Went to see King Crimson with my old friend Joe in late September. they have a pretty strictly enforce policy of no photos till they’re done, at which point they start photographing each other and the audience, meaning no great photos of the band playing. And with the lights beaming into the audience at this point there’s massive flare to try and control…
Had great fun (and not a little work) this weekend hosting a Pop-up Gallery show of my photographs and my mother’s paintings at Contra Studios in Chelsea. the pivot of the show was a set of 4 images you can see if you look quickly in the video (around the 20-second mark): a snowy photo of mine and my mother’s painting of it and a painting my mother did of some marsh grass in New Jersey and a photograph I took without knowing about hers, which nevertheless has a striking resemblance.
Also in attendance was a large group of my former classmates from PS 198’s class of 1968. I brought our middle school yearbooks, our class photo and set up a screen running a continuous loop of images I shot for the yearbooks back then, our 50th reunion get-together and some random shots around New York in those days. Most of the pictures here are of these friends and were shot by Peter Calvert, a professional artist and/or his wife Suzanne who is a stained glass artist – many thanks Peter and Suzanne!
I also set up an iMac to run loops of slide shows of my street photography set to music which you can see very briefly right at the end of the video (and hear in the background).
Also appearing, a surprise visit from my workshop friend Markus John from Alex Webb and Rebecca Norris Webb‘s Finding Your Vision workshop last Spring, in NY on a brief trip from Germany.
(Click any picture to see them all enlarged and a few captions.)
I’d also like to thank numerous other friends who stopped by: Frank Burrows, Joe Silver, Gary Shoemaker and Kathleen Chan, Laura Tietjen and Steve Moore, Wayne Parsons and others and my mothers friends from her painting class, her quilting group and her neighbors who were very gracious in their appraisal of the show.
Went to see Wayne Krantz and Oz Noy (with Dennis Chambers on drums and Kevin Scott on bass, playing as The Sellouts) with my friend Joe Silver last month. We were sitting right in front of Wayne and I could twist around to get a couple of shots of the others. Great set, if a little dissonant for my taste.
Click any image to see them all enlarged.
How we enjoy concerts these days…
Went to see Tal Wilkenfeld at the Mercury Lounge last week. She’s a phenomenal bass (and guitar) player from Australia who burst upon the scene about a decade and a half ago. Known for a while for her playing with Jeff Beck she has developed her own voice and style, singing lyrically, and playing jazz-inflected kick-ass rock’n’roll.
A somewhat stilted performance
Went to see Thomas Dolby at the Cutting Room a month ago with Frank Burrows. As Frank described it, “it wasn’t a a straight out concert, but a solo show with Dolby deconstructing some of his best-known songs. He told the story behind their creation while breaking down the structure- beats, chords, keyboard parts, and synth sounds, looping and layering them until he recreated the entire song which he then performed. He was very engaging, recounting a lot of personal and show-biz anecdotes in a very funny and self deprecating way.”
The show was opened by Dolby’s father in law, Jess Beller, 93-years young on piano, playing jazz standards with panache. Turns out he grew up in the Bronx, one block from where Frank did in Highbridge!
Click any image to see them all enlarged.
A little over a week ago I saw the wonderful singer/songwriter, Kati Katsaros and her band perform as ShadowGirl at the Bitter End in Greenwich Village. (Full disclosure, I know her mother and the guitarist, Frank Burrows).
Last Sunday night I got to see the great jazz guitarist, Pat Martino at Iridium. Maybe because it was the last show on a Sunday night the house was pretty sparse. We got to sit right up front. It was a great set. The only time Pat spoke was to introduce the band members right before the last number. Unfortunately, I didn’t remember their names and I can’t find any trace of this particular lineup online anywhere so they’ll have to remain nameless. I didn’t get any decent shots of the organist so he’ll have to go unmemorialized here.
Click any image to see them all enlarged.
Went to see John McLaughlin and the 4th Dimension on a double bill with Jimmy Herring and The Invisible Whip in Newark a couple of weeks ago. First set was Jimmy Herring’s band which I’m not that familiar with but they played a cracking set. Next, out came John McLaughlin and the 4th Dimension who played brilliantly. Then both bands did a set of classic Mahavishnu Orchestra numbers which was fantastic. Loved every minute of it. Finally got around to pulling together these snaps I took.
Last month I went to see the Women’s Resistance Revival Chorus, that grew out of January’s Women’s March, at City Winery with family and good friends and have finally gotten around to working on a few snaps from the evening. You can read all about it here. And you can see the images full-sized by clicking on any one of them.
Went to Coltrane Day at Hecksher Park in Huntington a couple of weeks ago, a benefit to help turn the Coltrane House in Dix Hills into a public museum. Saw my friend Premik play and bass great, Matthew Garrison. Finally got around to moving these photos. Click any image to see them all enlarged.
Youssou N’Dour put on a typically fantastic dance party. People were out of their seats and dancing in the aisles by the 2nd song and we were fortunate to have excellent seats.
A couple of shots from the incomparable Elise Morris’ show at The Bitter End Tuesday night.
