Selected NYC Events (05/08) + Museum Special Exhibitions: Manhattan’s WestSide

Posted on 05/08/2017 by GregD

Today’s Sweet 6 NYC Events > MONDAY/MAY 08, 2017

“We search the internet everyday looking for the very best of What’s Happening, primarily on Manhattan’s WestSide, so that you don’t have to.” We make it as easy as 1-2-3.
For future NYC Events be sure to check the tab above: “Notable NYC Events-May”

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

Magnetic City: A Walking Companion to New York
Center for Architecture, 536 LaGuardia Pl./ 6PM, $10
“Join us at the Center for Architecture on May 8 to hear Justin Davidson discuss his latest book, Magnetic City: A Walking Companion to New York.

Through seven illustrated walking tours of New York, Magnetic City provides a historical, architectural, and cultural exploration of the city around us. Each section is presented with its own essay, map, and illustrations, so the book can be enjoyed both on foot and at home.

Justin Davidson has been New York magazine’s classical music and architecture critic since 2007. He began his journalism career as a local stringer for the Associated Press in Rome (where he grew up) before moving to the United States to study music at Harvard. He went on to earn a doctorate degree in music composition at Columbia University, where he also taught. In 2002, as a staff writer at Newsday, he won the Pulitzer Prize in criticism.”

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5 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)

>>Broadway Sings Lady Gaga
>>Lyrics & Lyricists: Songbook Classics by Unsung Lyricists
>>54 Celebrates the Muppets
>>We’ll Always Have Casablanca: The Life, Legend, and Afterlife of Hollywood’s Most Beloved Movie
>>Sketch & Sip: A City Seen

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Music, Dance, Performing Arts

Broadway Sings Lady Gaga
Highline Ballroom, / 8PM, $30-$65
“More than a dozen Broadway vocalists do their Pyscho and Vertigo shtick to new arangements of Gaga classics, backed by piano man Joshua Stephen Kartes and a 14-piece jazz orchestra. Singers include Nick Adams, Lilli Cooper, Matt DeAngelis, Claybourne Elder, Nathan Lee Graham, Eric Michael Krop, Liz Larsen, Corey Mach, Lesli Margherita, Jeremy Pope, A.J. Shively, Shayna Steele and more.” (TONY)

Lyrics & Lyricists: Songbook Classics by Unsung Lyricists
92nd Street Y, 1395 Lexington ave./ 2PM, +7:30PM, $58+
“The matchless Sheldon Harnick, who wrote the lyrics ro Fiddler on the Roof and She Loves Me, hosts the latest edition of the 92nd Street Y’s estimable L&L series. This one focuses on relatively obscure wordsmiths behind famous Great American Songbook favorites. Vocalists include Judy Kuhn, Elizabeth Stanley, Aaron C. Finley and Sal Viviano, with artistic director Rob Fisher at the piano.” (TONY)

54 Celebrates the Muppets
54 Below, 254 W54th St./ 7PM, $45+
“Major musical-theater talents offer a deeply felt appreciation of the Muppets oeuvre in a night of story and song. The cast of this encore edition, hosted by human muppet Richard Kind, includes James Monroe Iglehart, Taran Killam, Lesli Margherita, Keala Settle, Anika Larsen, Okieriete Onaodowan, Julia Mattison, Joel Perez, Emily Skeggs, Lilli Cooper and Avenue Q alums Rick Lyon and Stephanie D’Abruzzo.” (TONY)

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

We’ll Always Have Casablanca: The Life, Legend, and Afterlife of Hollywood’s Most Beloved Movie
Mid-Manhattan Library, 455 Fifth Ave./ 6:30PM, FREE
With Noah Isenberg, professor of culture and media at The New School.
“This illustrated talk tells the incredible story of how Casablanca was made and why it remains the most beloved of Hollywood films.”

Sketch & Sip: A City Seen
Museum of the City of New York, 1220 Fifth Avenue at 103rd St./ 6PM, $30
“From portraits to fire hydrants, street scenes to skylines, Todd Webb used his camera to capture the many contrasts of New York City in the years following World War II. Enjoy a tour of his photographs in A City Seen: Todd Webb’s Postwar New York, 1945-1960 and then choose one to sketch under the guidance of fine artist and educator Simon Levenson.

Sketch & Sip is open to adults ages 21 years old & up, of all artistic abilities. Fee includes two drinks (wine, beer, soda, and juice will be served) and drawing materials for use during class time. Advance registration is required. Space limited to 25 participants per class.”
NB: this is a heads up for tomorrow’s event.

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Bonus NYC events– Jazz Venues:
Many consider NYCity the Jazz capital of the world. Here are my favorite Jazz clubs, all on Manhattan’s WestSide. Check out who is playing tonight:

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

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

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

==================================================================================
♦ Before making final plans, we suggest you call the venue to confirm ticket availability, dates and times, as schedules are subject to change.
♦ NYCity, with a population of  8.5 million, had a record 60 million visitors last year and was TripAdvisor’s Traveler’s Choice Top U.S. Destination for 2017.  Quality shows draw crowds.
Try to reserve seats for these top NYC events in advance, even if just on day of performance.
NYCity Vacation Travel Guide Video (Expedia):

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

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 these exhibitions)

 Whitney Museum of American Art:

2017 WHITNEY BIENNIAL (through June 11).
This is arguably the best Biennial in years, and perhaps the best ever in its combination of demographics, aesthetics and political urgency. Nearly half of the featured artists are female, and half nonwhite. Their works reach from figure painting to virtual reality. Income inequality, racism, misogyny, immigration and violence are confronted in ways that set a high standard for social engagement sustained by formal ambition. (Smith-NYT)
212-570-3600, whitney.org

FAST FORWARD: PAINTING FROM THE 1980S (thru May 14)
“Fast Forward: Painting from the 1980s presents a focused look at painting from this decade with works drawn entirely from the Museum’s collection.

In the 1980s, painting recaptured the imagination of the contemporary art world against a backdrop of expansive change. An unprecedented number of galleries appeared on the scene, particularly in downtown New York. Groundbreaking exhibitions—that blurred distinctions between high and low art—were presented at alternative and artist-run spaces. New mediums, including video and installation art, were on the rise. Yet despite the growing popularity of photography and video, many artists actively embraced painting, freely exploring its bold physicality and unique capacity for expression and innovation.

The exhibition includes work by artists often identified with this explosive period—Jean-Michel Basquiat, Sherrie Levine, David Salle, and Julian Schnabel—as well as by several lesser-known painters. These artists explored the traditions of figuration and history painting, and offered new interpretations of abstraction. Many addressed fundamental questions about artmaking in their work, while others took on political issues including AIDS, feminism, gentrification, and war. In the face of a media-saturated environment, artists in the 1980s recommitted to painting. Far from dead, painting came to represent an important intersection between new ways of seeing and a seemingly traditional way of making art.”

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)

American Museum of Natural History:

Mummies (thru 1/7/18)
“For thousands of years, peoples around the world practiced mummification as a way of preserving and honoring their dead. Mummies brings you face to face with some of these ancient individuals and reveals how scientists are using modern technology to glean stunning details about them and their cultures. In Mummies, ancient remains from the Nile Valley of Africa and the Andes Mountains of South America will be on view, allowing visitors to connect with cultures from the distant past. Mummification, a more widespread practice than most think, was used not only for royal Egyptians but also for common people and even animals. Interactive touch tables let visitors virtually “unravel” or see inside mummies as they delve deep into the unique stories of the people or animals who lie within. Other parts of the exhibition showcase the latest isotopic and DNA testing being performed on mummies, and explain how these sophisticated analytical techniques are helping scientists discover important clues about long-vanished practices. Mummies was developed by The Field Museum, Chicago.” (NY CityGuide)

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PLUS, These wonderful museum exhibitions elsewhere, continue through this period:

‘GEORGIA O’KEEFFE: LIVING MODERN’ at the Brooklyn Museum (through July 23). Given that most artists are to some extent dandies, it would be wrong to view this fascinating show through an exclusively feminist lens. But it does demonstrate the powerful, carefully cultivated aesthetic and inborn independence that connects the art, wardrobe, living spaces and public persona of America’s first celebrity artist. In and around her art, she redefined gender and style. (Roberta Smith-NYT)
718-638-5000, brooklynmuseum.org

(3/3-7/3) Georgia O’Keeffe: “Living Modern” provides a new look at an iconic American artist at the very institution that hosted her first solo museum exhibition in 1927—the Brooklyn Museum. Presenting O’Keeffe’s remarkable wardrobe in dialogue with iconic paintings and photographs, this singular exhibition focuses in on the modernist persona O’Keeffe crafted for herself. With photographs by luminaries like Alfred Stieglitz, Ansel Adams, and Annie Leibovitz, the show reflects O’Keeffe’s radical rethinking of female identity, and the artist’s commitment to elements of modernism—minimalism, seriality, simplification—not only in her art, but also in her distinctive style of dress. (NYCity Guide)

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

 

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Selected NYC Events (05/07) + Today’s Featured Pub (WestVillage)

Posted on 05/07/2017 by GregD

Today’s Super 7 NYC Events > SUNDAY/MAY 07, 2017

“We search the internet everyday looking for the very best of What’s Happening, primarily on Manhattan’s WestSide, so that you don’t have to.” We make it as easy as 1-2-3.
For future NYC Events be sure to check the tab above: “Notable NYC Events-May”

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

Limon Dance Company (LAST DAY)
Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth Ave./ 2PM, $51+
“The Limon Dance Company, since 1946 one of the world’s greatest Modern Dance companies, returns to the Joyce for May 2-7 performances, the first NY season under new artistic director Colin Connor, a former 10-year principal dancer with the Company. Repertory for the two programs includes Limon classics: Concerto Grosso, The Exiles, suite from A Choreographic Offering, and Chaconne (all staged by former principal dancers). New works are Connor’s Corvidae, music by Philip Glass, inspired by corvids, the most intelligent of birds; and Night Light by Kate Weare.” (ThoughtGallery.org)

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AND don’t forget to watch the 40th anniversary 40-mile Five Boro Bike Tour, which begins at 7:30 a.m. Hope it doesn’t rain on me, my buddies, and 32,000 of our closest friends. Here’s the route map.

6 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)

>>Jim Rotondi
>>DAVID MURRAY AND CLASS STRUGGLE
>>RON CARTER’S 80th BIRTHDAY WEEK
>>NYC Ballet
>>Jane’s Walk NYC 2017
>>ARTS FRIEZE NEW YORK
>>Art New York
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Music, Dance, Performing Arts

Jim Rotondi
Smoke Jazz Club, 2751 Broadway, between 105th and 106th Sts./ 7,9, 10:30PM, $38
“Rock and roll may never die; hard bop appears to be striving for immortality as well. The rip-roaring trumpeter Jim Rotondi wasn’t around for the first flowering of the earthy style, but he’s thoroughly absorbed its playbook. A faithful member of the long-running neo-bop unit One for All, Rotondi here leads a quintet with such reputable associates as the pianist David Hazeltine and the vibraphonist Joe Locke.” (NewYorker)

DAVID MURRAY AND CLASS STRUGGLE (LAST DAY)
at the Village Vanguard / 8:30PM, +10:30PM, $30
“After living in Europe for many years, Mr. Murray, a tenor saxophonist, is diving back into the New York jazz scene that once called him royalty. Mr. Murray’s waggish improvising and brawny tone have rarely sounded better than on last year’s “Perfection,” on which he performs with the pianist Geri Allen and the drummer Terri Lyne Carrington. For this weeklong run Mr. Murray presents a relatively new ensemble, Class Struggle, featuring Mingus Murray, Mr. Murray’s son, on guitar; D. D. Jackson on piano; and the brothers Rashaan and Russell Carter on bass and drums.” (GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO-NYT)

RON CARTER’S 80th BIRTHDAY WEEK (LAST DAY)
at the Blue Note, 131 W3rd St. / 8PM, +10:30PM, $30, $45
“Mr. Carter, a bassist, is one of the most recorded sidemen in jazz history. He’s also the author of some remarkable — if rather overlooked — solo albums, in formats ranging from duets to little big bands. The stately Mr. Carter will celebrate the week of his 80th birthday with concerts alongside an array of collaborators. On Tuesday, he’s in duo with the guitarist Bill Frisell; over the next four days, he will convene various quintets including the likes of Benny Golson, Kenny Barron and Renee Rosnes; and on May 7 he closes the run with his Golden Striker Trio, featuring Russell Malone on guitar and Donald Vega on piano.” (GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO-NYT)

NYC Ballet (thru May 28)
NYS/DHK Theater, Lincoln Center / 3PM. $30+
“The company continues its Here/Now Festival with four new programs that highlight new and recent choreography made for the company since 1988. Along with more performances of Alexei Ratmansky’s anticipated premiere, “Odessa,” set to music by Leonid Desyatnikov — the same composer he used for his marvelous “Russian Seasons” — other highlights include the return of two dances created by company members. Justin Peck’s spirited “The Times Are Racing,” set to electronic music by Dan Deacon and featuring street-wear costumes by Humberto Leon of Opening Ceremony, is a burst of youthful exuberance. And Lauren Lovette’s charming “For Clara,” set to Schumann and rooted in classical ballet, is as fresh as they come.” (GIA KOURLAS – NYT)

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

Jane’s Walk NYC 2017
“Join The Municipal Art Society of New York (MAS) May 5-7th for Jane’ Walk 2017! For one weekend hundreds of New Yorkers will share their expertise and enthusiasm for their city by leading FREE walking tours. Unless otherwise noted in the walk description, there is no advanced registration for Jane’s Walks. To attend, please meet the walk leader at the listed meeting location.
   >About Jane’s Walk
Celebrated in over 200 cities worldwide, Jane’s Walk is an annual festival of walking tours that honors the legendary urban activist Jane Jacobs. Hosted by MAS since 2011, Jane’s Walk NYC brings together thousands of New Yorkers for the largest festival in the world.”

ARTS FRIEZE NEW YORK
Admire the work of established 20th century masters and emerging contemporary voices at this annual visual arts event. More than 200 galleries from cities all over the world ­­including New York, São Paulo, Paris, Warsaw, London, Berlin, and Guatemala City will participate.
The fair will also include interactive, site specific works as well as talks and book signings.
Make an arts extravaganza of it.
Frieze coincides with a slew of other visual arts events this weekend (see next item).
WHEN | Friday, May 5, to Sunday, May 7
WHERE , at Randall’s Island Park, 20 Randall’s Island
INFO $46 for adults; $25 for students and children 13 to 17.
(STAV ZIV – Newsday)

AND MORE ART THIS WEEKEND!

Art New York
Pier 94; 5pm; $40, students $25, seniors $25, multiday pass $75
“Paired with sister fair Context New York, Miami import Art New York brings more than 150 galleries representing nearly 1,200 modern and contemporary artists from 50 countries to Pier 94 during New York Art Week. During fair hours, courtesy shuttle service will run to Pier 94 from the Frieze Ferry at 35th Street.
AND
Context New York
Pier 94; 5pm; $40, students $25, seniors $25, multiday pass $75
Sharing a space (and ticket) with Art New York, the Context New York art fair bills itself as a forum for dialogue between art collectors (even first-timers), galleries and artists. Stop by to check out 60 participating galleries offering work by emerging, midcareer, and cutting-edge talent.” (TONY mag)

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

Bonus NYC events– Jazz Venues:
Many consider NYCity the Jazz capital of the world. Here are my favorite Jazz clubs, all on Manhattan’s WestSide. Check out who is playing tonight:

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

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

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

==================================================================================
♦ Before making final plans, we suggest you call the venue to confirm ticket availability, dates and times, as schedules are subject to change.
♦ NYCity, with a population of  8.5 million, had a record 60 million visitors last year and was TripAdvisor’s Traveler’s Choice Top U.S. Destination for 2016.  Quality shows draw crowds.
Try to reserve seats for these top NYC events in advance, even if just on day of performance.
NYCity Vacation Travel Guide Video (Expedia):

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A PremierPub / West Village

Corner Bistro / 331 W. 4th St.

Sometimes you just need a beer and a burger. If so, Corner Bistro is the place you want. Located just outside the hip Meatpacking district, this corner bar and grill is decidedly unhip, but it’s not uncrowded, especially at night. Seems that everyone knows this place has one of the better burgers in town.

kac_120405_phude_corner_bistro_bar_1000-600x450In the maze of streets known as the West Village, where West 4th intersects with West 12th (and West 11th, and West 10th, go figure), you will eventually find Corner Bistro on the corner of West 4th and Jane Street. An unassuming neighborhood tavern, it looks just like dozens of other taverns around town.

The bartender tells me that the Corner Bistro celebrated it’s 50th anniversary last year. The well worn interior tells me that the place itself is much older.

Corner Bistro has outlasted many of those other taverns around town because they know how to keep it simple — just good burgers and beer, fairly priced. The classic bistro Burger is only $6.75, and should be ordered medium rare, which will be plenty rare for most folks. Actually, it will be a juicy, messy delight – make sure you have extra napkins. I like to pull up a stool and sit by the large front window in the afternoon, where I can rest my burger and beer on the shelf, and watch the Villagers walk by.

Corner Bistro seems to attract very different groups of patrons depending on time of day. While it’s crowded with locals in the evening, in the afternoon you hear different foreign languages, and watch groups of euro tourists wander in, led by their guidebooks and smartphones.

For the classic Bistro experience, order your burger with a McSorley’s draft, the dark preferably. This is the same beer that you can get over at the original McSorley’s in the East Village, the pub that claims to be the oldest continually operating bar in NYCity. The only difference is that this McSorley’s ale is served with a smile by the bartenders here. Or you can get a Sierra Nevada, Stella, or Hoegaarden on tap if you want to go upscale a bit. Either way this is a simple, but quality burger and beer experience that is just too rare these days (sorry for the pun).
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Website: cornerbistrony.com
Phone #: 212-242-9502
Hours: 11:30am-4am Mon-Sat; 12pm-4am Sun
Happy Hour: NO
Music: Juke Box
Subway: #1/2/3 to 14th St. (S end of platform)
Walk 2 blk W. on 13th St. to 8th Ave.; 1 blk S. on 8th Ave. to Jane St.
Update:
==============================================================
“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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Selected NYC Events (05/06) + GallerySpecialExhibits: Chelsea

Posted on 05/06/2017 by GregD

Today’s Super 7 NYC Events > SATURDAY/MAY 06, 2017

“We search the internet everyday looking for the very best of What’s Happening, primarily on Manhattan’s WestSide, so that you don’t have to.” We make it as easy as 1-2-3.
For future NYC Events be sure to check the tab above: “Notable NYC Events-May”

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

RON CARTER’S 80TH-BIRTHDAY WEEK (May 2-7)
at the Blue Note, 131 W3rd St. / 8PM, +10:30PM, $30, $45
“Mr. Carter, a bassist, is one of the most recorded sidemen in jazz history. He’s also the author of some remarkable — if rather overlooked — solo albums, in formats ranging from duets to little big bands. The stately Mr. Carter will celebrate the week of his 80th birthday with concerts alongside an array of collaborators. On Tuesday, he’s in duo with the guitarist Bill Frisell; over the next four days, he will convene various quintets including the likes of Benny Golson, Kenny Barron and Renee Rosnes; and on May 7 he closes the run with his Golden Striker Trio, featuring Russell Malone on guitar and Donald Vega on piano.” (GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO-NYT)

6 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)

>>George Garzone
>>JOHN SCOFIELD RETROSPECTIVE
>>Pat Martino
>>ARTS FRIEZE NEW YORK
>>Art New York and Context New York
>>Jane’s Walk NYC 2017
>>NYC HOLI HAI FESTIVAL
===========================================================

Music, Dance, Performing Arts

George Garzone
Cornelia Street Café, 29 Cornelia St./ 9PM, +10:30PM, $10
“A virtuosic Boston saxophonist of renowned stature, Garzone is also one of the vaunted teachers of his instrument—in short, a local legend. He brings a quartet of fine regional talent with him for this southerly visit, including the trumpeter Phil Grenadier and the bassist John Lockwood.” (NewYorker)

JOHN SCOFIELD RETROSPECTIVE (May 5-6)
at Jazz at Lincoln Center, 7 and 9:30 p.m., $
“Mr. Scofield, a guitarist, has a tartly confectionary sound that’s both bendy and biting. It’s served him well over a four-decade career, and it won him three Grammys in the past two years. For these weekend shows, he’s borrowing a strategy from his dad-rock contemporaries: He will revisit two old albums, the funky “Blue Matter,” from 1987, and the drifting, acoustic “Quiet,” from 1996. For the “Blue Matter” repertoire he’ll be joined by the bassist Gary Grainger and the drummer Dennis Chambers — both of whom appeared on the album — and the pianist Jim Beard. For “Quiet,” he’ll convene a large ensemble featuring six reed and horn players, including the tenor saxophonist Joe Lovano. “ (GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO-NYT)

Pat Martino (May 04-06)
Iridium, 1650 Broadway, at 51st St./ 8:30, $35
“Through soul jazz, bebop, modal adventures, fusion, and beyond, Martino has taken his instrument on a roller coaster of stylistic twists and turns during his six-decade career, emerging as a patriarch of jazz guitar. A serious health crisis and determined recovery in the early eighties, which climaxed with him painstakingly relearning the guitar, may be a touchstone of his iconic legacy, but Martino doesn’t have to call on an inspirational backstory to dazzle.” (NewYorker)

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

ARTS FRIEZE NEW YORK
Admire the work of established 20th century masters and emerging contemporary voices at this annual visual arts event. More than 200 galleries from cities all over the world ­­including New York, São Paulo, Paris, Warsaw, London, Berlin, and Guatemala City will participate.
The fair will also include interactive, site specific works as well as talks and book signings.
Make an arts extravaganza of it.
Frieze coincides with a slew of other visual arts events this weekend (see next item).
WHEN | Friday, May 5, to Sunday, May 7
WHERE , at Randall’s Island Park, 20 Randall’s Island
INFO $46 for adults; $25 for students and children 13 to 17.
(STAV ZIV – Newsday)

AND MORE ART THIS WEEKEND!

Art New York
Pier 94; 5pm; $40, students $25, seniors $25, multiday pass $75
“Paired with sister fair Context New York, Miami import Art New York brings more than 150 galleries representing nearly 1,200 modern and contemporary artists from 50 countries to Pier 94 during New York Art Week. During fair hours, courtesy shuttle service will run to Pier 94 from the Frieze Ferry at 35th Street.
AND
Context New York
Pier 94; 5pm; $40, students $25, seniors $25, multiday pass $75
Sharing a space (and ticket) with Art New York, the Context New York art fair bills itself as a forum for dialogue between art collectors (even first-timers), galleries and artists. Stop by to check out 60 participating galleries offering work by emerging, midcareer, and cutting-edge talent.” (TONY mag)

Jane’s Walk NYC 2017
“Join The Municipal Art Society of New York (MAS) May 5-7th for Jane’ Walk 2017! For one weekend hundreds of New Yorkers will share their expertise and enthusiasm for their city by leading FREE walking tours.

Unless otherwise noted in the walk description, there is no advanced registration for Jane’s Walks. To attend, please meet the walk leader at the listed meeting location.

About Jane’s Walk
Celebrated in over 200 cities worldwide, Jane’s Walk is an annual festival of walking tours that honors the legendary urban activist Jane Jacobs. Hosted by MAS since 2011, Jane’s Walk NYC brings together thousands of New Yorkers for the largest festival in the world.”

NYC HOLI HAI FESTIVAL
Governors Island, Ball Fields (west side of island) / 10AM-6PM
“Kick off the season and celebrate diversity on Governors Island with colors, music and dance! Enjoy a day out with family and friends at this kid-friendly FREE admission event. Attendees enjoy a multi-cultural program on stage with live bands and dance performances while covering each other in colored powder. Food vendors carrying a variety of delicacies are featured and there is a kids area for children to engage and play in a festive environment.

Dance to the beats of live Indian drums (‘dhol’), enjoy eclectic music and dancers showcasing a variety of performances from Salsa, Jazz and African to Bhangra and Indian Classical. The festival is a truly diverse gathering and welcomes people from all backgrounds and ages. The recommended attire is white, as it gets messy and colorful, creating a stunning visual work of art.”

=====================================================
Bonus NYC events– Jazz Venues:
Many consider NYCity the Jazz capital of the world. Here are my favorite Jazz clubs, all on Manhattan’s WestSide. Check out who is playing tonight:

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

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

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

==================================================================================
♦ Before making final plans, we suggest you call the venue to confirm ticket availability, dates and times, as schedules are subject to change.
♦ NYCity, with a population of  8.5 million, had a record 60 million visitors last year and was TripAdvisor’s Traveler’s Choice Top U.S. Destination for 2017.  Quality shows draw crowds.
Try to reserve seats for these top NYC events in advance, even if just on day of performance.
NYCity Vacation Travel Guide Video (Expedia):

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

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 one exhibition the New York Times really likes:

PETER DREHER (thru May 20)
Koenig & Clinton, 459 West 19th Street

“Peter Dreher has spent much of his career producing thousands of high-concept but technically exacting oil portraits of an empty water glass. This 84-year-old German painter’s latest show at Koenig & Clinton collects seven decades’ worth of his treatment of skulls, instead.

The works range from a 1947 watercolor with an upward gaze of doomed innocence to six 10-foot-wide black-and-gray gouaches, made between 2005 and 2007, that manage to look equally like punk-chic bedspreads and coolly abstract reckonings with wartime atrocity. They have a strange, motion-activated flicker, their more or less reflective skulls passing in and out of view as you shift your position.

This subtle formal paradox — a suggestion that black and white, as equal partners in a singular action of contrast, are essentially interchangeable — is a good lead-in to the back room, which holds 15 recent head-on views. Painted in thin, overlapping layers of white gouache, these skulls look like X-rays printed on celluloid. They vary widely in their particulars: One has a jackal’s grimace and a cleft chin, another a severe underbite and eight separately articulated lower teeth. But hanging them all in a line makes those details read as passing accidents, like the constantly mutating patterns of a tide pool.

Standing in front of them, I had what felt like a Buddhist revelation: For a moment, I could see that impermanence was inextricable from form.” (WILL HEINRICH)

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

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 05/04 and 05/02.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Selected NYC Events (05/05) + Today’s Featured Pub (Midtown West)

Posted on 05/05/2017 by GregD

Today’s Super 7 NYC Events > FRIDAY/MAY 05, 2017

“We search the internet everyday looking for the very best of What’s Happening, primarily on Manhattan’s WestSide, so that you don’t have to.” We make it as easy as 1-2-3.
For future NYC Events be sure to check the tab above: “Notable NYC Events-May”

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

ARTS FRIEZE NEW YORK
Admire the work of established 20th century masters and emerging contemporary voices at this annual visual arts event. More than 200 galleries from cities all over the world ­­including New York, São Paulo, Paris, Warsaw, London, Berlin, and Guatemala City will participate.
The fair will also include interactive, site specific works as well as talks and book signings.
Make an arts extravaganza of it.
Frieze coincides with a slew of other visual arts events this weekend (see next item).
WHEN | Friday, May 5, to Sunday, May 7
WHERE , at Randall’s Island Park, 20 Randall’s Island
INFO $46 for adults; $25 for students and children 13 to 17.
­(STAV ZIV – Newsday)

Art New York
Pier 94; 5pm; $40, students $25, seniors $25, multiday pass $75
“Paired with sister fair Context New York, Miami import Art New York brings more than 150 galleries representing nearly 1,200 modern and contemporary artists from 50 countries to Pier 94 during New York Art Week. During fair hours, courtesy shuttle service will run to Pier 94 from the Frieze Ferry at 35th Street.
AND
Context New York
Pier 94; 5pm; $40, students $25, seniors $25, multiday pass $75
Sharing a space (and ticket) with Art New York, the Context New York art fair bills itself as a forum for dialogue between art collectors (even first-timers), galleries and artists. Stop by to check out 60 participating galleries offering work by emerging, midcareer, and cutting-edge talent.” (TONY mag)

7 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)

>>The Kentucky Derby Is Decadent and Depraved
>>NYC Ballet
>>ANGÉLIQUE KIDJO AND FRIENDS
>>JOHN SCOFIELD RETROSPECTIVE
>>Pat Martino
>> Benjamin Franklin in London: From British Royalist to American Patriot
>>Buddhist Realism and Dark Comedy: It’s Funny Because It’s True
===========================================================

Music, Dance, Performing Arts

The Kentucky Derby Is Decadent and Depraved
The Town Hall, 123 W. 43rd St./ 8PM, $50+
with Tim Robbins & special guests Brad Hall & Chloe Webb
“Renowned producer Hal Wilner, composer Bill Frisell, legendary artist Ralph Steadman and director Chloe Webb bring Hunter S. Thompson’s first gonzo journalism piece (and Steadman’s horse sketches) to hallucinatory life. The Kentucky Derby marked the beginning of Thompson and Steadman’s epic partnership, realized in this stage adaptation with an all-star cast and a band performing guitar great Bill Frisell’s original score. This raucous performance makes its New York City debut, on the eve of the Kentucky Derby.”

NYC Ballet (thru May 28)
NYS/DHK Theater, Lincoln Center / 8PM. $30+
“The company continues its Here/Now Festival with four new programs that highlight new and recent choreography made for the company since 1988. Along with more performances of Alexei Ratmansky’s anticipated premiere, “Odessa,” set to music by Leonid Desyatnikov — the same composer he used for his marvelous “Russian Seasons” — other highlights include the return of two dances created by company members. Justin Peck’s spirited “The Times Are Racing,” set to electronic music by Dan Deacon and featuring street-wear costumes by Humberto Leon of Opening Ceremony, is a burst of youthful exuberance. And Lauren Lovette’s charming “For Clara,” set to Schumann and rooted in classical ballet, is as fresh as they come.” (GIA KOURLAS – NYT)

ANGÉLIQUE KIDJO AND FRIENDS
at Carnegie Hall / 8 p.m., $
“Only 10 months into the 1980s, Talking Heads released one of the best albums of that decade: “Remain in Light,” the group’s fourth studio record, was a brilliant fusion of serrated post-punk guitars, futuristic synthesizers and hip-swiveling Afrobeat grooves inspired by Fela Kuti. The album had a lasting influence on the Grammy-winning, Benin-born singer Angélique Kidjo, who, with the help of more than a dozen musicians, will share her own interpretation of the band’s game-changing classic. (For the record, David Byrne, the frontman of Talking Heads, has given the performance his wholehearted approval.)” (KEVIN O’DONNELL-NYT)

JOHN SCOFIELD RETROSPECTIVE (May 5-6)
at Jazz at Lincoln Center, 7 and 9:30 p.m., $
“Mr. Scofield, a guitarist, has a tartly confectionary sound that’s both bendy and biting. It’s served him well over a four-decade career, and it won him three Grammys in the past two years. For these weekend shows, he’s borrowing a strategy from his dad-rock contemporaries: He will revisit two old albums, the funky “Blue Matter,” from 1987, and the drifting, acoustic “Quiet,” from 1996. For the “Blue Matter” repertoire he’ll be joined by the bassist Gary Grainger and the drummer Dennis Chambers — both of whom appeared on the album — and the pianist Jim Beard. For “Quiet,” he’ll convene a large ensemble featuring six reed and horn players, including the tenor saxophonist Joe Lovano. “ (GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO-NYT)

Pat Martino (May 04-06)
Iridium, 1650 Broadway, at 51st St./ 8:30, $35
“Through soul jazz, bebop, modal adventures, fusion, and beyond, Martino has taken his instrument on a roller coaster of stylistic twists and turns during his six-decade career, emerging as a patriarch of jazz guitar. A serious health crisis and determined recovery in the early eighties, which climaxed with him painstakingly relearning the guitar, may be a touchstone of his iconic legacy, but Martino doesn’t have to call on an inspirational backstory to dazzle.” (NewYorker)

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

Benjamin Franklin in London: From British Royalist to American Patriot
Fraunces Tavern Museum, 54 Pearl St./ 6:30PM, $10
“For four-fifths of his long life Benjamin Franklin regarded himself as British. Living in London for the best part of two decades, he sought to bring Great Britain and US colonies more firmly together. But his plans were rejected by Lord North’s government and in March 1775 he was forced to flee and to make a momentous decision.”

Buddhist Realism and Dark Comedy: It’s Funny Because It’s True
The Strand, 828 Broadway / 7PM, $20
Louis-C.K.The Buddha is believed to have taught that the fundamental nature of the human condition is suffused with feelings of existential angst and abiding dissatisfaction. Such realism is not exclusive to Buddhism, however. As any dark comedian knows this already because making jokes about the reality of life usually gets big laughs, or as they say in the business—“kills.” Like the Buddha, the comic can be a powerful medium for communicating the more disquieting and shunned truths in life.

Join me in a provocative conversation on the merits of dark comedy as a vehicle for embracing the truth of the human condition. We’ll watch video clips of comedians like Louis C.K., Tig Notaro, and Andy Kaufman. And we’ll discuss why I believe that both Buddhism and dark comedy offer a kind of therapy for eliminating the existential anxiety that comes from being the kind of animal that lives with the knowledge of their own inexorable death.

==========================================================
Bonus NYC Events – Jazz Venues:
Many consider NYCity the Jazz capital of the world. Here are my favorite Jazz clubs, all on Manhattan’s WestSide. Check out who is playing tonight:

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

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

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

==============================================================================
♦ Before making final plans, we suggest you call the venue to confirm ticket availability, dates and times, as schedules are subject to change.
♦ NYCity, with a population of  8.5 million, had a record 60 million visitors last year and is TripAdvisor’s Traveler’s Choice Top U.S. Destination for 2017.  Quality shows draw crowds.
Try to reserve seats for these top NYC events in advance, even if just on day of performance.
NYCity Vacation Travel Guide Video (Expedia):

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

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” closed Jan.15)

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.
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Selected NYC Events (05/04) + Museum Special Exhibitions: Manhattan’s 5th Avenue

Posted on 05/04/2017 by GregD

Today’s Super 7 NYC Events > THURSDAY/MAY 04, 2017

“We search the internet everyday looking for the very best of What’s Happening, primarily on Manhattan’s WestSide, so that you don’t have to.” We make it as easy as 1-2-3.
For future NYC Events be sure to check the tab above: “Notable NYC Events-May”

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

Pat Martino (May 04-06)
Iridium, 1650 Broadway, at 51st St./ 8:30, $35
“Through soul jazz, bebop, modal adventures, fusion, and beyond, Martino has taken his instrument on a roller coaster of stylistic twists and turns during his six-decade career, emerging as a patriarch of jazz guitar. A serious health crisis and determined recovery in the early eighties, which climaxed with him painstakingly relearning the guitar, may be a touchstone of his iconic legacy, but Martino doesn’t have to call on an inspirational backstory to dazzle.” (NewYorker)

6 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)
>>Marissa Mulder: Shelter from the Storm—The Songs of Bob Dylan
>>Hari Kondabolu
>>RON CARTER’S 80TH-BIRTHDAY WEEK
>>Art New York and Context New York
>> The Framers’ Coup: The Making of the United States Constitution
>>Three Stones Make a Wall: The Story of Archeology
===========================================================

Music, Dance, Performing Arts

Marissa Mulder: Shelter from the Storm—The Songs of Bob Dylan
Rockwood Music Hall, 196 Allen St. / 10PM, $10
“As comfortable singing Tom Waits as she is singing Noël Coward, the winsomely natural Mulder is one of the cabaret world’s biggest breakout successes of the past five years. Her new set is devoted to songs by Nobel-winning troubadour Bob Dylan.” (TONY)

Hari Kondabolu
Carolines on Broadway / 7:30pm; $32
“After appearances on Conan, Jimmy Kimmel and pretty much every podcast you’ve ever listened to, the Queens native hits Carolines for four nights of brutally genius political comedy. You can expect attacks on the NRA, the Academy Awards and just about every member of the new presidential cabinet at Kondabolu’s razor-sharp night of roasts.” (TONY)

RON CARTER’S 80TH-BIRTHDAY WEEK (May 2-7)
at the Blue Note, 131 W3rd St. / 8PM, +10:30PM, $30, $45
“Mr. Carter, a bassist, is one of the most recorded sidemen in jazz history. He’s also the author of some remarkable — if rather overlooked — solo albums, in formats ranging from duets to little big bands. The stately Mr. Carter will celebrate the week of his 80th birthday with concerts alongside an array of collaborators. On Tuesday, he’s in duo with the guitarist Bill Frisell; over the next four days, he will convene various quintets including the likes of Benny Golson, Kenny Barron and Renee Rosnes; and on May 7 he closes the run with his Golden Striker Trio, featuring Russell Malone on guitar and Donald Vega on piano.” (GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO-NYT)

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

Art New York
Pier 94; 5pm; $40, students $25, seniors $25, multiday pass $75
“Paired with sister fair Context New York, Miami import Art New York brings more than 150 galleries representing nearly 1,200 modern and contemporary artists from 50 countries to Pier 94 during New York Art Week. During fair hours, courtesy shuttle service will run to Pier 94 from the Frieze Ferry at 35th Street.
AND
Context New York
Pier 94; 5pm; $40, students $25, seniors $25, multiday pass $75
Sharing a space (and ticket) with Art New York, the Context New York art fair bills itself as a forum for dialogue between art collectors (even first-timers), galleries and artists. Stop by to check out 60 participating galleries offering work by emerging, midcareer, and cutting-edge talent.” (TONY mag)

The Framers’ Coup: The Making of the United States Constitution
Fraunces Tavern Museum, 54 Pearl St./ 6:30PM, $10
Presented by Michael Klarman
“Klarman will discuss why the Philadelphia convention wrote a much more nationalizing and democracy-constraining constitution than most Americans wanted or desired, and how they managed to convince Americans to approve it.”

Three Stones Make a Wall: The Story of Archeology
The Cooper Union, 7 E. 7th St./ 6:30PM, FREE
“Eric H. Cline, author of Three Stones Make a Wall: The Story of Archeology, will have a free, public discussion of the history of archeology with Mark Adams, the journalist and author of Turn Right at Machu Picchu.”

===========================================================
Bonus NYC events– Jazz Venues:
Many consider NYCity the Jazz capital of the world. Here are my favorite Jazz clubs, all on Manhattan’s WestSide. Check out who is playing tonight:

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

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

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

==================================================================================
♦ Before making final plans, we suggest you call the venue to confirm ticket availability, dates and times, as schedules are subject to change.
♦ NYCity, with a population of  8.5 million, had a record 60 million visitors last year and was TripAdvisor’s Traveler’s Choice Top U.S. Destination for 2017.  Quality shows draw crowds.
Try to reserve seats for these top NYC events in advance, even if just on day of performance.
NYCity Vacation Travel Guide Video (Expedia):

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

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)

Morgan Library & Museum
‘I’M NOBODY! WHO ARE YOU? THE LIFE AND POETRY OF EMILY DICKINSON’ (through May 28).
“This is the second-largest gathering ever, anywhere, of prime Dickinson relics, and as such it comes with an aura the size of a city block. It instantly turns the Morgan into a pilgrimage site, a literary Lourdes, a place to come in contact with one aspect of America that truly can claim greatness. And the show has a mission, to give 21st-century audiences a fresh take on Dickinson. Gone is the white-gowned Puritan nun, and the Belle of Amherst, that infantilized charmer. At the Morgan we get a different Dickinson, a person among people: a member of a household, a village dweller, a citizen.” 212-685-0008, themorgan.org. (NYT-Holland Cotter)

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

at the very least you will want to see this one:
‘CELEBRATING THE ARTS OF JAPAN: THE MARY GRIGGS BURKE COLLECTION’ (through May 2017)
“This lavish collection of 160 objects came to the Met from the Mary and Jackson Burke Foundation in early 2015. The Burkes loved Japanese art — all of it — and the exhibition is close to compendious in terms of media, from wood-carved Buddhas to bamboo baskets, with a particular strength in painting, early and late. The quality of the work? Japan thinks highly enough of it to have made the Burke holdings the first Japanese collection from abroad ever to show at Tokyo National Museum. 212-535-7710, metmuseum.org.” (Cotter)

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

Although technically not part of the Museum Mile, the Frick Collection (closed Mon) (SUN 11am-1pm PWYW) on the corner of 70th St. and Fifth Avenue and the The Morgan Library & Museum (closed Mon) (Fri 7-9 FREE) on Madison Ave and 37th St are also located near Fifth Ave.
Now plan your own museum crawl (info on hours & admission updated June 2, 2015).
==============================================================
For other selected Museum and Gallery Special Exhibitions see Recent Posts in right Sidebar dated 05/02 and 04/30.
=============================================================

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Selected NYC Events (05/03) + Today’s Featured Pub (Greenwich Village)

Posted on 05/03/2017 by GregD

Today’s Super 7 NYC Events > WEDNESDAY/MAY 03, 2017

“We search the internet everyday looking for the very best of What’s Happening, primarily on Manhattan’s WestSide, so that you don’t have to.” We make it as easy as 1-2-3.
For future NYC Events be sure to check the tab above: “Notable NYC Events-May”

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

THE REVOLUTION
at Webster Hall / 8PM, $60
“Throughout much of the 1980s, the Revolution served as Prince’s nimble backing band (it played on one of his best albums, “Purple Rain,” released in 1984). Now, one year after his death, some members of the band — Wendy Melvoin, Lisa Coleman, Bobby Z, BrownMark and Dr. Fink — are coming together for a celebration of his life and legacy. Don’t be surprised if a few special guests pop in to honor his memory, too.” (KEVIN O’DONNELL-NYT)

6 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)
>>MARTHA GRAHAM DANCE COMPANY
>>ROSTAM
>>RON CARTER’S 80TH-BIRTHDAY WEEK
>>Art New York and Context New York
>> MIND: A Journey to the Heart of Being Human
>>The Long and Fascinating History of Toilets
===========================================================

Music, Dance, Performing Arts

MARTHA GRAHAM DANCE COMPANY
at the Martha Graham Studio Theater / 7PM, $25
“For the next installment of its studio series, GrahamDeconstructed, the company offers a demonstration of the Martha Graham technique. A transformative system of movement when it was developed nearly a century ago, it laid the foundation for Graham’s trailblazing style of dance theater. The evening includes an overview of the technique’s creation and excerpts from works that turn technical grammar into poetic expression: “Steps in the Street,” from the antiwar ballet “Chronicle,” and two solos from “Cave of the Heart,” Graham’s telling of the myth of Medea.” (SIOBHAN BURKE-NYT)

ROSTAM
at the Bowery Ballroom / 9PM, $20
“Rostam Batmanglij may be best known as a founding member of the Grammy-winning indie-pop outfit Vampire Weekend. But after leaving the group last year and collaborating with artists like Carly Rae Jepsen and Frank Ocean, he is focusing on his own work as a solo artist. Mr. Batmanglij will perform his genre-spanning brand of pop — which draws on E.D.M., chamber pop and the Iranian sounds of his ancestry — and perhaps unveil songs from his coming debut studio album. With Deradoorian.” (KEVIN O’DONNELL-NYT)

RON CARTER’S 80TH-BIRTHDAY WEEK (May 2-7)
at the Blue Note, 131 W3rd St. / 8PM, +10:30PM, $30, $45
“Mr. Carter, a bassist, is one of the most recorded sidemen in jazz history. He’s also the author of some remarkable — if rather overlooked — solo albums, in formats ranging from duets to little big bands. The stately Mr. Carter will celebrate the week of his 80th birthday with concerts alongside an array of collaborators. On Tuesday, he’s in duo with the guitarist Bill Frisell; over the next four days, he will convene various quintets including the likes of Benny Golson, Kenny Barron and Renee Rosnes; and on May 7 he closes the run with his Golden Striker Trio, featuring Russell Malone on guitar and Donald Vega on piano.” (GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO-NYT)

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

Art New York
Pier 94; 5pm; $40, students $25, seniors $25, multiday pass $75
“Paired with sister fair Context New York, Miami import Art New York brings more than 150 galleries representing nearly 1,200 modern and contemporary artists from 50 countries to Pier 94 during New York Art Week. During fair hours, courtesy shuttle service will run to Pier 94 from the Frieze Ferry at 35th Street.
AND
Context New York
Pier 94; 5pm; $40, students $25, seniors $25, multiday pass $75
Sharing a space (and ticket) with Art New York, the Context New York art fair bills itself as a forum for dialogue between art collectors (even first-timers), galleries and artists. Stop by to check out 60 participating galleries offering work by emerging, midcareer, and cutting-edge talent.” (TONY mag)

MIND: A Journey to the Heart of Being Human with Dr. Dan Siegel
The Jewish Community Center in Manhattan 334 Amsterdam Ave./ 7PM, $20
Join noted neuropsychiatrist and New York Times best-selling author for a lecture on his new book, Mind: A Journey to the Heart of Being Human. Neuroscience is the study of the brain, but what can it tell us about the mind? Doesn’t the brain just create the mind? And why should we care anyway about what “the mind” is and where it comes from – aren’t these questions for philosophers? Siegel’s characteristic sensitivity and wide-ranging intellect get to the essence of how we can know who we really are. The story he tells goes beyond explaining how neurons fire to establish a working definition of the human mind. His exciting narrative of science and art shows how humans can cultivate well-being in their own lives and communities by understanding their own minds. This book is a combination of science and human experience at its best, and empowers readers who want to explore the foundations of their selves – their mind and hearts.

Elsewhere, but this looks so interesting and worth the detour:

The Long and Fascinating History of Toilets
Prospect Heights Brainery, 190 Underhill Ave., Prospect Heights / 8:30PM, $10
“Contrary to popular belief, Thomas Crapper did not invent the toilet. But who did? Better yet, when did people first start using toilets? And were they anything like the toilets we know today?

This class will explore the long and fascinating history of toilets, from ancient Mesopotamia to today. We will walk through the not-so-short history and learn things like: why we should be grateful for Queen Elizabeth I, why NYC was #2 to Philadelphia, why the toilet is one of the most important human inventions, and the best reasons to visit Japan and Malaysia.

We will also learn about how even in current times, toilets are not so common as we often think they are, why that is is, and what is being done about it – from Cambodia to San Francisco. Of course, we will also tastefully touch on how you can better your toilet experience in your own home and on the road. The class will be partly interactive, so bring all of your most curious questions and taboo tales.”

=======================================================
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
Feinstein’s/54 Below – 254 W54th St., 54below.com, 646-476-3551
Joe’s Pub @ Public Theater – 425 Lafayette St., joespub.com, 212-967-7555
Metropolitan Room – 34W22ndSt., metropolitan room.com, 212-206-0440
Beacon Theatre – 2124 Broadway @ 74th St., beacontheatre.com, 212-465-6500
Town Hall – 123 W43rd St., thetownhall.org, 212-997-6661
B.B. King’s Blues Bar – 237W42nd St., bbkingblues.com, 212-997-2144
Bowery Ballroom – 6 Delancey St. boweryballroom.com,
Le Poisson Rouge – 158 Bleecker St., lepoissonrouge.com, 212-505-3474

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

==================================================================================
♦ Before making final plans, we suggest you call the venue to confirm ticket availability, dates and times, as schedules are subject to change.
♦ NYCity, with a population of  8.5 million, had a record 60 million visitors last year and was TripAdvisor’s Traveler’s Choice Top U.S. Destination for 2017.  Quality shows draw crowds.
Try to reserve seats for these top NYC events in advance, even if just on day of performance.
NYCity Vacation Travel Guide Video (Expedia):
=================================================================================

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 2017).
◊ Order before Aug. 31, 2017 and receive a bonus – 27 of my favorite casual dining places with free Wi-Fi.

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Selected NYC Events (05/02) + Museum Special Exhibitions: Manhattan’s WestSide

Posted on 05/02/2017 by GregD

Today’s Sweet 6 NYC Events > TUESDAY/MAY 02, 2017

“We search the internet everyday looking for the very best of What’s Happening, primarily on Manhattan’s WestSide, so that you don’t have to.” We make it as easy as 1-2-3.
For future NYC Events be sure to check the tab above: “Notable NYC Events-May”

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

RON CARTER’S 80TH-BIRTHDAY WEEK (May 2-7)
at the Blue Note, 131 W3rd St. / 8PM, +10:30PM, $30, $45
“Mr. Carter, a bassist, is one of the most recorded sidemen in jazz history. He’s also the author of some remarkable — if rather overlooked — solo albums, in formats ranging from duets to little big bands. The stately Mr. Carter will celebrate the week of his 80th birthday with concerts alongside an array of collaborators. On Tuesday, he’s in duo with the guitarist Bill Frisell; over the next four days, he will convene various quintets including the likes of Benny Golson, Kenny Barron and Renee Rosnes; and on May 7 he closes the run with his Golden Striker Trio, featuring Russell Malone on guitar and Donald Vega on piano.” (GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO-NYT)

5 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)
>>DAVID MURRAY AND CLASS STRUGGLE
>>NEW YORK CITY BALLET
>>Jazz 101: New Orleans and The Great Migration
>>The Female Flâneur: Reclaiming the City
>> The Power of Dao: A Timeless Guide to Happiness and Harmony

HOT TICKET – TODAY
Queens Taste 2017
New York Hall of Science, Flushing Meadows Corona Park/ 6PM to 9PM
Not exactly Manhattan’s WestSide, but my mouth waters just thinking about this.

More than 60 vendors will serve samples of their delicious dishes, divine drinks, and dazzling desserts. This is Queens, America’s most ethnically diverse county, so expect Cypriot, French, Georgian, Indian, Italian, Japanese, Kosher, Malaysian, Moldovan, Paraguayan, Peruvian, Puerto Rican, and Thai cuisine! And if you need a beverage Chris Murillo, who owns the local distillery Queens Courage, will mix gin-based drinks. In addition, four wine purveyors will pour and at least seven beer products will be on tap. Tea totalers will be able to quench their thirst with – what else? — bubble tea provided by Chatime.

Tickets ($125 each or two for $200) are available at http://www.thequeenstaste.com. Proceeds support the Queens Economic Development Corporation’s ongoing efforts to attract, create, and maintain jobs in the borough. As QEDC is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit, proceeds are tax deductible as permitted by law.

For more information, call Rob MacKay at 718.263.0546 or send him an email via rmackay@queensny.org.
===========================================================

Music, Dance, Performing Arts

DAVID MURRAY AND CLASS STRUGGLE (May 2-7)
at the Village Vanguard / 8:30PM, +10:30PM, $30
“After living in Europe for many years, Mr. Murray, a tenor saxophonist, is diving back into the New York jazz scene that once called him royalty. Mr. Murray’s waggish improvising and brawny tone have rarely sounded better than on last year’s “Perfection,” on which he performs with the pianist Geri Allen and the drummer Terri Lyne Carrington. For this weeklong run Mr. Murray presents a relatively new ensemble, Class Struggle, featuring Mingus Murray, Mr. Murray’s son, on guitar; D. D. Jackson on piano; and the brothers Rashaan and Russell Carter on bass and drums.” (GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO-NYT)

NEW YORK CITY BALLET (through May 28).
at the NYS/DHK Theater, Lincoln Center / 7:30PM, $30+
“As part of its four-week Here/Now festival, the company spotlights three of today’s most inventive ballet choreographers, who have done some of their finest work at City Ballet. Each gets a program of his own: Christopher Wheeldon on Friday and Saturday evening; Alexei Ratmansky on Saturday afternoon and Tuesday; and Justin Peck on Sunday and Wednesday. And the spring gala on Thursday will include one of the season’s most anticipated offerings, a premiere by Mr. Ratmansky to music by Leonid Desyatnikov.” (GIA KOURLAS – NYT)

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

Jazz 101: New Orleans and The Great Migration
Jazz at Lincoln Center, Rose Hall/Time Warner Center, 5th Floor / 6:30PM, $35
“Mark jazz’s centennial year with a talk on its birthplace, and the factors of culture and diversity in New Orleans that led to the music’s rise. You’ll also hear some of the earliest jazz recordings and learn about the development of jazz structure and soloing. Jazz at Lincoln Center.” (ThoughtGallery.org)

PEN World Voices Festival | The Female Flâneur: Reclaiming the City
New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West/ 7PM, FREE reservation required
“The 19th-century symbol of modern city life was always a man. How do women on their own negotiate the city streets? From New York to Paris, Tokyo to Lagos, and Nairobi to San Francisco, three acclaimed writers discuss the perils and pleasures of navigating the city. With Lauren Elkin, Vivian Gornick, and Sarah Ladipo Manyika. Moderated by Joanna Scutts.”

The Power of Dao: A Timeless Guide to Happiness and Harmony
Cornelia Street Cafe, 29 Cornelia St./ 6PM, $10
“Dao—often translated as “the Way”—is China’s original and invaluable contribution to philosophy. Ineffable yet inexhaustible, Dao is metaphysically profound, empirically sound, and aesthetically renowned. From quantum physics to modern medicine, from fractal geometry to martial arts, from family relations to warring states, Dao’s insights are pervasive and effective. Daoism’s practices rank with those of Buddhism and Stoicism in cultivating peoples’ “best selves.” Dao conduces to individual serenity, social harmony, and political unity. This talk will be based on Lou Marinoff’s book “The Power of Dao,” using its case studies to illustrate some foundational ideas and their applications.

=====================================================
Bonus NYC events– Jazz Venues:
Many consider NYCity the Jazz capital of the world. Here are my favorite Jazz clubs, all on Manhattan’s WestSide. Check out who is playing tonight:

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

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

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

==================================================================================
♦ Before making final plans, we suggest you call the venue to confirm ticket availability, dates and times, as schedules are subject to change.
♦ NYCity, with a population of  8.5 million, had a record 60 million visitors last year and was TripAdvisor’s Traveler’s Choice Top U.S. Destination for 2017.  Quality shows draw crowds.
Try to reserve seats for these top NYC events in advance, even if just on day of performance.
NYCity Vacation Travel Guide Video (Expedia):

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

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 these exhibitions)

 Whitney Museum of American Art:

2017 WHITNEY BIENNIAL (through June 11).
This is arguably the best Biennial in years, and perhaps the best ever in its combination of demographics, aesthetics and political urgency. Nearly half of the featured artists are female, and half nonwhite. Their works reach from figure painting to virtual reality. Income inequality, racism, misogyny, immigration and violence are confronted in ways that set a high standard for social engagement sustained by formal ambition. (Smith-NYT)
212-570-3600, whitney.org

FAST FORWARD: PAINTING FROM THE 1980S (thru May 14)
“Fast Forward: Painting from the 1980s presents a focused look at painting from this decade with works drawn entirely from the Museum’s collection.

In the 1980s, painting recaptured the imagination of the contemporary art world against a backdrop of expansive change. An unprecedented number of galleries appeared on the scene, particularly in downtown New York. Groundbreaking exhibitions—that blurred distinctions between high and low art—were presented at alternative and artist-run spaces. New mediums, including video and installation art, were on the rise. Yet despite the growing popularity of photography and video, many artists actively embraced painting, freely exploring its bold physicality and unique capacity for expression and innovation.

The exhibition includes work by artists often identified with this explosive period—Jean-Michel Basquiat, Sherrie Levine, David Salle, and Julian Schnabel—as well as by several lesser-known painters. These artists explored the traditions of figuration and history painting, and offered new interpretations of abstraction. Many addressed fundamental questions about artmaking in their work, while others took on political issues including AIDS, feminism, gentrification, and war. In the face of a media-saturated environment, artists in the 1980s recommitted to painting. Far from dead, painting came to represent an important intersection between new ways of seeing and a seemingly traditional way of making art.”

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)

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

PLUS, These wonderful museum exhibitions continue through this period:

‘GEORGIA O’KEEFFE: LIVING MODERN’ at the Brooklyn Museum (through July 23). Given that most artists are to some extent dandies, it would be wrong to view this fascinating show through an exclusively feminist lens. But it does demonstrate the powerful, carefully cultivated aesthetic and inborn independence that connects the art, wardrobe, living spaces and public persona of America’s first celebrity artist. In and around her art, she redefined gender and style. (Roberta Smith-NYT)
718-638-5000, brooklynmuseum.org

(3/3-7/3) Georgia O’Keeffe: “Living Modern” provides a new look at an iconic American artist at the very institution that hosted her first solo museum exhibition in 1927—the Brooklyn Museum. Presenting O’Keeffe’s remarkable wardrobe in dialogue with iconic paintings and photographs, this singular exhibition focuses in on the modernist persona O’Keeffe crafted for herself. With photographs by luminaries like Alfred Stieglitz, Ansel Adams, and Annie Leibovitz, the show reflects O’Keeffe’s radical rethinking of female identity, and the artist’s commitment to elements of modernism—minimalism, seriality, simplification—not only in her art, but also in her distinctive style of dress. (NYCity Guide)

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

(3/20-1/7/18) Mummies at the American Museum of Natural History. For thousands of years, peoples around the world practiced mummification as a way of preserving and honoring their dead. Mummies brings you face to face with some of these ancient individuals and reveals how scientists are using modern technology to glean stunning details about them and their cultures. In Mummies, ancient remains from the Nile Valley of Africa and the Andes Mountains of South America will be on view, allowing visitors to connect with cultures from the distant past. Mummification, a more widespread practice than most think, was used not only for royal Egyptians but also for common people and even animals. Interactive touch tables let visitors virtually “unravel” or see inside mummies as they delve deep into the unique stories of the people or animals who lie within. Other parts of the exhibition showcase the latest isotopic and DNA testing being performed on mummies, and explain how these sophisticated analytical techniques are helping scientists discover important clues about long-vanished practices. Mummies was developed by The Field Museum, Chicago.

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

 

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Selected Events (05/01) + Today’s Featured Pub (Times Square / Theater District)

Posted on 05/01/2017 by GregD

Today’s Sweet 6 NYC Events > MONDAY/MAY 01, 2017

“We search the internet everyday looking for the very best of What’s Happening, primarily on Manhattan’s WestSide, so that you don’t have to.” We make it as easy as 1-2-3.
For future NYC Events be sure to check the tab above: “Notable NYC Events-May”

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

Broadway Unplugged
The Town Hall, 123 W43rd St./ 8PM, $30+
“For the 15th installment of this deservedly popular event, impresario Scott Siegel gathers a new group of belters to prove that real theater singers don’t need body mics. Singing au naturel, these pros cut loose and let their glorious voices carry the day. This year’s edition features Emily Skinner, Stephanie J. Block, Max Von Essen, Ben Davis, Lesli Margherita, Kyle Scatliffe, Maxine Linehan, William Michals, Jeremy Kushnier and Klea Blackhurst.” (TONY)

5 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)
>>THE DIZZY GILLESPIE AFRO CUBAN EXPERIENCE
>>The New York Pops 34th Birthday Gala
>>The Legacy: JFK at 100 with Stephen Kennedy Smith, Douglas Brinkley, Robert MacNeil and Jonathan Alter
>>Architecture & Well Being
>> Confessions of a Wall Street Insider: A Cautionary Tale of Rats, Feds, and Banksters

HOT TICKET – TUESDAY
Queens Taste 2017
New York Hall of Science, Flushing Meadows Corona Park/ Tuesday May 2 – 6PM to 9PM
Not exactly Manhattan’s WestSide, but my mouth waters just thinking about this.

More than 60 vendors will serve samples of their delicious dishes, divine drinks, and dazzling desserts. This is Queens, America’s most ethnically diverse county, so expect Cypriot, French, Georgian, Indian, Italian, Japanese, Kosher, Malaysian, Moldovan, Paraguayan, Peruvian, Puerto Rican, and Thai cuisine! And if you need a beverage Chris Murillo, who owns the local distillery Queens Courage, will mix gin-based drinks. In addition, four wine purveyors will pour and at least seven beer products will be on tap. Tea totalers will be able to quench their thirst with – what else? — bubble tea provided by Chatime.

Tickets ($125 each or two for $200) are available at http://www.thequeenstaste.com. Proceeds support the Queens Economic Development Corporation’s ongoing efforts to attract, create, and maintain jobs in the borough. As QEDC is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit, proceeds are tax deductible as permitted by law.

For more information, call Rob MacKay at 718.263.0546 or send him an email via rmackay@queensny.org.
===========================================================

Music, Dance, Performing Arts

THE DIZZY GILLESPIE AFRO CUBAN EXPERIENCE
BLUE NOTE, 131 W3rd St./ 8PM, +10:30PM, $20-$35
“Dizzy Gillespie was introduced to Chano Pozo in 1947 by Mario Bauza. Both became life-long friends and Dizzy and Chano Pozo developed Afro-Cuban jazz, which became extremely successful, attracting people to dance to its unique rhythms. Gillespies most famous contributions to Afro-Cuban music are the compositions “Manteca” and “Tin Tin Deo”.

Machitos Afro Cubans (formed in 1940), the creators of Cu-Bop, were a major influence on musicians like Dizzy Gillespie. Dizzy loved it so much, that in 1975, he invited Machitos son, Mario Grillo or Machito Jr., to join Dizzys band for the recording of Afro-Cuban Jazz Moods. So it only makes sense to have him join the Dizzy Gillespie (TM) Afro Cuban Experience, under the direction of John Lee, Dizzys long-time bassist.”

The New York Pops 34th Birthday Gala
Carnegie Hall, 881 7th Ave./ 7PM, $68+
“The Pops snap and crackle through a star-studded gala evening of orchestral delight in a tribute to the collaborations between actor Kelli O’Hara and director Bartlett Sher, including South Pacific and The King and I. Featured performers include Paulo Szot, Matthew Broderick, Danny Burstein, Judy Kuhn, Rebecca Luker, Marin Mazzie, Steven Pasquale, Ruthie Ann Miles, Laura Osnes, Adam Kantor and Chris Sullivan. Steven Reineke wields the baton.” (TONY)

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

The Legacy: JFK at 100 with Stephen Kennedy Smith, Douglas Brinkley, Robert MacNeil and Jonathan Alter
92nd Street Y, 1395 Lexington Ave./ 8PM, $40
“To celebrate the centennial of JFK’s birth, a panel of expert historians and commentators takes a fresh look at John F. Kennedy’s lasting contributions. Discover JFK at his best — thought-provoking, inspiring, eloquent and wise — on wide-ranging topics, including civil rights, the race to the moon, the environment, immigration, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and much more, as brought together in the new book, JFK, A Vision for America. We’ll see the deep relevance of his words today, as well as his lasting power and influence as an outstanding American leader and orator.”

Architecture & Well Being
92nd Street Y, 1395 Lexington Ave./ 7PM, $32
“The psychology of being placed in New York City—from surfing the chaos of a midtown avenue to enveloping pockets downtown—is often tangible. A new book by architecture critic Sarah Williams Goldhagen reveals recent discoveries in cognitive psychology and neuroscience that show the ways built environments impact our memories, emotions, and well-being. Find her in conversation with Paul Goldberger and Michael Van Valkenburgh, designer of the Brooklyn Bridge Park.” (ThoughtGallery.org)

Confessions of a Wall Street Insider: A Cautionary Tale of Rats, Feds, and Banksters
Mid-Manhattan Library, 455 Fifth Ave./ 6:30PM, FREE
With Michael Kimelman, an entrepreneur.
“This illustrated lecture reveals the triumphs, pains, and struggles in the high-risk life of a former proprietary trader.”

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

City Winery – 155 Varick St., citywinery.com, 212-608-0555
Feinstein’s/54 Below – 254 W54th St., 54below.com, 646-476-3551
Joe’s Pub @ Public Theater – 425 Lafayette St., joespub.com, 212-967-7555
Metropolitan Room – 34W22ndSt., metropolitan room.com, 212-206-0440
Beacon Theatre – 2124 Broadway @ 74th St., beacontheatre.com, 212-465-6500
Town Hall – 123 W43rd St., thetownhall.org, 212-997-6661
B.B. King’s Blues Bar – 237W42nd St., bbkingblues.com, 212-997-2144
Bowery Ballroom – 6 Delancey St. boweryballroom.com,
Le Poisson Rouge – 158 Bleecker St., lepoissonrouge.com, 212-505-3474

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

==================================================================================
♦ Before making final plans, we suggest you call the venue to confirm ticket availability, dates and times, as schedules are subject to change.
♦ NYCity, with a population of  8.5 million, had a record 60 million visitors last year and was TripAdvisor’s Traveler’s Choice Top U.S. Destination for 2017.  Quality shows draw crowds.
Try to reserve seats for these top NYC events in advance, even if just on day of performance.
NYCity Vacation Travel Guide Video (Expedia):

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

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

==================================================================================
“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

Selected NYC Events (04/30) + GallerySpecialExhibits: Chelsea

Posted on 04/30/2017 by GregD

Today’s Sweet 6 NYC Events > SUNDAY/APR.30, 2017

“We search the internet everyday looking for the very best of What’s Happening, primarily on Manhattan’s WestSide, so that you don’t have to.” We make it as easy as 1-2-3.
For future NYC Events be sure to check the tab above: “Notable NYC Events-April”

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

ASPEN SANTA FE BALLET (through April 30).
at the Joyce Theater, 175 8th Ave./ 2PM, +7:30PM; $61-$81
“Aspen Santa Fe Ballet returns to the Joyce with three New York premieres and its usual penchant for contemporary ballet. Formed in Aspen in 1996 with just seven dancers, the company — under the artistic direction of the former Joffrey dancer Tom Mossbrucker and the executive direction of Jean-Philippe Malaty — shows off its sleek, athletic sensibility. Along with Cayetano Soto’s “Huma Rojo,” a humorous homage to the women in Mr. Soto’s life, the company performs Alejandro Cerrudo’s “Silent Ghost” and Cherice Barton’s “Eudaemonia.” (GIA KOURLAS – NYT)

5 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)
>>NEW YORK CITY BALLET
>>Duke Ellington Orchestra: Celebrating Duke & Ella’s 100th Birthdays
>>Keeping Up with the Times: Technology in Archaeology
>>Sakura Matsuri Cherry Blossom Festival
>>FOOD + DRINK BACON AND BEER CLASSIC

HOT TICKET – TUESDAY
Queens Taste 2017
New York Hall of Science, Flushing Meadows Corona Park/ Tuesday May 2 – 6PM to 9PM
Not exactly Manhattan’s WestSide, but my mouth waters just thinking about this.

More than 60 vendors will serve samples of their delicious dishes, divine drinks, and dazzling desserts. This is Queens, America’s most ethnically diverse county, so expect Cypriot, French, Georgian, Indian, Italian, Japanese, Kosher, Malaysian, Moldovan, Paraguayan, Peruvian, Puerto Rican, and Thai cuisine! And if you need a beverage Chris Murillo, who owns the local distillery Queens Courage, will mix gin-based drinks. In addition, four wine purveyors will pour and at least seven beer products will be on tap. Tea totalers will be able to quench their thirst with – what else? — bubble tea provided by Chatime.

Tickets ($125 each or two for $200) are available at http://www.thequeenstaste.com. Proceeds support the Queens Economic Development Corporation’s ongoing efforts to attract, create, and maintain jobs in the borough. As QEDC is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit, proceeds are tax deductible as permitted by law.

For more information, call Rob MacKay at 718.263.0546 or send him an email via rmackay@queensny.org.
===========================================================

Music, Dance, Performing Arts

NEW YORK CITY BALLET (through May 28).
at the NYS/DHK Theater, Lincoln Center / 3PM, $30+
“As part of its four-week Here/Now festival, the company spotlights three of today’s most inventive ballet choreographers, who have done some of their finest work at City Ballet. Each gets a program of his own: Christopher Wheeldon on Friday and Saturday evening; Alexei Ratmansky on Saturday afternoon and Tuesday; and Justin Peck on Sunday and Wednesday. And the spring gala on Thursday will include one of the season’s most anticipated offerings, a premiere by Mr. Ratmansky to music by Leonid Desyatnikov.” (GIA KOURLAS – NYT)

Duke Ellington Orchestra: Celebrating Duke & Ella’s 100th Birthdays
Blue Note, 131 W3rd St./ 8PM, +10:30PM, $30, $45
“Considered one of the greatest American composers in history, Duke Ellington and his music influenced millions of people over the course of his 50-year career. Thanks to a body of work that transcends boundaries and renews itself through every generation of fans and music lovers, his legacy lives on and will endure for generations to come.

Ellington’s popular compositions set the bar for generations of brilliant jazz, pop, theater, and soundtrack composers to come. He is best remembered for the over 3,000 songs that he composed during his lifetime, including “It Don’t Mean a Thing if It Ain’t Got That Swing,” “Sophisticated Lady,” “Mood Indigo,” “Solitude,” “In a Mellow Tone,” and “Satin Doll.”

Although Ellington himself has passed, his music lives on, as does the orchestra that bears his name. A world-class big band, The Duke Ellington Orchestra continues to perform Duke’s music at venues worldwide, preserving the legacy of one of this country’s greatest national treasures.”

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

Keeping Up with the Times: Technology in Archaeology
Museum of the City of New York, 1220 Fifth Ave./ 2PM, $20
“Traditionally, archaeology has been a low-tech pursuit, using trowels, strings, line levels and measuring tapes to record finds. However, thanks to cutting-edge new technology, the field has recently been undergoing a seismic shift. At their 37th annual co-sponsored program, the Professional Archaeologists of New York City (PANYC) and the Museum of the City of New York present five leading archaeologists who will discuss the high-tech tools that they are using for archaeological surveying, site recording and modeling — and how archeologists are now making their findings virtually accessible to us all.” (ThoughtGallery.org)

Sakura Matsuri Cherry Blossom Festival
Brooklyn Botanic Garden, 990 Washington Ave., Brooklyn / 10AM-6PM, $30
“Today, only those vulnerable to pollen’s seasonal assault dread the impending bloom of New York’s cherry blossoms. But, as depicted in the 1975 horror film “Under the Blossoming Cherry Trees,” the flowers were feared by some in ancient Japan, who avoided passing beneath their petals as stories spread of the trees driving travellers mad. The Brooklyn Botanic Garden is home to more than two hundred cherry trees across at least twenty-six species; this two-day festival, celebrating the blossoms’ arrival, is packed with performances reflecting both traditional and modern Japan, including taiko drumming, martial arts, and a cosplay fashion show. The biggest threat might be an ill-placed photobomb interrupting your well-framed shot, flush with pink.” (NewYorker)

FOOD + DRINK BACON AND BEER CLASSIC
If unlimited bacon and beer sounds heavenly to you, then buy yourself a ticket to this annual affair. You can taste dishes from more than 40 restaurants, including whiskey­glazed ribs from Salt & Bone, bacon chocolate chunk from Bang
Cookies, and bacon meatball pops from The Baroness Bar. Pair those bites with beers from Big Alice Brewing, Coney Island Brewing, Fire Island Beer Co. and others.
WHEN Saturday, April 29, and Sunday, April 30,
WHERE at Citi Field, 123­01 Roosevelt Ave., Queens
INFO $69­ $79;baconandbeerclassic.com ­­(STAV ZIV-Newsday)

=====================================================
Bonus NYC events– Jazz Venues:
Many consider NYCity the Jazz capital of the world. Here are my favorite Jazz clubs, all on Manhattan’s WestSide. Check out who is playing tonight:

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

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

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

==================================================================================
♦ Before making final plans, we suggest you call the venue to confirm ticket availability, dates and times, as schedules are subject to change.
♦ NYCity, with a population of  8.5 million, had a record 60 million visitors last year and was TripAdvisor’s Traveler’s Choice Top U.S. Destination for 2017.  Quality shows draw crowds.
Try to reserve seats for these top NYC events in advance, even if just on day of performance.
NYCity Vacation Travel Guide Video (Expedia):

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

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 one exhibition the New York Times really likes:

PETER DREHER (thru May 20)
Koenig & Clinton, 459 West 19th Street

“Peter Dreher has spent much of his career producing thousands of high-concept but technically exacting oil portraits of an empty water glass. This 84-year-old German painter’s latest show at Koenig & Clinton collects seven decades’ worth of his treatment of skulls, instead.

The works range from a 1947 watercolor with an upward gaze of doomed innocence to six 10-foot-wide black-and-gray gouaches, made between 2005 and 2007, that manage to look equally like punk-chic bedspreads and coolly abstract reckonings with wartime atrocity. They have a strange, motion-activated flicker, their more or less reflective skulls passing in and out of view as you shift your position.

This subtle formal paradox — a suggestion that black and white, as equal partners in a singular action of contrast, are essentially interchangeable — is a good lead-in to the back room, which holds 15 recent head-on views. Painted in thin, overlapping layers of white gouache, these skulls look like X-rays printed on celluloid. They vary widely in their particulars: One has a jackal’s grimace and a cleft chin, another a severe underbite and eight separately articulated lower teeth. But hanging them all in a line makes those details read as passing accidents, like the constantly mutating patterns of a tide pool.

Standing in front of them, I had what felt like a Buddhist revelation: For a moment, I could see that impermanence was inextricable from form.” (WILL HEINRICH)

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

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 04/28 and 04/26.

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

Selected NYC Events (04/29) + Today’s Featured Pub (Tribeca)

Posted on 04/29/2017 by GregD

Today’s Elite 8 NYC Events > SATURDAY/APR.29, 2017

“We search the internet everyday looking for the very best of What’s Happening, primarily on Manhattan’s WestSide, so that you don’t have to.” We make it as easy as 1-2-3.
For future NYC Events be sure to check the tab above: “Notable NYC Events-April”

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

On a gorgeous spring day, a visit to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden to enjoy the cherry blossom’s seems so right.

Sakura Matsuri Cherry Blossom Festival
Brooklyn Botanic Garden, 990 Washington Ave., Brooklyn / 10AM-6PM, $30
“Today, only those vulnerable to pollen’s seasonal assault dread the impending bloom of New York’s cherry blossoms. But, as depicted in the 1975 horror film “Under the Blossoming Cherry Trees,” the flowers were feared by some in ancient Japan, who avoided passing beneath their petals as stories spread of the trees driving travellers mad. The Brooklyn Botanic Garden is home to more than two hundred cherry trees across at least twenty-six species; this two-day festival, celebrating the blossoms’ arrival, is packed with performances reflecting both traditional and modern Japan, including taiko drumming, martial arts, and a cosplay fashion show. The biggest threat might be an ill-placed photobomb interrupting your well-framed shot, flush with pink.” (NewYorker)

7 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)
>>Jane Monheit
>>NEW YORK CITY BALLET
>>Duke Ellington Orchestra: Celebrating Duke & Ella’s 100th Birthdays
>>Diana Ross
>>“Celebrating Ella: The First Lady of Jazz”
>>Chelsea “Best Exhibits” Gallery Tour
>>FOOD + DRINK BACON AND BEER CLASSIC

HOT TICKET – TUESDAY
Queens Taste 2017
New York Hall of Science, Flushing Meadows Corona Park/ Tuesday May 2 – 6PM to 9PM
Not exactly Manhattan’s WestSide, but my mouth waters just thinking about this.

More than 60 vendors will serve samples of their delicious dishes, divine drinks, and dazzling desserts. This is Queens, America’s most ethnically diverse county, so expect Cypriot, French, Georgian, Indian, Italian, Japanese, Kosher, Malaysian, Moldovan, Paraguayan, Peruvian, Puerto Rican, and Thai cuisine! And if you need a beverage Chris Murillo, who owns the local distillery Queens Courage, will mix gin-based drinks. In addition, four wine purveyors will pour and at least seven beer products will be on tap. Tea totalers will be able to quench their thirst with – what else? — bubble tea provided by Chatime.

Tickets ($125 each or two for $200) are available at http://www.thequeenstaste.com. Proceeds support the Queens Economic Development Corporation’s ongoing efforts to attract, create, and maintain jobs in the borough. As QEDC is a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit, proceeds are tax deductible as permitted by law.

For more information, call Rob MacKay at 718.263.0546 or send him an email via rmackay@queensny.org.
===========================================================

Music, Dance, Performing Arts

Jane Monheit (April 25-29.)
Birdland, 315 W. 44th St./ 8:30, $40
“On her recent album, “The Songbook Sessions: Ella Fitzgerald,” Monheit pays homage to a major vocal influence while having her pick of choice material from the likes of Rodgers and Hart, Arlen, and Porter—a win-win situation. While the album benefits from the work of the guest trumpeter Nicholas Payton, here this congenial stylist will share the spotlight only with the spirit of the great lady herself.” (NewYorker)

NEW YORK CITY BALLET (through May 28).
at the NYS/DHK Theater, Lincoln Center / 8PM, $30+
“As part of its four-week Here/Now festival, the company spotlights three of today’s most inventive ballet choreographers, who have done some of their finest work at City Ballet. Each gets a program of his own: Christopher Wheeldon on Friday and Saturday evening; Alexei Ratmansky on Saturday afternoon and Tuesday; and Justin Peck on Sunday and Wednesday. And the spring gala on Thursday will include one of the season’s most anticipated offerings, a premiere by Mr. Ratmansky to music by Leonid Desyatnikov.” (GIA KOURLAS – NYT)

Duke Ellington Orchestra: Celebrating Duke & Ella’s 100th Birthdays
Blue Note, 131 W3rd St./ 8PM, +10:30PM, $30, $45
“Considered one of the greatest American composers in history, Duke Ellington and his music influenced millions of people over the course of his 50-year career. Thanks to a body of work that transcends boundaries and renews itself through every generation of fans and music lovers, his legacy lives on and will endure for generations to come.

Ellington’s popular compositions set the bar for generations of brilliant jazz, pop, theater, and soundtrack composers to come. He is best remembered for the over 3,000 songs that he composed during his lifetime, including “It Don’t Mean a Thing if It Ain’t Got That Swing,” “Sophisticated Lady,” “Mood Indigo,” “Solitude,” “In a Mellow Tone,” and “Satin Doll.”

Although Ellington himself has passed, his music lives on, as does the orchestra that bears his name. A world-class big band, The Duke Ellington Orchestra continues to perform Duke’s music at venues worldwide, preserving the legacy of one of this country’s greatest national treasures.”

Diana Ross
City Center, 131 W 55th St (btwn 6th & 7th) / 8PM, $60+
“See living legend Diana Ross perform songs spanning her entire career in an historic five-night engagement at City Center. Widely acclaimed as one of the greatest entertainers of all time, Ross’ countless hits include “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” “Upside Down,” “I’m Coming Out,” “Stop! In the Name of Love,” “Where Did Our Love Go,” “You Keep Me Hangin’ On,” and “Endless Love.” Ross recently received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. She is an Academy Award nominee, has been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and has received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.”

“Celebrating Ella: The First Lady of Jazz” (April 27-29)
Rose Theatre, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Broadway at 60th St./ 8PM, $22.50+
“No jazz singer was ever adored with more passion by both hardcore aficionados and the John Q. Public listener than the incomparable Ella Fitzgerald. Honoring this sorely missed genius of song on her centennial will be the singers Roberta Gambarini and Kenny Washington, supported by the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. Expect gems to be flung about the stage—only a chosen few (Sinatra, Crosby) brought as much classic American Songbook fare into the mainstream as Fitzgerald.” (NewYorker)

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

Chelsea “Best Exhibits” Gallery Tour
New York Gallery Tours, 1PM, +3:45PM, $25
“Take a fascinating gallery tour of Chelsea—the world’s center for contemporary art—and see the very latest in painting, sculpture, electronic media & photography. Our guide, who holds a Ph.D. in arts education, helps explain the artwork and leads the group in lively discussion.

The tour will take place no matter what the weather – rain, snow or shine (the art is all indoors). Meet at 526 W. 26th St. between 10th & 11th Ave. Nearest subways: C- or E-Train to 23rd St. Admission is $25. SPECIAL OFFER: visit our website to request a DISCOUNT ticket link for $8-off admission!”

FOOD + DRINK BACON AND BEER CLASSIC
If unlimited bacon and beer sounds heavenly to you, then buy yourself a ticket to this annual affair. You can taste dishes from more than 40 restaurants, including whiskey­glazed ribs from Salt & Bone, bacon chocolate chunk from Bang
Cookies, and bacon meatball pops from The Baroness Bar. Pair those bites with beers from Big Alice Brewing, Coney Island Brewing, Fire Island Beer Co. and others.
WHEN Saturday, April 29, and Sunday, April 30,
WHERE at Citi Field, 123­01 Roosevelt Ave., Queens
INFO $69­ $79;baconandbeerclassic.com ­­(STAV ZIV-Newsday)

==================================================
Bonus NYC Events – Jazz Clubs:
Many consider NYCity the Jazz capital of the world. Here are my favorite Jazz clubs, all on Manhattan’s WestSide. Check out who is playing tonight:

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

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

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

==================================================================================
♦ Before making final plans, we suggest you call the venue to confirm ticket availability, dates and times, as schedules are subject to change.
♦ NYCity, with a population of  8.5 million, had a record 60 million visitors last year and was TripAdvisor’s Traveler’s Choice Top U.S. Destination for 2017.  Quality shows draw crowds.
Try to reserve seats for these top NYC events in advance, even if just on day of performance.
NYCity Vacation Travel Guide Video (Expedia):

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

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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