Today’s “Fab 5″/ Selected NYCity Events – TUESDAY, FEB. 24, 2015
“We search the internet everyday looking for the very best of What’s Happening on Manhattan’s WestSide, so that you don’t have to. We make it as easy as 1-2-3.”  

Ronald K. Brown/Evidence   —  Dance    (7:30pm)   

Buckwheat Zydeco   —  Cajun Music    (8pm)     (10pm)

Robert Glasper  —  Jazz    (8:30pm)     (10:30pm)

NASA Missions   —  SmartStuff/ Lecture   (6:30pm) 

Black Entertainers and New York City History  —  
SmartStuff/ Seminars and Discussion   (6:30pm)   [FREE]

For other useful and curated NYCity event info for Manhattan’s WestSide:

♦ “9 Notable Events-Feb.”, and “Top10 Free” in the header above.
♦ For NYCity trip planning see links in “Resources” and “Smart Stuff” in the header above.
♦ For NYCity Sights, Sounds and Stories visit out our sister site: nyc123blog.wordpress.com
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Ronald K. Brown/Evidence (through March 1)
“This is dancing that consecrates,” said The New York Times about Ronald K. Brown’s choreography, and it probably can’t be said any better. Experiencing this company’s special combination of Cuban, Caribbean, West African, and modern American dance movement is thrilling.

For its 30th anniversary season, the company takes the Joyce stage with two programs and many of Brown’s signature pieces: Grace (1999), Gatekeepers, and The Subtle One (2014), performed to live accompaniment by composer Jason Moran and the Bandwagon. Also featured: Through Time and Culture (2014), which offers audiences the now somewhat rare and always wonderful opportunity to see Brown perform a solo work.
Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth Avenue, at 19th St., Chelsea,
Tonight: at 7.30pm, – The Subtle One; Lessons (excerpts); Grace
212-242-0800 / joyce.org.

Buckwheat Zydeco (also Wednesday)
“This singer and accordionist from Louisiana (whose real name is Stanley Dural Jr.) is a master craftsman of zydeco, an ebullient strain of Cajun folk, and an unpretentious showman with musical flair for miles. He held court last year on the final episode of “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon,” performing a gleeful rendition of “On a Night Like This.” (Anderson-NYT)
Iridium Jazz Club, 1650 Broadway, at 51st St.
At 8 and 10 p.m. / $35
212-582-2121 / theiridium.com.

Robert Glasper (through March 1)
“The pianist’s last two albums, “Black Radio,” from 2012, and “Black Radio 2,” from 2013, hit a nerve with the public (the first won a Grammy for Best R. & B. album). These best-selling (for jazz, that is) recordings blended post-bop jazz, hip-hop, rock, and R. & B. and spoke to the postmodern leanings of contemporary listeners. Guest vocalists assisted in that effort on the albums, but at the Village Vanguard, Glasper is scaling back with his restlessly interactive trio, an instrumental setting that will also allow the leader’s rousing playing to take the spotlight.” (NewYorker)
Village Vanguard, 178 Seventh Ave. S., at 11th St.
8:30pm + 10:30 pm / $30
212-255-4037 / villagevanguard.com
Remember, the Vanguard will celebrate it’s 80th Anniversary the week of March 10.

NASA Missions / Astro Live Feb 2015
After a nine-year journey, NASA’s New Horizons mission will soon be arriving at Pluto. But this is not the only spacecraft NASA has launched—so many robotic craft have traveled around Earth, to Mars, even to Jupiter. Join Brian Levine and Carter Emmart for a ride around the solar system and beyond to visit these missions.
Hayden Planetarium Space Theater
6:30 pm / $15

Black Entertainers and New York City History
The Gotham Center welcomes four authors —whose subjects range from Harry Belafonte, to the PBS show Soul!, to women artists from the ’40s through the Civil Rights Movement—for a unique discussion on black entertainment in New York. Participants: Judy Smith (UMass Boston), author of Becoming Belafonte: Black Artist, Public Radical; Gayle Wald(George Washington University), author of It’s Been Beautiful: Soul! and Black Power Television; Farah Jasmine Griffin(Columbia University), author of Harlem Nocturne: Women Artists and Progressive Politics During World War II; and Ruth Feldstein (Rutgers-Newark), author of How It Feels to Be Free: Black Women Entertainers and the Civil Rights Movement.

Co-sponsored by the Gotham Center for NYC History.
The Graduate Center CUNY, 365 Fifth Ave.
6:30pm-8:00pm / FREE
212-817-7000

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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 (pop. 8.4 million) had a record 56 million visitors last year and 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
My Fave Special Exhibitions – MUSEUMS / Manhattan’s WestSide
(See the New York Times Arts Section for listings of all museums,
and also to see the expanded reviews of these exhibitions)

Museum of Modern Art:
‘The Paris of Toulouse-Lautrec: Prints and Posters’ (through March 22) In his printed works, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec chronicled and publicized the music halls, theaters, circuses, operas and cafes of Paris with terrific verve, sly wit and surprising subtlety. This enthralling show presents approximately 100 examples drawn from the museum’s permanent collection. 212-708-9400, moma.org. (Johnson)

‘The Forever Now: Contemporary Painting in an Atemporal World’(through April 5) Despite being predictable and market-oriented in its choice of 17 artists, this museum’s first painting survey in decades is well worth seeing. About half the artists are exceptional and the rest are represented by their best work. Based on the premise that all historical painting styles are equally available today, the exhibition has been smartly installed to juxtapose different approaches: figurative and abstract, digital and handmade, spare and opulent. 212-708-9400, moma.org. (Smith)

New-York Historical Society:
‘Freedom Journey 1965: Photographs of the Selma to Montgomery March by Stephen Somerstein’ (through April 19) Almost 50 years ago, the picture editor of a campus newspaper at City College of New York assigned himself a breaking story: coverage of what promised to be a massive march in Alabama, led by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., to demand free-and-clear voting rights for African-Americans. On short notice the editor, Stephen Somerstein, grabbed his cameras, climbed on a bus, and headed south. The 55 pictures of black leaders and everyday people in this show, installed in a hallway and small gallery, are some that he shot that day. The image of Dr. King’s head seen in monumental silhouette that has become a virtual logo of the film “Selma” is based on a Somerstein original. 170 Central Park West, at 77th Street, 212-873-3400, nyhistory.org. (Cotter)

Rubin Museum of Art:
‘The All-Knowing Buddha: A Secret Guide’ (through April 13) This show presents 54 paintings that illustrate step-by-step instructions for followers of Tibetan Buddhism. Delicately painted on 10-by-10-inch paper sheets, most of the pages depict a monk having fabulous visions in a verdant landscape. Thought to have been commissioned by a Mongolian patron and executed by unidentified artists in a Chinese workshop sometime in the 18th century, it is a fascinating and remarkably thorough manual for seekers of higher consciousness. 150 West 17th Street, Chelsea, 212-620-5000,rubinmuseum.org. (Johnson)

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For other selected Museum and Gallery Special Exhibitions see Recent Posts in right Sidebar dated 02/22 and 02/20.