Today’s Super 6 > SATURDAY / SEPT. 05, 2015

Music, Dance, Performing Arts

>Cyrus Chestnut Trio
Birdland, 315 W44th St./ 8:30PM +11PM, $40
“A soulful, straight-ahead pianist, particularly adept with gospel and the blues, Cyrus Chestnut works most often in a trio, with a smart young rhythm team. For this engagement he’s in the esteemed company of players a little older than himself, the bassist Curtis Lundy and the drummer Victor Lewis.” (Chinen-NYT)

>Jerry González and the Fort Apache Band (through Sept. 6)
Blue Note, 131 W3rd St / 8PM + 10:30PM, $20, $35
Conga-playing trumpeter Jerry González’s fiery barrio-jazz ensemble, Fort Apache, fuses boppish melodies with the Afro-Cuban rhythms its founder picked up in the Bronx ’hood that gives the band its name.” (TONY)

>Miguel Zenón Quartet (through Sept. 6)
Village Vanguard, 178 Seventh Ave South, at 11th St. / 8:30PM+10:30PM, $30
“Identities Are Changeable” is the most recent album by the alto saxophonist Miguel Zenón, who has turned the exploration of Puerto Rican culture into an aesthetic signature. His focus on the album is the Nuyorican experience, with snippets of oral history woven into his state-of-the-art big band arrangements — which he compresses here to their core, with his longtime quartet.” (Chinen-NYT)

TODAY’S TOP EVENT
Elsewhere, but absolutely worth the detour:
U.S. TENNIS OPEN (Day 6)

September 3, 2015 – Donald Young in action in a men’s singles second round match against Aljaz Bedene during the 2015 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, NY. (USTA/Garrett Ellwood)

The U.S. Open continues play today (11AM) at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in Queens and runs through Sept. 13. This is the fourth and final Grand Slam tennis tournament of the year. Everyone is looking for the Serena slam this year.
subway: #1-2-3 to Times Square; transfer to #7 to Willets Point. (about 45 min. from Times Square)

Matches to watch today: (predictions per Matt Cronin –  USOpen.org)

ASHE – ROGER FEDERER (2) VS. PHILIP KOHLSCHREIBER (29)
Is the great one going to play perfectly every match and win the US Open again? Probably not, but he has been near-perfect in his first two matches, dropping just nine games–pretty darn good. The German Kohlschreiber, a tour veteran, can rake his one-handed backhand; he can chop it, or he can employ heavy topspin. His serves aren’t fantastic, but his forehand is fairly good and he has improved his net play. However, is he good enough to unearth Federer? No, not in three-out-of-five sets. Head to head, the Swiss is 10-0 against Kohlschreiber.

GRANDSTAND – VICTOR TROICKI (22) VS. DONALD YOUNG
Donald Young hasn’t played fantastically well this year, but he has played amazingly in his first two contests at the US Open, stunning No. 11 Gilles Simon and besting Aljaz Bedene.The 25-year-old lefty is crushing his forehand, and when he is on, his wicked twister hurts his foes.
The Serb is very steady and fairly aggressive, and while he has never gone deep at the Slams, he is cagey. Young is going to have to be patient and make sure that he strikes his backhand deep, as he can’t smoke it like he can the forehand. The crowd will be screaming for him, and he will all charged up. Young will get through in four spectacular sets.

ASHE – ANGELIQUE KERBER (11) VS. VICTORIA AZARENKA (20)
This is a legitimate 50-50 for Angie Kerber and Vika Azarenka; the German looked fantastic when she won Stanford last month and the Belarusian former No. 1 hasn’t played as well as she could this week, but she has pushed very hard from inside the baseline and on her returns. Her second serve is a mess right now, but she has improved her net charges significantly, as well as her forehand. I could be wrong here because I do think that Kerber has a shot to reach the final if she truly believes, but I just think that Azarenka will be more courageous again and win in three sets.

Today’s tips: Arrive early. Security screening has been brutal, with long delays to enter. The best, most comprehensive review of the tournament and the current state of tennis can be found at the NYTimes/Sports

Once inside check out one of the electronic scoreboards listing matches in progress. Find a match or players that interest you. Head over to their court for some great 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 field courts, the Grandstand court, or even Louis Armstrong stadium. Courts where you can get a real sense of the pace of the game.

Unfortunately, this is the last year for the Grandstand court, which is being replaced by a larger, less intimate court. It will be sorely missed. Make sure to find your way over there to see some matches while you can.

Bonus – Jazz Venues:
Many consider NYCity the Jazz capital of the world. Here are my favorite Jazz clubs, all on Manhattan’s WestSide. Check out who’s playing tonight:
Greenwich Village:
Village Vanguard – 178 7th ave. South, — villagevanguard.com / 212-255-4037
Blue Note – 131 W3rd St. nr 6th ave. — bluenotejazz.com / 212-475-8592
55 Bar – 55 Christopher St. nr 7th ave. South — 55bar.com / 212-929-9883
Outside Greenwich Village:
Dizzy’s Club – Broadway @ 60th St. — jazz.org/dizzys / 212-258-9595
Birdland – 315 W44th St.(btw 8/9 ave) — birdlandjazz.com / 212-581-3080
Smoke Jazz Club – 2751 Broadway, nr.106th St. — smokejazz.com / 212-864-6662

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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, with a population of  8.5 million, had a record 56 million visitors last year and is TripAdvisor’s Traveler’s Choice Top U.S. Destination for 2015.  Quality shows draw crowds. Try to reserve seats in advance, even if just on day of performance.
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A PremierPub and 3 Good Eating Places – Greenwich Village

Caffe Vivaldi / 32 Jones Street (btw. Bleecker St./W4th St.)

Café Vivaldi is a classic, intimate club located in Greenwich Village on Jones Street, the street featured on the cover of Bob Dylan’s second album, “Freewheelin’. ”

Each night Ishrat, the long time proprietor and impresario, carefully curates and schedules an eclectic series of musicians. You can often see him at his table in the corner, hard at work reviewing music videos and listening to cd demos on his laptop, scouting out future bookings. Musicians come from all over to play and sing in a club in Greenwich Village. Some are local New Yorkers, others are just passing through, in town for a few days.

There is a small bar, seating maybe 10. It’s close to the stage and I find it’s a perfect spot to sip a glass of red wine while listening to the music. The room itself has the performance area at one end and a cozy fireplace at the other. The performance area here is small, dominated by a large black Yamaha Grand piano. Tables are bunched together and most people at the tables are eating lite meals or sampling the wonderful desserts.

There is also a good selection of fairly priced wines,  but you are here because of the music. You can never be quite sure what you’re going to find, and that’s half the charm of this place. It’s not a home run every night, but many nights it’s pretty special.

I remember the night I saw the most talented bossa nova group, just in from San Paulo. As I listened, I wondered if there was any better music playing anywhere else in New York City that night. And at Caffé Vivaldi there is never a cover charge. Their recently redesigned web site does give you a better idea of the type of music playing each night.

At one time Greenwich Village was filled with clubs just like this, but times change. Real estate interests have impacted the village, and not for the better. Even Caffé Vivaldi had a rough time recently, when a new landlord raised the rent exorbitantly. Fortunately, Ishrat has built a loyal following over the years, and a fund raiser and slightly more reasonable rent has kept Café Vivaldi in business.

When Woody Allen and Al Pacino wanted to make movies featuring the timeless quality of Greenwich Village they came to Vivaldi. It’s important that we keep this special place alive, for if we lose Cafe Vivaldi, NYCity will have lost a piece of it’s soul.

Website: http://caffevivaldi.com/
Phone #: (212) 691-7538
Hours: Music generally 7:30PM – 11PM, but varies
Lunch/Dinner 11AM-on
Subway: #1 to Christopher St.
Walk 1 blk S. on 7th ave S. to Bleecker St., 1 blk left on Bleecker to Jones St., 50 yards left on Jones St. to Caffe V.

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“Pub” is used in it’s broadest sense – bars, bar/restaurants, jazz clubs, wine bars, tapas bars, craft beer bars, dive bars, cocktail lounges, and of course, pubs – just about anyplace you can get a drink without a cover charge

If you have a fave premier pub or good eating place on Manhattan’s WestSide let us all know about it – leave a comment.
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3 Good Eating places

It’s not difficult to find a place to eat in Manhattan.
Finding a good, inexpensive place to eat is a bit harder.
Here are a few of my faves in this neighborhood:

Fish – 280 Bleecker St. (just a bit S. of 7th ave South)
This was an easy pick – the best raw bar special in town. $9 gets you 6 of the freshest oysters or clams + a glass of wine or beer. Don’t know how they can do it, but I tell everyone I know about this place. And it’s located right in the heart of some of the best no cover music in town.

Bleecker Street Pizza – 69 7th ave S. (corner of Bleecker St.)
The place is tiny and not much to look at, but this is one good slice. They like to brag that they have been voted “Best pizza in NY” 3 years in a row by the Food Network. I believe them. I would have voted for them.

Num Pang – 21 E 12th St. (btw. University Place/5th ave.)
This is a Cambodian banh mi sandwich shop that kept me well fed while I was in class nearby recently. It’s cramped, even for NYCity, but usually there is room up the spiral staircase to sit down and eat. In good weather carry your sandwich a few blocks to Union Square park. You may have to wait a few minutes, because everything is freshly made, but it’s worth it. Can you believe – an unheard of 26 food rating by Zagat.

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“3 Good Eating places” focuses on a quick bite, what I call “Fine Fast Food – NYCity Style”

This covers a wide range of food – the traditional pizza, burgers, & hot dogs; but also food trucks & carts, soup & sandwiches, picnic fixins’, raw bars & lobster rolls, bbq, vegetarian, falafel, ramen, chopped salad & salad bars. No reservations needed. ===========================================================================

◊ For all my picks of 54 Good Eating places, and essays on my favorite 18 PremierPubs in 9 Neighborhoods on Manhattan’s WestSide, order a copy of my e-book:
“Eating and Drinking on NYCity’s WestSide” ($4.99, available Fall 2015).
◊ Order before Oct. 31, 2015 and receive a bonus – 27 of my favorite casual dining places with free Wi-Fi.