(January 9-10)
I know, I know. We've fallen quite behind with our posts. What can we say. . . we've been cooped up at home since the new year. One of the rare times we've been out was at the 2010 NYC Winter Jazz Fest, a two-day smorgasboard of upcoming and established jazz musicians playing at five venues in the Village (Le Poisson Rouge, Bitter End, Sullivan Hall, Zinc Bar and Kenny's Castaways). This was a really great deal; for $30 bucks, you get see a wide variety of bands. Don't like what you see? Move on to the next spot.
On our first night, we did hit a snag with our plan to go venue-hoppin.' We had quite a late start, I think around 7 or 8pm. We assumed that having bought our tickets online, it would be a breeze entering the venues. We found out that we had to "check in," get id'd and have our special wristbands at Le Poisson Rouge, before we could get into any of the places.
Only Poisson, Kenny's and Zinc were open that Friday. We weren't feelin the first two joints, and it seemed that everybody just went to Zinc Bar. Now Zinc Bar was really quite small, and it was reaally cold that night. We decided to pop by a bar around the corner for some drinks, and wait for the next band coming on at 9pm.
DJKung's really happy to be out! Kenny's wasn't that crowded, though. Everybody seemed to be at Zinc Bar.
Afterwards, we trooped back to Zinc and still had to wait a bit in line. The 9pm act was the Jaleel Shaw Quartet. They had a mellow and trippy set.
That Saturday went so much better, with all the five venues open. We went to get our entry badges at Le Poisson and were able to check out the first act at 6pm, Carmen Cansoli. Cansoli hails from Italy and was playing out soulful Sicilian songs.
We then went across the street to Bitter End and saw Baptise Trotington. Trotington is a French pianist who was accompanied by a drummer and bassist. The piano was meditative and delicate, it was easy to get lost in it. The drummer was really skilllful too, super-tight and very inventive.
Afterwards was Amanda Monaco's Deathblow. This one we did not feel too much.
ZInc Bar had Ibrahim Maalouf, from Lebanon performing. It was supposed to be a quintet, I belive, but only the main guy was given visas to travel here. The crowd was very sympathetic. Maalouf gamely performed a haunting, layered piece using a samples that he made live with his trumpet. It sounded a lot like morning prayers that you hear in Istanbul, with a lot of ululating patterns.
I was dead set on making it to Sullivan Hall for the 9pm show, so we made it there extra-early to avoid the last-minute rush as the other venues exhaled their crowds (the shows were staggered roughly on the hour or half-hour). We saw Sachal Vasandani, a Frank Sinatra-style vocalist.
The 9pm show was Dr. Lonnie Smith. The vibe was really electric for this one, and he did not disappoint. Him and his vibes just brought the house down.
We are looking forward to the next jazz fest!
Afterwards, we trooped back to Zinc and still had to wait a bit in line. The 9pm act was the Jaleel Shaw Quartet. They had a mellow and trippy set.
Ya, this was the only shot I could take, the place was so crowded. How is it that I feel shorter than average everytime I go to any live shows?
That Saturday went so much better, with all the five venues open. We went to get our entry badges at Le Poisson and were able to check out the first act at 6pm, Carmen Cansoli. Cansoli hails from Italy and was playing out soulful Sicilian songs.
We then went across the street to Bitter End and saw Baptise Trotington. Trotington is a French pianist who was accompanied by a drummer and bassist. The piano was meditative and delicate, it was easy to get lost in it. The drummer was really skilllful too, super-tight and very inventive.
Trotington and his drummer had very good chemistry together.
The Bitter End had a very nice layout out of all the five venues. You get a very good view of the stage pretty much anywhere you sit.
Afterwards was Amanda Monaco's Deathblow. This one we did not feel too much.
ZInc Bar had Ibrahim Maalouf, from Lebanon performing. It was supposed to be a quintet, I belive, but only the main guy was given visas to travel here. The crowd was very sympathetic. Maalouf gamely performed a haunting, layered piece using a samples that he made live with his trumpet. It sounded a lot like morning prayers that you hear in Istanbul, with a lot of ululating patterns.
I was dead set on making it to Sullivan Hall for the 9pm show, so we made it there extra-early to avoid the last-minute rush as the other venues exhaled their crowds (the shows were staggered roughly on the hour or half-hour). We saw Sachal Vasandani, a Frank Sinatra-style vocalist.
The 9pm show was Dr. Lonnie Smith. The vibe was really electric for this one, and he did not disappoint. Him and his vibes just brought the house down.
See, even though we arrived an hour early, this was the best vantage point that we could get.
Dr. Lonnie Smith!!!
We are looking forward to the next jazz fest!
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