Today’s Elite 8 > SATURDAY / JUNE 04, 2016

“We search the internet everyday looking for the very best of What’s Happening, primarily on Manhattan’s WestSide, so that you don’t have to.” We make it as easy as 1-2-3.
(click on links for more complete event info.)

Have time for only one event today? Do this:

Blue Note Jazz Festival (through June 30)
“This monthlong fete will feature some of jazz’s biggest draws, alongside promising new talent and crossover fare. A grand kickoff at Central Park SummerStage on Saturday, at 5 p.m., gathers three dynamic elders: the pianist McCoy Tyner, the bassist Ron Carter and the drummer Roy Haynes, each with his own band. Other highlights in the coming week include Rosa Passos, a singer-songwriter from Bahia, Brazil, appearing Monday through Wednesday at the Blue Note Jazz Club, 131 West Third Street, in Manhattan; a 72nd-birthday tribute to the organist Al Kooper, at the B.B. King Blues Club & Grill, 237 West 42nd Street, on Thursday; and the Cuban trumpeter Arturo Sandoval, at the Blue Note, from Thursday through June 12. A full schedule is at bluenotejazzfestival.com. (Chinen-NYT)

Music, Dance, Performing Arts

All-Day Chopin Marathon
the Greene Space, 44 Charlton St./ 11AM-9:30PM, $
“The classical music radio station WQXR presents this daylong celebration of Chopin’s works for solo piano — over 200 waltzes, nocturnes, impromptus and more, including the composer’s daunting ballade. Among the performers are the young pianist-composer Timo Andres and the husband-wife duo Anna and Dmitri Shelest. Audience members can come and go as they please with an all-day pass, or purchase tickets for individual 90-minute segments.” (NYT-AroundTown)

Ballet BC (through June 5)
Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth Ave./ 7:30PM, $35, $50 (try the $35 loge seats, they are fine.)
“There’s constant hand-wringing about the dearth of female directors and choreographers in ballet. So it’s a welcome statement that this Canadian troupe, celebrating its 30th year and making its first Joyce appearance since 1998, arrives with a program by three exceptional women.

“Solo Echo” comes from the riveting Crystal Pite, an alumna of the company; “Bill” is a funky and surreal dance party by Sharon Eyal, who is Israeli; and “16+ a room” is by Emily Molnar, also a company alumna and the artistic director since 2009.” (Schaefer-NYT)
Saturday at 2 and 8 p.m., Sunday at 2 and 7:30 p.m.

Russell Malone Quartet (through June 5)
Village Vanguard, 178 Seventh Ave. South/ 8:30PM, +10:30PM, $30
“The title of Mr. Malone’s new album, “All About Melody,” could be reasonably understood as his artistic credo. A guitarist of taste and tradition, along with a brisk technique that he applies with careful restraint, he appears next week with the album’s supportive rhythm team: the pianist Rick Germanson, the bassist Luke Sellick and the drummer Willie Jones III.” (Chinen-NYT)

Scofield, Mehldau, Guiliana (through June 5)
Blue Note, 131 W3rd St./ 8PM, +10:30PM, $40, $55
“The guitarist Scofield is no one’s idea of a jazz purist—thankfully. Here he mixes it up with the piano titan Mehldau and the widely admired drummer Guiliana, who was recently heard on David Bowie’s “Blackstar.” The omnivorously eclectic trouble these three get into will be worth the price of admission.” (NewYorker)

Smart Stuff / Other
(Lectures, Discussions, Book Talks, Literary Readings, Classes, Food & Drink, Other

Tour the Past, Present and Future of the NYC Subway
Untapped Cities / 11AM-12:45PM, $30
“Take a ride through the living history of the world’s largest rapid transit system (in area) by weaving in and out of the past, present and future transit hubs of lower Manhattan. Join Untapped Cities’ tour guide Justin Rivers as he gives an exploratory history of the subway, from its groundbreaking in 1900 to the soon-to-open Second Avenue subway line.

Examine the nearly abandoned “Grand Central” of lower Manhattan, now practically left in ruin, explore the secrets inside the Santiago Calatrava-designed World Trade Center Transportation Hub and oculus, then take an in-depth look at the art and architecture of the Fulton Center hub. Finally, follow the tour into the future, with a visit led by the docents of the Lowline Lab to learn about the location and technology that will create the world’s first underground park.” (ThoughtGallery.org)

World Science Festival (through June 5)
“Science will transform the future,” says Brian Greene, co-founder of this annual festival. It’ll certainly transform the city over these five days, with fifty events, in a myriad of venues, bringing together the brightest minds across the fields of biology, medicine, technology, and more to show how deeply science is embedded in our daily city life. Attendees can stargaze in Brooklyn Bridge Park with the astronaut Anna Fisher; catch, count, and release fish in the waters surrounding the boroughs; debate the ethics and morals of artificial intelligence; or just quietly take in the spread of talks and screenings scheduled in museums and lecture halls throughout the week.” (NewYorker)

Today especially is filled with good events. see: worldsciencefestival.com
This one stands out to me:
Science and Story: The Instinct for Curiosity
Kimmel Center (NYU), 60 Washington Square South/ 8PM, $35
“Award-winning writers take the stage to share their quirky, engrossing, and sometimes shocking insights about human anatomy and social psychology. Mary Roach, widely regarded as one of the country’s greatest popular science writers, brings her infectious wit to a conversation with psychologist Maria Konnikova and journalist Jennifer Ackerman. Join us for an evening of laughter and unexpected revelations as these sparkling authors discuss how they transform complicated science into engaging literature.”

Washington Square Outdoor Art Exhibit, (Jun 4-5)
Washington Square Park/ 12PM- 6PM, FREE
“This city tradition feels fresh every spring when artists following in the footsteps of Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning set up shop in the park. Hundreds of exhibitors, from NYU students to artists who remember the Village as a creative enclave, display their paintings, sculptures, photography, jewelry and woodcraft.” (TONY)

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Bonus – Music Venues:
So much fine live music every night in this town. These are my favorite music venues on Manhattan’s WestSide. Check out who’s playing tonight:

City Winery – 155 Varick St., citywinery.com, 212-608-0555
Feinstein’s/54 Below – 254 W54th St., 54below.com, 646-476-3551
Joe’s Pub @ Public Theater – 425 Lafayette St., joespub.com, 212-967-7555
Metropolitan Room – 34W22ndSt., metropolitan room.com, 212-206-0440
Beacon Theatre – 2124 Broadway @ 74th St., beacontheatre.com, 212-465-6500
B.B. King’s Blues Bar – 237W42nd St., bbkingblues.com, 212-997-2144
Le Poisson Rouge – 158 Bleecker St., lepoissonrouge.com, 212-505-3474

Special Mention:
Caffe Vivaldi – 32 Jones St. nr Bleecker St. caffevivaldi.com, 212-691-7538
a classic, old jazz club in the Village, Caffe V often surprises with a wonderfully eclectic lineup. It’s my favorite spot for an evening of listening enjoyment and discovery.

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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 58 million visitors last year and was TripAdvisor’s Traveler’s Choice Top U.S. Destination for 2016.  Quality shows draw crowds.
Try to reserve seats in advance, even if it’s  just on the day of performance.
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Chelsea Art Gallery District*

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.

Two exhibitions the NewYorkTimes likes:

 Robert Ryman (through July 31)
“For nearly 60s years, the Minimalist painter Robert Ryman has had few equals when it comes to doing more with less. White has been his primary, if not quite his only, color, the square his typical format. And yet within these seeming limitations a remarkably fecund and resonant body of work has evolved as demonstrated with unusual clarity (and in natural light) by this small but comprehensive exhibition.
Dia: Chelsea, 535 West 22nd Street, 212-989-5566, diaart.org.” (Smith)

Richard Serra (through July 29)
“New works occupying Gagosian Gallery’s two Chelsea display spaces find Mr. Serra, at 76, still wrangling sculptural fundamentals into objects and installations of thrilling severity. At West 21st Street is a single, grand example of his mazes made from immense ribbons of rolled steel; West 24th Street hosts three works made of solid steel slabs as well as a drawing installation. In certain respects, the two exhibitions represent formal opposites. While the maze subordinates material to gravity-defying form, the slabs favor weighty raw material. What the two have in common is their awesomely expansive effects on consciousness.
Gagosian Gallery, 522 West 21st Street, 212-741-1717; and at 555 West 24th Street, Chelsea, 212-741-1111, gagosian.com.” (Johnson)

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.

*Now plan your own gallery crawl, but plan your visits for Tuesday through Saturday; most galleries are closed Sunday and Monday.

TIP: After your gallery tour, stop in Ovest at 513W27th St. for Aperitivo Italiano (Happy Hour on steroids). Discuss all the great art you have viewed over a drink and a very tasty selection of FREE appetizers (M-F, 5-8pm).

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For other selected Museum and Gallery Special Exhibitions see recent posts in right sidebar dated 06/02 and 05/31.
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This week’s fave and FREE NYCity AppS: 
Trip Advisor
An enormous base of NYCity user reviews (2.1 million) provides the widest coverage of hotels (468), restaurants (12,645) and things to do (yes, 3,246). Have a specific question? Then try one of Trip Advisor’s forums. Just remember that with all those reviews you have to try to find the consistency among the comments, and ignore the outliers.

OpenTable
Instantly locate restaurants near you with open reservations and then place a reservation right from your iOS device. A great interface and the ability to see a menu from the restaurant you’re interested in makes this my go to restaurant reservation app.

Subway Time 
Need to catch your #1,2,3 subway to attend an event? Use the Subway Time app from the MTA to find out when the next train arrives at your station. The MTA also has Bus Time info available on their mobile website.
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