’09 Lost Jazz Shrines Series

Posted on March 10, 2009 by The Independent Ear

Here’s a heads-up for the annual LOST JAZZ SHRINES Spring concert series produced by Willard Jenkins for Tribeca Performing Arts Center:

 

 

 

 

 

BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center Presents:
lost jazz shrines

Celebrating The Legendary Bradley’s With:

Ray Drummond – The Art of The Duo Part I – May 8
w/Special Guests Renee Rosnes, Barry Harris, Bill Mays + fourth duo partner TBA

 A Tribute To John Hicks w/The John Hicks Legacy Band – May 15
Elise Wood-Hicks – flutes, Craig Handy – tenor saxophone, Eddie Henderson – trumpet, Larry Willis – piano, Curtis Lundy – bass, Steve Williams – percussion
 
+ Peter Leitch – The Art of The Duo Part II – May 29
w/Special Guests George Cables, Dwayne Burno, Bobby Watson + Peter Bernstein

 

 

Ray Drummond                      Peter Leitch

 

(Spring 2009) The BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center proudly announces the 2009 Lost Jazz Shrines concert series, featuring appearances from a renowned group of internationally acclaimed jazz artists: bassist Ray Drummond, in The Art of The Duo Part I with special guests Renee Rosnes, Barry Harris, Bill Mays + fourth duo partner TBA; The John Hicks Legacy Band featuring Elise Wood-Hicks (flutes), Craig Handy (tenor saxophone), Eddie Henderson (trumpet), Larry Willis (piano), Curtis Lundy (bass) + Steve Williams (percussion), in A Tribute to John Hicks; and guitarist Peter Leitch in The Art of The Duo Part II with special guests George Cables, Dwayne Burno, Bobby Watson + Peter Bernstein.  Each concert will be preceded by a FREE Humanities event at 7:00 PM (see info below).

 


This year, the annual Lost Jazz Shrines series will celebrate the legendary Bradley’s, formerly located in Greenwich Village at

University Place

and

11th Street

.  The club was opened in 1969 by Bradley Cunningham and originally featured piano and bass duos seven nights a week.  This intimate spot was the place to hang for the jazz cognoscenti, and the destination for many jazz players after their gigs around town.  Over the years the venue became "part jazz headquarters, part jazz college, part exhibition hall.  Young musicians learned their craft playing next to masters here.  And the club’s intimacy, with its 15 tables and 20 barstools, made the performances special, as if the musicians were playing in a living room, for themselves and by themselves", said Peter Watrous in The New York Times.  If there was a jazz heaven on earth, Bradley’s was it.  Art Blakey held court there whenever he was in town until the wee hours of the morning; Carmen McRae would spontaneously appear and sing an entire set with Hank Jones; Cecil Taylor would talk shop with Tommy Flanagan at the bar (The New York Times), and it became very much the nerve center of the jazz scene at that time.     

Bradley Cunningham, a pianist himself, naturally turned Bradley’s into a pianist’s paradise.  Over the years he presented a virtual history of modern jazz piano with regular performances by the likes of John Hicks (who played there so often it became loosely known as the "House of Hicks"), Kenny Barron, Larry Willis, Jimmy Rowles, Hank Jones, Tommy Flanagan, George Cables, Chris Anderson and many many others.  The piano itself had its own story, donated to the club by saxophonist Paul Desmond (of Dave Brubeck fame).   

"Mr. Cunningham, a pianist, was known for his musical knowledge and respect for musicians. He was friendly with many well-known New York jazz pianists, such as Tommy Flanagan, Hank Jones, Joanne Brackeen and Kenny Barron, who frequently performed at Bradley’s, and often visited after finishing their sets at other clubs." – The New York Times

Cunningham passed away in November of 1988, and his wife Wendy (once a waitress at the club) carried on the day to day operations of the venue.  Under her direction Bradley’s became the stomping ground and finishing school for a new wave of young jazz stars, including Roy Hargrove, Cyrus Chestnut, Stephen Scott, Bruce Barth and others, until it was forced to close under financial strain in October of 1996.  It was a great loss to the NYC jazz community who held the venue in high esteem and thought of it as much more than just another place to play.  ”We felt that this was our territory, one of jazz’s last great spiritual places,” said the late pianist James Williams in The New York Times.    

The Lost Jazz Shrines series is dedicated to bringing legendary NYC jazz clubs back into the consciousness of the world with a thorough remembrance and celebration.  The Lost Jazz Shrines Series will encompass three concerts (Fridays, May 8, May 15 and May 29), each of them proceeded by a FREE Humanities Program with live interviews and films that showcase some of the celebrated figures associated with Bradley’s.

 

# # # #

 

 

LISTINGS INFORMATION:
Tickets are $25, $15 (students and seniors). To order tickets and for additional information click on www.tribecapac.org/music.htm or call  the box office at 212 220 1460.  The BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center is located at

199 Chambers Street, #110

SC, New York, NY 10007.  

BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center‘s 2008 Lost Jazz Shrines Concert Schedule:

Friday, May 8, 2009
7:00 PM – FREE Humanities Program: Reminiscing in Tempo pt. 1: Ray Drummond & other special guests tba recall the Bradley’s Legacy (moderated by Willard Jenkins)

8:30 PM Concert:  Ray Drummond – The Art of The Duo Part I w/Special Guests Renee Rosnes, Barry Harris, Bill Mays + fourth duo partner TBA

Friday, May 15, 2009
7:00 PM – FREE Humanities Program:  John Hicks on Film

8:30 PM Concert:  A Tribute To John Hicks w/The John Hicks Legacy Band, Elise Wood-Hicks – flutes, Craig Handy – tenor saxophone, Eddie Henderson – trumpet, Larry Willis – piano, Curtis Lundy – bass, Steve Williams – percussion

Friday, May 29, 2009
7:00 PM – FREE Humanities Program:  Reminiscing in Tempo pt. 2: Peter Leitch & other special guests TBD recall the Bradley’s Legacy (moderated by Willard Jenkins)

8:30 PM Concert:  Peter Leitch – The Art of The Duo Part II
w/Special Guests George Cables, Dwayne Burno, Bobby Watson + Peter Bernstein

 

BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center‘s annual "Lost Jazz Shrines" series is curated by Artistic Director Willard Jenkins, a jazz writer, broadcaster and consultant

 


For more information on the Lost Jazz Shrines Series please contact:
Jason Paul Harman Byrne
Red Cat Publicity
Tel 347 578 7601
Email Redcatjazz@mac.com

 

# # # #

 

To order tickets and for additional information click on www.tribecapac.org or call the box office at 212 220 1460. Located on the campus of the Borough of Manhattan Community College (a CUNY school) The BMCC Tribeca PAC is located at

199 Chambers Street, New York, NY 10007

.  

The mission of BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center is to provide a professional season of culturally diverse arts programs of high quality for the Metropolitan New York area, the residential communities of Lower Manhattan and the college community in which it is located.

BMCC Tribeca PAC maintains two theatres: a 913-seat theatre and a 262-seat theatre. The company offers an extensive 9-month long season of programming that includes jazz concerts, dance, theatre and family performances. The company also offers a year long Artist in Residence program to 8 different artists (4 choreographers and 4 theatre directors/playwrights) and presents their new, original work every Spring in the annual "Work and Show Festival".  Tribeca PAC also presents many critically acclaimed events during the season, including the Tribeca Film Festival in the Spring, The Lost Jazz Shrines Series and Jazz In Progress- The Monk In Motion series.  Please contact: Eli Abdallah, Marketing Director, Tribeca Performing Arts Center, (212) 220-1459

 

 

 

 

 
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