Tamuz Nissim – Ossining Public Library – April 7, 2019
Israeli jazz singer Nissim sometimes accompanies herself on piano, and sometimes fills the aptly sparse space provided by the trio vocally. She scats like old school, always good to hear.
Tamuz Nissim
Mary Ann McSweeney
George Nazos
Tony Jefferson
Patricia Barber – Greenwich Library, Cole Auditorium – March 24, 2019
Barber is a sophisticated pianist, composer, & lyricist. Probably has more gigs in intimate cabaret-ish settings, but nothing was lost here, given that she knows how to put over a song, and the excellent rapport with sympatico Deitemeyer and Mulcahy.
Patricia Barber
Patrick Mulcahy
Jon Dietemyer
Open Book – Mahopac Public Library – March 3, 2019
Open Book
Vince Giordano & the Nighthawks – Greenwich Library Cole Auditorium – January 13, 2019
Separating the music from the history is impossible with Giordano’s ensemble (11 pieces!). He’s got the patter down just right, a bit corny, a bit self-deprecating, chock full of historical tidbits that seem to be overflowing from his walking-encyclopedia brain. The group specializes in music from the 1920’s-1930’s, giving it potential for maudlin, but no, this is lively and vital. It’s supported by the choice repertoire selection, with works by (I’m not distinguishing here between “composed by” versus “made famous by” – Giordano could reel ’em off just like that) Ellington, Biederbecke, Benny Goodman, Jimmy Lunceford (the lively closer, “Rhythm is Our Business” [business sure is swell!]), sufficiently hip for me. Fiddler Stein has been around, was part of the Prairie Home Companion house band, among others.
Vince Giordano
Andy Stein
Peter Yarin
Arnt Arntzen
Peter Serkin – Cole Auditorium, Greenwich Library – November 25, 2018
Although Serkin plays from a wide-ranging repertoire, here he focused in on the classical-est of the classical, Mozart and Bach. That these lengthy pieces can be memorized is astounding to me. But once certain parts of the brain master that scaffolding, and the muscle memory is in place, then it’s time to become immersed, for a transparency serving the other brain parts that are the source of transcendant wonder! To meld with the Goldberg Variations.
Peter Serkin
Jammin’ for Joey – The Boardy Barn – October 21, 2018
Our dear friend Joey DiBenedetto has been battling the degenerative condition ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. Joey served for many years as the friendly face of the US Postal Service, delivering mail house-to-house in his home town of Hampton Bays. Good natured, friendly, dedicated, I am not aware that anyone in the world had a beef with this guy, the best that humanity has to offer! For me he is permanently linked to our time together in the rock band Total Crudd. But that was over in 1972; since then, everyone in that band has continued to play music, going their distinct but often overlapping ways. Our occasional get-togethers were always joyous occasions, where I would invariably be dragooned into doing “Coca Cola Can”. This benefit event was a chance for the wider community to show Joey some love, by raising funds for various aspects of his care. Yes, 2/3 of Total Crudd took the stage to perform, among others, Coca Cola Can. I had not planned to do any sketching, so came unprepard. When the urge struck I was unable to resist. But no paper! I ended up sketching on the backs of some of the poster sheets; Mean Gene & the Flamethrowers were captured on the flattened empty cardboard box in which pastries had been delivered.
Partial Total Crudd
Mean Gene & The Flamethrowers
Ray Band
Total Crudd, Fall 1972
Celebrate Mexico Now! – Rubenstein Atrium – October 18, 2018
Despite not understanding Spanish, I can appreciate the pipes and axes of these two, the passion overwhelming the language barrier. Goust and Gameros are prime examples of the cultural richness surrounding our border with Mexico, and of the need to redirect the immigration discussion.
Renée Goust
Diana Gameros
Busking New York City – October 12, 2018
Special treat of the day: as I was sketching Ajamu, another sketcher was sketching ME at work. And not too shabby a job, Martin Williams! I’m always looking for instruments I haven’t sketched yet, so next treat, there in the subway, The Saw Lady. It don’t sound like anything else, except maybe proto-theremin.
Adjua Ajamu
The Saw Lady - Natalia Paruz
"Parker Gambino" by Martin Milliams
Busking New York City – October 4, 2018
Here I witnessed (in Washington Square Park) one of the most astounding musical performances in quite some time. Talk about a different drummer! Percussionist Reggie Pison plays on a collection of buckets, pots and pans, and various metal forms and pieces that clearly have a “real” function in construction & fabrication, perhaps. These he bangs with some crude wooden sticks. The lively and insistent rhythm emerges unfiltered from his soul, as does the rap, more jagged than smoothly flowing, an ongoing conversational monologue indicative of uniquely connected dots upstairs in the cranium. I found it infectious, couldn’t tell if he was addressing me while I sketched, talking to himself about me, or mostly oblivious. He definitely was master of his instrument; by turning a metal form upside down he was able to access a whole new set of sounds, and he had an assortment of them that he rotated into and out of the active configuration. His performance involved a constantly shifting array of sonic offerings, as he flipped this or that piece according to his real-time vision. I was intimidated about asking for the autograph, as it seemed like there would be no break in his stream of consciousness presentation, and there wasn’t! I had to maneuver the book in front of him, he took the pen with one hand while he kept the rhythm going with the other without a break. There was no sense engaging him in small talk, or informing him that his last name is the name of a wasp genus. Weil kept her classical and contemporary offerings brief and to the point, which made them eminently digestible. Cohen & Garvey perform under the moniker “Goin’ Local Duo”.
Reggie Pison
Laura Weil
Martin Cohen & Ann Garvey
Youssra El Hawary – Rubenstein Atrium – October 4, 2018
There’s a bit of Arab Spring vibe in El Hawary, but she seems to be more documenting the social fallout of modern Egypt rather than sounding a call to arms. It’s always interesting to see how the stereotypical image of an instrument can get warped by the cultural filter of distant hands. The handout blurb mentioned that she has modified the reed setup of some accordions, to be able to produce the quarter tones that are part of the genre, and which give music of this region (the band is from Egypt) its distinctive not-of-the-west tonal signature.
Youssra El Hawary
Tarek Abdelkawi & Yamen ElGamal
Luka Gamal
Sedky Sakhr
Shadi El Hosseini
