NYC Events,”Only the Best” (04/16) + Today’s Featured Pub (Greenwich Village)

Posted on 04/16/2018 by GregD

Today’s Sweet 6 NYC Events >MONDAY/ APRIL 16, 2018

“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, better check the tab above: “NYC Events-April”
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.

===========================================================

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

Elsewhere, but this sure looks worth the detour.

FESTIVAL OF MALI (April 14-16)
at Brooklyn Bowl / 8 p.m., $20
“The offerings at this three-night festival provide a cross sample of the country’s music — from the kinetic churn of the Songhaï vocalist and guitarist Sidi Touré on Saturday to the gentler admonishments of the griot supergroup Trio Da Kali on Sunday. The series closes on Monday with Fatoumata Diawara, a beguiling talent on vocals and guitar whose music splits the difference between the other two headliners while admitting folk influences from around the world.” (NYT-GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO)

“Rock isn’t dead; it just went back to Africa. And the World Music Institute’s Festival of Mali, a keenly curated three-night celebration of West African sounds straddling yesterday and tomorrow, should prove it. The fest kicks off Saturday with Sidi Touré, whose exciting new Toubalbero electroshocks the folk sounds of his earlier albums with the help of Djadjé Traoré’s overdriven electric guitar. Sunday, the stunning South African guitarist Derek Gripper, who translates classical Mali kora music to acoustic guitar, joins Trio Da Kali, which recently released an album of luminously expressive balafon (xylophone), ngoni (ancestor to the banjo), and vocal music with the Kronos Quartet. On Monday, singer Fatoumata Diawara wraps up the festival with an evening of music rooted in the distinctive female vocal style of Mali’s Wassoulou region.” (Richard Gehr, VillageVoice)

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5 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)
>> Mannes Orchestra Concert
>> Così fan tutte
>> Jim Caruso’s Cast Party
>> PEN America World Voices Festival
>> FESTIVAL OF MALI
>> Amanda Marcotte: “Troll Nation”

Continuing Events
>> The Orchid Show
========================================================

Music, Dance, Performing Arts

Mannes Orchestra Concert
Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center / 7:30PM, FREE, but ticketed event. Patrons will only be able to get the free tickets at the Alice Tully Hall box office.
“Mannes Orchestra – David Hayes, conductor Wagner’s Prelude and Liebestod; Hindemith’s Konzertmusik, op. 41 Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring

Music director David Hayes leads The Mannes Orchestra in a performance of Wagner, Hindemith and Stravinsky. Known for their bold adventurous programming, David Hayes and The Mannes Orchestra have been hailed by The New York Times for playing with “inviting warmth and solidity,” and for their “intensity of focus.”

Così fan tutte (next and last performance, April 19)
Metropolitan Opera House / 7:30PM, $
“A winning cast comes together for Phelim McDermott’s clever vision of Mozart’s comedy about the sexes, set in a carnival-esque, funhouse environment inspired by 1950s Coney Island—complete with bearded ladies, fire eaters, and a Ferris wheel. Manipulating the action are the Don Alfonso of Christopher Maltman and the Despina of Tony Award–winner Kelli O’Hara, with Amanda Majeski, Serena Malfi, Ben Bliss, and Adam Plachetka as the pairs of young lovers who test each other’s faithfulness. David Robertson conducts.”

Jim Caruso’s Cast Party
Birdland, / 9:30PM, $30
“Jim Caruso’s Cast Party is a wildly popular weekly soiree that brings a sprinkling of Broadway glitz and urbane wit to the legendary Birdland in New York City every Monday night. It’s a cool cabaret night-out enlivened by a hilariously impromptu variety show. Showbiz superstars, backed by Steve Doyle on bass, Billy Stritch on piano and Daniel Glass on drums, hit the stage alongside up-and-comers, serving up jaw-dropping music and general razzle-dazzle.” (broadwayworld)

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

PEN America World Voices Festival
Multiple times and venues; Prices vary (Apr. 16-22)
“In a 2005 article on the first PEN America World Voices Festival, Salman Rushdie wrote of the need for Americans to listen to the voices of the globally oppressed. “Those voices — Arab or Afghan or Latin American or Russian — need to be magnified, so that they can be heard loud and clear just as the Soviet dissidents once were.” This was, of course, long before the 2016 election of Donald Trump, the surge of white nationalist rhetoric into the mainstream discourse, and the global reckoning of the #MeToo movement. This year’s PEN World Voices Festival: Resist and Reimagine promises to interrogate America’s own dissident histories and power dynamics. Click here to peruse the complete schedule.” (Alana Mohamed, VillageVoice)

Amanda Marcotte: “Troll Nation”
The Half King, 505 W. 23rd St./ 7PM, FREE
“Political writer Amanda Marcotte appears at The Half King in support of her forthcoming Troll Nation, which explains how a failed casino magnate worked his way to the apex of power—a result, she argues, of one party’s decades spent “turning away from reasoned discourse toward a rhetoric of pure resentment.”(ThoughtGallery.org)

As my grandfather would say, “How this can be?”  I think Amanda knows.

The election of Donald Trump in 2016, like most of his campaign, came as a shock to many Americans. How could a man so lacking in capacity, so void of any intellectual heft, become the president of the United States? How could a man with no detectable personal qualities outside of resentment and the will to dominate appeal to millions of Americans, enough so that he was able to win the highest office in the land?

With this book, journalist Amanda Marcotte will outline how Trump was the inevitable result of American conservatism’s degradation into an ideology of blind resentment. For years now, the purpose of right wing media, particularly Fox News, has not been to argue for traditional conservative ideals, such as small government or even family values, so much as to stoke bitterness and paranoia in its audience. Traditionalist white people have lost control over the culture, and they know it, and the only option they feel they have left is to rage at a broad swath of supposed enemies — journalists, activists, feminists, city dwellers, college professors — that they blame for stealing “their” country from them.

Conservative pundits, politicians, and activists have abandoned any hope of winning the argument through reasoned discourse, and instead have adopted a series of bad faith claims, conspiracy theories, and culture war hysterics. Decades of these antics created a conservative voting base that was ready to elect a mindless bully like Donald Trump.

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♦ 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 63 million visitors last year and was TripAdvisor’s Traveler’s Choice Top U.S. Destination for 2018 – awesome! 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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Continuing Events

The Orchid Show (thru April 22)
New York Botanical Garden; 2900 Southern Blvd, Bronx; various dates and times; $20
“Now in its 16th year, this mesmerizing show displays thousands of orchids in geometric, illuminated sculptural presentations. Catch special Orchid evenings for dancing, music and drinks among the flowers.”

“With less than a month left to see the 16th edition of the Orchid Show, there’s no better time to go to the New York Botanical Garden. Marvel over Belgian floral artist Daniël Ost’s wabi-sabi installations, which find beauty in imperfection and impermanence.” (TONY)

The Orchid Show in NYC guide
https://www.timeout.com/newyork/things-to-do/orchid-show-nyc-guide

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Bonus NYC Events – Music Venues:
So much fine live music every night in this town. These are my favorite non jazz music venues on Manhattan’s WestSide. Hit the Hot Link and check out who’s playing tonight:

City Winery – 155 Varick St., citywinery.com, 212-608-0555
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
B.B. King’s Blues Bar – 237W42nd St., bbkingblues.com, 212-997-2144
Another outrageous rent increase by a rapacious NYC landlord will close BBKings as of April 29 – How Sad.
Le Poisson Rouge – 158 Bleecker St., lepoissonrouge.com, 212-505-3474
and one more, not exactly WestSide
Bowery Ballroom – 6 Delancey St. boweryballroom.com,

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 discovery and enjoyment.
See Below.

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NYCity Vacation Travel Guide Video (Expedia):
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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’. ”

maxresdefaultEach 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”
No reservations needed.
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NYCity is the most diverse and interesting place to find a meal anywhere in the world. With more than 24,000 eating establishments you might welcome some advice.

◊ 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 2018).
◊ Order before NOV.30, 2018 and receive a bonus – 27 of my favorite casual dining places with free Wi-Fi.

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NYC Events,”Only the Best” (04/15) + Museum Special Exhibitions: Manhattan’s WestSide

Posted on 04/15/2018 by GregD

Today’s Super 7 NYC Events >SUNDAY/ APRIL 15, 2018

“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, better check the tab above: “NYC Events-April”
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.

===========================================================

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

SFJazz Collective: “The Music of Miles Davis”
Jazz Standard, 116 E. 27th St./ 7:30PM, +9:30PM, $35
“There’s so much star power in this ambitious octet—including the saxophonists Miguel Zenon and David Sanchez, the trumpeter Sean Jones, and the pianist Edward Simon—that it could supply tingle to practically any given repertoire. The epochal work of Miles Davis, though, provides more than enough for any band to sink its teeth into. Davis, iconic as he is, will not be handled with kid gloves by this adventurous ensemble.” (NewYorker)

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6 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)
>> Marilyn Maye: 90 at Last!
>> Ron Carter Big Band Honoring The Legacy Of Michel Legrand.
>> Ballet Hispánico
>> CHRISTIAN MCBRIDE’S NEW JAWN
>> FESTIVAL OF MALI
>> Smoke’s 19th Anniversary Celebration

Continuing Events
>> The Orchid Show
========================================================

Music, Dance, Performing Arts

Marilyn Maye: 90 at Last! (April 10-29)
Feinstein’s/54 Below / 7PM, $85+
“Back by popular demand! In 90 At Last! marvelous Marilyn Maye returns to her home away from home to celebrate her (latest) milestone birthday with her favorite audiences. Every performance will feature a special 90th birthday celebration for this very beloved lady of cabaret. As always, Marilyn carries the torch from her peers who originated tunes of the Great American Songbook to the singers who perform these songs today and will carry them on to future generations.”

Ron Carter Big Band Honoring The Legacy Of Michel Legrand.
Blue Note, 131 W. 3rd St./ 8PM, +10:30PM, $45-$65
“Nearing eighty-one years old, the great bassist Carter is an official jazz patriarch, but that doesn’t mean that he’s been setting his ambitions any lower these days. Here, he leads his big band, an occasional labor of love well-stocked with formidable players and crafty charts, in a program that will touch on the music of Michel Legrand, the acclaimed French film composer with whom Carter has had a long association.” (NewYorker)

Ballet Hispánico (LAST DAY)
Joyce Theater / 7:30PM, $45+
“Two new ballets based on the life and work of Spanish playwright Federico Garcia Lorca — alongside a third, flamenco-inflected piece — highlight the annual spring season of the country’s premiere Latino dance troupe. Gustavo Ramirez Sansano offers a look at Lorca’s life in New York in 1929. In Waiting for Pepe, Carlos Pons Guerra transforms Lorca’s House of Bernarda Alba using theatrical techniques from film and telenovelas. Completing the program is Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s two-year-old Línea Recta, which explores the odd absence, in flamenco, of physical contact between dancers. All these works are products of the company’s Instituto Coreográfico, a lab for Latino dancemakers launched in 2010 by company director Eduardo Vilaro.” (Elizabeth Zimmer, Village Voice)

CHRISTIAN MCBRIDE’S NEW JAWN
at Dizzy’s Club / 7:30 and 9:30PM, $45
Mr. McBride has more clean, fastidious power than almost any other bassist around — it makes him a kind of dream sideman. But most of his creative energy these days gets spent on his own ensembles, and the most recent of them is a big winner. The New Jawn quartet has a roguish, brawny sound, sprung from the earthy drumming of Nasheet Waits and the sharp-elbowed horn playing of Josh Evans on trumpet and J. D. Allen on tenor saxophone (on previous engagements, the saxophonist has been Marcus Strickland).” (NYT-GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO)

Smoke’s 19th Anniversary Celebration
Smoke, 2751 Broadway, betw105th/106th Sts./ 7, 9, +10:30PM, $40
“Just short of its emerald anniversary, this uptown jazz haunt welcomes a swath of familiar faces to the stage, including the pianist Harold Mabern, the tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander, and the drummer Louis Hayes, for a birthday blowout.” (NewYorker)

Elsewhere, but this sure looks worth the detour.

FESTIVAL OF MALI (April 14-16)
at Brooklyn Bowl / 8 p.m., $
“The offerings at this three-night festival provide a cross sample of the country’s music — from the kinetic churn of the Songhaï vocalist and guitarist Sidi Touré on Saturday to the gentler admonishments of the griot supergroup Trio Da Kali on Sunday. The series closes on Monday with Fatoumata Diawara, a beguiling talent on vocals and guitar whose music splits the difference between the other two headliners while admitting folk influences from around the world.” (NYT-GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO)

“Rock isn’t dead; it just went back to Africa. And the World Music Institute’s Festival of Mali, a keenly curated three-night celebration of West African sounds straddling yesterday and tomorrow, should prove it. The fest kicks off Saturday with Sidi Touré, whose exciting new Toubalbero electroshocks the folk sounds of his earlier albums with the help of Djadjé Traoré’s overdriven electric guitar. Sunday, the stunning South African guitarist Derek Gripper, who translates classical Mali kora music to acoustic guitar, joins Trio Da Kali, which recently released an album of luminously expressive balafon (xylophone), ngoni (ancestor to the banjo), and vocal music with the Kronos Quartet. On Monday, singer Fatoumata Diawara wraps up the festival with an evening of music rooted in the distinctive female vocal style of Mali’s Wassoulou region.” (Richard Gehr, VillageVoice)

=========================================================

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

MORE COMING SOON, TOMORROW.

==============================================================

♦ 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 63 million visitors last year and was TripAdvisor’s Traveler’s Choice Top U.S. Destination for 2018 – awesome! 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.
===========================================================================

Continuing Events

The Orchid Show (thru April 22)
New York Botanical Garden; 2900 Southern Blvd, Bronx; various dates and times; $20
“Now in its 16th year, this mesmerizing show displays thousands of orchids in geometric, illuminated sculptural presentations. Catch special Orchid evenings for dancing, music and drinks among the flowers.”

“With less than a month left to see the 16th edition of the Orchid Show, there’s no better time to go to the New York Botanical Garden. Marvel over Belgian floral artist Daniël Ost’s wabi-sabi installations, which find beauty in imperfection and impermanence.” (TONY)

The Orchid Show in NYC guide
https://www.timeout.com/newyork/things-to-do/orchid-show-nyc-guide

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Bonus: Nifty 9 – Best Cabarets / Piano Bars NYCity
These are my favorite places for an after dinner night on the town – music and drinks.
Hit the Hot Link and check out what’s happening tonight:

Feinstein’s/54 Below – 254 W 54th St.

The Green Room 42 – 570 Tenth Ave.

Don’t Tell Mama – 343 W 46th St.

Marie’s Crisis – 59 Grove St.

The Rum House, in the Hotel Edison – 228 W. 47th St.

Laurie Beechman Theatre – 407 W 42nd St.

The Duplex – 61 Christopher St.

Sid Gold’s Request Room – 165 W 26th St.

Cafe Carlyle, in the Carlyle Hotel – 35 E. 76th St.
This is the only one not located on Manhattan’s WestSide, and it ain’t cheap, but it has some of the finest singers.

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NYCity Vacation Travel Guide Video (Expedia):

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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 their expanded reviews of exhibitions)

Museum of Modern Art:

A special pat on the back to MOMA, who is now displaying art from the seven countries affected by Trump’s travel ban.

“Trump’s ban against refugees from seven Muslim-majority nations has sparked acts of defiance in NYC, from demonstrations across town, to striking taxicab drivers at JFK to Middle Eastern bodega owners closing their shops in protest. Recently, the Museum Of Modern added its two cents by bringing out artworks it owns from the affected countries, and hanging them prominently within the galleries usually reserved for 19th- and 20th-century artworks from Europe and the United States. Paintings by Picasso and Matisse, for example, were removed to make way for pieces by Tala Madani (from Iran), Ibrahim El-Salahi (from Sudan) and architect Zaha Hadid (from Iraq). The rehanging, which was unannounced, aims to create a symbolic welcome that repudiates Trump by creating a visual dialog between the newly added works and the more familiar objects from MoMA’s permanent collection.” (TONY)

Stephen Shore (thru May 28)

“This immersive and staggeringly charming retrospective is devoted to one of the best American photographers of the past half century. Shore has peers—Joel Meyerowitz, Joel Sternfeld, Richard Misrach, and, especially, William Eggleston—in a generation that, in the nineteen-seventies, stormed to eminence with color film, which art photographers had long disdained. His best-known series, “American Surfaces” and “Uncommon Places,” are both from the seventies and were mostly made in rugged Western states. The pictures in these series share a quality of surprise: appearances surely unappreciated if even really noticed by anyone before—in rural Arizona, a phone booth next to a tall cactus, on which a crude sign (“GARAGE”) is mounted, and, on a small-city street in Wisconsin, a movie marquee’s neon wanly aglow, at twilight. A search for fresh astonishments has kept Shore peripatetic, on productive sojourns in Mexico, Scotland, Italy, Ukraine, and Israel. He has remained a vestigial Romantic, stopping in space and 
time to frame views that exert a peculiar tug on him. This framing is resolutely formalist: subjects composed laterally, from edge to edge, and in depth. There’s never a “background.” The most distant element is as considered as the nearest. But only when looking for it are you conscious of Shore’s formal discipline, because it is as fluent as a language learned from birth. His best pictures at once arouse feelings and leave us alone to make what we will of them. He delivers truths, whether hard or easy, with something very like mercy.” (NewYorker)

Tarsila do Amaral (thru June 3)

Introducing New York to the First Brazilian Modernist
“Forty-five years after Tarsila do Amaral’s death, MOMA presents her first-ever museum exhibition in the U.S. Some artists are so iconic, they’re known by only one name: Brancusi, Léger, Tarsila. Wait, who? The painter Tarsila do Amaral is so famous in her native Brazil that forty-three years after her death she helped close out the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, when a projected pattern of red-orange-yellow arcs graced the stadium floor, an homage to her 1929 painting “Setting Sun.” That chimerical landscape—stylized sunset above tubular cacti and a herd of capybaras that shape-shift into boulders—hangs now at MOMA, in the artist’s first-ever museum exhibition in the U.S., “Tarsila do Amaral: Inventing Modern Art in Brazil.” (NewYorker)

‘TARSILA DO AMARAL: INVENTING MODERN ART IN BRAZIL’ (through June 3). “The subtitle is no overstatement: In the early 1920s, first in Paris and then back home in São Paulo, Brazil, this painter really did lay the groundwork for the coming of modernism in Latin America’s most populous nation. Tired of the European pretenders in Brazil’s art academies, Tarsila (who was always called by her first name) began to intermingle Western, African and indigenous motifs into flowing, biomorphic paintings, and to theorize a new national culture fueled by the principle of antropofagia, or “cannibalism.” Along with spare, assured drawings of Rio and the Brazilian countryside, this belated but very welcome show assembles Tarsila’s three most important paintings, including the classic “Abaporu” (1928): a semi-human nude with a spindly nose and a comically swollen foot. (Jason Farago)” (NYT)

Whitney Museum of American Art

‘GRANT WOOD: AMERICAN GOTHIC AND OTHER FABLES’ (through June 10). This well-done survey begins with the American Regionalist’s little-known efforts as an Arts and Crafts designer and touches just about every base. It includes his mural studies, book illustrations and most of his best-known paintings — including “American Gothic” and “The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere.” Best of all are Wood’s smooth undulant landscapes with their plowmen and spongy trees and infectious serenity. (Smith, NYT)

‘ZOE LEONARD: SURVEY’  (through June 10).
Some shows cast a spell. Zoe Leonard’s reverberant retrospective does. Physically ultra-austere, all white walls with a fiercely edited selection of objects — photographs of clouds taken from airplane windows; a mural collaged from vintage postcards; a scattering of empty fruit skins, each stitched closed with needle and thread — it’s an extended essay about travel, time passing, political passion and the ineffable daily beauty of the world. (Cotter, NYT)
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For other selected Museum and Gallery Special Exhibitions see Recent Posts in right Sidebar dated 04/13 and 04/11.

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Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | Leave a comment

NYC Events,”Only the Best” (04/14) + Today’s Featured Pub (Midtown West)

Posted on 04/14/2018 by GregD

Today’s Elite 8 NYC Events >SATURDAY/ APRIL 14, 2018

“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, better check the tab above: “NYC Events-April”
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.

===========================================================

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

Elsewhere, but this sure looks worth the detour.

FESTIVAL OF MALI (April 14-16)
at Brooklyn Bowl / 8 p.m., $
“The offerings at this three-night festival provide a cross sample of the country’s music — from the kinetic churn of the Songhaï vocalist and guitarist Sidi Touré on Saturday to the gentler admonishments of the griot supergroup Trio Da Kali on Sunday. The series closes on Monday with Fatoumata Diawara, a beguiling talent on vocals and guitar whose music splits the difference between the other two headliners while admitting folk influences from around the world.” (NYT-GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO)

“Rock isn’t dead; it just went back to Africa. And the World Music Institute’s Festival of Mali, a keenly curated three-night celebration of West African sounds straddling yesterday and tomorrow, should prove it. The fest kicks off Saturday with Sidi Touré, whose exciting new Toubalbero electroshocks the folk sounds of his earlier albums with the help of Djadjé Traoré’s overdriven electric guitar. Sunday, the stunning South African guitarist Derek Gripper, who translates classical Mali kora music to acoustic guitar, joins Trio Da Kali, which recently released an album of luminously expressive balafon (xylophone), ngoni (ancestor to the banjo), and vocal music with the Kronos Quartet. On Monday, singer Fatoumata Diawara wraps up the festival with an evening of music rooted in the distinctive female vocal style of Mali’s Wassoulou region.” (Richard Gehr, VillageVoice)

=========================================================
7 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)
>> Mickey Hart “Musica Universalis”
>>  SFJazz Collective: “The Music of Miles Davis”
>> Ballet Hispánico
>> CHRISTIAN MCBRIDE’S NEW JAWN
>> MARTHA GRAHAM DANCE COMPANY
>> Smoke’s 19th Anniversary Celebration
>> Collectors Night

Continuing Events
>> The Orchid Show
========================================================

Music, Dance, Performing Arts

Mickey Hart “Musica Universalis”
Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History; at 7 p.m., Tickets are $225, $75 with online code “MickeyFF”
“Former Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart wants to bring the sounds of the cosmos to Central Park West — and to your brain. His two-day site-specific performance at the Hayden Planetarium, called “Musica Universalis,” combines his work spanning over several years of eclectic, percussion-based musical experiments — from “Mysterium Tremendum” that turned the stars’ and the sun’s electromagnetic waves into sound, to “Superorganism,” which included base sounds converted from Hart’s own brainwaves.

All of the sounds that Hart has gathered over the years will have the opportunity to reach your ears with his instrument and musical database, “RAMU.” The event also includes a talk with neuroscientist Adam Gazzaley and curator Rob DeSallem and entry to the “Our Senses: An Immersive Experience” exhibit.” (amny)

SFJazz Collective: “The Music of Miles Davis”
Jazz Standard, 116 E. 27th St./ 7:30PM, +9:30PM, $35
“There’s so much star power in this ambitious octet—including the saxophonists Miguel Zenon and David Sanchez, the trumpeter Sean Jones, and the pianist Edward Simon—that it could supply tingle to practically any given repertoire. The epochal work of Miles Davis, though, provides more than enough for any band to sink its teeth into. Davis, iconic as he is, will not be handled with kid gloves by this adventurous ensemble.” (NewYorker)

Ballet Hispánico (Apr.10-15)
Joyce Theater / 7:30PM, $45+
“Two new ballets based on the life and work of Spanish playwright Federico Garcia Lorca — alongside a third, flamenco-inflected piece — highlight the annual spring season of the country’s premiere Latino dance troupe. Gustavo Ramirez Sansano offers a look at Lorca’s life in New York in 1929. In Waiting for Pepe, Carlos Pons Guerra transforms Lorca’s House of Bernarda Alba using theatrical techniques from film and telenovelas. Completing the program is Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s two-year-old Línea Recta, which explores the odd absence, in flamenco, of physical contact between dancers. All these works are products of the company’s Instituto Coreográfico, a lab for Latino dancemakers launched in 2010 by company director Eduardo Vilaro.” (Elizabeth Zimmer, Village Voice)

CHRISTIAN MCBRIDE’S NEW JAWN (also April 15)
at Dizzy’s Club / 7:30 and 9:30PM, $45
Mr. McBride has more clean, fastidious power than almost any other bassist around — it makes him a kind of dream sideman. But most of his creative energy these days gets spent on his own ensembles, and the most recent of them is a big winner. The New Jawn quartet has a roguish, brawny sound, sprung from the earthy drumming of Nasheet Waits and the sharp-elbowed horn playing of Josh Evans on trumpet and J. D. Allen on tenor saxophone (on previous engagements, the saxophonist has been Marcus Strickland).” (NYT-GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO)

MARTHA GRAHAM DANCE COMPANY (LAST DAY)
at New York City Center / 8PM, $35+
“This season, the Graham troupe unveils a premiere by Lucinda Childs — “Histoire” is an expanded version of a duet she created for the group in 1999 — and the company premiere of Lar Lubovitch’s “The Legend of Ten” (2010), set to a Brahms quintet for piano and strings. Of course, there will be Graham classics, from “Panorama” (1935), performed by young dancers selected by audition, and “Chronicle” (1936), an antiwar masterpiece, to “The Rite of Spring” (1984) and “Embattled Garden” (1958).” (NYT-GIA KOURLAS)

Smoke’s 19th Anniversary Celebration (also Apr.15)
Smoke, 2751 Broadway, betw105th/106th Sts./ 7, 9, +10:30PM, $40
“Just short of its emerald anniversary, this uptown jazz haunt welcomes a swath of familiar faces to the stage, including the pianist Harold Mabern, the tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander, and the drummer Louis Hayes, for a birthday blowout.” (NewYorker)

=========================================================

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

Collectors Night

Self-proclaimed archivists and packrats from around the city
Photo Credit: The City Reliquary

Self-proclaimed archivists and packrats from around the city will put their collections on display, which range from charming to the morbid (archival 16mm cartoons, retired city street furniture, sea life and more). Collectors will present an object from their collections in a rapid-fire show and tell. ($13, 6 p.m., New York City Fire Museum, 278 Spring St., Manhattan, artful.ly) (amny)

==============================================================

♦ 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 63 million visitors last year and was TripAdvisor’s Traveler’s Choice Top U.S. Destination for 2018 – awesome! 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.
===========================================================================

Continuing Events

The Orchid Show (thru April 22)
New York Botanical Garden; 2900 Southern Blvd, Bronx; various dates and times; $20
“Now in its 16th year, this mesmerizing show displays thousands of orchids in geometric, illuminated sculptural presentations. Catch special Orchid evenings for dancing, music and drinks among the flowers.”

“With less than a month left to see the 16th edition of the Orchid Show, there’s no better time to go to the New York Botanical Garden. Marvel over Belgian floral artist Daniël Ost’s wabi-sabi installations, which find beauty in imperfection and impermanence.” (TONY)

The Orchid Show in NYC guide
https://www.timeout.com/newyork/things-to-do/orchid-show-nyc-guide

===========================================================
Bonus NYC Jazz Clubs:
Many consider NYCity the Jazz capital of the world. My favorite Jazz Clubs, all on Manhattan’s WestSide, feature top talent every night of the week.
Hit the Hot Link and 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. So., villagevanguard.com, 212-255-4037 (1st 8:30)
Blue Note – 131 W3rd St. nr 6th ave. bluenotejazz.com, 212-475-8592 (1st set 8pm)
55 Bar – basement @55 Christopher St. nr 7th ave.S. 55bar.com, 212-929-9883 (1st 7pm)
Mezzrow – basement @ 163 W10th St. nr 7th Ave. mezzrow.com,646-476-4346 (1st 8)
Smalls – basement @ 183 W10th St. smallslive.com, 646-476-4346 (1st set 7:30pm)
Cornelia Street Cafe – UG, 29 Cornelia St. corneliastreetcafe.com, 212-989-9319 (6pm)

Outside Greenwich Village:
Dizzy’s Club – Broadway @ 60th St. — jazz.org/dizzys / 212-258-9595 (1st set 7:30pm)
Birdland – 315 W44th St.(btw 8/9ave) — birdlandjazz.com / 212-581-3080 (1st 8:30pm)
Smoke Jazz Club – 2751 Broadway nr.106th St. — smokejazz.com/ 212-864-6662 (7pm)

Special Mention:
Caffe Vivaldi – 32 Jones St. nr Bleecker St. — caffevivaldi.com / 212-691-7538 (1st 7pm)
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.

======================================================

NYCity Vacation Travel Guide Video (Expedia):

=============================================================================

A PremierPub / Midtown West

Russian Vodka Room / 265 W 52nd St (btw 7th/8th ave)

Sure, you could travel to Minsk or even Brighton Beach, for an authentic Russian experience, but why bother. On those days when you feel you must wash down your dish of kasha with a few glasses of icy, cold vodka, the Russian Vodka Room will definitely satisfy your urge.

From the outside this place looks a bit drab, and with no windows, a bit mysterious. Midtown tourists walk right by on their way to see “Jersey Boys,” just down the block.
(Alas, no more. After 10 years, “Jersey Boys” finally closed, now it’s “Mean Girls.”)

lThose in the know enter a secret hideaway, a dimly lit front room with soft jazz playing – a perfect spot for an illicit late-night rendezvous, or maybe a meet-up with your Russian spy handler, but that’s later in the evening. Early in the evening the large U-shaped bar fills with the after work happy hour crowd, a group made very happy by the much reduced prices.

Their website says: “Welcome Comrades”. Of course, this welcome focuses on dozens of different vodkas, including their own special infusions, which marinate in giant, clear glass jugs visible around the room. The large vodka martinis ensure that you won’t confuse this place with your mother’s Russian Tea Room.

But man does not live by vodka alone. Eat some food, especially the tapa like appetizers. Be decadent and try the cheese blintzes with chocolate, or try a main dish like beef stroganoff with kasha.

Your best bet is to go on a night when the piano man is playing. This guy, who looks like he has eaten a lot of those cheese blintzes, plays five nights a week from 7 to 12 (no Mondays and Thursdays). When the piano man is playing American pop tunes, and you are at the crowded, dimly lit bar testing the horseradish infused vodka, that’s when the RVR shines.

It’s the kind of place where the noise gets louder and the crowd gets happier as the happy hour goes on. I’m generally a beer guy, but I like to come here with a group of friends. We find a table in the back room near the piano man; we eat, and we drink vodka ‘till it hurts (and it will hurt).
=====================================================
Website: http://www.russianvodkaroom.com/
Phone #: 212-307-5835
Hours: 4pm-2am; Fri-Sun closes 4am (that could be trouble)
Happy Hour: 4-7pm every day
$4 shots infused vodka (2oz), $5 cosmos; $4 czech draft beer
Music: FR-SU; TU-WE / 7pm-12am
Subway: #1 to 50th St.
Walk 2 blk N. on B’way to 52nd St.; 1 blk W. to RVR
Confusingly, the Russian Samovar is right across the street, on the S. side of 52nd St.
The RVR, your destination, is on the N. side of 52nd St.
Update: music now includes a younger, trimmer piano man. “Tiny” we miss you.
Update#2: Rumor that “Tiny” is back playing only on Friday nights – need to check it out.

==============================================================================
“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 (except for certain jazz clubs).
If you have a fave premier pub or good eating place on Manhattan’s WestSide let us all know about it – leave a comment.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

NYC Events,”Only the Best” (04/13) + GallerySpecialExhibits: Chelsea

Posted on 04/13/2018 by GregD

Today’s Sweet 6 NYC Events >FRIDAY/ APRIL 13, 2018

“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, better check the tab above: “NYC Events-April”
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.

===========================================================

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

Smoke’s 19th Anniversary Celebration (also Apr.14,15)
Smoke, 2751 Broadway, betw105th/106th Sts./ 7, 9, +10:30PM, $40
“Just short of its emerald anniversary, this uptown jazz haunt welcomes a swath of familiar faces to the stage, including the pianist Harold Mabern, the tenor saxophonist Eric Alexander, and the drummer Louis Hayes, for a birthday blowout.” (NewYorker)

=========================================================
5 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)
>>  SFJazz Collective: “The Music of Miles Davis”
>> Outside (In)dia: Martha Redbone
>> MARTHA GRAHAM DANCE COMPANY
>> CHRISTIAN MCBRIDE’S NEW JAWN
>> CAROLINE DAVIS
Continuing Events
>> The Orchid Show
========================================================

Music, Dance, Performing Arts

SFJazz Collective: “The Music of Miles Davis”
Jazz Standard, 116 E. 27th St./ 7:30PM, +9:30PM, $35
“There’s so much star power in this ambitious octet—including the saxophonists Miguel Zenon and David Sanchez, the trumpeter Sean Jones, and the pianist Edward Simon—that it could supply tingle to practically any given repertoire. The epochal work of Miles Davis, though, provides more than enough for any band to sink its teeth into. Davis, iconic as he is, will not be handled with kid gloves by this adventurous ensemble.” (NewYorker)

Outside (In)dia: Martha Redbone
Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center / 7:30PM, FREE
“Appalachian and Native American song is at the root of American music. Today, their song and struggle is particularly relevant and Martha Redbone is a clear and beautiful voice that represents these deep musical traditions. Her music flows equally from her own unique, award-winning blend of Native American elements with funk and her deep roots in Appalachian folk and Piedmont blues favored by the matriarchy that raised her on a rich sojourn from Clinch Mountain, Virginia, to Harlan County, Kentucky, and beyond to Brooklyn’s Dodge City-esque mean streets.

Tonight, Martha’s ensemble joins with Brooklyn Raga Massive’s community of Indian music–inspired artists to highlight both the roots and contemporary interpretations of these traditions.”

CHRISTIAN MCBRIDE’S NEW JAWN (also April 14,15)
at Dizzy’s Club / 7:30 and 9:30PM, $45
Mr. McBride has more clean, fastidious power than almost any other bassist around — it makes him a kind of dream sideman. But most of his creative energy these days gets spent on his own ensembles, and the most recent of them is a big winner. The New Jawn quartet has a roguish, brawny sound, sprung from the earthy drumming of Nasheet Waits and the sharp-elbowed horn playing of Josh Evans on trumpet and J. D. Allen on tenor saxophone (on previous engagements, the saxophonist has been Marcus Strickland).” (NYT-GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO)

CAROLINE DAVIS
at the Jazz Gallery / 7:30 and 9:30PM, $25
“Ms. Davis, an alto saxophonist, arrived in New York a few years ago by way of Chicago, and last month she released her third album, “Heart Tonic,” an impressive collection of twisty, chattering originals performed by a spry quintet. Ms. Davis will play music from that disc here with the rhythm section from that band — Julian Shore on piano, Tamir Shmerling on bass and Jay Sawyer on drums — as well as Noah Preminger on tenor saxophone.” (NYT-GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO)

MARTHA GRAHAM DANCE COMPANY (April 12-14)
at New York City Center / 8PM, $35+
“This season, the Graham troupe unveils a premiere by Lucinda Childs — “Histoire” is an expanded version of a duet she created for the group in 1999 — and the company premiere of Lar Lubovitch’s “The Legend of Ten” (2010), set to a Brahms quintet for piano and strings. Of course, there will be Graham classics, from “Panorama” (1935), performed by young dancers selected by audition, and “Chronicle” (1936), an antiwar masterpiece, to “The Rite of Spring” (1984) and “Embattled Garden” (1958).” (NYT-GIA KOURLAS)

=========================================================

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

more coming soon.

==============================================================

♦ 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 63 million visitors last year and was TripAdvisor’s Traveler’s Choice Top U.S. Destination for 2018 – awesome! 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.
===========================================================================

Continuing Events

The Orchid Show (thru April 22)
New York Botanical Garden; 2900 Southern Blvd, Bronx; various dates and times; $20
“Now in its 16th year, this mesmerizing show displays thousands of orchids in geometric, illuminated sculptural presentations. Catch special Orchid evenings for dancing, music and drinks among the flowers.”

“With less than a month left to see the 16th edition of the Orchid Show, there’s no better time to go to the New York Botanical Garden. Marvel over Belgian floral artist Daniël Ost’s wabi-sabi installations, which find beauty in imperfection and impermanence.” (TONY)

The Orchid Show in NYC guide
https://www.timeout.com/newyork/things-to-do/orchid-show-nyc-guide

=====================================================

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:

City Winery – 155 Varick St., citywinery.com, 212-608-0555
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
B.B. King’s Blues Bar – 237W42nd St., bbkingblues.com, 212-997-2144
Le Poisson Rouge – 158 Bleecker St., lepoissonrouge.com, 212-505-3474
and one more, not quite WestSide
Bowery Ballroom – 6 Delancey St. boweryballroom.com,

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 discovery and enjoyment.
===========================================================

NYCity Vacation Travel Guide Video (Expedia):

================================================================================

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.

Here is an exhibition the New Yorker likes:

Arlene Gottfried (thru April 28)

“Aptly titled “A Lifetime of Wandering,” this posthumous exhibition of the photographer’s street scenes and portraits captures New York’s demimonde of the nineteen-seventies and eighties from a warm and impromptu perspective. Among Gottfried’s coöperative subjects were Brooklyn beachgoers, Harlem gospel singers, and disco-era clubbers, as well as underground icons and international celebrities. A shot of the transgender activist and performer Marsha P. Johnson shows her posing with a wide smile in the middle of the street. Diana Ross, standing by a wall and dressed to blend in, likewise beams for the camera. Gottfried, who died last year, at the age of sixty-six, also photographed those closest to her. One of the show’s high points is “Mommie Kissing Bubbie on Delancey Street,” from 1979, which celebrates two generations of her Jewish immigrant family in an unguarded moment on the Lower East Side.”  (Cooney, 508 W. 26th St.)

==========================================================

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 better to 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). OR try the NYT recommendation: “When you’re done, adjourn to the newly renovated Bottino , the Chelsea art world’s unofficial canteen on 10th Avenue (btw 24/25 St.) “

=======================================================
For other selected Museum and Gallery Special Exhibitions see recent posts in right sidebar dated 04/11 and 04/09.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

NYC Events,”Only the Best” (04/12) + Today’s Featured Pub (Times Square / Theater District)

Posted on 04/12/2018 by GregD

Today’s Sweet 6 NYC Events >THURSDAY/ APRIL 12, 2018

“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, better check the tab above: “NYC Events-April”
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.

===========================================================

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

Marilyn Maye: 90 at Last! (April 10-29)
Feinstein’s/54 Below / 7PM, $85+
“Back by popular demand! In 90 At Last! marvelous Marilyn Maye returns to her home away from home to celebrate her (latest) milestone birthday with her favorite audiences. Every performance will feature a special 90th birthday celebration for this very beloved lady of cabaret. As always, Marilyn carries the torch from her peers who originated tunes of the Great American Songbook to the singers who perform these songs today and will carry them on to future generations.”

=========================================================
5 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)
>> ELIANE ELIAS
>> Ballet Hispánico
>>MARTHA GRAHAM DANCE COMPANY
>> Curator’s Talk: Millions: Migrants and Millionaires Aboard the Great Liners, 1900-1914
>> Soon: What Science, Philosophy, Religion and History Teach Us About the Surprising Power of Procrastination
Continuing Events
>> The Orchid Show
========================================================

Music, Dance, Performing Arts

ELIANE ELIAS (April 10-14)
at Birdland / 8:30 and 11PM, $40
“A Brazilian pianist of richly shaded harmonies, Ms. Elias is equally influenced by Bill Evans and bossa nova. She is about to release “Music From Man of La Mancha,” which finds her immersed in the songs of an old American Broadway production based on the story of Don Quixote. Recorded in the 1990s but never released until now, the album is full of frothy repartee between Ms. Elias and two rhythm sections: On some tracks, it’s a trio with the drummer Jack DeJohnette and the bassist Eddie Gomez, and elsewhere a quartet with Marc Johnson on bass, Satoshi Takeishi on drums and Manolo Badrena on percussion. At this concert, she’s joined by Mr. Johnson, Mr. Badrena and the young drummer Tiago Michelin.” (NYT-GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO)

Ballet Hispánico (Apr.10-15)
Joyce Theater / 7:30PM, $45+
“Two new ballets based on the life and work of Spanish playwright Federico Garcia Lorca — alongside a third, flamenco-inflected piece — highlight the annual spring season of the country’s premiere Latino dance troupe. Gustavo Ramirez Sansano offers a look at Lorca’s life in New York in 1929. In Waiting for Pepe, Carlos Pons Guerra transforms Lorca’s House of Bernarda Alba using theatrical techniques from film and telenovelas. Completing the program is Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s two-year-old Línea Recta, which explores the odd absence, in flamenco, of physical contact between dancers. All these works are products of the company’s Instituto Coreográfico, a lab for Latino dancemakers launched in 2010 by company director Eduardo Vilaro.” (Elizabeth Zimmer, Village Voice)

MARTHA GRAHAM DANCE COMPANY (April 12-14)
at New York City Center / 8PM, $35+
“This season, the Graham troupe unveils a premiere by Lucinda Childs — “Histoire” is an expanded version of a duet she created for the group in 1999 — and the company premiere of Lar Lubovitch’s “The Legend of Ten” (2010), set to a Brahms quintet for piano and strings. Of course, there will be Graham classics, from “Panorama” (1935), performed by young dancers selected by audition, and “Chronicle” (1936), an antiwar masterpiece, to “The Rite of Spring” (1984) and “Embattled Garden” (1958).” (NYT-GIA KOURLAS)

=========================================================

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

Soon: What Science, Philosophy, Religion and History Teach Us About the Surprising Power of Procrastination
92nd Street Y, 1395 Lexington Ave./ 7PM, $29
“Don’t put off attending this session on the history and science behind procrastination. Like so many of us, including most of America’s workforce, and nearly two-thirds of all university students, author Andrew Santella procrastinates.

Concerned about his habit but not quite ready to give it up, he set out to learn all he could about the human tendency to delay. He studied history’s greatest procrastinators — from Leonardo da Vinci to Frank Lloyd Wright, from Old Testament prophets to Civil War generals — to gain insights into human behavior, and also, he writes, to kill time, “research being the best way to avoid real work.” Santella offers a refreshingly sympathetic take on habitual postponement. (Why delay getting your ticket?)”

Curator’s Talk: Millions: Migrants and Millionaires Aboard the Great Liners, 1900-1914
South Street Seaport Museum, 12 Fulton St./ 6:30PM, $10
“Join the Seaport Museum’s historian and curator of Millions: Migrants and Millionaires aboard the Great Liners, 1900-1914 for an in-depth look at the exhibition and New York’s special relationship with ocean liners.

About the Exhibition
Millions: Migrants and Millionaires aboard the Great Liners, 1900-1914 is one of the first exhibitions to examine, side-by-side, the dichotomy between First Class and Third Class passengers aboard ocean liners in the early 20th century.

Ships like Titanic, Olympic, Lusitania, Mauretania, Aquitania, and Imperator dominated transatlantic travel. On each voyage, they transported thousands of people, First-Class passengers sailed across the Atlantic in the lap of luxury while Third-Class passengers made the voyage in the stuffy lower decks.

From 1900 to 1914, nearly 13 million immigrants traveling in Third Class arrived in the United States. During this same period, America’s wealthiest citizens, totaling no more than a hundred thousand passengers each year, traveled to Europe in First Class, spending over $11.5 billion (2017) on luxury vacations. Even though First Class and Third Class sailed on the same ships, their journeys were worlds apart.

Please go to the Melville Gallery at 213 Water Street. Doors open at 6:15 PM. Reception to follow book talk.
Registration Required | Limited Availability

==============================================================

♦ 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 63 million visitors last year and was TripAdvisor’s Traveler’s Choice Top U.S. Destination for 2018 – awesome! 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.
===========================================================================

Continuing Events

The Orchid Show (thru April 22)
New York Botanical Garden; 2900 Southern Blvd, Bronx; various dates and times; $20
“Now in its 16th year, this mesmerizing show displays thousands of orchids in geometric, illuminated sculptural presentations. Catch special Orchid evenings for dancing, music and drinks among the flowers.”

“With less than a month left to see the 16th edition of the Orchid Show, there’s no better time to go to the New York Botanical Garden. Marvel over Belgian floral artist Daniël Ost’s wabi-sabi installations, which find beauty in imperfection and impermanence.” (TONY)

The Orchid Show in NYC guide
https://www.timeout.com/newyork/things-to-do/orchid-show-nyc-guide

=====================================================
Bonus: Nifty 9 – Best Cabarets / Piano Bars NYCity
These are my favorite places for an after dinner night on the town – music and drinks.
Hit the Hot Link and check out what’s happening tonight:

Feinstein’s/54 Below – 254 W 54th St.

The Green Room 42 – 570 Tenth Ave.

Don’t Tell Mama – 343 W 46th St.

Marie’s Crisis – 59 Grove St.

The Rum House, in the Hotel Edison – 228 W. 47th St.

Laurie Beechman Theatre – 407 W 42nd St.

The Duplex – 61 Christopher St.

Sid Gold’s Request Room – 165 W 26th St.

Cafe Carlyle, in the Carlyle Hotel – 35 E. 76th St.
This is the only one not located on Manhattan’s WestSide, and it ain’t cheap, but it has some of the finest singers.

 

========================================================================
NYCity Vacation Travel Guide Video (Expedia):

========================================================================

A PremierPub

Jimmy’s Corner / 140 W 44th St (btw B’way & 7th ave)

IMG_2083Jimmy’s Corner is right in the heart of Times Square, but you won’t find it on the corner, it’s mid-block. Enter this long narrow bar and you are struck by the walls covered with mostly black-and-white boxing photographs, and memorabilia. Soon enough you learn that “Corner” refers to proprietor Jimmy Glenn’s long career as a corner man for some of boxing greats – Liston, Tyson, even “the greatest,” Ali.

Jimmy’s is a sort of time machine, taking you back to a time and place that no longer exists. All around you Times Square has cleaned up, grown up, assumed a new identity. Jimmy’s probably hasn’t changed a bit since it first opened in 1971. Certainly the bar itself looks original and the prices haven’t changed much either. When I brought a friend, who owns her own bar, she was surprised when she got the small tab for a round of drinks. Figured there must be a mistake, that maybe they forgot to charge for all the drinks.

Times Square today is filled with neon glitz and wandering tourists from Dubuque, but not Jimmy’s. You’ll likely find some old timer’s at the bar nursing their drinks, some younger locals at tables in the back, and maybe a few adventuresome tourists clutching their trusty guidebooks. There’s no food served here because this is just a bar, and sometimes that’s all you need.

On nights when no local team is playing, it’s a fine place to sip some drafts and listen to a great old time jukebox, with a great selection of  40s& 50s R&B and soul. On sports nights this very narrow bar can get a bit claustrophobic, filled with excited fans watching their team on the TVs. Either way, Jimmy’s is the place to be if you are looking for an old time bar in the new Times Square.
————————————————————————————————————————
Website: are you kidding !
(although there is a facebook page with lots of photos –
facebook.com/jimmyscornernyc)
Phone #: 212-221-9510
Hours: 11am – 4 am, except Sunday they open 12 noon
Happy Hour: not necessary, low prices all day, every day
Subway: #1,2,3 to TimesSquare 42nd st
walk 2 blks N on 7th ave to 44th st; ½ blk E to Jimmy’s

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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 (except for certain jazz clubs).
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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NYC Events,”Only the Best” (04/11) + Museum Special Exhibitions: Manhattan’s 5th Avenue

Posted on 04/11/2018 by GregD

Today’s Super 7 NYC Events >WEDNESDAY/ APRIL 11, 2018

“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, better check the tab above: “NYC Events-April”
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.

===========================================================

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

MARTHA GRAHAM DANCE COMPANY (April 12-14, 8 p.m.).
at New York City Center/ 7PM, $35+
“This season, the Graham troupe unveils a premiere by Lucinda Childs — “Histoire” is an expanded version of a duet she created for the group in 1999 — and the company premiere of Lar Lubovitch’s “The Legend of Ten” (2010), set to a Brahms quintet for piano and strings. Of course, there will be Graham classics, from “Panorama” (1935), performed by young dancers selected by audition, and “Chronicle” (1936), an antiwar masterpiece, to “The Rite of Spring” (1984) and “Embattled Garden” (1958).” (NYT-GIA KOURLAS)

=========================================================
6 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)
>> Tammy Faye Starlite: Respectable
>> ELIANE ELIAS
>> Ballet Hispánico
>>Marilyn Maye: 90 at Last!
>> Berenice Abbott: A Life in Photography
>> An Illustrated Presentation in Word & Song: The Bowery—Past, Present & Future on NYC’s Oldest Street
Continuing Events
>> The Orchid Show
========================================================

Music, Dance, Performing Arts

Tammy Faye Starlite: Respectable
Joe’s Pub at the Public Theater/ 9:30PM, $15
“The daring, hilarious, persona-shifting singer, who has previously taken on the oeuvres of Nico and Marianne Faithfull, blasted through the rock & roll canon of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards in her fall concert series at Pangea, devoting a show apiece to the Rolling Stones albums Beggars Banquet, Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers and Exile on Main Street. Now she struts through 1978’s Some Girls in its entirety, including the hit singles “Miss You” and “Beast of Burden.” (TONY)

ELIANE ELIAS (April 10-14)
at Birdland / 8:30 and 11PM, $40
“A Brazilian pianist of richly shaded harmonies, Ms. Elias is equally influenced by Bill Evans and bossa nova. She is about to release “Music From Man of La Mancha,” which finds her immersed in the songs of an old American Broadway production based on the story of Don Quixote. Recorded in the 1990s but never released until now, the album is full of frothy repartee between Ms. Elias and two rhythm sections: On some tracks, it’s a trio with the drummer Jack DeJohnette and the bassist Eddie Gomez, and elsewhere a quartet with Marc Johnson on bass, Satoshi Takeishi on drums and Manolo Badrena on percussion. At this concert, she’s joined by Mr. Johnson, Mr. Badrena and the young drummer Tiago Michelin.” (NYT-GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO)

Ballet Hispánico
Joyce Theater / 7:30PM, $45+
“Two new ballets based on the life and work of Spanish playwright Federico Garcia Lorca — alongside a third, flamenco-inflected piece — highlight the annual spring season of the country’s premiere Latino dance troupe. Gustavo Ramirez Sansano offers a look at Lorca’s life in New York in 1929. In Waiting for Pepe, Carlos Pons Guerra transforms Lorca’s House of Bernarda Alba using theatrical techniques from film and telenovelas. Completing the program is Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s two-year-old Línea Recta, which explores the odd absence, in flamenco, of physical contact between dancers. All these works are products of the company’s Instituto Coreográfico, a lab for Latino dancemakers launched in 2010 by company director Eduardo Vilaro.” (Elizabeth Zimmer, Village Voice)

Marilyn Maye: 90 at Last! (April 10-29)
Feinstein’s/54 Below / 7PM, $85+
“Back by popular demand! In 90 At Last! marvelous Marilyn Maye returns to her home away from home to celebrate her (latest) milestone birthday with her favorite audiences. Every performance will feature a special 90th birthday celebration for this very beloved lady of cabaret. As always, Marilyn carries the torch from her peers who originated tunes of the Great American Songbook to the singers who perform these songs today and will carry them on to future generations.”

=========================================================

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

Julia Van Haaften | Berenice Abbott: A Life in Photography
Book Culture on Columbus, 450 Columbus Ave./ 7PM, FREE
“In Berenice Abbott: A Life in Photography, author, archivist, and curator Julia Van Haaften brings this iconic public figure to life alongside outlandish, familiar characters from artist Man Ray to cybernetics founder Norbert Wiener. A teenage rebel from Ohio, Abbott escaped first to Greenwich Village and then to Paris–photographing, in Sylvia Beach’s words, “everyone who was anyone.” As the Roaring Twenties ended, Abbott returned to New York, where she soon fell in love with art critic Elizabeth McCausland, with whom she would spend thirty years.”

An Illustrated Presentation in Word & Song: The Bowery—Past, Present & Future on NYC’s Oldest Street
The Cooper Union, 7 E. 7th St./ 6:30PM, FREE, reservation required.
“Native American footpath, Dutch farm road, and site of NYC’s first free Black settlement, the Bowery stretches 1.25 miles from Chatham Square to Cooper Square. It was an early hub for the working class, gangs, gays, and immigrants. It has seminal links to dance, theater, baseball, streetcars, modern tattooing, Stephen Foster, Irving Berlin, Abe Lincoln, and Harry Houdini. In the 20th century, it helped launch Abstract Expressionism, Beat Literature, and punk rock. It is one of NYC’s most architecturally diverse streets, home to its oldest brick house and more. Now, it’s one of America’s most endangered historic streetscapes.

The Bowery has been on the National Register of Historic Places for 5 years now, but its hold on New York (and America’s) imagination goes back centuries further, with connections to the likes of Stephen Foster, Irving Berlin, Abe Lincoln, and Harry Houdini. The Cooper Union hosts a free celebration with talks, an interview with architectural historian Kerri Culhane, and live performances of vintage songs.” (ThoughtGallery.org)

==============================================================

♦ 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 63 million visitors last year and was TripAdvisor’s Traveler’s Choice Top U.S. Destination for 2018 – awesome! 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.
===========================================================================

Continuing Events

The Orchid Show (thru April 22)
New York Botanical Garden; 2900 Southern Blvd, Bronx; various dates and times; $20
“Now in its 16th year, this mesmerizing show displays thousands of orchids in geometric, illuminated sculptural presentations. Catch special Orchid evenings for dancing, music and drinks among the flowers.”

“With less than a month left to see the 16th edition of the Orchid Show, there’s no better time to go to the New York Botanical Garden. Marvel over Belgian floral artist Daniël Ost’s wabi-sabi installations, which find beauty in imperfection and impermanence.” (TONY)

The Orchid Show in NYC guide
https://www.timeout.com/newyork/things-to-do/orchid-show-nyc-guide

===========================================================
Bonus NYC events– Jazz Clubs:
Many consider NYCity the Jazz capital of the world. My favorite Jazz Clubs, all on Manhattan’s WestSide, feature top talent every night of the week.
Hit the Hot Link and 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. So., villagevanguard.com, 212-255-4037 (1st 8:30)
Blue Note – 131 W3rd St. nr 6th ave. bluenotejazz.com, 212-475-8592 (1st set 8pm)
55 Bar – basement @55 Christopher St. nr 7th ave.S. 55bar.com, 212-929-9883 (1st 7pm)
Mezzrow – basement @ 163 W10th St. nr 7th Ave. mezzrow.com,646-476-4346 (1st 8)
Smalls – basement @ 183 W10th St. smallslive.com, 646-476-4346 (1st set 7:30pm)
Cornelia Street Cafe – UG, 29 Cornelia St. corneliastreetcafe.com, 212-989-9319 (6pm)

Outside Greenwich Village:
Dizzy’s Club – Broadway @ 60th St. — jazz.org/dizzys / 212-258-9595 (1st set 7:30pm)
Birdland – 315 W44th St.(btw 8/9ave) — birdlandjazz.com / 212-581-3080 (1st 8:30pm)
Smoke Jazz Club – 2751 Broadway nr.106th St. — smokejazz.com/ 212-864-6662 (7pm)

Special Mention:
Caffe Vivaldi – 32 Jones St. nr Bleecker St. — caffevivaldi.com / 212-691-7538 (1st 7pm)
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.

========================================================

NYCity Vacation Travel Guide Video (Expedia):

================================================================================

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

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)

Frick Collection

Zurbarán’s Jacob and His Twelve Sons: Paintings from Auckland Castle (thru April 22)

Francisco de Zurbarán was the second-best painter in seventeenth-century Spain—no disgrace when the champion, his Seville-born near-exact contemporary, happened to be Diego Velázquez, who arguably remains better than anybody, ever. In this room-filling show, thirteen life-size imagined portraits, painted by Zurbarán circa 1640-45, constitute a terrific feat of Baroque storytelling: the movies of their day. Each character has a distinct personality, uniquely posed, costumed, and accessorized, and towering against a bright, clouded sky. All appear in the forty-ninth chapter of Genesis, in which the dying Jacob prophesies the fates of the founders-to-be of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. After nearly four centuries, the canvases sorely need cleaning. The brilliance of their colors has dimmed, notably in passages of brocade and other sumptuous fabrics—a forte of Zurbarán, whose father was a haberdasher. But most of the pictures retain power aplenty. Spend time with them, half an hour minimum. Their glories bloom slowly, as you register the formal decisions that practically spring the figures from their surfaces into the room with you, and as you ponder, if you will, the stories that they plumb. (NewYorker)

Jewish Museum

‘SCENES FROM THE COLLECTION’  “After a surgical renovation to its grand pile on Fifth Avenue, the Jewish Museum has reopened its third-floor galleries with a rethought and refreshed display of its permanent collection, which intermingles modern and contemporary art, by Jews and gentiles alike — Mark Rothko, Lee Krasner, Nan Goldin, Cindy Sherman, and the excellent young Nigerian draftswoman Ruby Onyinyechi Amanze — with 4,000 years of Judaica. The works are shown in a nimble, non-chronological suite of galleries, and some of its century-spanning juxtapositions are bracing; others feel reductive, even dilletantish. But always, the Jewish Museum conceives of art and religion as interlocking elements of a story of civilization, commendably open to new influences and new interpretations.” (Farago) 212-423-3200, thejewishmuseum.org

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

‘BIRDS OF A FEATHER: JOSEPH CORNELL’S HOMAGE TO JUAN GRIS’ (through April 15). “This small, hyper-specialized, stunning exhibition brings together a grand total of only 13 works — a dozen shadow boxes by Joseph Cornell, the Queens-based assemblage artist, and a Cubist masterwork that he cited as their direct inspiration. Gris’s “Man at the Café” (1914) might seem like a surprising obsession for Cornell, who was not a painter nor a Frenchman. He and Gris never met. But Cornell was deeply moved by Gris, the overlooked, tagalong third in the Cubist movement that also included Picasso and Braque, and the show succeeds in tracking the fluttery ways of artistic inspiration.”
(Deborah Solomon)
212-535-7710, metmuseum.org

‘THE FACE OF DYNASTY: ROYAL CRESTS FROM WESTERN CAMEROON’ (through Sept. 3). “Upstairs, the Michelangelos continue to knock ‘em dead; downstairs, in the African wing, a show of just four commanding wooden crowns constitutes a blockbuster of its own. These massive wooden crests — in the form of stylized human faces with vast vertical brows — served as markers of royal power among the Bamileke peoples of the Cameroonian grasslands, and the Met’s recent acquisition of an 18th-century specimen is joined here by three later examples, each featuring sharply protruding cheeks, broadly smiling mouths, and brows incised with involute geometric patterns. Ritual objects like these were decisive for the development of western modernist painting, and a Cameroonian crest was even shown at MoMA in the 1930s, as a “sculpture” divorced from ethnography. But these crests had legal and diplomatic significance as well as aesthetic appeal, and their anonymous African creators had a political understanding of art not so far from our own.” (Farago)

===========================================================
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) (Wed 2-6pm PWYW; First Friday each month (exc Jan+Sep) 6-9pm FREE) 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).
==============================================================
For other selected Museum and Gallery Special Exhibitions see Recent Posts in right Sidebar dated 04/09 and 04/07.
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NYC Events,”Only the Best” (04/10) + Today’s Featured Pub (Greenwich Village)

Posted on 04/10/2018 by GregD

Today’s Sweet 6 NYC Events >TUESDAY/ APRIL 10, 2018

“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, better check the tab above: “NYC Events-April”
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.

===========================================================

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

Marilyn Maye: 90 at Last! (April 10-29)
Feinstein’s/54 Below / 7PM, $85+
“Back by popular demand! In 90 At Last! marvelous Marilyn Maye returns to her home away from home to celebrate her (latest) milestone birthday with her favorite audiences. Every performance will feature a special 90th birthday celebration for this very beloved lady of cabaret. As always, Marilyn carries the torch from her peers who originated tunes of the Great American Songbook to the singers who perform these songs today and will carry them on to future generations.”

=========================================================
5 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)
>> ELIANE ELIAS
>> Ballet Hispánico
>>Così fan tutte
>> Jesuits and Jedi: Science and Spirituality in the Age of Star Wars
>> Silicon Valley’s Coming of Age
Continuing Events
>> The Orchid Show
========================================================

Music, Dance, Performing Arts

ELIANE ELIAS (April 10-14)
at Birdland / 8:30 and 11PM, $40
“A Brazilian pianist of richly shaded harmonies, Ms. Elias is equally influenced by Bill Evans and bossa nova. She is about to release “Music From Man of La Mancha,” which finds her immersed in the songs of an old American Broadway production based on the story of Don Quixote. Recorded in the 1990s but never released until now, the album is full of frothy repartee between Ms. Elias and two rhythm sections: On some tracks, it’s a trio with the drummer Jack DeJohnette and the bassist Eddie Gomez, and elsewhere a quartet with Marc Johnson on bass, Satoshi Takeishi on drums and Manolo Badrena on percussion. At this concert, she’s joined by Mr. Johnson, Mr. Badrena and the young drummer Tiago Michelin.” (NYT-GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO)

Ballet Hispánico
Joyce Theater / 7:30PM, $45+
“Two new ballets based on the life and work of Spanish playwright Federico Garcia Lorca — alongside a third, flamenco-inflected piece — highlight the annual spring season of the country’s premiere Latino dance troupe. Gustavo Ramirez Sansano offers a look at Lorca’s life in New York in 1929. In Waiting for Pepe, Carlos Pons Guerra transforms Lorca’s House of Bernarda Alba using theatrical techniques from film and telenovelas. Completing the program is Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s two-year-old Línea Recta, which explores the odd absence, in flamenco, of physical contact between dancers. All these works are products of the company’s Instituto Coreográfico, a lab for Latino dancemakers launched in 2010 by company director Eduardo Vilaro.” (Elizabeth Zimmer, Village Voice)

Così fan tutte (Mar 15-Apr 19, next April 7)
Metropolitan Opera House / 7:30PM, $
“A winning cast comes together for Phelim McDermott’s clever vision of Mozart’s comedy about the sexes, set in a carnival-esque, funhouse environment inspired by 1950s Coney Island—complete with bearded ladies, fire eaters, and a Ferris wheel. Manipulating the action are the Don Alfonso of Christopher Maltman and the Despina of Tony Award–winner Kelli O’Hara, with Amanda Majeski, Serena Malfi, Ben Bliss, and Adam Plachetka as the pairs of young lovers who test each other’s faithfulness. David Robertson conducts.”

=========================================================

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

Jesuits and Jedi: Science and Spirituality in the Age of Star Wars
Sheen Center for Thought & Culture, 18 Bleecker St./ 7PM, $15
“Blast off for an evening with Br. Guy Consolmagno, S.J., an American Jesuit working in the Vatican as director of its astronomical observatory (and co-author of Would You Baptize an Extraterrestrial?), as he takes us on tour through the cosmos and some of his favorite (and not-so-favorite) science fiction stories and movies. Joining him on this trek into the final frontier is Dr. Charles Camosy of Fordham University for what is sure to be an out-of-this-world event.”

Silicon Valley’s Coming of Age
92nd Street Y, 1395 Lexington Ave./ 6:30PM, $29
“Join Silicon Valley historian Leslie Berlin as she uncovers the untold stories of seven exceptional men and women behind the birth of the Internet and the microprocessor, as well as Apple, Atari, Genentech, Xerox PARC, ROLM, ASK, and the iconic venture capital firms Sequoia Capital and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. Together, these “troublemakers” worked across generations, industries and companies to bring technology from Pentagon offices and university laboratories to the rest of us.”
==============================================================

♦ 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 63 million visitors last year and was TripAdvisor’s Traveler’s Choice Top U.S. Destination for 2018 – awesome! 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.
===========================================================================

Continuing Events

The Orchid Show (thru April 22)
New York Botanical Garden; 2900 Southern Blvd, Bronx; various dates and times; $20
“Now in its 16th year, this mesmerizing show displays thousands of orchids in geometric, illuminated sculptural presentations. Catch special Orchid evenings for dancing, music and drinks among the flowers.”

“With less than a month left to see the 16th edition of the Orchid Show, there’s no better time to go to the New York Botanical Garden. Marvel over Belgian floral artist Daniël Ost’s wabi-sabi installations, which find beauty in imperfection and impermanence.” (TONY)

The Orchid Show in NYC guide
https://www.timeout.com/newyork/things-to-do/orchid-show-nyc-guide

=====================================================

Bonus NYC Events – Music Venues:
So much fine live music every night in this town. These are my favorite non jazz music venues on Manhattan’s WestSide. Hit the Hot Link and check out who’s playing tonight:

City Winery – 155 Varick St., citywinery.com, 212-608-0555
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
B.B. King’s Blues Bar – 237W42nd St., bbkingblues.com, 212-997-2144
Le Poisson Rouge – 158 Bleecker St., lepoissonrouge.com, 212-505-3474
and one more, not exactly WestSide
Bowery Ballroom – 6 Delancey St. boweryballroom.com,

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 discovery and enjoyment.
See Below.

———————————————————————————————————-

NYCity Vacation Travel Guide Video (Expedia):
=================================================================================

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’. ”

maxresdefaultEach 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.
==============================================================
“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.
========================================================

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.

========================================================
“3 Good Eating places” focuses on a quick bite, what I call “Fine Fast Food – NYCity Style”
No reservations needed.
========================================================
NYCity is the most diverse and interesting place to find a meal anywhere in the world. With more than 24,000 eating establishments you might welcome some advice.

◊ 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 2018).
◊ Order before NOV.30, 2018 and receive a bonus – 27 of my favorite casual dining places with free Wi-Fi.

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NYC Events,”Only the Best” (04/09) + Museum Special Exhibitions: Manhattan’s WestSide

Posted on 04/09/2018 by GregD

Today’s Super 7 NYC Events >MONDAY/ APRIL 09, 2018

“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, better check the tab above: “NYC Events-April”
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.

===========================================================

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

Fact or Fiction? Amadeus and the Portrayal of an Artist with F. Murray Abraham
Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center, 61 W. 62nd St. / 7:30PM, FREE, but better get there early for a seat.
“F. Murray Abraham talks about Amadeus on the eve of the film’s 35th anniversary and ahead of the Philharmonic’s Amadeus—Live. He’ll be in conversation with Leonard Bernstein Scholar-in-Residence Michael Beckerman as they look at the ethics of the film and the “fact or fiction” of its portrayals (no matter what the “Everything You’ve Heard Is True” tagline promised).” (ThoughtGallery.org)

“Thirty-five years after its premiere in 1984, Miloš Forman’s film adaptation of Peter Shaffer’s Amadeus stands as the most vivid, powerful, and controversial composer biopic of its time, one of the few times classical music was thrust into the American mainstream. The movie’s tagline was diabolically clever: “Everything You’ve Heard Is True!” While on one level it simply refers to the power of the film, it subtly reinforces the notion that viewers were engaged with a true story—a real docudrama—rather than fiction inspired by Alexander Pushkin’s 1830 play Mozart and Salieri. “

=========================================================
6 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)
>> Charlie Rosen’s Broadway Big Band
>> Jack Alive
>> A Love Supreme by John Coltrane
>> Jim Caruso’s Cast Party
>> Visualizing Planets with Radio Telescopes
>> Madeleine Albright | Fascism: A Warning
Continuing Events
>> The Orchid Show
========================================================

Music, Dance, Performing Arts

Charlie Rosen’s Broadway Big Band
Feinstein’s/54 Below / 7PM, +9:30PM, $25+
“Broadway stars take turns fronting Charlie Rosen’s 17-piece jazz orchestra in this exceptional evening of musical entertainment. The arrangements are a wonder, and you won’t believe how much sound they pack onto one small stage. Guests on April 9 include Hannah Elless, Ben Fankhauser, John-Michael Lyles, Julia Mattison, Christiani Pitts, Ciara Renée, Bobby Conte Thornton and Dear Evan Hansen scene stealer Will Roland.” (TONY)

Jack Alive
The Green Room 42 / 7PM, +9:30PM, $65
“The Great Comet auteur Dave Malloy hosts this benefit for the hip Brooklyn performing-arts space Jack. Performers include Cometeers Brittain Ashford, Nicholas Belton, Nick Choksi, Amber Gray, Grace McLean and John Murchison, along with Eisa Davis, Shasta Geaux Pop, Hadestown composer Anaïs Mitchell and many more. Expect a few songs from Malloy’s in-progress musical adaptation of Moby-Dick.” (TONY)

Manhattan School of Music Jazz Orchestra: A Love Supreme by John Coltrane
Dizzy’s Club, Jazz at Lincoln Center/ 7:30PM, +9:30PM, $35
With conductor Jim McNeely and saxophonist Joe Lovano

Jim Caruso’s Cast Party
Birdland, / 9:30PM, $30
“Jim Caruso’s Cast Party is a wildly popular weekly soiree that brings a sprinkling of Broadway glitz and urbane wit to the legendary Birdland in New York City every Monday night. It’s a cool cabaret night-out enlivened by a hilariously impromptu variety show. Showbiz superstars, backed by Steve Doyle on bass, Billy Stritch on piano and Daniel Glass on drums, hit the stage alongside up-and-comers, serving up jaw-dropping music and general razzle-dazzle.” (broadwayworld)

=========================================================

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

AMNH Presents, Frontiers Lecture: Visualizing Planets with Radio Telescopes
American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th St., Hayden Planetarium Space Theater / 7:30PM, $15
“Astronomers have discovered thousands of planets in our galaxy, but how much do we know about the diversity of these planetary systems? Astrophysicist Meredith Hughes introduces the weird and wonderful young systems that we can see with extremely powerful radio telescopes, and provides a window into our own place in the universe.”

Madeleine Albright | Fascism: A Warning
Barnes & Noble – Union Square, 33 E. 17th St./ 7PM, Free with purchase of the book
“Join us in welcoming Madeleine Albright to celebrate the release of her new book Fascism: A Warning! A limited number of wristbands for event access will be distributed with purchase of the featured title from this B&N location beginning at 9am the day of the event.”

==============================================================

♦ 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 63 million visitors last year and was TripAdvisor’s Traveler’s Choice Top U.S. Destination for 2018 – awesome! 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.
===========================================================================

Continuing Events

The Orchid Show (thru April 22)
New York Botanical Garden; 2900 Southern Blvd, Bronx; various dates and times; $20
“Now in its 16th year, this mesmerizing show displays thousands of orchids in geometric, illuminated sculptural presentations. Catch special Orchid evenings for dancing, music and drinks among the flowers.”

“With less than a month left to see the 16th edition of the Orchid Show, there’s no better time to go to the New York Botanical Garden. Marvel over Belgian floral artist Daniël Ost’s wabi-sabi installations, which find beauty in imperfection and impermanence.” (TONY)

The Orchid Show in NYC guide
https://www.timeout.com/newyork/things-to-do/orchid-show-nyc-guide

=====================================================
Bonus: Nifty 9 – Best Cabarets / Piano Bars NYCity
These are my favorite places for an after dinner night on the town – music and drinks.
Hit the Hot Link and check out what’s happening tonight:

Feinstein’s/54 Below – 254 W 54th St.

The Green Room 42 – 570 Tenth Ave.

Don’t Tell Mama – 343 W 46th St.

Marie’s Crisis – 59 Grove St.

The Rum House, in the Hotel Edison – 228 W. 47th St.

Laurie Beechman Theatre – 407 W 42nd St.

The Duplex – 61 Christopher St.

Sid Gold’s Request Room – 165 W 26th St.

Cafe Carlyle, in the Carlyle Hotel – 35 E. 76th St.
This is the only one not located on Manhattan’s WestSide, and it ain’t cheap, but it has some of the finest singers.

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NYCity Vacation Travel Guide Video (Expedia):

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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 their expanded reviews of exhibitions)

Museum of Modern Art:

A special pat on the back to MOMA, who is now displaying art from the seven countries affected by Trump’s travel ban.

“Trump’s ban against refugees from seven Muslim-majority nations has sparked acts of defiance in NYC, from demonstrations across town, to striking taxicab drivers at JFK to Middle Eastern bodega owners closing their shops in protest. Recently, the Museum Of Modern added its two cents by bringing out artworks it owns from the affected countries, and hanging them prominently within the galleries usually reserved for 19th- and 20th-century artworks from Europe and the United States. Paintings by Picasso and Matisse, for example, were removed to make way for pieces by Tala Madani (from Iran), Ibrahim El-Salahi (from Sudan) and architect Zaha Hadid (from Iraq). The rehanging, which was unannounced, aims to create a symbolic welcome that repudiates Trump by creating a visual dialog between the newly added works and the more familiar objects from MoMA’s permanent collection.” (TONY)

Stephen Shore (thru May 28)

“This immersive and staggeringly charming retrospective is devoted to one of the best American photographers of the past half century. Shore has peers—Joel Meyerowitz, Joel Sternfeld, Richard Misrach, and, especially, William Eggleston—in a generation that, in the nineteen-seventies, stormed to eminence with color film, which art photographers had long disdained. His best-known series, “American Surfaces” and “Uncommon Places,” are both from the seventies and were mostly made in rugged Western states. The pictures in these series share a quality of surprise: appearances surely unappreciated if even really noticed by anyone before—in rural Arizona, a phone booth next to a tall cactus, on which a crude sign (“GARAGE”) is mounted, and, on a small-city street in Wisconsin, a movie marquee’s neon wanly aglow, at twilight. A search for fresh astonishments has kept Shore peripatetic, on productive sojourns in Mexico, Scotland, Italy, Ukraine, and Israel. He has remained a vestigial Romantic, stopping in space and 
time to frame views that exert a peculiar tug on him. This framing is resolutely formalist: subjects composed laterally, from edge to edge, and in depth. There’s never a “background.” The most distant element is as considered as the nearest. But only when looking for it are you conscious of Shore’s formal discipline, because it is as fluent as a language learned from birth. His best pictures at once arouse feelings and leave us alone to make what we will of them. He delivers truths, whether hard or easy, with something very like mercy.” (NewYorker)

Tarsila do Amaral (thru June 3)

Introducing New York to the First Brazilian Modernist
“Forty-five years after Tarsila do Amaral’s death, MOMA presents her first-ever museum exhibition in the U.S. Some artists are so iconic, they’re known by only one name: Brancusi, Léger, Tarsila. Wait, who? The painter Tarsila do Amaral is so famous in her native Brazil that forty-three years after her death she helped close out the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, when a projected pattern of red-orange-yellow arcs graced the stadium floor, an homage to her 1929 painting “Setting Sun.” That chimerical landscape—stylized sunset above tubular cacti and a herd of capybaras that shape-shift into boulders—hangs now at MOMA, in the artist’s first-ever museum exhibition in the U.S., “Tarsila do Amaral: Inventing Modern Art in Brazil.” (NewYorker)

‘TARSILA DO AMARAL: INVENTING MODERN ART IN BRAZIL’ (through June 3). “The subtitle is no overstatement: In the early 1920s, first in Paris and then back home in São Paulo, Brazil, this painter really did lay the groundwork for the coming of modernism in Latin America’s most populous nation. Tired of the European pretenders in Brazil’s art academies, Tarsila (who was always called by her first name) began to intermingle Western, African and indigenous motifs into flowing, biomorphic paintings, and to theorize a new national culture fueled by the principle of antropofagia, or “cannibalism.” Along with spare, assured drawings of Rio and the Brazilian countryside, this belated but very welcome show assembles Tarsila’s three most important paintings, including the classic “Abaporu” (1928): a semi-human nude with a spindly nose and a comically swollen foot. (Jason Farago)” (NYT)

Whitney Museum of American Art

‘GRANT WOOD: AMERICAN GOTHIC AND OTHER FABLES’ (through June 10). This well-done survey begins with the American Regionalist’s little-known efforts as an Arts and Crafts designer and touches just about every base. It includes his mural studies, book illustrations and most of his best-known paintings — including “American Gothic” and “The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere.” Best of all are Wood’s smooth undulant landscapes with their plowmen and spongy trees and infectious serenity. (Smith, NYT)

‘ZOE LEONARD: SURVEY’  (through June 10).
Some shows cast a spell. Zoe Leonard’s reverberant retrospective does. Physically ultra-austere, all white walls with a fiercely edited selection of objects — photographs of clouds taken from airplane windows; a mural collaged from vintage postcards; a scattering of empty fruit skins, each stitched closed with needle and thread — it’s an extended essay about travel, time passing, political passion and the ineffable daily beauty of the world. (Cotter, NYT)
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For other selected Museum and Gallery Special Exhibitions see Recent Posts in right Sidebar dated 04/07 and 04/05.

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NYC Events,”Only the Best” (04/08) + Today’s Featured Pub (Tribeca)

Posted on 04/08/2018 by GregD

Today’s Super 7 NYC Events >SUNDAY/ APRIL 08, 2018

“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, better check the tab above: “NYC Events-April”
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.

===========================================================

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

Elsewhere, but this definitely looks worth the detour:

Brooklyn Folk Festival (April 6-8)
St. Ann’s Church, 157 Montague St., Brooklyn/ various times; $25 or $40; 3 day pass $85
“It’s the 10th anniversary of the Brooklyn Folk Festival, which will be bigger than ever as artists from around the city (and beyond) come together to celebrate folk, traditional and vernacular skills from around the world. With music and dancing as well as workshops, film screenings, contests and the famous Banjo Toss, the fest features 40 bands in three days to highlight the cultural diversity and history of these oral, vocal and instrumental traditions.” (Metro)

What not to miss at this weekend’s Brooklyn Folk Festival (TONY)

The Brooklyn Folk Festival guide Ready yourself for concerts, jam sessions, film screenings, square dances and more at this Brooklyn Heights fest. (TONY)

=========================================================
6 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)
>> Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Live
>> Renee Rosnes
>> John Scofield
>> Dada Masilo/The Dance Factory 
>> The Photography Show Pier 94
>> STREB EXTREME ACTION
Continuing Events
>> New Directors/New Films
>> New York International Auto Show
>>Macy’s Flower Show
========================================================

Music, Dance, Performing Arts

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Live
The Town Hall / 8PM, $45
“After a triumphant third season that saw all of its principal players undergo major growth, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is taking its giddy, infectiously catchy music back on the road. Creators Rachel Bloom and Aileen Brosh McKenna welcome co-stars Vincent Rodriguez III, Scott Michael Foster, and Pete Gardner and composers Adam Schlesinger and Jack Dolgen to the Town Hall for some inventive renditions of favorite songs and behind-the-scenes tales of some of the series’ best moments. “ (TONY)

John Scofield (LAST DAY)
Blue Note, 131 W. 3rd St./ 8PM, +10;30PM, $20-$35
You never really know what direction this jazz-guitar avatar is headed; a recent venture found him teaming up with the all-star Hudson quartet to reinvent some nineteen-sixties rock classics. Wherever his fancy leads him, it’s certain that Scofield will exhibit the deliciously twisting lines and sweet-meets-nasty tone that are his calling cards.” (NewYorker)

Dada Masilo/The Dance Factory (LAST DAY)
Joyce Theater / 2PM, $35+
South African choreographer Dada Masilo combines classical ballet with traditional African dance in her celebrated version of Giselle, one of the oldest surviving works in the Western canon. Composer Philip Miller combines Adolphe Adam’s nineteenth-century score with African sounds, and a dozen members of Masilo’s troupe, the Dance Factory, bring new life and insights to the classic tale of a peasant girl tempted and betrayed by a member of a royal family, and the eerie revenge she exacts. For the last time this season at the Joyce, you can book a couple of seats for a dollar each, and then pay what you think the show is worth after you see it.” (Elizabeth Zimmer, VillageVoice)

Renee Rosnes (LAST DAY)
Village Vanguard, 178 Seventh Ave. S., at 11th St./ 8:30PM, +10:30PM, $35
“The pianist Rosnes, one of the leading stylists of her generation, has retained core members of her earlier units—the bassist Peter Washington and the vibist Steve Nelson—while adding significant new ones: the drummer Lenny White and the saxophonist Melissa Aldana. The potent concentration of the leader’s compositions, as heard on her ambitious “Written in the Rocks” recording, from 2016, insures the group’s integrity.” (NewYorker)

=========================================================

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

The Photography Show Pier 94 / (LAST DAY)
showcases works from more than 80 of the world’s leading photography art galleries./ noon; $30, run of show $60
“More than 120 exhibitors descend on Pier 94 for the 38th edition of this photo expo. Peruse pieces from the 19th century through present day, check out talks like “Future Gender” and “Refraction: New Photography of the African Diaspora” with industry luminaries and pick up some stunning images for your home.” (TONY)

“The world’s longest-running fair dedicated to photography returns with a show about exploring time, from the 1800s to today. For the first time, The Photography Show will also welcome video and new media, with nearly 100 galleries and publishers participating. There are 15 talks (separately ticketed), as well as three special exhibits including A Time for Reflection, curated by Elton John, and a collection inspired by the Black Panther movement.” (Metro)

Elsewhere, but this is definitely worth the detour:

This is not Manhattan’s WestSide, but it is Brooklyn’s WestSide. If you have never seen these crazy, fearless performers, go see them – it’s their last weekend.

STREB EXTREME ACTION (LAST DAY)
at SLAM, 51 N 1st St, Williamsburg, Brooklyn
“Elizabeth Streb’s cavernous Brooklyn space is known as SLAM (Streb Lab for Action Mechanics), which is also a frequent move that occurs at one of her shows. For the month of March, her fearless team of action heroes, as they’re called, will navigate intimidating industrial contraptions and fling themselves from unnatural heights, seemingly defying physics with the pep of cheerleaders. The hourlong show, “S.E.A.” (“Singular Extreme Actions”), encapsulates all the thrill, humor and energizing fun that makes this company so singular.” (NYT-BRIAN SCHAEFER)\

==============================================================

♦ 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 63 million visitors last year and was TripAdvisor’s Traveler’s Choice Top U.S. Destination for 2018 – awesome! 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.
===========================================================================

Continuing Events

New Directors/New Films (LAST DAY)
Film Society of Lincoln Center and MoMA, / various times, $12-$17
“Delightfully eccentric.
In its 47th year, ND/NF opens with a portrait of freewheeling rapper M.I.A., Matangi/Maya/M.I.A., drawing on videos she made herself, and features Portuguese director Pedro Pinho’s three-hour The Nothing Factory — an epic portrait of an elevator-factory strike with musical numbers.” (D.E., NYMagazine)

Love this festival. After the film screens, the Q&A with the directors and cast (sometimes) is always fascinating. Who knows, you may discover the next Pedro Almodovar – we did.

New York International Auto Show (LAST DAY)
“The 2018 New York International Auto Show is home to an awe-inspiring display of technology and design, as 1,000 new cars and trucks are arrayed across the acreage of the Javits Convention Center. You can check out all the latest models from a hands-on, driver’s seat vantage. The show also features the hottest exotics, joined by futuristic concept cars and a few shiny classics. Some 60 world and North American debuts can be found at this year’s show! You’ll even leave with a gift bag or two.” (cityguideny)
WHEN | WHERE Friday, March 30, through April 8 at the Jacob Javits Convention Center, 655 W. 34th St.
INFO $17, $7 ages 12 and younger, free 2 and younger, autoshowny.com

Visit the Macy’s Flower Show (LAST DAY)
“It’s a floral fairy tale at Macy’s for the store’s annual spring flower show, “Once Upon a Springtime.” Flowers, plants and trees take over windows and countertops, are featured in gardens and on bridges on multiple floors. Events range from a family fun day and breakfast with the Easter bunny to a sip-and-paint class and a men’s grooming and beer tasting.”
WHEN | WHERE Sunday, March 25, through April 8 at Macy’s Herald Square, 151 W. 34th St.
INFO Free (events range up to $24), 212-494-4495, macys.com/social/flower-show/new-york  (Newsday)

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Bonus NYC events– Jazz Clubs:
Many consider NYCity the Jazz capital of the world. My favorite Jazz Clubs, all on Manhattan’s WestSide, feature top talent every night of the week.
Hit the Hot Link and 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. So., villagevanguard.com, 212-255-4037 (1st 8:30)
Blue Note – 131 W3rd St. nr 6th ave. bluenotejazz.com, 212-475-8592 (1st set 8pm)
55 Bar – basement @55 Christopher St. nr 7th ave.S. 55bar.com, 212-929-9883 (1st 7pm)
Mezzrow – basement @ 163 W10th St. nr 7th Ave. mezzrow.com,646-476-4346 (1st 8)
Smalls – basement @ 183 W10th St. smallslive.com, 646-476-4346 (1st set 7:30pm)
Cornelia Street Cafe – UG, 29 Cornelia St. corneliastreetcafe.com, 212-989-9319 (6pm)

Outside Greenwich Village:
Dizzy’s Club – Broadway @ 60th St. — jazz.org/dizzys / 212-258-9595 (1st set 7:30pm)
Birdland – 315 W44th St.(btw 8/9ave) — birdlandjazz.com / 212-581-3080 (1st 8:30pm)
Smoke Jazz Club – 2751 Broadway nr.106th St. — smokejazz.com/ 212-864-6662 (7pm)

Special Mention:
Caffe Vivaldi – 32 Jones St. nr Bleecker St. — caffevivaldi.com / 212-691-7538 (1st 7pm)
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 discover.

=========================================================

NYCity Vacation Travel Guide Video (Expedia):

================================================================================

A PremierPub / Tribeca

B-Flat / 277 Church St. (btw Franklin/White St))

b_flat4There are some places that are tough to find, then add a layer of mystery when you do find them. B-Flat has a nondescript, almost unmarked door at street level – today’s speakeasy vibe. Open this door and you face a dimly lit stairway down to their basement location. It almost takes a leap of faith to follow the stairs down to their interior door.
But open that door and a pleasant surprise awaits you.

It’s a basement jazz spot all right, but not like any traditional jazz joint you may have been to before. This place looks as fresh as today, probably because it’s only been open for 6 years. Even though it hasn’t had a chance to age gracefully, the cherry wood accents and low lighting make this small space very inviting.

There is always jazz, often progressive jazz, playing over their very discrete, stylish bose speakers, setting just the right tone as you find a seat at the bar, or one of the small tables. There is wine and beer available, but this place has some expert mixologists making some very creative cocktails, which I’m told change seasonally, a nice touch.

Come at happy hour and tasty cocktails like the el Diablo or the lychee martini are $8 – not bad. I am a sucker for any drink made with lychee and how can you not try a tequila drink named el Diablo. There is also nice selection of small bites available at happy hour and a food menu that is as innovative as the cocktail menu, so this does not have to be a happy hour only stop.

It wasn’t surprising to find a tasty prosciutto and arugula salad with yuzu dressing, but I did not expect to find such a good version of fried chicken breast on the apps menu. Here it’s called “Tatsuta.” Best bet is to sample happy hour, then dinner on a Monday or Wednesday night, when you can finish with no cover live jazz that starts around 8.

This place is tough to find (look for a small slate sandwich board on the sidewalk out front advertising happy hour) and on some nights when there is no live music it may be a little too quiet for some. But I think it’s worth searching out if you want a place with good music, food, and especially drinks, away from the maddening crowd.

Website: http://http://www.bflat.info/index.html
Phone #: 212-219-2970
Hours: Mo-Wed 5pm-2am; Th-Sat 5pm-3am; no Sun
Happy Hour: 5-7pm every day; $8 cocktails + special prices on apps
Music: Mon/Wed 8pm
Subway: #1 to Franklin; walk E 1 blk to Church; N 1 blk to bFlat

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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 (except for certain jazz clubs).

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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NYC Events,”Only the Best” (04/07) + GallerySpecialExhibits: Chelsea

Posted on 04/07/2018 by GregD

Today’s Elite 8 NYC Events >SATURDAY/ APRIL 07, 2018

“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, better check the tab above: “NYC Events-April”
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.

===========================================================

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

Elsewhere, but this definitely looks worth the detour:

Brooklyn Folk Festival (April 6-8)
St. Ann’s Church, 157 Montague St., Brooklyn/ various times; $25 or $40; 3 day pass $85
“It’s the 10th anniversary of the Brooklyn Folk Festival, which will be bigger than ever as artists from around the city (and beyond) come together to celebrate folk, traditional and vernacular skills from around the world. With music and dancing as well as workshops, film screenings, contests and the famous Banjo Toss, the fest features 40 bands in three days to highlight the cultural diversity and history of these oral, vocal and instrumental traditions.” (Metro)

What not to miss at this weekend’s Brooklyn Folk Festival (TONY)

The Brooklyn Folk Festival guide Ready yourself for concerts, jam sessions, film screenings, square dances and more at this Brooklyn Heights fest. (TONY)

=========================================================
 7 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)
>> Jane Monheit
>> Renee Rosnes
>> Brandi Carlile at the Beacon
>> Christine Ebersole: After the Ball
>> Dance Theatre of Harlem
>> The Photography Show Pier 94
>> STREB EXTREME ACTION
>> ‘David Bowie Is’

Continuing Events
>> New Directors/New Films
>> New York International Auto Show
>>Macy’s Flower Show
========================================================

Music, Dance, Performing Arts

Jane Monheit (LAST DAY)
Birdland / 8:30PM, +11PM, $40
“Monheit has a smooth, lovely voice that can please jazzers, pop fans and cabaretters alike. The songbird now returns to her regular perch at Birdland.” (TONY)

Renee Rosnes (April 3-8)
Village Vanguard, 178 Seventh Ave. S., at 11th St./ 8:30PM, +10:30PM, $35
“The pianist Rosnes, one of the leading stylists of her generation, has retained core members of her earlier units—the bassist Peter Washington and the vibist Steve Nelson—while adding significant new ones: the drummer Lenny White and the saxophonist Melissa Aldana. The potent concentration of the leader’s compositions, as heard on her ambitious “Written in the Rocks” recording, from 2016, insures the group’s integrity.” (NewYorker)

Brandi Carlile at the Beacon
“The American folk rock and Americana singer-songwriter has an early Song of the Year contender with “The Joke,” her soaring anthem for the marginalized that offers a glimmer of hope. “I have been to the movies,” she announces. “I’ve seen how it ends, and the joke’s on them.” (NewsDay)
WHEN | WHERE 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, April 6-7, at the Beacon Theatre, 2124 Broadway
INFO $41.50-$81.50, 800-745-3000, ticketmaster.com

Christine Ebersole: After the Ball
Feinstein’s/54 Below / 7PM, $85
“Broadway leading lady Ebersole (Grey Gardens) can really land a joke and knock out a number, moving with ease between her lustrous belt, her mock-operatic soprano and multiple other modes. At F/54 she reprises the set she has played to acclaim for the past couple of years, which includes such classics as “The Way You Look Tonight” and “Lazy Afternoon.” (TONY)

Dance Theatre of Harlem
New York City Center / 8PM, $25+
“Three premieres; four performances; seven choreographers spanning more than a century of ballet and contemporary dance tradition; and tributes to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., dance diva Carmen de Lavallade, and civil rights leader Xernona Clayton comprise the too-short season of this remarkable troupe, now under the artistic direction of Virginia Johnson. Included are works by George Balanchine, Christopher Wheeldon, Marius Petipa, Darrell Grand Moultrie, Diane McIntyre, the company’s resident choreographer and school director Robert Garland, and Geoffrey Holder (whose fantastical marriage ceremony Dougla returns to the New York stage after too many years away).” (Elizabeth Zimmer, VillageVoice)

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

The Photography Show Pier 94 / (April 5-8)
showcases works from more than 80 of the world’s leading photography art galleries./ noon; $30, run of show $60
“More than 120 exhibitors descend on Pier 94 for the 38th edition of this photo expo. Peruse pieces from the 19th century through present day, check out talks like “Future Gender” and “Refraction: New Photography of the African Diaspora” with industry luminaries and pick up some stunning images for your home.” (TONY)

“The world’s longest-running fair dedicated to photography returns with a show about exploring time, from the 1800s to today. For the first time, The Photography Show will also welcome video and new media, with nearly 100 galleries and publishers participating. There are 15 talks (separately ticketed), as well as three special exhibits including A Time for Reflection, curated by Elton John, and a collection inspired by the Black Panther movement.” (Metro)

Elsewhere, but these two are definitely worth the detour:

This is not Manhattan’s WestSide, but it is Brooklyn’s WestSide. If you have never seen these crazy, fearless performers, go see them – it’s their last weekend.

STREB EXTREME ACTION (until April 8, Friday-Sunday at various times)
at SLAM, 51 N 1st St, Williamsburg, Brooklyn
“Elizabeth Streb’s cavernous Brooklyn space is known as SLAM (Streb Lab for Action Mechanics), which is also a frequent move that occurs at one of her shows. For the month of March, her fearless team of action heroes, as they’re called, will navigate intimidating industrial contraptions and fling themselves from unnatural heights, seemingly defying physics with the pep of cheerleaders. The hourlong show, “S.E.A.” (“Singular Extreme Actions”), encapsulates all the thrill, humor and energizing fun that makes this company so singular.” (NYT-BRIAN SCHAEFER)\

‘David Bowie Is’
Brooklyn Museum’ / 5-10:30PM, FREE
“Brooklyn Museum’s Target First Saturday events are free and this time, it’s all about David Bowie. There will be a lineup of programs with Bowie’s former collaborators and contemporary Brooklyn artists, like music by Mike Garson and Tamar-Kai, a Bowie-inspired photo booth, and a performance by Bushwig, hosted by Horrorchata, Untitled Queen and Tyler Ashley. There also will be a film screening of “Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars,” a drink-and-draw live sketch of models dressed as Bowie, and more.” (AMNY)

SPECIAL EVENT
Celebrate National Beer Day
“New Yorkers don’t need much excuse to knock back a brew or two, but on Saturday, April 7th, 2018, Grand Central Terminal will be celebrating National Beer Day all through the station. The shops and restaurants of GCT will be full of special offers, from discount growlers to free tastings to happy hour deals. From 6pm to 8pm, you can sip along to the jazz and soul sounds of Bellatonic, which will be performing a free live concert next to Track 101 downstairs as part of the Dining Concourse in Concert series” (cityguideny.com)

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♦ 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 63 million visitors last year and was TripAdvisor’s Traveler’s Choice Top U.S. Destination for 2018 – awesome! 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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Continuing Events

New Directors/New Films (March 28 through April 8.)
Film Society of Lincoln Center and MoMA, / various times, $12-$17
“Delightfully eccentric.
In its 47th year, ND/NF opens with a portrait of freewheeling rapper M.I.A., Matangi/Maya/M.I.A., drawing on videos she made herself, and features Portuguese director Pedro Pinho’s three-hour The Nothing Factory — an epic portrait of an elevator-factory strike with musical numbers.” (D.E., NYMagazine)

Love this festival. After the film screens, the Q&A with the directors and cast (sometimes) is always fascinating. Who knows, you may discover the next Pedro Almodovar – we did.

New York International Auto Show (3/30-4/8)
“The 2018 New York International Auto Show is home to an awe-inspiring display of technology and design, as 1,000 new cars and trucks are arrayed across the acreage of the Javits Convention Center. You can check out all the latest models from a hands-on, driver’s seat vantage. The show also features the hottest exotics, joined by futuristic concept cars and a few shiny classics. Some 60 world and North American debuts can be found at this year’s show! You’ll even leave with a gift bag or two.” (cityguideny)
WHEN | WHERE Friday, March 30, through April 8 at the Jacob Javits Convention Center, 655 W. 34th St.
INFO $17, $7 ages 12 and younger, free 2 and younger, autoshowny.com

Visit the Macy’s Flower Show
“It’s a floral fairy tale at Macy’s for the store’s annual spring flower show, “Once Upon a Springtime.” Flowers, plants and trees take over windows and countertops, are featured in gardens and on bridges on multiple floors. Events range from a family fun day and breakfast with the Easter bunny to a sip-and-paint class and a men’s grooming and beer tasting.”
WHEN | WHERE Sunday, March 25, through April 8 at Macy’s Herald Square, 151 W. 34th St.
INFO Free (events range up to $24), 212-494-4495, macys.com/social/flower-show/new-york  (Newsday)

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Bonus NYC Events – 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:

City Winery – 155 Varick St., citywinery.com, 212-608-0555
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
B.B. King’s Blues Bar – 237W42nd St., bbkingblues.com, 212-997-2144
Le Poisson Rouge – 158 Bleecker St., lepoissonrouge.com, 212-505-3474
and one more, not quite WestSide
Bowery Ballroom – 6 Delancey St. boweryballroom.com,

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 discovery and enjoyment.
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NYCity Vacation Travel Guide Video (Expedia):

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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.

Here is an exhibition the New Yorker likes:

Arlene Gottfried (thru April 28)

“Aptly titled “A Lifetime of Wandering,” this posthumous exhibition of the photographer’s street scenes and portraits captures New York’s demimonde of the nineteen-seventies and eighties from a warm and impromptu perspective. Among Gottfried’s coöperative subjects were Brooklyn beachgoers, Harlem gospel singers, and disco-era clubbers, as well as underground icons and international celebrities. A shot of the transgender activist and performer Marsha P. Johnson shows her posing with a wide smile in the middle of the street. Diana Ross, standing by a wall and dressed to blend in, likewise beams for the camera. Gottfried, who died last year, at the age of sixty-six, also photographed those closest to her. One of the show’s high points is “Mommie Kissing Bubbie on Delancey Street,” from 1979, which celebrates two generations of her Jewish immigrant family in an unguarded moment on the Lower East Side.”  (Cooney, 508 W. 26th St.)

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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 better to 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). OR try the NYT recommendation: “When you’re done, adjourn to the newly renovated Bottino , the Chelsea art world’s unofficial canteen on 10th Avenue (btw 24/25 St.) “

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For other selected Museum and Gallery Special Exhibitions see recent posts in right sidebar dated 04/05 and 04/03.

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