Category Archives: Artist Series
CHARLES R. HALE in “JAZZ IN THE CITY” AT LEHMAN COLLEGE
Charles R. Hale | David Raleigh
Join David Raleigh and me at Lehman College this Thursday, November 29th, 12:30pm, for our 26th presentation of Jazz in the City: The New York Connection, a show that has been performed at The Cell, The Triad, The Duplex Cabaret and Piano Bar, The American Irish Historical Societyand Lehman College.
Jazz and the City features the stories and songs of the artists and composers who for the past 375 years have paid homage to city they call home. Many of their songs were popularized in New York’s venues such as the Village Vanguard where Miles, Mingus and Monk performed and venues that are long gone and Cafe Society where Billy Holiday debuted “Strange Fruit.” And then there are the stories and songs that I associate with New York through ancestral, familial and personal recollections.
And how fortunate am I to be performing with four incredible musicians, David, Tony Carfora, Danny Weller and Daniel Glass.
ANNETTE HOMANN: BACK IN THE APPLE
Annette Homann
The fifth in Charles R. Hale Productions’ series entitled “New Yorkers: Together in Story and Song” will feature German-born violinist Annette Homann and will take place on Wednesday, Aug. 23 beginning at 7:30 p.m., at the cell theatre, 338 W. 23rd St., Manhattan. Homann, who is traveling from Berlin where she relocated to in 2016, will be joined by Hale’s co-founder of Artists Without Wall, County Leitrim native Niamh Hyland on vocals, Alexander A. Wu on piano, Shu Nakamura on guitar and Danny Weller on bass.
“These talented musicians will be crossing musical genres, presenting jazz, rock, classical, tango, Latin music and more,” Hale said.
For tickets go to annettehomann.brownpapertickets.com
AWoW members and supporters can type in “awow” for a discount.
Click here for the event link.
Annette Homann and company at the cell
PIANO VIRTUSO HARRIET STUBBS at THE CELL by VINCENT NAUHEIMER
The following was written by Vincent Nauheimer:
In an ongoing effort to present multicultural artistry and international talent, Charles R. Hale Productions’ “New Yorkers: Together in Story and Song” featured English pianist Harriet Stubbs at the Cell Theatre last Thursday. This was the third show of a six performance series.
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Ms. Stubbs, who was recognized as a child prodigy, has a well-deserved reputation and a lengthy repertoire of both individual and collaborative works. Her solo performance at the Cell Theatre last Thursday was at once riveting, nuanced and fresh, as she soared through four warhorses of the piano repertoire.
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Ms Stubbs opened the recital with the Bach-Busoni, Chaccone in D Minor. The Chaccone is regarded as one of Johann Sebastian Bach’s violin masterpieces; Busoni’s piano transcription has long been recognized as a splendid interpretation of Bach’s work. Ms. Stubbs played this dramatic piece with the insight it deserves, delighting the audience with her musicality and talent, accentuated by her intensity and expressiveness.
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Ms. Stubbs followed the Chaccone with Alexander Scriabin’s Sonata No. 2, Op 19, one of Scriabin’s most popular works. Scriabin’s sonatas are known as technically difficult works and Ms Stubbs was up to the task, bringing her vast technical skills to the piece, while capturing the very distinctive “voice” of Scriabin’s music.
Ms Stubbs final work of the first section of the program was Frederic Chopin’s Scherzo No. 2, which composer Robert Schumann compared to a Byronic poem, “so overflowing with tenderness, boldness, love and contempt.” Ms. Stubbs successfully articulated the full range of Byron’s emotions.
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After a short intermission, Ms Stubbs performed the Dante Sonata/Fantasia Quasi Sonata by Franz Liszt. During the piece, commonly believed to be based on Dante’s Inferno, Ms. Stubbs took the audience on a musical journey, deftly navigating the works emotional highs and lows, which served to highlight her prolific talent. The rousing work induced a well deserved standing ovation from the audience.
Photos by Tom Myles and Mitch Traphagen
