CASSANDRA WILSON AT BLUE NOTE JAZZ CLUB. 131, West 3rd Street, New York.
I have long wanted to see the Jazz chanteuse Cassandra Wilson in live performance, and on this date I finally did.
In a show that lasted barely one hour, Wilson and her five piece band presented a virtuoso performance that barely scratched the surface of her vast recording career. I have no complaints about the choice of songs (after all, I am almost completely ignorant about her musical career, other than to say that I have been aware of her as a much acclaimed artist for many years). And I certainly have no issues with the incredibly talented ensemble playing for her, especially the brilliant violinist whose surname I did not catch but whose first name was Charlie. But I would dearly have liked to have experienced a longer show from Ms Wilson.
Members of Ms Wilson's ensemble warm up onstage.
Photography during the show was strictly forbidden.
This was my first visit to this famed institution. The Blue Note Jazz Club. It has been located on West 3rd Street since it first opened in 1981. Wikipedia provides more information:
Blue Note Jazz Club is a jazz club and restaurant located at 131 West 3rd Street in Greenwich Village, New York City. The club was opened on September 30, 1981, by owner and founder Danny Bensusan, with the Nat Adderley Quintet being the featured performers for the night. The club’s performance schedule features shows every evening at 8:00 pm and 10:30 pm and a Sunday jazz brunch with performances at 12:30 pm and 2:30 pm.
History
Bensusan's belief was "that if he brought big acts into a comfortable environment with great food, he could pack the house night after night." The Blue Note was soon established as the city's premier jazz club, with Dizzy Gillespie, Sarah Vaughan, Carmen McRae, Canadian-born drummer David Mendel, Dan Frieber, Lionel Hampton, Oscar Peterson and The Modern Jazz Quartet among prestigious regular performers there. Bensusan booked Ray Charles for a full week every year. It is still considered one of the world’s most famous jazz venues and one of the best known and most expensive in New York.
Well, it certainly wasn't cheap. To date, this event has been the most expensive during my current visit with a total upfront cost coming in at $126.60 (approx AUD$165.60). This includes the $55 ticket, meal+two beers, tip, and state taxes. I say 'up front cost' deliberately because my bank's foreign transaction fees still need to be added to this amount. Still, I can live with all that. I'm just saying, an extra 20 to 30 minutes from Cassandra Wilson would have made for a more perfect night. But thank you, Ms Wilson, it was a real pleasure -- while it lasted.
Sorry, but I could not resist the play on words. I have
written about New York City’s famed music venue, The Bitter End on more than
one occasion on The Compleat Traveller, and I am returning to the topic again
today.
During my August 2012 visit to the venue I recorded the
Israeli singer, Bat-Or Kalo kicking off the fortnightly Bitter End All Star
Jam, along with drummer Mark Greenberg, and bassist, Tony Tino. I recorded most
of the opening set, and now, almost a year later, I have finally gotten around
to editing the footage and producing half a dozen clips of the performance.
I spoke to Bat-Or Kalo at the end of the evening to give
voice to my appreciation for her musicianship and performance, and she
immediately handed me a flyer promoting a crowd funding campaign for a new
album she was hoping to record. She just happened to be using Kickstarterto
raise money for the CD, and since I had supported other crowd funding campaigns
via Kickstarter, I promised to make a donation. A promise I honoured the next
day.
I'm delighted to say that Bat-Or Kalo's Kickstarter campaign was a great success, and that she continues to work on the album, while touring and performing across the United States.
I have not embedded all the videos here, but I have included
two of my favourite performances from the night, Bat-Or Kalo singing Blue
Chevy, and the eight minute rocker, Like It Or Not.
Blue Chevy
Recorded at The Bitter End on Sunday, August 12, 2012. Video
features Bat-Or Kalo (guitar/vocals), Mark Greenberg (drums), and Tony Tino
(bass),.
Like It Or Not
Recorded at The Bitter End on Sunday, August 12, 2012. Video
features Bat-Or Kalo (guitar/vocals), Mark Greenberg (drums), and Tony Tino (bass),.
I have written about the famous New York music venue, The Bitter End before, and somehow I think I will write about it again and again. I visited the venue on the night of Sunday, August 12, 2012 during my third visit to New York City.
The club has become a firm favourite of mine, and I know I will continue to visit on any future trips to New York.
My top Bitter End night continues to be the fortnightly Sunday night Bitter End All Star Jams. Mark Greenberg, the drummer for the house band, and co-ordinator of the night manages to pull together a great mixed gig featuring some of the best musicians you are likely to see anywhere.
While my favourite house band line up (consisting of Mark on drums, Brett Bass on bass, and Dave Fields on lead guitar and vocals) were not present - apart from Mark of course, an equally great line up consisted of Bat-Or Kalo on lead guitar/vocals, and Tony Tino on bass.
I had never heard of Bat-Or Kalo before Sunday night, but I was mightily impressed by her guitar playing skills and with the passion and enthusiasm she put into her performance. Talking with her at the end of the night, I was delighted to learn that she currently has a Kickstarter campaign underway to raise money for her second album.
I have also written about Kickstarter before, so I won't repeat myself here. Suffice to say that I have jumped onboard the project by pledging financial support, and I am confident she will reach her target and I will have the pleasure of receiving her album in the not too distant future.
As always, I took my camera along and recorded Kalo, Mark Greenberg and Tony Tino during the night. Below you can see the trio performing the song, Dear John.
This is the third in a series of videos
recorded at The Bitter End All Star Jam during August 2010. The song featured
here is the Carole King classic, You Make Me Feel (Like a Natural Woman).
To my great shame and regret, I did not
make a note of the singer’s name, although I do know she was (and may still be)
working at The Bitter End behind the bar. In between serving punters and
waiting on tables she would always do at least one song during the Jam session.
Nor do I know the name of the
African-American guitarist playing during this song. However, the other
musicians are Mark Greenberg (drums), Brett Bass (bass), and Danny Thompson
(guitar). If anyone can provide names for the singer and the second guitarist,
I would be very grateful.
The Bitter End is at 147, Bleecker Street, and remains one of my favourite New York night
spots to catch live music. You never know which rising star will make an
appearance there during the open mic nights or the Sunday and Monday night jams
that start late and finish even later. Thousands of performers (including Lady
Gaga) have graced the stage at the Bitter End, and the venue has been the go to
place for many a rising star.
This is the second in a series of videos recorded at The Bitter End All Star Jam during August 2010.
The Bitter End (at 147, Bleecker Street, New York, New York) is one of the few Greenwich Village venues that have survived from the heyday of the exciting music scene that characterized 1960s New York City. Especially among those venues that promoted folk musicians in particular.
The song featured here is the old classic Money. The singer is Don Cazio, a Bitter End regular, and a musician and singer in his own right. Mark Greenberg (drums), Brett Bass (bass), Danny Thompson (wearing the hat) and Benny Landa both swap lead breaks on electric guitars.
I have been to The Bitter End numerous times on both my visits to New York City, and each time I have been amazed by the lineup of talent that is presented there. As you might imagine, New York has musicians and singers to spare, and many of the best of these are on show at the All Star Jam.
The Bitter End All Star Jam Band performs from 10pm until late, on the second and fourth Sunday of every month).
There is also a regular Monday night jam with Richie Cannata.
The Bitter End is one of those classic Greenwich Village venues
that have been around since the 1960s. With regard to The Bitter End, the venue has been hosting
live music, comedy and other entertainments since 1961.
So many famous and infamous musicians have performed at the
Bitter End, that it would take a couple of pages just to list them all.
However, how about these for starters: Woody Allen, America, Tori Amos, Joan
Armatrading, Joan Baez, Jackson Browne, Harry Chapin, Tracy Chapman, Judy
Collins, Shawn Colvin, Chick Corea, Jim Croce, David Crosby, Billy Crystal,
Miles Davis, John Denver, Bo Diddley, Bob Dylan, Jose Feliciano, Steve Forbert,
Steve Goodman, Stephane Grappelli, Arlo Guthrie, Bill Haley, Tim Hardin, John
Hartford, Richie Havens, Gil Scott Heron, Norah Jones, Billy Joel, Kris
Kristofferson, Patti La Belle, Jay Leno, Neil Young, Lady Gaga, and many
thousands more.
I have made a point of going to The Bitter End (at 147, Bleecker Street), on both my
stays in New York City. More specifically, I have made regular visits to catch
the All Star Jam that performs from 10pm until late on the second and fourth
Sunday of each month.
I filmed the clip embedded here, during one of the Jams in
August, 2010. On drums is the shows host, Mark Greenberg, along with regular
bassist Brett Bass. Singing duties on the number filmed here are by Danny
Thompson (guitar and vocals). Unfortunately, I didn’t catch the other
guitarist’s name, although at one point Thompson seems to refer to him as
‘Benny’.
I have a number of other clips waiting to be turned into videos and as soon as I have done so, I will upload them to my YouTube pageand let you know via this blog. In the meantime, enjoy...
Tom Miller, the writer behind this site describes himself as "A transplanted Buckeye.” Tom moved to New York in 1979 and immediately fell in love with it.
“I've never stopped being a tourist, [and] never stopped finding the charm and uniqueness of this city," he says.
Tom has turned his love for New York City and his continuing search for its “…charm and uniqueness” into one of the best online collections of information about hundreds of New York’s unique buildings and architecture. What I particularly love about the site is that for the most part, instead of writing about the tallest and most famous of New York’s buildings, Tom has focussed on hundreds of smaller structures the guide books overlook. In fact, these are buildings that millions of New Yorkers and visitors walk past every day and never give a second thought to – assuming they gave a thought to them in the first place.
While the Daytonian inManhattan site design could do with a makeover, there is no question that the content is factual, well researched, and fascinating. There is enough content on this site to fill two guide books and I have suggested as much to Tom in an email. At the very least, a little reworking of the content would make an excellent eBook or two, and could even be rejigged into very handy iPhone and iPad applications.
The site would be greatly enhanced if Tom could put together some walking tours utilising his blog posts. At the very least, better label of blog entries would make searching across the site for buildings in say, Greenwich Village much easier, since this seems a bit hit and miss at the moment.
Three years ago, a narrow pine door, edged in bright blue paint and covered with some 242 signatures, resurfaced in a storage space of the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin. The door turned out to be from a popular Greenwich Village bookstore that once operated at 4 Christopher Street. The door was removed by the manager when the shop closed in 1925 and bought by the Ransom Center in 1960, after a dealer spotted an ad in the Saturday Review asking, “Want a door?”
What is so special about this door? It seems that the bookstore was a popular hangout for some of the most famous writers, artists, poets, dancers and actors of the early 1900s. Furthermore, it became somewhat of a tradition for many of these creative figures to scratch their names into the door panels. Among the 242 signatures on the door are the names of Theodore Dreiser and John Dos Passos;also there is Emily Strunsky, a childhood friend of George Gershwin. Emily is credited with giving Gershwin a copy of DuBose Heyward’s novel “Porgy,” which of course Gershwin later turned into Porgy and Bess.
There are still many signatures on the door for which little or nothing is known about the signers – and this is where you, dear reader, come in. Thanks to the Internet, you may be able to identify one or more of the signatures or signers, and thereby help to fill in the blanks with regard to many of Greenwich Village’s most famous denizens.
Note: New York Times articles are eventually only available by subscription. As of this posting, the article referred to above can still be viewed online.
Just in case anyone reading this has a spare $2.25 million lying around, this home at 110 Longfellow Road in Staten Island's, Todt Hill is up for grabs. The home was used in the movie "The Godfather."
Image: The Bitter End, 147, Bleeker Street, New York City
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Man, I love the internet!
As I write this I am sitting on the Greek island of Ikaria, watching the fortnightly Bitter End All Star Jam in New York City streaming live via my laptop. The ‘house’ band for the jam generally consists of Dave Fields on guitar, Brett Bass on bass, and the organizer/host, Mark Greenberg on drums. I say, ‘generally’, because which musicians play on any given night depends on whether they are gigging elsewhere with their own outfits or with other acts, and tonight Brett Bass is away.
Other regular performers at the jam are the irrepressible Delmar Brown on Keytar (a keyboard or synthesizer hung around the neck and shoulders like a guitar); then there’s Chuck Hancock, a great alto sax player, Lisa, one of the Bitter End’s bar staff who always sings at least one song, Don Cazio the doorman and cashier, and a score of some of the hottest talent that just wants to hang out and jam late into the New York night.
The Jam works like this. While the ‘house’ band opens with three or four numbers to get the crowd jumping, visiting musicians and singers add their names to a sheet of paper and then wait to be called up during the show for a chance to strut their stuff on stage. At this point anything could happen, and often does. Singers and musicians who have never performed together are thrown into the mix for a night of great music that is always exciting, eclectic and rocking.
I made regular visits to the Bitter End specifically to catch the All Star Jam during both my two month stay in 2008, and my recent two month visit over the summer of 2010. So for the record, here is a profile of four of the greatest musicians you are likely to see gathered together in the same place on a Sunday night in New York City.
Mark Greenberg began playing drums at age 14. In the year 2000, he formed his own band, Pimp The Cat, which performs in the same vein as The Grateful Dead, Phish, and The Allman Brothers Band with which he has toured.
Mark has also played and toured with The Dave Matthews Band, The Charlie Daniels Band, Billy Bob Thornton, Vasser Clements, and The Doobie Brothers to name just five from his musical resume. In addition he had played on albums by Ronnie Earl, Dickey Betts (of The Allman Brothers Band), Otis Grand, Apache Stone and numerous other albums.
Mark Greenberg was born in Connecticut. At age 14, while picking tobacco, (yes, tobacco) he decided to take up the drums, which he ‘took’ to like a duck takes to water and thereafter determined to make music his career. He went to Boston to study music at the world renown Berklee College of Music. While there he was recognized by The National Endowment for the Arts with three fellowship grants, some Berklee Scholarships and other awards.
Mark has shared the stage and/or recorded with artists like Dickey Betts & Great Southern (The Allman Brothers Band), The Dave Matthews Band, Roomful Of Blues, Ronnie Earl, Bob Weir & Ratdog, Jimmy McGriff, Lee Roy Parnell, Billy Bob Thorton, Moe., Tongue n' Groove (Deep Banana Blackout), Roy Hargrove, The Doobie Brothers, The Charlie Daniels Band, Larry Coryell, Joss Stone, Bill Simms, Pimp The Cat, The Dana Fuchs Band, and many others.
Watching Dave Fields squeezing note after note out of his electric guitar, you just know he was born to play that instrument.
His father was the much lauded virtuoso pianist, composer, arranger and producer, Sammy Fields. Sam Fields insisted that his son receive a thorough musical foundation before allowing him to take up the guitar by making him study the piano (starting at eight), followed later by bass guitar. He was finally allowed to move on to the guitar (his preferred instrument) when he was 14. Dave quickly became an accomplished pianist and a skillful guitarist who was playing at recording sessions by the time he was 15.
Like Mark Greenberg, Fields studied at the Berklee School of Music in Boston. His musical résumé is exhausting to read through. He has been on tour with Tommy James and the Shondells; was director for the New Voices of Freedom who performed with U2 in their movie Rattle and Hum; he has played with and producing numerous jazz and blues luminaries; and he was a staff member for Look Music and has written CDs for many music libraries. In 1996 he started Fields Music, a company that services the radio, TV, web, film and industrial markets.
There can’t be a note or a chord that Dave Fields hasn’t played a million times over. He can play blindingly fast if he wants to, but understands that the best guitar players don’t just play fast, they know how to play s-l-o-w, drawing one note out so that it fills a whole bar (both the musical measure, and the venue). He can bend a ‘G’ string beyond its snapping point and still push it places many guitarists fear to tread. It is a pleasure watching him play – and play is the operative word. He is not afraid to have fun with his instrument or have fun on stage, and obviously gets real joy out of both, and that joy and enthusiasm is conveyed clearly to the audience.
Here he is fronting his own Dave Fields Band - Live at The Cutting Room – performing Let’s Get Shakin’. That's Dave Fields on lead guitar, with Dave Hughes also on guitar, Hurricane Bob Alfano (harmonica), Rob Chaseman (sax), Andy Huenerberg (bass), and Mark Greenberg, the All Star Jam host on drums.
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Brett Bass (bass guitar)
Image: The very illusive Brett Bass captured on film at the Bitter End
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Brett Bass plays bass. Could there have been any other choice for him? Of course, there could, but it just seems so right that Brett Bass plays bass. The thing I appreciate most about Brett's playing is that it seems to be so understated. It's almost as if he isn't there, but if he was to stop playing, you just know the performance wouldn't sound the same.
Most bass players tend to keep out of the limelight and just lay down that groove that (along with the drummer), helps hold everything together – and Brett Bass is no exception to this. In fact, Brett seems to have taken keeping out of the limelight to the extreme. Of all the musicians profiled here, Bass is the one who doesn’t appear to have his own website or MySpace page, and is all but invisible online. There are a bunch of music clips available via YouTube, which include Brett somewhere in the lineup, and some references to him appearing on other artists recordings, but that is about it. I couldn’t even find a decent photograph of him online, so had to make do with a screen shot from a video recording to illustrate this introduction.
Thankfully, I did manage to find one article online dated, Tuesday, April 15, 2003. Headlined 'Ace of Bass', the article written by John Davis for the Lubbock Avalanche Journal talks about a young Lubbock*, Texas bass player who is making it big in New York City. The bass player of course is Brett Bass, and from the article we learn that Brett’s interest in the bass guitar started at about 11 years of age. In 1998, at the age of 18, Brett moved to New York City with the help of his parents, and has been living there ever since.
"I find it to be sonically satisfying," Bass said of playing bass guitar. "It takes up a lot of room, sonically. It kind of supports the whole thing. It's the bridge between the harmony and the rhythm. It moves a lot of air. You feel it in your chest and in your legs."
I would add, and in your heart and soul.
On stage, hair down to his shoulders and sporting a pork pie hat, Brett rarely says a word, but you know he is there every note of the way. When a brief smile occasionally passes between Brett and Mark Greenberg, you are aware that he is loving every minute of the performance, and that right at that moment, there is nowhere else he would rather be.
In 2001 and 2002, Brett toured through the United States, Europe and Beirut with Enrique Iglesias, and has performed with numerous musicians since. On the following clip - from the DVD "Stranger: Bernie Worrell on Earth," - Brett joins Bernie Worrell (Talking Heads) for an improvization which includes Warren Haynes (Gov’t Mule, and the Allman Brothers) on guitar and Will Calhoun on drums. The track is available on the CD, Improvisczario.
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*Lubbock, Texas, is the birthplace of rock and roll legend Buddy Holly.
Delmar Brown (the creator of the Illuminator Keytar.) has performed with some of the greatest names in jazz, including Gil Evans, Miles Davis, Quincy Jones, Jaco Pastroius and many others. He has toured with Sting, Youssou N'Dour, and Peter Gabriel to name just three top acts. When Delmar steps into the Bitter End spotlights, he eats up the stage like no-one else I have seen in a long time. He coaxes notes out of his Keytar that makes you wonder if he is just a frustrated guitarist as his fingers fly across the keys in an attempt to keep up with his vibrant personality.
Here is a rare clip of Delmar Brown recorded in 1987 at the Free Jazz Festival with the Gil Evans Band in São Paulo, Brazil. The quality of the footage may be a bit rough, but there is nothing rough about the stunning performance Delmar gives in this nine minute video.
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I don’t know if Delmar Brown can hit those high notes anymore, but I do know he has a voice that is so powerful and dynamic it could stop a runaway freight train in its tracks! And you can quote me on that. You will find numerous videos through YouTube of Delmar performing, simply by searching his name. The man deserves wider recognition in his own right, and I’m happy to help that happen.
So how much would you expect to pay to see these talented musos? Twenty dollars?Twenty-five? More, or less? The really amazing thing about the Jam is that you can see these guys for Free! That’s right. Apart from the ‘two drink minimum’ you are asked to purchase during the night, there appears to be no cost to catch the show.
I deliberately said “appears to be”, because I have never been asked to pay to watch the show. I should explain however, that I have always attended early in the evening to catch part of the weekly Singer/Songwriter Sessions that kicks off at 8.00pm. There is a $5.00 entry fee for this, and I’ve always stayed on for the Jam which follows. I’ve never been asked to pay extra for this, and neither do the Bitter End website or the All Star Jam website give an indication of an entry fee. So I am assuming entry for the ASJ is free (If this is incorrect, I would appreciate someone letting me and other readers know by posting a comment below).
If you can’t physically be in New York to catch the show, you can always tap into the live stream and watch it from the comfort of your own home. To do that you will need to first work out the time difference between New York City and your home location, and the best way of doing this is the world clock feature on the Time and Date website.
So there you have it. My ultimate Bitter End All Star Jam lineup. You will see at least two of these four amazing musicians at each fortnightly gig, although you are more likely to see three of them – if not all four. If you are in New York City on the second and/or fourth Sunday of every month, do yourself a favor and head down to Greenwich Village and visit the Bitter End at 147, Bleeker Street, for a great night of live music. I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.
