Night After Night

WNYC: Weekend Arts Planner, July 22, 2023.

John-Andrew Morrison (L) and Allen Gilmore (R) in "Malvolio," staged by Classical Theatre of Harlem at Marcus Garvey Park. (Photograph courtesy Classical Theatre of Harlem)

The latest Weekend Arts Planner segment for WNYC, which aired on Weekend Edition on Saturday, July 22, covered a series of Shakespeare-related plays happening in New York City parks – including Betty Shamieh's ingenious Malvolio, which closes this coming Sunday – plus the latest and last Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra season, and a couple of big concerts featuring Kool & the Gang and DJ Rekha in Flushing Meadows Corona Park.

Listen above, and read more here.

7 Picks a Week, Nov. 4, 2022.

David Lynch (Photograph: Josh Telles)

On Friday, Nov. 4, we rebooted the web post previously called Weekend Arts Planner. We moved it up to Friday, in hopes that it could serve to actually help folks plan their weekends and not just the days beyond. And we opened it up to more voices and perspectives from throughout the WNYC newssoom, as well as friends from WQXR and All of It.

I'm very happy with the overall mix. The following are my own contributions…

Get creeped out by David Lynch’s visual art

If you’re a fan of the idiosyncratic filmmaker David Lynch, then you’ve got a strong idea of what to anticipate in “Big Bongo Night,” his first exhibition since signing with Pace Gallery. The show includes mixed-media sculptures, paintings, and a work on paper, all infused with the same qualities of creeping dread and disorientation that saturate his cinematic oeuvre. Pace Gallery, through Dec. 17; pacegallery.com (Steve Smith)

Hear elemental sounds from a band featuring two MacArthur geniuses

Jazz pianist, composer, and bandleader Myra Melford has been assembling impressive bands for decades now — but her newest ensemble is a head-turner all the same. The group, called Fire and Water, features two recent recipients of the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship (a.k.a. “Genius Grant”), guitarist Mary Halvorson and cellist Tomeka Reid. Saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock and drummer Lesley Mok complete the lineup when the band comes to Roulette in Brooklyn to celebrate its debut CD, “For the Love of Fire and Water.” Roulette, Monday, Nov. 7 at 8 p.m.; roulette.org (Steve Smith)

Check out the first-ever solo museum show by Theaster Gates

It’s hard to believe that “Young Lords and Their Traces” is the first-ever solo museum survey devoted to the art of Theaster Gates, so widespread and pervasive are the Chicago artist’s work and influence. Active in the fields of sculpture, installation art and collaborative performance, Gates elevates the thinkers who shaped society, in his hometown and in the U.S., through paintings, sculptures, videos, and performances. New Museum, Thursday, Nov. 10–Feb. 5, 2023; newmuseum.org (Steve Smith)

Weekend Arts Planner (not), Oct. 29, 2022.

Mali Obomsawin (Photograph courtesy Jazz Gallery)

Weekend Arts Planner took a break during the last weekend of October, chiefly due to on-air scheduling issues. But these are the items I prepared for the occasion, as they appeared in the Gothamist article "11 fun things to do in NYC that have nothing to do with trick-or-treating" – and as I write this on Tuesday morning, only one of these things (the David Geffen Hall open house) is over and done.

Watch acrobats rappel down the face of David Geffen Hall

This weekend, Lincoln Center welcomes visitors for a two-day open house boasting a dizzying array of artistic talent. Musical acts include Brian Stokes Mitchell, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Justin Vivian Bond, Grand Wizzard Theodore, the Juilliard Symphony Orchestra, and dozens more – even Kermit the Frog, appearing with Canada’s participatory Choir!Choir!Choir! Hands-on workshops include a puppetry session with Basil Twist, and the aerial company Bandaloop will dance across the facade of David Geffen Hall. Best of all: it’s free! It happens on Saturday, Oct. 29 and Sunday, Oct. 30, starting at 10 a.m. both days. You can learn more and see the lineup here.

Discover the artist behind one of the world’s most famous works

Even if you don’t recognize the name Meret Oppenheim, you're probably familiar with the Swiss artist’s best-known work: “Object,” a modest cup, saucer, and teaspoon wrapped in gazelle fur, resulting in a Surrealist icon. Beyond her signature work, she was one of the most accomplished artists working in Surrealism, a style dominated by brash men, and “Meret Oppenheim: My Exhibition,” a thorough new career retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art, showcases her range with a collection of nearly 200 objects. It’s on through March 4 and you can learn more here.

Listen to a rising jazz star

“Sweet Tooth,” released today by bassist, composer, and bandleader Mali Obomsawin, isn’t your typical debut by a promising jazz up-and-comer. Her album is filled with catchy tunes, rich harmonies, and vibrant improvisations, played by a band in which women musicians are uncommonly well-represented. But Obomsawin, a member of the New England-based Wabanaki Confederation, weaves elements of legend, lore, and contemporary issues into the half-dozen tracks of her album, which she’ll celebrate with a record-release concert at the Jazz Gallery on Wednesday, Nov. 2. Shows are at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. and tickets start at $20. Learn more at the Jazz Gallery.

Weekend Arts Planner, Oct. 22, 2022.

Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla (Photograph: Ben Ealovega)

The latest episode of Weekend Arts Planner, my weekly chat with Weekend Edition host David Furst that airs every Saturday morning on WNYC, covers noteworthy doings presented by the Whitney Museum of American Art and Carnegie Hall.

Have a listen, or just read the text and follow the links, here.

NPR: "Nanci Griffith Has Died. The Texas Singer-Songwriter Was 68"

"Nanci Griffith Has Died. The Texas Singer-Songwriter Was 68"
NPR
August 13, 2021

NPR: "The Best Music of July: NPR Staff Picks"

"The Best Music of July: NPR Staff Picks"
NPR Music
August 3, 2021

William Parker: "Tabasco" from Mayan Space Station

The veteran bassist, composer and community organizer William Parker is having an incredible year, with a 10-CD box set and an authorized biography already under his belt. He put out two more new albums in July, and one of them, Mayan Space Station, feels exactly right for the long, hot days and nights of summer. Parker and drummer Gerald Cleaver play just behind the beat, rubbing some funky grit into their hypnotic grooves. And Ava Mendoza's electric guitar sings and soars in a way that might remind you of the late, great Sonny Sharrock.—Steve Smith

(This was my first vocal contribution for NPR… and just my second NPR vocal appearance ever, following my cameo in a Pauline Oliveros obituary reported by Lakshmi Singh in November 2016.)

NPR: "NPR Music's 27 Favorite Songs Of 2021 (So Far)"

"NPR Music's 27 Favorite Songs Of 2021 (So Far)"
NPR Music
June 30, 2021

Ryley Walker, "Rang Dizzy"

Two years after kicking addiction to the curb, singer, songwriter and guitarist Ryley Walker has achieved fever-pitch productivity, documenting pellucid songs, psychedelic jams and freewheeling improvisations on his Husky Pants label. Course in Fable, issued in April, weds his customarily airy tunesmithing with gently abstruse lyrics and prog-infused arrangements. "Rang Dizzy" is lush and brusque, a waking dream with implicit edge: When Walker ends each chorus with, "F*** me, I'm alive," his wonder feels weighty.—Steve Smith

NPR: "Springsteen, Foo Fighters, Strokes Rock Vaccinated New Yorkers In June"

"Springsteen, Foo Fighters, Strokes Rock Vaccinated New Yorkers In June"
NPR
June 8, 2021

Goings On About Town, September 7, 2020.

The Goings On About Town section in The New Yorker remains suspended indefinitely in its conventional format, replaced with a mix of album reviews and listings for events taking place online—some live, others pre-recorded. (Click on the image to enlarge it, or hit the link to read the text on the New Yorker website.)

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Neil Peart (Sept. 12, 1952-Jan. 7, 2020).

Various authoritative sources are reporting the death of Rush drummer and lyricist Neil Peart, who died on January 7 in Santa Monica after a closely guarded three-and-a half year battle with glioblastoma. Being an American drummer of a certain age, I can't overstate the impact Peart's spectacular virtuosity and precision had on me and my friends, including one especially dear friend and fellow drummer I lost to cancer just last fall. His lyrical prowess, too, opened many doors for those of us who took Rush to heart. (You didn't have to become an Ayn Rand follower to appreciate Peart's ambition.)

Along the road to fame, Peart endured more than any one man's share of tragedy, persevered, and returned for an extended victory lap. I wish that I'd seen Rush more than the one time I did – August 18, 2004, at Radio City Music Hall, during the band's R30 thirtieth anniversary tour. During my stint at the Boston Globe I assigned myself to review the band's final tour, R40, but then gave away the assignment in order to pursue unrelated activities connected to a book proposal that went nowhere. That decision has felt profoundly misjudged for a few years now, and acutely so today—though I understand and accept that that's me feeling sorry for me.

I'm grateful to Neil Peart for the generosity with which he shared his gifts, and the courage with which he faced the obstacles that arose in his path—his grace under pressure, let's say. I'm glad to learn that he has transcended his final cruel trial, and I plan to celebrate his memory by enjoying what he left behind… two succinct examples being the video above, the point at which Rush first captured the imagination of a then 12-year-old, and the video below, a crowd-sourced multi-camera selection from the one time I saw Rush live.

Roll on, Ghost Rider.