Today’s Elite 8  NYC Events > THURSDAY/ SEPTEMBER 05, 2019

“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, check the tab above:  “September NYC Events”
It’s the most comprehensive list of top events this month that you will find anywhere.
Carefully curated from “Only the Best” NYC event info on the the web, it’s a simply superb resource that will help you plan your NYC visit all over town, all through the month.
OR to make your own after dinner plans TONIGHT, see the tab above;  “LiveMusic.”

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

Jimmy Cobb Quartet (Sept. 5-8)
Smoke, 2751 Broadway / 7PM, +9PM, $45
The ninety-year-old veteran drummer Jimmy Cobb—the last surviving member of the ensemble that recorded “Kind of Blue”—can still rouse memories of his tenures with the likes of Miles Davis and Wynton Kelly with his crisp, no-nonsense playing. He celebrates the release of his buoyant new album, “This I Dig of You,” at the helm of a quartet that features the same personnel as the recording: the bassist John Webber, the guitarist Peter Bernstein, and the pianist Harold Mabern.” (Steve Futterman, NewYorker)

======================================================== 7 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)
>> THE RACONTEURS
>> ANNA WEBBER SEPTET
>> DANCE NOW Festival 2019
>> Monty Alexander
>> Shoshana Bean
>> Liebman, Copland, Alessi Quintet
>> Studying Food in Public: A Conversation

Today’s Top Event: US Tennis Open Day 11

You may want to look at previous days posts for events that continue through today.

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Music, Dance, Performing Art

THE RACONTEURS (Sept. 5-6)
at Hammerstein Ballroom / 8 p.m.; $76
“Some have said that rock is dead; Jack White, in an interview with the Los Angeles radio station KROQ, said it just needed “some new young blood.” Until that comes around, White seems content to fill the void himself. In June, the Raconteurs — a band he started as a side project back in 2005 alongside the singer-songwriter Brendan Benson — released “Help Us Stranger,” their first album in 11 years. After playing a string of intimate shows around the city on the week of the album’s release, the band will return to New York for two nights at Manhattan’s Hammerstein, followed by a night at Brooklyn’s Kings Theater. Tickets remain for Thursday’s show; the other two performances have sold out, but resale tickets are available.” (NYT-OLIVIA HORN)

ANNA WEBBER SEPTET
at the Jazz Gallery / 7:30 and 9:30 p.m.; $15
“A Canadian-born tenor saxophonist and flutist, Webber has spent the past 11 years in New York City. In that time she’s accumulated an impressive catalog of compositions for ensembles small and large. The ones she writes for septet are not overstuffed with activity, but they almost always invite you to focus on more than one thing at once: a couple misfit horn parts, sparring weirdly; slurry, halting rhythms from the drums and bass against a smooth, sluicelike melody; the rumble of a timpani in conversation with the squealing revolt of a scraped cymbal. At this show, the septet — featuring Jeremy Viner on tenor saxophone and clarinet, Jacob Garchik on trombone, Christopher Hoffman on cello, Matt Mitchell on piano, Chris Tordini on bass and Kate Gentile on drums — will play tunes from Webber’s most recent album, “Clockwise.” (NYT-GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO)

DANCE NOW Festival 2019 (Sept.4-7)
Joe’s Pub / 7PM, $20
“Acclaimed for its signature short-takes format, the DANCE NOW Festival presents a diverse range of works from some of today’s most innovative and dynamic dance makers. The 24th season of this lively fall festival features 40 emerging and established choreographers, including DANCE NOW veterans and festival newcomers. Every show features Emcee TruDee (aka Deborah Lohse).” (NYC-Arts.org)

Monty Alexander (Sept.3-8)
Blue Note / 8PM, +10:30PM, $20-$35
“Nearly sixty years after he moved to the United States from Kingston, Jamaica, his hometown, Grammy nominated pianist Monty Alexander is an American classic, touring the world relentlessly with various projects, delighting a global audience drawn to his vibrant personality and soulful message.

A perennial favorite at Jazz festivals and venues worldwide and at the Montreux Jazz Festival where he has appeared 23 times since 1976, his spirited conception is one informed by the timeless verities: endless melody-making, effervescent grooves, sophisticated voicings, a romantic spirit, and a consistent predisposition, as Alexander accurately states, “to build up the heat and kick up a storm.”

Shoshana Bean (Sept.3-5)
Feinstein’s/54 Below / 7PM, $75+
“Best known to theater audiences for replacing Idina Menzel as Elpheba in Wicked and, more recently, starring as Jenna in Waitress the big-voiced Bean dips into the Broadway catalog in her Feinstein’s/54 Below debut. Although she has diversified into pop in her four studio albums, this concert is devoted exclusively to musical-theater songs from roles she has played onstage, would like to play onstage or knows she will never play onstage.” (TONY)

Liebman, Copland, Alessi Quintet (Sept. 3-7)
Birdland, 315 W. 44th St./ 8PM, +11PM, $30-$40
“In the early seventies, the saxophonist Dave Liebman cut recordings with Miles Davis and Elvin Jones that today’s musicians still scrutinize for inspiration. In the decades since, Liebman has cemented his role as both a profound improviser and a trusted mentor. Here, he joins forces with a cadre of exceptional players, all thoroughly conversant with post-bop procedures—the pianist Marc Copland, the trumpeter Ralph Alessi, the bassist Drew Gress, and the drummer Joey Baron—to form a unit that radiates promise.” (Steve Futterman, NewYorker)

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Smart Stuff / Other NYC EventS

Elsewhere, but this looks worth the detour:

Studying Food in Public: A Conversation
Museum of Food and Drink, 62 Bayard St., Williamsburg, Brooklyn / 7PM, $15
‘Food media and writing have never been more popular, or more critical, as audiences are asking for more information from their food and the people who make it. Whether it’s writing about the meteoric rise of chicken consumption in the United States, explaining modern immigration policy through the history Chinese American food, or advocating for a more equitable hospitality industry, food can be a powerful tool to understand the world around us.”

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Today’s Top Event

US Tennis Open Day 11 (thru Sept.8)

The U.S. Open begins play today @ 12PM at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in Queens (about 45 min. from Times Square.) This tournament, which serves up the world’s best tennis players right in our backyard, is celebrating its 21st year at Arthur Ashe Stadium and is the fourth and final Grand Slam tennis tournament of the year.
subway: @ Times Square take #7 to Willets Point.

Today’s tips: A fine comprehensive review of the tournament and the current state of tennis can be found at the NYTimes/Sports.

There is no other major sporting event where you can get so close to world class athletes as at the U.S. Open – especially on the outer field courts and the Grandstand court. At this stage in the tournament there will be a lot of high-quality junior matches on the outer courts. These are courts where you can get a real sense of the pace of the game.

Today’s Featured Match: E. Svitolina (UKR) [5] vs. S. Williams (USA) [8]

“Day 11 of the 2019 US Open finds four of the best in women’s tennis still standing, as each continues her quest to stand alone. At the start of this event, 128 names filled the lines of the women’s draw; tonight, the deal is two pair. Four women—some familiar, others less so—have battled their way through to the semifinals of this tournament and now stand two matches removed from tennis’ toughest title. One of tonight’s semifinals pits Serena Williams against Elina Svitolina; the other brings together Belinda Bencic and Bianca Andreescu. Four top talents, one common goal: Each needs to be semi-tough.

This event has been a fortnightmare for the majority of the top seeds on the women’s side, as eight of the Top 10 have been ousted to this point. Indeed, not since The Grapes of Wrath have so many seeds been scattered to the wind. Defending US Open champ and top seed Naomi Osaka lost in Round 4. Reigning French Open champ and second seed Ashleigh Barty exited in the same round, as did third-seeded Karolina Pliskova. The tournament’s No. 4 seed, Wimbledon champ Simona Halep, fared even less well, forced from Flushing in Round 2.”

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Continuing Events

2-for-1 Broadway Week (Sept.3-16)

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COMING SOON (WFUV)

9/5 Of Monsters and Men, Radio City Music Hall
9/5 Phantogram, Kings Theatre
9/5-6 The Raconteurs, Hammerstein Ballroom
9/6 Vampire Weekend, Madison Square Garden
9/6 Robert Randolph & The Family Band, Concert Hall at the NY Society for Ethical Culture
9/7 Morrissey w/Interpol, Forest Hills Stadium
9/7 Weyes Blood, Webster Hall
9/7 The Raconteurs, Kings Theatre
9/7-8 Mitski w/Lucy Dacus, SummerStage Central Park
9/10 Raphael Saadiq, Music Hall of Williamsburg
9/10-11 Deerhunter, Webster Hall
9/11 Sunflower Bean, Music Hall Of Williamsburg
9/11 Willie Nelson & Family, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, Lukas Nelson & Promise of The Real, Alison Krauss, Forest Hills Stadium
9/11 Pat Metheny, Sony Hall

♦ Before making final plans, we suggest you call the venue to confirm ticket availability, plus dates and times, as schedules are subject to change.
♦ NYCity, with a population of  8.6 million, had a record 65 million visitors last year and was TripAdvisor’s Traveler’s Choice Top U.S. Destination for 2019 – the ninth consecutive year. BUT quality shows draw crowds. Try to reserve seats for these top NYC events in advance, even if just earlier on the day of performance.

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

Joe’s Pub @ Public Theater – 425 Lafayette St., joespub.com, 212-967-7555
Beacon Theatre – 2124 Broadway @ 74th St., beacontheatre.com, 212-465-6500
Town Hall – 123 W43rd St., thetownhall.org, 212-997-6661
Le Poisson Rouge – 158 Bleecker St., lepoissonrouge.com, 212-505-3474
and one more, not quite WestSide
Bowery Ballroom – 6 Delancey St. boweryballroom.com

City Winery – WAS 155 Varick St., WILL BE Pier 57 in the spring – Blame Disney.

For a comprehensive list of the best places to hear All Types of Live Music in Manhattan see the tab above “LiveMusic.”

In Memoriam:
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 discovery and enjoyment.
Alas, Caffe V is no more, another victim of a rapacious NYC landlord. Owner Ishrat fought the good fight and Caffe V will be sorely missed.