Today’s Elite 8  NYC Events > WEDNESDAY/JUNE 21, 2017

“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.
For future NYC Events be sure to check the tab above: “Notable NYC Events-June”

Have time for only one NYC Event today? Do this:

Jazztopad Festival: Wójciński / Szmańda Quartet and STRYJO (also Thursday)
Presented in partnership with the Polish Cultural Institute
Dizzy’s Club / 7:30PM, +9:30PM, $35
“The annual Jazztopad Festival at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola is a must-see showcase for anyone interested in the world of jazz and improvised music. This year, each set will be split between two groups: the Wójciński / Szmańda Quartet and STRYJO. The two groups are quite different, but they compliment one another beautifully.

The Wójciński / Szmańda Quartet features the three Wójciński brothers – each of them a current mainstay in the Polish jazz scene – on trumpet, piano, and bass, plus Krzysztof Szmańda on drums.

STRYJO is a trio that, on paper, probably sounds like it’s for a niche audience, but that’s absolutely not the case. STRYJO performs 100% improvised songs (including themes, rhythms, structure, etc.) that sound neither “free” nor overly simplistic. Groove seems to be a priority here, and STRYJO’s embrace of easily identifiable rhythmic foundations makes their music immediately accessible and allows them to dazzle with the details.”

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7 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)
>>Make Music New York
>>Diana Krall
>>L.A. Dance Project
>>Brian Stokes Mitchell: Plays with Music
>>Onegin
>>An Evening with Albert Einstein
>>Maureen Meister on A Description of the New York Central Park
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Music, Dance, Performing Arts

Make Music New York
One Day, Five Boroughs, Hundreds of Performances
“Walk around the boroughs on Wednesday and you’re almost certain to bump into a Make Music New York event: There are over 1,000 of them, morning, afternoon and evening. Part of the fun is simple exploration, the pleasure of the unexpected, but three highlights are worth noting: “49 Flutes,” a citywide performance of John Cage’s “49 Waltzes for the Five Boroughs”; a performance of Gérard Grisey’s “Le Noir de l’Étoile” at the American Museum of Natural History at 12:30 p.m.; and “WTC @ WTC,” a complete account of Bach’s “Well-Tempered Clavier” at the 9/11 Memorial plaza, at 4 p.m.”( DAVID ALLEN-NYT)

Diana Krall
Beacon Theater, / 7:30PM, $83+
“Award-winning jazz pianist and world renowned singer, Diana Krall’s show will feature songs from her vast catalogue, as well as her new album, “Turn Down The Quiet.” Diana Krall is the only jazz singer to have eight albums debut at the top of the Billboard Jazz Albums chart. Her unique artistry transcends any single musical style and has made her one of the most recognizable artists of our time.

With her pre-bop piano style, cool and sensual singing, and gorgeously photogenic looks, Krall took the jazz world by storm in the late 1990s with the release of her first studio album, Stepping Out, in 1993. Her third album, All for You: A Dedication to the Nat King Cole Trio (1996), helped show off her singer-pianist roots and earned her a Grammy nomination and several prime Billboard positions, cementing her name as one of top popular Jazz artists around.”

L.A. Dance Project
Joyce Theater, 175 8th Ave/ 7:30PM, $56-$81
“Benjamin Millepied, who turns forty this week, was an early star at the School of American Ballet and the New York City Ballet. He choreographed and danced in the notorious Black Swan, then married his screen colleague Natalie Portman. He founded this distinguished repertory troupe in Los Angeles in 2012, went off to a thorny three-year stint as director of the Paris Opera Ballet, and is now back in California, from whence he brings two programs of promising work. The first, opening Tuesday, June 13, includes Ohad Naharin’s Yag and two of Millepied’s own dances, the 2014 Hearts & Arrows and the world premiere of In Silence We Speak. The second bill, playing in repertory starting Wednesday, June 14, reprises Silence and features Justin Peck’s Murder Ballades, a MinEvent by Merce Cunningham, and Millepied’s Orpheus Highway.” (Elizabeth Zimmer, VillageVoice)

Brian Stokes Mitchell: Plays with Music (thru June 24)
Feinstein’s/54 Below / 7PM, $100
“Superlative or not, there aren’t many adjectives that fit Brian Stokes Mitchell as well as “unparalleled.” Last starring on Broadway in 2016’s SHUFFLE ALONG, the two-time Tony winner and member of the Theatre Hall of Fame has cemented himself as one of the greatest leading men on Broadway, and his rich, deep baritone is a force all its own. This week, alongside long-time collaborator Tedd Firth, he makes his Feinstein’s/54 Below solo debut, sampling songs from his upcoming album, PLAYS WITH MUSIC, an eclectic collection of showtunes, folk songs, and more.” (Ashley Steves, BroadwayWorld)

Onegin (Jun 19 – 24)
American Ballet Theatre (through July 8)
@ Metropolitan Opera House / 2PM +7:30PM, $22+
“Pushkin’s great verse novel, Eugene Onegin, is interpreted with flawless storytelling skill by John Cranko. With a wealth of magical moments, this compelling tale features an unusual twist of double unrequited love—while the high-handed Onegin at first spurns the young, naive Tatiana, she blooms to become a sophisticated St. Petersburg aristocrat who, in turn, rejects his subsequent advances in a final crushing blow. Tchaikovsky’s vivid music brings to life the world of Imperial Russia with beauty, drama and passion.”

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

An Evening with Albert Einstein
The Remarkable Genius of Albert Einstein: His Life and Universe
New York Institute of Technology, 1855 Broadway /7PM, $80
“Dig deeper into a portrait of genius with an NYU professor’s session on Albert Einstein (he’ll employ Einstein’s thought experiment techniques so his thinking can be understood with a minimum of mathematics).” (ThoughtGallery.org)

Maureen Meister on A Description of the New York Central Park
Book Culture on Columbus, 450 Columbus Ave./ 7PM, FREE
Clarence C. Cook‘s classic book A Description of the New York Central Park, has just been reissued by NYU Press.

“Central Park receives millions of visitors every year, tourists and locals alike. A Description of the New York Central Park, published in 1869, is recognized today as the most important book about the park to appear during its early years. The lively, often wry, text was written by Clarence C. Cook, a distinguished Victorian art critic, while the illustrations were drawn by the popular Albert Fitch Bellows. The author and artist examine many sites in the park that survive to this day as well as features that have vanished over time.

In a new Introduction, Maureen Meister reveals how the book came about. Meister tells how Olmsted and Vaux advised Cook on what he wrote, and she has found evidence to suggest that they initiated the book’s publication. This book is their book. While the original volume offers much to delight the modern reader, Meister’s Introduction sheds light on how the book served a greater purpose. It was published to champion Olmsted and Vaux and to advocate for their vision–a dream for a magnificent public park that has come to be regarded as New York City’s achievement and a model for the nation.”

and don’t forget this continuing event, an eclectic extravaganza that is an annual highlight in Lower Manhattan –  the very lowest WestSide of Manhattan:

River To River Festival (June 14–25)
The 16th annual River To River Festival will have over 100+ performances — with 12 days of dance, music, theater and the visual arts activities. The festival will take place across 31 unique sites across Lower Manhattan and Governors Island.

“From City Hall Park to the Financial District to South Street Seaport to Governors Island, the Medici-like Lower Manhattan Cultural Council deploys some of our most interesting dance artists, including the Dance Cartel, Netta Yerushalmy, Faye Driscoll, Marjani Forté-Saunders, Beth Gill, Maria Hassabi, Jodi Melnick, and Will Rawls. If I had to choose, I’d definitely catch Melnick’s Moat (June 17–18 at Fort Jay), and the long-awaited, The Set Up: Island Ghost Sleep Princess Time Story Show (June 18–19 and 24–25 at Governors Island), a six-year collaboration among Wally Cardona, Jennifer Lacey, and multiple international collaborators, all masters of French or Asian dance traditions. Consider taking a week of vacation days so you can wallow in all this talent. Events are free, though some require advance reservations at the website, which offers full descriptions and schedules.” (Elizabeth Zimmer, VillageVoice)

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Bonus NYC events– 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 is playing tonight:

Greenwich Village:
(5 are underground, classic jazz joints. all 6 are within walking distance of each other):
Village Vanguard – UG, 178 7th Ave. South, villagevanguard.com, 212-255-4037
Blue Note – 131 W3rd St. nr 6th ave. bluenotejazz.com, 212-475-8592
55 Bar – basement @55 Christopher St. nr 7th ave.S. 55bar.com, 212-929-9883
Mezzrow – basement @ 163 W10th St. nr 7th Ave. mezzrow.com,646-476-4346
Smalls – basement @ 183 W10th St. smallslive.com, 646-476-4346
Cornelia Street Cafe – UG, 29 Cornelia St. corneliastreetcafe.com, 212-989-9319

Outside Greenwich Village:
Dizzy’s Club – Broadway @ 60th St. — jazz.org/dizzys / 212-258-9595
Birdland – 315 W44th St.(btw 8/9ave) — birdlandjazz.com / 212-581-3080
Smoke Jazz Club – 2751 Broadway nr.106th St. — smokejazz.com / 212-864-6662

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 60 million visitors last year and was TripAdvisor’s Traveler’s Choice Top U.S. Destination for 2017.  Quality shows draw crowds.
Try to reserve seats for these top NYC events in advance, even if just on day of performance.

NYCity Vacation Travel Guide Video (Expedia):

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WHAT’S ON VIEW
These are My Fave Special Exhibitions @ MUSEUMS / Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue
(See the New York Times Arts Section for listings of all museum exhibitions,
and also see the expanded reviews of these exhibitions)

Museum of the City of New York
‘A CITY SEEN: TODD WEBB’S POSTWAR NEW YORK, 1945­-1960’ (thru Sept.04)
“Webb, a Detroit native who lost his money in the 1929 crash, served as a Navy photographer during World War II. His first major solo exhibition, “I See a City,” opened at the Museum of the City of New York in September 1946. Now the museum is putting the photographer, who died in 2000, in the spotlight again with more than 100 of his pictures of the city, including this shot of 125th Street in Harlem in 1946.
WHEN | WHERE Through Sept. 4, at the Museum of the City of New York, 1220 Fifth Ave.
INFO $18; 212­534­1672, mcny.org ­­ (STAV ZIV-Newsday)

NY at Its Core (ongoing)
“Ten years in the making, New York at Its Core tells the compelling story of New York’s rise from a striving Dutch village to today’s “Capital of the World.” The exhibition captures the human energy that drove New York to become a city like no other and a subject of fascination the world over. Entertaining, inspiring, important, and at times bemusing, New York City “big personalities,” including Alexander Hamilton, Walt Whitman, Boss Tweed, Emma Goldman, JP Morgan, Fiorello La Guardia, Jane Jacobs, Jay-Z, and dozens more, parade through the exhibition. Visitors will also learn the stories of lesser-known New York personalities, like Lenape chieftain Penhawitz and Italian immigrant Susie Rocco. Even animals like the horse, the pig, the beaver, and the oyster, which played pivotal roles in the economy and daily life of New York, get their moment in the historical spotlight. Occupying the entire first floor in three interactive galleries (Port City, 1609-1898, World City, 1898-2012, and Future City Lab) New York at Its Core is shaped by four themes: money, density, diversity, and creativity. Together, they provide a lens for examining the character of the city, and underlie the modern global metropolis we know today. mcny.org” (NYCity Guide)

(now-9/6/17) The newest show at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Visionaries: Creating a Modern Guggenheim, provides a rare chance to explore in-depth some of the key artists of this essential New York institution. Framed by the interests of six leading patrons, Visionaries brings together canvases from masters like Max Ernst, René Magritte, and Yves Tanguy, and sculptures by Joseph Cornell and Alberto Giacometti. In addition, Jackson Pollock’s Alchemy (1947) is being shown in the U.S. for the first time in nearly 50 years. More than a dozen works on paper by Picasso and Van Gogh, rarely on view to the public, can be seen in the Thannhauser Gallery, and paintings by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Paul Gauguin, and Édouard Manet are displayed on the museum’s legendary ramps.

and you should be sure to check out the special exhibitions at that little museum on Fifth Ave., The Metropolitan Museum of Art
(open 7 days /week, AND always Pay What You Wish)

at the very least you will want to see this one:
Age of Empires: Chinese Art of the Qin & Han Dynasties (221 B.C.-A.D. 220)
“Not least among the achievements of Ying Zheng, the founding emperor of the short-lived Qin dynasty (221-206 B.C.), was propaganda, some of which still echoes bombastically on the walls of this show: you won’t depart with any confusion about who first unified China. But the chance to see a platoon of his spectacular terra-cotta warriors, half a dozen or so of the thousands that were buried with the emperor, who died in 210 B.C., and excavated in the nineteen-seventies, is not to be missed. Fitted together like action figures from mass-produced body parts and originally equipped with real bronze weapons, the life-size sculptures have individually detailed faces of surprising charisma. One kneeling archer, with square-toed shoes and a mustache, is so striking he may trigger déjà vu. Along with the soldiers comes a wide-ranging selection of contemporaneous artifacts, many of them demonstrating a naturalistic approach to anatomy and an untrammelled expressive whimsy—both of which were later eradicated by the heavy stylization during the Han dynasty. Examples of the former include a recently discovered terra-cotta strongman with a potbelly; examples of the latter include a bronze lamp shaped like a mythical bird tipping its head back to swallow its own smoke. But, if many of the show’s pieces make Qin and Han culture look unexpectedly relatable, its highlights are those that were unmistakably made long ago and far away, particularly the unforgettable jade burial suit of the Han princess Dou Wan. Discovered in a cliffside tomb in Hebei Province, in 1968, the ritual object is made of more than two thousand rectangular panels of jade, sewn together with gold.” (NewYorker)  THRU JULY 16.

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Museum Mile is a section of Fifth Avenue which contains one of the densest displays of culture in the world. Eight museums can be found along this section of Fifth Avenue:
• 105th Street – El Museo del Barrio (closed Sun-Mon)*
• 103rd Street – Museum of the City of New York (open 7 days /week)
•  92nd Street – The Jewish Museum (closed Wed) (Sat FREE) (Thu 5-8 PWYW)
•  91st Street  –  Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum (open 7 days /week)
•  89th Street –  National Academy Museum (closed Mon-Tue)
•  88th Street –  Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (closed Thu) (Sat 6-8 PWYW)
•  86th Street –  Neue Galerie New York (closed Tue-Wed) (Fri 6-8 FREE)
Last, but certainly not least, America’s premier museum
•  82nd Street – The Metropolitan Museum of Art (open 7 days /week)*
*always Pay What You Wish (PWYW)

Although technically not part of the Museum Mile, the Frick Collection (closed Mon) (SUN 11am-1pm PWYW) on the corner of 70th St. and Fifth Avenue and the The Morgan Library & Museum (closed Mon) (Fri 7-9 FREE) on Madison Ave and 37th St are also located near Fifth Ave.
Now plan your own museum crawl (info on hours & admission updated June 2, 2015).
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For other selected Museum and Gallery Special Exhibitions see Recent Posts in right Sidebar dated 06/19 and 06/17.
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