NYCity 1-2-3 : What's Happening / Manhattan's WestSide

Today’s Elite 8 NYC Events > SATURDAY/ AUGUST 17, 2019

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

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

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

Elsewhere, but this looks worth the detour:

Beck & Cage The Elephant
Forest Hills Stadium / 5PM, $70+
“A quarter century ago, Beck’s “Loser” was that era’s “Old Town Road,” a fluke hit awash in folk and hip-hop elements that seemed to emanate from both everywhere and nowhere. Beck’s subsequent career has been a paradigm of range and ingenuity. In advance of an upcoming album, produced with Pharrell Williams, he co-headlines a tour with Cage the Elephant; Spoon, whose music, like Beck’s, has a pervasive air of cool; and Sunflower Bean, a young group with a pleasing nineties sound.” (Jay Ruttenberg, NewYorker)

GD: Great venue for a concert; easy to get to on the Long Island Rail Road from Penn Station (16 minutes).

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7 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)
>> Celebrate the 50th anniversary of “Black Woodstock”
>> KALIA VANDEVER
>> BALLET FESTIVAL
>> SLAUGHTER BEACH, DOG
>> JOHNNY O’NEAL TRIO
>> Chelsie Denise
>> Summer Streets

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

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Music, Dance, Performing Art

Celebrate the 50th anniversary of “Black Woodstock”
Marcus Garvey Park / 7PM, FREE
“This August doesn’t just mark 50 years since Woodstock — it’s also the anniversary of the Harlem Cultural Festival, which had an epic summer of ‘69. Sometimes referred to as “Black Woodstock,” the Harlem festival featured performances by Nina Simone, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Sly and the Family Stone, and Stevie Wonder.

SummerStage and Future Sounds are commemorating the occasion with a “Black Woodstock” show — at the very same Harlem location, now known as Marcus Garvey Park — with a lineup featuring Talib Kweli and Keyon Harrold.” (thrillist.com)

KALIA VANDEVER
at the Jazz Gallery / 7:30 and 9:30 p.m.; $20-$30
“Slow and viscous, the original music on “In Bloom,” this young trombonist’s debut recording, moves with an unhurried, sighing attitude. She writes melodies with long, held notes, and her songs usually linger between slow and mid-tempo. The idea, it seems, is to dip you into a feeling or a pattern or a breathing speed, and keep you there. Vandever will play music from “In Bloom,” which came out in the spring, with the band from the album: Theo Walentiny on piano, Lee Meadvin on guitar, Nick Dunston on bass and Connor Parks on drums.” (NYT-GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO)

BALLET FESTIVAL
at the Joyce Theater (Aug. 17, 2 and 8 p.m.; Aug. 18, 2 p.m.), $85+
“Over the past couple of weeks, artists associated with Britain’s Royal Ballet have been taking turns curating programs for the Joyce’s annual midsummer gift to balletomanes. The fourth and final one belongs to the adventurous principal dancer Edward Watson. His lineup will begin with four short works — all duets and solos — by the choreographers Wayne McGregor, James Alsop, Laila Diallo and Javier de Frutos; the pieces will be performed by Watson, his Royal Ballet colleague Sarah Lamb and the former New York City Ballet dancer Robert Fairchild. Following the intermission, the three will come together in Arthur Pita’s “Cristaux” and will be joined by the City Ballet principal Maria Kowroski.” (NYT-Brian Schaefer)

SLAUGHTER BEACH, DOG
at Bowery Ballroom / 8 p.m.; $18
“Initially a side endeavor dreamed up by the singer-songwriter Jake Ewald in an attempt to escape from writer’s block, this project has since become the erstwhile Modern Baseball frontman’s primary creative outlet. With his third album under the Slaughter Beach umbrella, released this month, he has edged even further from the nervy pop-punk sound embraced by his former group. The record, titled “Safe and Also No Fear,” is folky and measured; its songs, like the morose, half-sung, half-spoken epic “Black Oak,” unspool their underlying anxieties in their own time.” (NYT-OLIVIA HORN)

JOHNNY O’NEAL TRIO (Aug. 16-17)
at Smoke / 7, 9 and 10:30 p.m.; $38
“A dizzyingly talented pianist with equal doses of stride and bebop in his playing, O’Neal has much in common with Oscar Peterson, the famed piano player who in the 1950s and ’60s was seen as Art Tatum’s heir apparent. (O’Neal, in turn, portrayed Tatum in “Ray,” the blockbuster 2004 film.) This weekend O’Neal will play music from Peterson’s repertoire, celebrating what would have been his 94th birthday. O’Neal will be joined by the bassist Peter Washington and the drummer Lewis Nash.” (NYT-GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO)

Chelsie Denise
Time Out Market New York, DUMBO / 7PM, FREE
“A Native New Yorker, Chelsie Denise, is a soulful singer-songwriter using her pen to create melodies from her experiences growing up in the concrete Jungle. This Canarsie native uses her voice while traveling through love, life, and self, with optimism, hope, and growth.” (TONY)

GD: This is a great spot for music on a summer evening.

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Smart Stuff / Other NYC EventS

Summer Streets (first three Saturdays in August – so this is it for 2019)
Park Avenue and Lafayette St./ 7AM-1PM, FREE
“The 12th annual Summer Streets is closing 7 miles of road to cars from the Brooklyn Bridge to Central Park for the first three Saturdays of August. Selected streets will be made available exclusively to cyclists, runners and pedestrians, where there will be free fitness classes, dance performances, and rock climbing at stops along the route.”

Continuing Events

LAST DAY
Battery Dance presents The 38th Annual Battery Dance Festival
Schimmel Center, 3 Spruce St. (Aug.17) / 6-8PM, $10
“Battery Dance, in association with Battery Park City Authority, announces the 38th Annual Battery Dance Festival with free performances from August 11-16, 2019 from 7-9 pm against the backdrop of New York Harbor at Robert F. Wagner, Jr. Park in Battery Park City, culminating in a closing performance on August 17, 2019, from 6pm to 8pm at The Schimmel Center at Pace University. Tickets for the closing performance are $10.00; or $65 including after-reception.”

“This festival, which started in 1982, returns to Lower Manhattan for a week of outdoor shows, as well as one at the Schimmel Center on Aug. 17. As always, the event includes dance companies and artists from around the world; this year, expect performers from Argentina, Austria, Curaçao, France, India, Iraq, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Sri Lanka and Turkey. And it wouldn’t be the Battery Dance Festival without a celebration, on Thursday, of Indian Independence Day. The focus is on Manipuri dance with Darshana Jhaveri & Drummers and Dancers of Manipur. Audience members have the chance to dance, too: After each outdoor show, artists will lead participants in a movement adventure of their own.” (NYT-Gia Kourlas)

JAZZ IN TIMES SQUARE
Concert Series / Curated by Jazz at Lincoln Center
Thursdays from 5-7pm, from June to September
Broadway Plaza between 43rd and 44th Streets

“Give your Thursday night a new rhythm as you head to the train or wait for a colleague to join you for dinner. Jazz at Lincoln Center brings New York City’s hottest young jazz bands to the plaza, creating the feeling of an intimate club amidst the lights and sounds of Times Square.”

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COMING SOON (WFUV)

8/16-17 Galactic, Brooklyn Bowl
8/17 Beck, Cage The Elephant and Spoon, Forest Hills Stadium
8/19 The Binky Griptite Orchestra, Union Pool
8/21 Tame Impala, Madison Square Garden

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

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A PremierPub / Tribeca

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

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

Feinstein’s/54 Below – 254 W 54th St.

Today’s Elite 8 NYC Events > FRIDAY/ AUGUST 16, 2019

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

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

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

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

JOHNNY O’NEAL TRIO (Aug. 16-17)
at Smoke / 7, 9 and 10:30 p.m.; $38
“A dizzyingly talented pianist with equal doses of stride and bebop in his playing, O’Neal has much in common with Oscar Peterson, the famed piano player who in the 1950s and ’60s was seen as Art Tatum’s heir apparent. (O’Neal, in turn, portrayed Tatum in “Ray,” the blockbuster 2004 film.) This weekend O’Neal will play music from Peterson’s repertoire, celebrating what would have been his 94th birthday. O’Neal will be joined by the bassist Peter Washington and the drummer Lewis Nash.” (NYT-GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO)

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7 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)
>> Accordion Festival
>> BALLET FESTIVAL
>> Azar Lawrence Experience
>> Michael Feinstein: I Happen to Like New York
>> Bill Frisell
>> Love, Noël: The Letters and Songs of Noël Coward
>> From Concorde to Mars: Designing the Future

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

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Music, Dance, Performing Art

Accordion Festival
Bryant Park / 5-10PM, FREE
The annual accordions around the world festival at Bryant Park culminates in a five-hour celebration of bands that feature at least one accordionist each.

“Accordions Around the World is a weekly summer series featuring accordionists as well as bandoneon, bayan, concertina, and harmonium-players of different musical genres. Audiences have an opportunity to hear music from all over the world and to experience the wide range of this often overlooked and little-known instrument in an intimate performance setting. Choose to wander the park to explore different musical stylings or set up a picnic and the artists will rotate around the audience. The finale is Accordion Festival, a five-hour celebration of bands with at least one accordionist.” (nyc-arts.org)

BALLET FESTIVAL
at the Joyce Theater (Aug. 16, 8 p.m.; Aug. 17, 2 and 8 p.m.; Aug. 18, 2 p.m.), $85+
“Over the past couple of weeks, artists associated with Britain’s Royal Ballet have been taking turns curating programs for the Joyce’s annual midsummer gift to balletomanes. The fourth and final one belongs to the adventurous principal dancer Edward Watson. His lineup will begin with four short works — all duets and solos — by the choreographers Wayne McGregor, James Alsop, Laila Diallo and Javier de Frutos; the pieces will be performed by Watson, his Royal Ballet colleague Sarah Lamb and the former New York City Ballet dancer Robert Fairchild. Following the intermission, the three will come together in Arthur Pita’s “Cristaux” and will be joined by the City Ballet principal Maria Kowroski.” (NYT-Brian Schaefer)

Azar Lawrence Experience (Aug.15-18)
Jazz Standard, 116 E. 27th St./ 7:30PM, +9:30PM, $30
“The fulsome tenor and soprano saxophonist Azar Lawrence doesn’t disguise his admiration for John Coltrane—his bona fides include work with the Coltrane associates Elvin Jones and McCoy Tyner—but a fondness for earthy R. & B. has earned him his own loyal following; his seventies recordings, including “Bridge Into the New Age,” are widely regarded as essential listening. Here, he performs with Experience, his fortified septet, which includes the guitarist Julian Coryell, the son of the fusion pioneer Larry Coryell.” (Steve Futterman, NewYorker)

Michael Feinstein: I Happen to Like New York (Aug.7-23)
Feinstein’s/54 Below / 7PM, $85+
“The popular and polished standard-bearer of American song returns to the club that bears his name for a three-week run devoted to tunes that celebrate New York City; the set includes a salute to the masterfully ebullient singer-pianist Bobby Short, who defined the champagne wing of cabaret in his four-decade run at the Café Carlyle. Feinstein is joined by special guests Melissa Manchester (August 15–20) and Jackie Evancho (August 21–23).” (TONY)

Bill Frisell (Aug.13-18)
at the Village Vanguard / 8:30 and 10:30 p.m.; $35
“The venerable crossover guitarist, famous for his luminous folk-jazz fusions, settles into a two-week residency at the Vanguard. Expect magic: His 2016 performances at the venue resulted in a live album, Small Town, released the following year. At this year’s stay, he’s sure to play from Harmony, his upcoming (and first) release with Blue Note Records. During week one, (Aug 6–11), Frisell will fire up a blazing trio, with Thomas Morgan on bass and Rudy Royston on drums; the second week, they’re joined by special guest Greg Tardy on saxophone (Aug 13–18).” (TONY)

Love, Noël: The Letters and Songs of Noël Coward (Aug.14-18)
Irish Repertory Theatre / 8PM, $45-$50
“The Noël Coward touch was always a light one. His music scampers like a mouse; his lyrics bounce like balloons. In his plays, even suffering has an upward tendency. But when his work is excerpted and performed by others, that glancing quality can turn coy and saccharine, as it sometimes does in Barry Day’s two-handed cabaret Love, Noël.

Reading from Coward’s letters and covering nearly two dozen songs, cabaret stars Steve Ross and KT Sullivan pay Coward tribute. Sometimes Ross, the longtime king of café cabaret, is his own tuxedoed self, and sometimes he’s pretending to be Coward; an amused-seeming Sullivan takes on all the women. (She does a great, gloomy Marlene Dietrich.)” (TONY)

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Smart Stuff / Other NYC EventS

From Concorde to Mars: Designing the Future
Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, Pier 86 / 7PM, $15
Head to the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum for the conversation From Concorde to Mars: Designing the Future. Lawrence Azerrad, author of Supersonic: The Design & Lifestyle of Concorde; Tibor Balint, principal human centered designer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory; and Jeffrey Montes, a space architect at Space Factory, all come together to talk about innovations to come.” (ThoughtGallery)

Continuing Events

NYC Restaurant Week 2019:  LAST day!
“The more than three-week-long promotion featuring two-course lunches ($26) and three-course dinners ($42) at some of the city’s best restaurants is back for its summer edition starting July 22. This time around, the celebration features prix-fixe meals at more than 380 eateries, with deals through Aug. 16.

You can find links to menus and the restaurants involved here, but check out our picks for some of the most enticing deals below.” (amNY)

Battery Dance presents The 38th Annual Battery Dance Festival
Robert F. Wagner, Jr. Park (Aug.11-16) / 7-9PM, FREE
Schimmel Center, 3 Spruce St. (Aug.17) / 6-8PM, $10
“Battery Dance, in association with Battery Park City Authority, announces the 38th Annual Battery Dance Festival with free performances from August 11-16, 2019 from 7-9 pm against the backdrop of New York Harbor at Robert F. Wagner, Jr. Park in Battery Park City, culminating in a closing performance on August 17, 2019, from 6pm to 8pm at The Schimmel Center at Pace University. Tickets for the closing performance are $10.00; or $65 including after-reception.”

“This festival, which started in 1982, returns to Lower Manhattan for a week of outdoor shows, as well as one at the Schimmel Center on Aug. 17. As always, the event includes dance companies and artists from around the world; this year, expect performers from Argentina, Austria, Curaçao, France, India, Iraq, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Sri Lanka and Turkey. And it wouldn’t be the Battery Dance Festival without a celebration, on Thursday, of Indian Independence Day. The focus is on Manipuri dance with Darshana Jhaveri & Drummers and Dancers of Manipur. Audience members have the chance to dance, too: After each outdoor show, artists will lead participants in a movement adventure of their own.” (NYT-Gia Kourlas)

JAZZ IN TIMES SQUARE
Concert Series / Curated by Jazz at Lincoln Center
Thursdays from 5-7pm, from June to September
Broadway Plaza between 43rd and 44th Streets

“Give your Thursday night a new rhythm as you head to the train or wait for a colleague to join you for dinner. Jazz at Lincoln Center brings New York City’s hottest young jazz bands to the plaza, creating the feeling of an intimate club amidst the lights and sounds of Times Square.”

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COMING SOON (WFUV)

8/16 Willie Nile & James Maddock, Rockin The River, Circle Line
8/16 Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears, The Bell House
8/16-17 Galactic, Brooklyn Bowl
8/17 Beck, Cage The Elephant and Spoon, Forest Hills Stadium
8/19 The Binky Griptite Orchestra, Union Pool
8/21 Tame Impala, Madison Square Garden

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

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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)

‘SCENES FROM THE COLLECTION’

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

Museum of the City of New York

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

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

“In Praise of Painting” (thru Oct.4, 2020)

“How great are the Met’s holdings in the Dutch golden age? Very. This long-term installation rings the lower level of the Lehman Wing with scores of lesser-known gems from the mid-seventeenth century, many of them rarely on view before, amid masterworks by Rembrandt, Vermeer, Hals, and Ruisdael. The period, vivified here, began in 1648, when the end of the Eighty Years’ War with Spain brought a boom in wealth and morale, expressed by genre paintings that exalt the national ideal of gezelligheid—social warmth, comfort, belonging. A key figure was Gerard ter Borch, who had travelled widely and worked at the court of Philip IV, in company with Velázquez. Ter Borch’s lustrous, ineffably witty domestic scenes inspired a generation of masters, notably Vermeer, whose genius rather eclipsed his elder’s. The pictures often star ter Borch’s younger sister Gesina, preening in satins or enigmatically musing. Herself a painter, she is cutely funny-looking—pointy nose, weak chin—and desperately lovable. There’s much to be said for a world with such a family in it.” (Peter Schjeldahl, NewYorker)

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

Although technically not part of the Museum Mile, the Frick Collection (closed Mon) (Wed 2-6pm PWYW; First Friday each month (exc Jan+Sep) 6-9pm FREE) on the corner of 70th St. and Fifth Avenue and the The Morgan Library & Museum (closed Mon) (Fri 7-9 FREE) on Madison Ave and 37th St are also located near Fifth Ave.
Now plan your own museum crawl (info on hours & admission updated June 2, 2015).
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For other selected Museum and Gallery Special Exhibitions see Recent Posts in right Sidebar dated 08/14 and 08/12.
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Bonus Live Music  – NYC Jazz Clubs:
Many consider NYCity the Jazz capital of the world. My favorite Jazz Clubs, all on Manhattan’s WestSide, feature top talent every night of the week.
Hit the Hot Link and check out who is playing tonight:

Greenwich Village:
(4 are underground, classic jazz joints. all 6 are within walking distance of each other):
Village Vanguard – UG, 178 7th Ave. So., villagevanguard.com, 212-255-4037 (1st 8:30)
Blue Note – 131 W3rd St. nr 6th ave. bluenotejazz.com, 212-475-8592 (1st set 8pm)
55 Bar – basement @55 Christopher St. nr 7th ave.S. 55bar.com, 212-929-9883 (1st 7pm)
Mezzrow – basement @ 163 W10th St. nr 7th Ave. mezzrow.com,646-476-4346 (1st 8)
Smalls – basement @ 183 W10th St. smallslive.com, 646-476-4346 (1st set 7:30pm)
The Stone at The New School – 55 w13 St. (btw 6/5 ave) – thestonenyc.com (8:30PM)

Outside Greenwich Village:
Dizzy’s Club – Broadway @ 60th St. — jazz.org/dizzys / 212-258-9595 (1st set 7:30pm)
Birdland – 315 W44th St.(btw 8/9ave) — birdlandjazz.com / 212-581-3080 (1st 8:30pm)
Smoke Jazz Club – 2751 Broadway nr.106th St. — smokejazz.com/ 212-864-6662 (7pm)
Jazz Standard – 116 E27 St. (btw Park/Lex) – jazzstandard.com – (1st set 7:30)

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

In Memoriam:
Caffe Vivaldi – 32 Jones St. nr Bleecker St. — caffevivaldi.com / 212-691-7538 (1st 7pm)
a classic, old jazz club in the Village, Caffe V often surprised with a wonderfully eclectic lineup. It was my favorite spot for an evening of listening enjoyment and discovery.
Alas, Caffe V is no more, another victim of a rapacious NYC landlord. Owner Ishrat fought the good fight and Caffe V will be sorely missed.
Cornelia Street Cafe – UG, 29 Cornelia St. corneliastreetcafe.com, 212-989-9319
And more recently we have lost Cornelia Street Cafe. After 41 years, it too became another victim of an unreasonable rent increase.

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Today’s Elite 8 NYC Events > WEDNESDAY/ AUGUST 14, 2019

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

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

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

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

Peter and Will Anderson: Songbook Summit—The Andersons Play Ellington & Armstrong (Aug.13-15; 21-22)
Symphony Space / 5:30PM, +8PM, $35
“Twin-brother saxophone players Peter and Will Anderson, masters of vintage jazz styles ranging from swing to hardbop, flip through four chapters of the Great American Songbook in this Symphony Space residency, devoting a week apiece to Duke Ellington (August 13–15) and Louis Armstrong (August 21–23). They are joined by vocalist Molly Ryan and musicians including bassist Vince Giordano.” (TONY)

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7 OTHER TOP NYC EVENTS TODAY (see below for full listing)
>> Accordions Around the World
>> Love, Noël: The Letters and Songs of Noël Coward
>> Bill Frisell
>> BALLET FESTIVAL
>> LOUIS HAYES QUINTET
>> Uptown Bounce
>> Bad Society Cruise

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

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Music, Dance, Performing Art

Accordions Around the World
Bryant Park / 5:30PM, FREE
“Accordions Around the World is a weekly summer series featuring accordionists as well as bandoneon, bayan, concertina, and harmonium-players of different musical genres. Audiences have an opportunity to hear music from all over the world and to experience the wide range of this often overlooked and little-known instrument in an intimate performance setting. Choose to wander the park to explore different musical stylings or set up a picnic and the artists will rotate around the audience. The finale is Accordion Festival, a five-hour celebration of bands with at least one accordionist.” (nyc-arts.org)

Love, Noël: The Letters and Songs of Noël Coward (Aug.14-18)
Irish Repertory Theatre / 3PM, +8PM, $45-$50
“The Noël Coward touch was always a light one. His music scampers like a mouse; his lyrics bounce like balloons. In his plays, even suffering has an upward tendency. But when his work is excerpted and performed by others, that glancing quality can turn coy and saccharine, as it sometimes does in Barry Day’s two-handed cabaret Love, Noël.

Reading from Coward’s letters and covering nearly two dozen songs, cabaret stars Steve Ross and KT Sullivan pay Coward tribute. Sometimes Ross, the longtime king of café cabaret, is his own tuxedoed self, and sometimes he’s pretending to be Coward; an amused-seeming Sullivan takes on all the women. (She does a great, gloomy Marlene Dietrich.)” (TONY)

Bill Frisell (Aug.13-18)
at the Village Vanguard / 8:30 and 10:30 p.m.; $35
“The venerable crossover guitarist, famous for his luminous folk-jazz fusions, settles into a two-week residency at the Vanguard. Expect magic: His 2016 performances at the venue resulted in a live album, Small Town, released the following year. At this year’s stay, he’s sure to play from Harmony, his upcoming (and first) release with Blue Note Records. During week one, (Aug 6–11), Frisell will fire up a blazing trio, with Thomas Morgan on bass and Rudy Royston on drums; the second week, they’re joined by special guest Greg Tardy on saxophone (Aug 13–18).” (TONY)

BALLET FESTIVAL
at the Joyce Theater (Aug. 13-14, 7:30 p.m.; Aug. 15, 8 p.m.; through Aug. 18); $
“The Joyce Theater Foundation is thrilled to announce the extraordinary line-up for its 2019 Ballet Festival, curated by Kevin O’Hare, director of The Royal Ballet, and other artists associated with the esteemed company. The celebration of classical dance will feature four distinct programs over two weeks starring such world-renowned ballet artists as Lauren Cuthbertson, Robert Fairchild, Joseph Gordon, David Hallberg, Sarah Lamb, Edward Watson, Maria Kowroski and more.” (nyc-arts.org)

Program C – August 13-15
Curated by Jean-Marc Puissant
Featuring:
Artists of The Royal Ballet Sarah Lamb, Romany Pajdak, Calvin Richardson, Marcelino Sambé, Joseph Sissens, and Beatriz Stix-Brunell.
Artists of American Ballet Theatre Zimmi Coker, Thomas Forster, Anabel Katsnelson, Betsy McBride, Courtney Shealy, Cassandra Trenary, and Stephanie Williams.
Special Guests:
Joseph Gordon (New York City Ballet)
David Hallberg (American Ballet Theatre)
Erez Milatin (New York Theatre Ballet)
Then and Again by Gemma Bond
Song of a Wayfarer by Maurice Bejart
Elite Syncopations divertissement by Kenneth MacMillan

LOUIS HAYES QUINTET (Aug. 13-14)
at Dizzy’s Club / 7:30 and 9:30 p.m.; $40
“Hayes’s history at the center of jazz begins in the mid-1950s, when the pianist Horace Silver invited the drummer to join his band in New York. Hayes paid tribute to Silver, who died in 2014, on “Serenade for Horace,” a 2017 album that finds Hayes swinging briskly as he revisits many of the tunes he played in the early years of his career, when he helped define the classic hard-bop sound. He appears here with the vibraphonist Steve Nelson, the tenor saxophonist Abraham Burton, the pianist Anthony Wonsey and the bassist John Webber.” (NYT-GIOVANNI RUSSONELLO)

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Smart Stuff / Other NYC EventS

Uptown Bounce
@ Museum of the City of New York & El Museo del Barrio / 6PM, FREE
“Get your groove on in East Harlem at the the big annual Uptown Bounce block party. MCNY and El Museo del Barrio top the city’s Museum Mile, and for four consecutive Wednesdays, both will be open late with art, music, and entertainment spilling into the street.

An ode to classic summertime activities of baseball, bike riding – and the countless hits from the ‘90s and beyond that have provided the soundtrack.
Throwback to the ‘90s with DJ Misbehaviour
Dance performance by Haus of Sweat
Free Art Activity: Decorate your own baseball pennant for your favorite team
Free Admission: Check out our select exhibitions after hours with guided tours”

Bad Society Cruise
@ Skyport Marina, 2430 FDR Dr./ 7:30PM, $30
“Party “on the fetid waters of the East River” with The Baffler’s first-ever Bad Society Cruise, which promises “bottom-shelf booze, top shelf-rock, and breathtaking views of a city wholly indifferent to your existence.” Performers include the orchestral ensemble of “woodwind shredders” Masters of Fright and the duo Harmony Tividad and Cleo Tucker, a.k.a. indie-rockers Girlpool.”
(Gothamist)

Continuing Events

NYC Restaurant Week 2019:  Only 3 more days!
“The more than three-week-long promotion featuring two-course lunches ($26) and three-course dinners ($42) at some of the city’s best restaurants is back for its summer edition starting July 22. This time around, the celebration features prix-fixe meals at more than 380 eateries, with deals through Aug. 16.

You can find links to menus and the restaurants involved here, but check out our picks for some of the most enticing deals below.” (amNY)

Battery Dance presents The 38th Annual Battery Dance Festival
Robert F. Wagner, Jr. Park (Aug.11-16) / 7-9PM, FREE
Schimmel Center, 3 Spruce St. (Aug.17) / 6-8PM, $10
“Battery Dance, in association with Battery Park City Authority, announces the 38th Annual Battery Dance Festival with free performances from August 11-16, 2019 from 7-9 pm against the backdrop of New York Harbor at Robert F. Wagner, Jr. Park in Battery Park City, culminating in a closing performance on August 17, 2019, from 6pm to 8pm at The Schimmel Center at Pace University. Tickets for the closing performance are $10.00; or $65 including after-reception.”

“This festival, which started in 1982, returns to Lower Manhattan for a week of outdoor shows, as well as one at the Schimmel Center on Aug. 17. As always, the event includes dance companies and artists from around the world; this year, expect performers from Argentina, Austria, Curaçao, France, India, Iraq, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Sri Lanka and Turkey. And it wouldn’t be the Battery Dance Festival without a celebration, on Thursday, of Indian Independence Day. The focus is on Manipuri dance with Darshana Jhaveri & Drummers and Dancers of Manipur. Audience members have the chance to dance, too: After each outdoor show, artists will lead participants in a movement adventure of their own.” (NYT-Gia Kourlas)

JAZZ IN TIMES SQUARE
Concert Series / Curated by Jazz at Lincoln Center
Thursdays from 5-7pm, from June to September
Broadway Plaza between 43rd and 44th Streets

“Give your Thursday night a new rhythm as you head to the train or wait for a colleague to join you for dinner. Jazz at Lincoln Center brings New York City’s hottest young jazz bands to the plaza, creating the feeling of an intimate club amidst the lights and sounds of Times Square.”

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COMING SOON (WFUV)

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

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WHAT’S ON VIEW
My Fave Special Exhibitions – MUSEUMS / Manhattan’s WestSide
(See the New York Times Arts Section for listings of all museums,
and also to see their expanded reviews of exhibitions)

‘T. REX: THE ULTIMATE PREDATOR’
American Museum of Natural History (through Aug. 9, 2020).
“Everyone’s favorite 18,000-pound prehistoric killer gets the star treatment in this eye-opening exhibition, which presents the latest scientific research on T. rex and also introduces many other tyrannosaurs, some discovered only this century in China and Mongolia. T. rex evolved mainly during the Cretaceous Period to have keen eyes, spindly arms and massive conical teeth, which could bear down on prey with the force of a U-Haul truck; the dinosaur could even swallow whole bones, as affirmed here by a kid-friendly display of fossilized excrement. The show mixes 66-million-year-old teeth with the latest 3-D prints of dino bones, and also presents new models of T. rex as a baby, a juvenile and a full-grown annihilator. Turns out this most savage beast was covered with — believe it! — a soft coat of beige or white feathers.” (Farago-NYT)

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‘2019 WHITNEY BIENNIAL’
at the Whitney Museum of American Art (through Sept. 22).
“Given the political tensions that have sent spasms through the nation over the past two years, you might have expected — hoped — that this year’s biennial would be one big, sharp Occupy-style yawp. It isn’t. Politics are present but, with a few notable exceptions, murmured, coded, stitched into the weave of fastidiously form-conscious, labor-intensive work. As a result, the exhibition, organized by two young Whitney curators, Rujeko Hockley and Jane Panetta, gives the initial impression of being a well-groomed group show rather than a statement of resistance. But once you start looking closely, the impression changes artist by artist, piece by piece — there’s quiet agitation in the air.” (NYT-Cotter)

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‘AUSCHWITZ. NOT LONG AGO. NOT FAR AWAY’
at the Museum of Jewish Heritage (through Jan. 3).
“Killing as a communal business, made widely lucrative by the Third Reich, permeates this traveling exhibition about the largest German death camp, Auschwitz, whose yawning gatehouse, with its converging rail tracks, has become emblematic of the Holocaust. Well timed, during a worldwide surge of anti-Semitism, the harrowing installation strives, successfully, for fresh relevance. The exhibition illuminates the topography of evil, the deliberate designing of a hell on earth by fanatical racists and compliant architects and provisioners, while also highlighting the strenuous struggle for survival in a place where, as Primo Levi learned, “there is no why.” (NYT-Ralph Blumenthal)

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‘LIFE: SIX WOMEN PHOTOGRAPHERS’
at the New-York Historical Society (through Oct. 6).
“In the three-decade-plus golden age of Life magazine, only six of its full-time photographers were women. On the face of it, this exhibition at the historical society is half an excuse to air some gorgeous, previously unpublished silver prints, half a broad hint about how much talent we’ve lost to discrimination over the years. But cheery photo essays, produced by professional women, about other women hesitating to join the work force make a subtler point: that the actual mechanics of discrimination tend to be more complicated than they appear from a distance.” (NYT-Will Heinrich)

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

Feinstein’s/54 Below – 254 W 54th St.