Parker Gambino

Rafael Hernandez Music Festival  –  Bronx Library Center  –  September 24, 2017

Hernandez was Puerto Rico’s pre-eminent composer during the first half of the 20th century, and the concert of his music is held in his honor.  Of course, I couldn’t understand a word, but so what!  This is one of my favorite venues, as there’s usually space for me to get the paints going, and for this one it was 100% watercolors.  There were two separate combos and some confusion on my part on how to allocate sketch time.  Torch song (I think; I’m going here on sound and not lyrics) specialist Mirabal was featured, brought out twice (one costume change).  Ayala smoothly shouldered the remaining vocal duties, and was no slouch.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rafael_Hernández_Mar%C3%ADn

Gloria Mirabal

Luis Limardo

Luis Rodriguez

Anibal Ayala & Leo Mendez

William Vazquez

Chuito Quintero

Zoila Martinez Loeza

Marty Elkins  –  Southeast Museum  –  September 10, 2017

A poorly promoted gig – a shame – with the alternative name “Southeast Stompers featuring Marty Elkins”.   There was a theme (also promoted obscurely at best): a centennial of the women’s suffrage movement in the USA, so the musical selection focused on stuff that was popular in 1917.  This is no impediment to swinging, which the band did admirably.  Closed with  “Darktown Strutter’s Ball”.   This will not be the only picture you can find of vocalist Elkins with that hat!

http://www.martyelkins.com

Marty Elkins

Steve Ash

Roger Post

David Finck

John Pizzarelli Trio  –  Vassar College Skinner Hall  –  September 9, 2017

Pizzarelli is an artist at the top of his game, this dude has it all, even his guitar has an extra string!  Did not disappoint from the opening bars to the encore.  Waaaaay smoove, he’s got the vocals down, he’s got the ax chops, he’s got the top-shelf sidemen.  He’s got the jazz vocalist wife who was present but did not go on stage (shucks!).   Pizzarelli comes from good jazz stock, grew up in the trade, so he’s on a first-name basis with a lot of legends, and has a lot of the inside scoop.  And the patter is superb.  Favorite of the evening: Louis Armstrong performed at Billy Crystal’s bar mitzvah reception; Crystal’s aunt (or grandmother?) suggesting to Armstrong, “Have you tried clearing your throat?”

http://www.johnpizzarelli.com

John Pizzarelli

Ted Rosenthal

Mike Karn

Roopa Panesar  –  Lincoln Center Rubenstein Atrium  –  September 7, 2017

I’m starting to run out of instruments that I haven’t sketched – this is my first sitar.  I’m not sufficiently knowledgeable about Indian music to know who’s got the chops, but it’s clear that Panesar does.  And with two Indian drum masters (one from the northern tradition, one from the southern, again don’t ask me which is which).  You can tell that this stuff is a truly interactive (somewhat improvised, I’m guessing) goading conversation amongst the players, and I love the glee on their faces when they all get to the same break point together.

http://www.roopapanesar.com

Roopa Panesar

Kendra Foster  –  Lincoln Center Hearst Plaza  –  August 11, 2017

Foster was on the “little” stage, in many ways much more conducive to my work than the big-assed bandshell, including no waiting on line.  I don’t think there was any diminution of quality.  In advance, her music totally unknown to me, but I have faith (hard-earned through the years) in the Lincoln Center out-of-doors programming.  What I did know was a George Clinton connection (big plus) and a more recent (and grammy-winning!) link to D’Angelo (wary meaninglessness to me).   Foster brought the goods, and there was certainly enough of the “you and me, baby” kind of stuff that I guess is the D’Angelo-type genre, but she also dipped into the old-school well a bit and showed strong gospel-ish chops and sensibility.  Vocal assistance from Redd Middleton (do I need to say also news to me?) who was no slouch and really unleashed on his featured vocal number.

https://www.facebook.com/mzkendrafoster/

Kendra Foster

Jacob Webb

Nathan Webb

Shedrick Mitchell

Charles "Redd" Middleton

Big Sam’s Funky Nation  –  CHIRP Ballard Park, Ridgefield  –  August 8, 2017

All I knew about this band going in was basically that it was from New Orleans, led by a former Dirty Dozen Brass Band member (only a vague context for me).  So, modest expectations on my part, fearing a lack of sufficient variety to keep me engaged.  And the way it started, fervent exhortations to the audience to get up and dance, make some noise, etc. also not my best recipe for assured quality (what, your music doesn’t bring it strongly enough that audience will do these things without the exhortations?).  Wrongo!  These guys are masters of their instruments with a judicious blend of originals and covers, the latter pulled from a wide variety of pop culture sources including the Beatles.  And Sam was not the only big thing about it; the whole 4-piece sound was full & luscious.   I was like, “Yes, THAT’s how you play that instrument!”  A second horn (sax) was added for one number, but too briefly for me to get the guy.

http://www.bigsamsfunkynation.com

New policy: I will be providing a link to artist home page when it’s easily obviously available.  I’ve been reluctant to do even this (let alone go to social media), as I have no influence on quality control, and I sure ain’t gonna be going back to make sure links are not broken.

Big Sam Williams

Keenan McRae

Alfred Jordan

Jerry Henderson

The Wild Reeds  –  Madison Square Park  –  August 2, 2017

If you gave me a blindfolded listen to The Wild Reeds and asked me where they were from, I’d probably come up with southern California.  This LA band has three fronting women, all singer-songwriters, who have found a way to mesh together their creativeness into a unified sound.  They  have a minor arsenal of instruments, electric or acoustic as need be, to straddle the folk/rock/indie sensibility.

http://thewildreedsmusic.com

Sharon Silva

Kinsey Lee

Mackenzie Howe

Nick Phakpiseth

Nick Jones

Sketchcrawl #56 – New York City  –  July 29, 2017

Quite strange to me that there was complete non-overlap of sketchers on this day and from January.  So what.  I decided to just go B&W, and somehow that gravitated me into doing people more than other scenery.  So there’s 3 types: fellow sketchers at lunch, random people, and Central Park buskers.

Felix

Ellis Vonasek

Mike Johnson

Cherish the Ladies  –   CHIRP, Ballard Park Ridgefield  –   July 18, 2017

This was the fourth time I’d seen this Irish trad supergroup, who never fail to deliver the goods; I finally got around to the sketching.  Joannie Madden, the ringleader, is just about the ultimate MC, with a breezy manner of sneaking in praise for accomplishment in introducing her colleagues, and an engaging sense of humor.  Plus she’s from the Bronx.  Tunes included some original compositions, so it’s not all historical stuff.  The act also included not one but two world-class step dancers and a guest singer (O’Riordan) who’s still in college.

Joanie Madden

Mary Coogan

Mirella Murray

Kathleen Boyle

Nollaig Casey

Molly O'Riordan