Dianne Reeves – June 16, 2012

Posted on June 24, 2012 by parker

Sing the Truth (Soul Sisters) – New Haven Green – June 16, 2012

Unsure how to notate this gig, as their own press has shown some ambiguity.  The overall event is the weeks-long International Festival of Arts and Ideas, and this was the first of 3 dynamite gigs.  The three “Soul Sisters” are Dianne Reeves, Angelique Kidjo, and Lizz Wright; they were all on stage together, are all worthy vocalists, and split the singing chores pretty evenly.   At any given time, any two could have been backup singers for the third.  Reeves was the most obvious draw for me.  I was unable to get a decent sketch done of the hyperkinetic Kidjo, as she is all about motion, including coming down amongst the crowd to dance and sing her way through a powerhouse number.

Dianne Reeves

Lizz Wright

Romero Lubambo

James Genus

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Ted Rosenthal Quintet – June 1, 2012

Posted on June 3, 2012 by parker

Ted Rosenthal Quintet  –  New York Historical Society  –  June 1, 2012

Institutions are really coming out of the woodwork to sponsor music series, much to love!  Rosenthal has dedicated his most recent works to Monk, taking some compositional liberties in a process he call “deranging”, resulting in a sustained suite incorporating a number of Monk tunes.

Ted Rosenthal

Brian Lynch

Dick Oatts

Quincy Davis

Martin Wind

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Ted Brown – May 20, 2012

Posted on June 3, 2012 by parker

Ted Brown  –  White Plains Public Library  –  May 20, 2012

Brown was an unfamiliar quantity for me.  Apparently a follower of Lenny Tristano, as were several of his band mates.  They grooved with the comfort of a bunch of guys familiar with each other, as they have intertwined histories going back some.

Ted Brown

Bill Chattin

Don Messina

Jon Easton

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Booker T. Jones – May 10, 2012

Posted on May 13, 2012 by parker

Booker T. Jones  –  Brooklyn Bridge Park  –  May 10, 2012

Jones is the Booker T. of the MG’s and others, having been in the band of a zillion hits since the early 1960’s.  While he spent most of his time on the Hammond B-3, he did get out and play some guitar, and also did credible vocals on a few numbers.  The guitar of “Ice” Black seemed unfamiliar, and it turns out that he designed and built it himself!  The opener was DJ Rich Medina; while I dug his stuff, there is a limit (exceeded here) to my appreciation of a very loud human boombox, which I estimate at 45 minutes.  He signed “April”, causing wonder and envy of the lifestyle so casual in accepting the flip of the calendar page.

Booker T. Jones

Vernon "Ice" Black

Darian Gray

Melvin Brannon

Rich Medina

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Wall to Wall Gertrude’s Paris – May 5, 2012

Posted on May 13, 2012 by parker

Wall to Wall Gertrude’s Paris – Symphony Space – May 5, 2012

This year’s Wall-to-Wall celebrated the 1920’s Paris of Gertrude Stein.  Performances began even before we got into the theatre, with Marni Rice leading her band, Chanson Chamber Salon, on the street as we waited in line.  Some of the readings and discussions opened my mind a bit to Stein’s actual artistic output, likening it to the cubist vision of describing an object from all angles simultaneously.

Marni Rice

Matt Darriau

Josh Roseman

Christopher Matthews

Aundrey Mitchell

Ashley Jennifer Jackson

Bryan Young

Edmund White

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Art to the Avenue – May 3, 2012

Posted on May 13, 2012 by parker

The town of Greenwich hosts an event called “Art to the Avenue” every spring.  Many establishments on or near Greenwich Avenue display the works of local artists (mine is at Greenwich Hospital this year) for a month;  opening festivities include various receptions and performances by musicians.

Carmine Marino

Karen Zimmer

Richard L Kelly

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SketchCrawl #35 – April 21, 2012

Posted on April 22, 2012 by parker

SketchCrawl #35  –  Columbus Circle & Lincoln Center  –  April 21, 2012

The sketchcrawl is a loosely organized global coalition of sketchers.  On the chosen date, individuals aggregate regionally, and then go at it.  For this one, there was said to be sketching occurring at over 100 sites worldwide.  It feels rewarding to be part of a larger effort, recording together in some way or other some piece of our world.  Works of our NYC comrades are admired in person; for others, we have access to images on the web.  http://www.sketchcrawl.com/

Legs on the D Train

Columbus Circle Looking East

Dogwood Bloom, Central Park

Vendor Carts on Broadway

In Benenson Grove

SketchCrawl Person #1

SketchCrawl Person #2

ketchCrawl Person #3

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Ethos Percussion Group – March 23, 2012

Posted on March 27, 2012 by parker

Ethos Percussion Group – Skinner Hall, Vassar College – March 23, 2012

Three of the five works performed by Ethos were commissioned for them, so they were a custom fit, not likely to be heard elsewhere.  “Ziggurat (interior)” by John Hollenbeck involved putting toy plastic tubes to use in creating a designed sound, and also incorporated espresso frothers.  You can look it up.  The LOUD finale channeled Guinea (west Africa)

Trey Files

Yousif Sheronick

Michael Lipsey

Eric Phinney

Ethos Percussion Group

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Ladybird Sunshine – February 11, 2012

Posted on February 21, 2012 by parker

Ladybird Sunshine  –  New Amsterdam Musical Association  –  February 11, 2012

I know Ladybird as Dena Robins, from when we worked together at Bronx Science.  She has multiple appellations and multiple avocations.  This occasion was the record release party for her new CD, “Hypnotized”.  The NAMA, new venue for me, has been around since 1905.

Ladybird Sunshine - Dena Robins

Yovanne Pierre

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Infinite Roots – February 10, 2012

Posted on February 11, 2012 by parker

Infinite Roots   –   Greenwich High School   –    February 10, 2012

I appreciate when the sketching is made easy – like when I get to do it during the course of my day job.  Such is the case here; for the school’s annual Diversity Week programming, the drumming/dancing troupe Infinite Roots was booked for a couple of sets.  Kwamé is the ringleader of the troupe, and the drum-maker as well.

Kwame Henry Jones

Monica Tinsley

Kareem Brivett

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