting by Ken Lavey, artist/ technologist. In ENGLISH.
Casa Italiana, 24 West 12th Street
At 7:00 PM FREE
(212) 998-8739
David Ostwald’s Louis Armstrong Eternity Band
Inspired by the noble jazz pioneers Louis Armstrong, Bix Beiderbecke, Duke Ellington, Jelly Roll Morton and their colleagues, David Ostwald’s Louis Armstrong Eternity Band breathes life and passion into America’s own great art form. Legendary record producer George Avakian describes the band in this way:
“There has never been a band quite like this one. Most groups, past and present, stick to one style. Some current groups attempt to recreate early recordings in their entirety. These guys do neither. Inspired by divergent bands of the 1920s and 30s, you’ll hear them swing a variety of styles in music by a wide range of composers, always true to the joy and heart of the music.”
Now in its 14th year of residency at Birdland, the weekly post-workday engagement is the city’s best musical bargain! Tuba player David Ostwald leads a rotating lineup that features talents such as clarinetist Anat Cohen, trombonist/vocalist Wycliffe Gordon, pianist Ehud Asherie, drummer Marion Felder and more!
Birdland, 315 W 44th St,
At 5:30PM / $25
birdlandjazz.com
NEW CUBAN CINEMA: 55 YEARS OF A SHARED DREAM
This event features the screening of three films followed by a conversation between Luciano Castillo, Director of Cuban Film Archives, and Professor Jerry Carlson, Bildner Center Senior Fellow. This event is a collaborative effort by the Bildner Center and the Havana Film Festival and forms part of the Bildner Center’s Cuban Music and Arts Initiative. Films subtitled in English.
Film screened:
El Cowboy
Jesús de Armas|Cuba|1962|Animation|8min
A short animation that satirizes American Western films. Corto de animación que satiriza las películas norteamericanas del oeste.
Now!
Santiago Alvarez|Cuba|1965|Experimental|6min
One of Álvarez’s most famous works, Now! discusses racial discrimination in the USA and includes mixed news photographs and musical clips featuring singer/actress Lena Horne.
Historias de la Revolución
Tomás Gutiérrez Alea | Cuba | 1960 | Fiction | 81min
The first feature film after the Revolution was Gutiérrez Alea’s directorial debut, which reenacts three important episodes of the armed struggle. One of his least-known works, it depicts three stories about the fight against Batista’s dictatorship in 1950s Cuba: “El herido,” “Rebeldes,” and “La batalla de Santa Clara.”
The Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Avenue, ROOM:C204
6:00 PM / FREE
gc.cuny.edu/Public
Laura Mvula
British neo-soul singer Laura Mvula grew up singing in an acappella group helmed by her aunt and graduated from the Birmingham Conservatoire with a degree in composition. Working as a teacher at a secondary school and directing the community gospel choirs in her hometown on the side, she also began to compose assured yet exuberant songs on her laptop, influenced by Americans like Jill Scott, Lauryn Hill and Erykah Badu. She soon landed on the RCA label and last year released a vibrant debut in “Sing to the Moon.” Both live and on album, Ms. Mvula has the vocal strength to reach such heights
Music Hall of Williamsburg, 66 N. Sixth St., Brooklyn
(718) 486-540
subway: #1 to 14th, transfer to L to Bedford (1st stop in Bklyn), short walk to venue
bklyns westside, easy trip. everyone is very high on this lady.
“NYPL BOOKS AT NOON”
The New York Public Library’s weekly series in Astor Hall (the soaring space just inside the main entry) featuring a writer in conversation with a member of the library’s staff, continues withA.E. Hotchner. Novelist and nonagenarian A.E. Hotchner (O.J. in the Morning, G&T at Night) reads for 30 minutes before answering questions.
New York Public Library, Fifth Ave. at 42nd St.
12PM / FREE
917-275-6975
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♦ Before making final plans, we suggest you call the venue to confirm ticket availability, dates and times, as schedules are subject to change.
♦ NYCity is a big town with many visitors where quality shows draw crowds. Try to reserve seats in advance, even if just on day of performance.
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A PremierPub – Upper West Side
Dinosaur / 700 W125th St. @ 12th ave.
Walk only five minutes from the 125th st. station on the #1 line to find this authentic honky-tonk barbecue joint. Some folks think Dinosaur is just a place to eat ribs. Au contraire. With 24 carefully selected taps, this is a place to drink beer, and eat ribs.
No food goes better with American craft ales than American barbecue. Dinosaur may be the best combo of good beer drinking and hearty eating in town, which makes the trip to Harlem totally worthwhile.
This second incarnation of Dinosaur in Harlem is in an old brick warehouse near the Hudson River. Don’t let that run down exterior fool you. Inside it’s a large space with huge, rough wooden columns and unfinished wooden floors and brick walls – just right for a bbq joint. As soon as you open the door you are hit with that tantalizing aroma of barbecue coming from the large open kitchen. Reminds me of all those great rib joints I frequented when stationed in North Carolina all those years ago. If your stomach wasn’t grumbling before, it is now.
Head to the bar, sit down and try to decide on a beer. It’s not an easy decision – a good problem to have. This is a pretty damn good beer list to choose from, one that most beer bars should be jealous of. I love that they feature NY craft beers. You may want to try the four beer sampler, which is always fun, and in this place may be necessary.
The Mississippi blues music playing in the background will get you in the mood for their North Carolina style barbecue, and even when it’s a full house your order shouldn’t take too long. The food is all slow smoked, so it’s already mostly done and ready to go. I always start with an order of their giant, spice rubbed wings, so good they may make you give up Buffalo wings.
Unfortunately, a place this good does not fly under the radar. There can be some humongous waits for a table at dinnertime. So you need a strategy – avoid prime time, and try not to arrive with your entire posse, which will limit your seating options.
A seat at the bar, a small table in the bar area, or in the summer, an outside table, underneath what’s left of the elevated West Side Hwy, all may open before a table inside the main dining room. Otherwise, try Dinosaur for lunch, or come very late for dinner.
Website: http://www.dinosaurbarbque.com/
Phone #: 212-694-1777
Hours: M-Th 11:30am-11:00pm; Fr-Sa 11:30am-12:00am;
Su 12:00pm-10:00pm
Happy Hour: 4-7pm every day; $1 off all drinks
Music: Fri / Sat 10:00pm
Subway: #1 to 125th st
Walk 2 blk W on 125th to Dinosaur Bar-B-Q,
just past the elevated highway
NYCity 1-2-3 : What's Happening / Manhattan's WestSide 