Today’s “Fab 5″/ Selected NYCity Events  – TUESDAY, AUGUST 26, 2014

Cynthia Sayer’s 2nd Annual Hot Strings Festival
Featuring: Jen Larson & Friends, Cynthia Sayer’s Joyride Quartet, Bruce Molsky, & The Andy Statman Trio

CYNTHIA SAYER
Contemporary, edgy, and soulful, Cynthia Sayer breaks all the banjo player stereotypes as she single-handedly brings the 4-string banjo to the forefront of jazz. Celebrated as the top 4-string jazz banjoist in the world today and praised for her “drive and virtuosity” by theNew York Times, Cynthia is a founding member of Woody Allen’s New Orleans Jazz Band with whom she played and toured for over 10 years.

ANDY STATMAN
As a mandolinist, he is noted for his innovative improvisations and heartfelt lyricism, which is evident on his many original compositions. In 2012 Andy received the National Heritage Award from the National Endowment of the Arts—the highest honor given to tradition-based musicians and artists in America. In the words of The New Yorker, “Andy Statman, clarinet and mandolin virtuoso, is an American visionary.”

Don’t miss your last chance to enjoy the 6th Annual Hudson Square Music & Wine Festival. It looks like they have saved the best for last – I know I will be there. This after-work Backyard Party has been held every Tuesday from June 3rd, in the back parking lot behind City Winery.
City Winery, 155 Varick St, Tribeca (btw. Vandam/Spring St.)
subway: #1 to Houston.
from 5PM-7:30PM / FREE
212-608-0555 / citywinery.com

Tom Harrell: ‘Colors of a Dream’
“The trumpeter Tom Harrell favors a precise but shadowy sort of postbop, sonorous and warm and alert. As on his recent album, “Colors of a Dream,” he works here with several members of his regular quintet — the tenor saxophonist Wayne Escoffery, the bassist Ugonna Okegwo and the drummer Johnathan Blake — as well as Esperanza Spalding on bass and vocals and Jaleel Shaw on alto saxophone.” (Nate Chinen-NYT)
Blue Note, 131 West Third St.,btw Macdougal Street and 6^th Ave.
at 8 and 10:30 p.m./ $35 cover at tables, $20 at the bar, with a $5 minimum
212-475-8592 / bluenote.net

Astronomy Live: Life on Other Worlds
The number of known planets around other stars increases every day. As such, our understanding of life beyond Earth is constantly being revised. In this program, Jackie Faherty and Carter Emmart will use the vast atlas of the Digital Universe to take a voyage through the nearby solar neighborhood and to explore exotic new worlds, their potential for life, and the strange but beautiful vistas one might see among the planets at the forefront of astronomical discoveries.
American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th St.
at 6:30 pm / $15
212-769-5100

The Heath Brothers
“Jimmy Heath, a saxophonist and composer, and Albert (Tootie) Heath, a drummer, have been staples of the postbop landscape from the beginning. This group used to include another brother, the great bassist Percy Heath, who died in 2005; its lineup, still sturdy, now includes David Wong on bass and Jeb Patton on piano.” (Nate Chinen-NYT)
Village Vanguard, 178 Seventh Avenue South, at West 11th Street
at 8:30 and 10:30 p.m. / $25 and $30 cover, with a one-drink minimum
212-255-4037 / villagevanguard.com

Elsewhere, but absolutely worth the detour:

U.S. TENNIS OPEN (Day 2) / TODAY’S PREMIER EVENT
The U.S. Open continues today (11AM) at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in Queens (about 45 min. from Times Square) and runs through Sept. 8. This is the fourth and final tennis tournament which culminates the Grand Slam each year. It consists of five event championships: men’s and women’s singles, men’s and women’s doubles, and mixed doubles, with additional tournaments for senior, junior, and wheelchair players. subway: #1-2-3 to Times Square; transfer to #7 to Mets-Willets Point.

Forget the Big House (Arthur Ashe Stadium), especially during the first week when most matches are mismatches. Get a grounds pass and once inside check out one of the electronic scoreboards listing current matches. Find a match or players that interest you. Head over to their court for some great competitive tennis, because in this tournament even the qualifiers are great players.

There is no other major sporting event where you can get so close to world class athletes as at the U.S. Open – on the outer courts, the Grandstand court, or even Louis Armstrong stadium. Courts where you can get a real sense of the pace of the game.

Matches to watch today in Louis Armstrong stadium (LA) & the outside courts:
(predictions per Matt Cronin)
♦(LA) American Sam Querrey will overcome Maximo Gonzalez, but it will take five sets.
♦(LA) Canadian Eugenie Bouchard has been amazing at the Slams this year but has been shaky in her hard-court contests. But she will play steady and take down Olga Govortsova in straight sets.
♦(LA) The young American Madison Keys is due to make a splash and will quickly best Australiian Jarmila Gajdosova.
♦The always entertaining Gael Monfils vs Jared Donaldson, last match in the grandstand.
♦(#5) Flavia Penetta vs Julia Goerges, a tough first round draw for the “gorgeous” one.

Today’s tip: arrive early. Security screening seemed to have been ratcheted up last week during qualifying, which may cause delays to enter. The best, most comprehensive review of the tournament and the current state of tennis can be found at the NYTimes: http://www.nytimes.com

Finally, these places around the grounds provide special fan experiences, a place to beat the heat, and are open to the public:
Heineken House – big screen tv’s, quality photo booth op, various sporting challenges, sandwiches & beer available for purchase.
American Express Fan Experience – swing analysis, 180 degree photo op, charging lockers. Second level of the lounge is only open to card members, where food and drinks are available for purchase.
Time Warner Cable Studios – photo ops, prizes, charging stations.

And only for Chase Bank customers:
Chaise Lounge – snacks and light refreshments (requires pre-registration).

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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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WHAT’S ON VIEW: Special Exhibitions @ 3 MUSEUMS (Manhattan’s WestSide)

Museum of Modern Art:
‘Jasper Johns: Regrets’ (through Sept. 1)
‘Robert Heinecken: Object Matter’ (through Sept. 7)
‘A World of Its Own: Photographic Practices in the Studio’ (through Oct. 5)
‘Designing Modern Women 1890-1990’(through Oct. 5)
Here’s what the NYT said about ‘A World of Its Own: Photographic Practices in the Studio’
“This mostly lively if repetitive overview traces the history of photography as the Modern never has — with images taken in the studio rather than out in the world. Its roughly 180 works span 160 years and represent some 90 portraitists, commercial photographers, lovers of still life, darkroom experimenters, Conceptual artists and several generations of postmodernists. Including film and video, it offers much to look at but dwells too much in the past, becoming increasingly blinkered and cautious as it approaches the present. 212-708-9400, moma.org.” (Smith-NYT)
Museum of Modern Art: 11 W 53rd St. (btw 5th /6th Ave.)
(212) 708-9400 / moma.org.

Designing Modern Women 1890-1990:

International Center of Photography: ‘Urbes Mutantes: Latin American Photography 1944-2013’ and ‘Caio Reisewitz’ (through Sept. 7)
It’s a Latin American summer at New York City art museums, with a high number of shows of work from South America and the Caribbean. This institution, as usual one step ahead of the curve, has two. The larger, “Urbes Mutantes: Latin American Photography 1944-2013,” is a roomy survey of some 200 small, mostly black-and-white pictures that fit, with trimming and squeezing, into the genre of “street photography.” The second is a solo devoted to a single artist, the contemporary Brazilian photographer Caio Reisewitz, whose big color images of threatened tropical rain forests offer a lush antidote to urban grit — Manhattan’s included.
International Center of Photography, 1133 Avenue of the Americas, at 43rd Street, 212-857-0000, icp.org. (Cotter-NYT)

Museum of Arts and Design: ‘NYC Makers: The MAD Biennial’ (through Oct. 12) This plunge into the biennial format makes a big, messy splash sampling the visual culture across the city — whether opera set design, art or new technologies. An expansive, invigorating move, it still contains too much that is fun, cute, clutter-making or useless, aimed at those with plenty of disposable income and homes to decorate.
Museum of Arts and Design, 2 Columbus Circle,
212-299-7777, madmuseum.org. (Smith-NYT)

The Art of the Brick by Nathan Sawaya (ongoing)
This exhibition by artist Nathan Sawaya is a critically acclaimed collection of intriguing and inspiring works of art made exclusively from one of the most recognizable toys in the world — LEGO® bricks. The Discovery Times Square exhibit is the world’s biggest and most elaborate display of LEGO® art ever and features brand-new, never-before-seen pieces by Sawaya. This show was named ‘One of CNN’s Ten Global Must-See Exhibitions.’
Discovery Times Square, 226 West 44th St. (btw 7th/8th ave)
866.987.9692 / http://www.discoverytsx.com

For other selected Museum and Gallery Special Exhibitions see Recent Posts in the right Sidebar: “Selected Events + Special Exhibitions : Manhattan’s WestSide” dated (08/24) and (08/22).