THE MUSICAL HISTORY OF NEW YORK CITY

 

So many great New York City musical moments: Sinatra, the Beatles, Marian Anderson, the Ronettes and the Ramones, Billy Joel, Billie Holiday and Duke Ellington…and that’s just scratching the surface.

From the time I was three or four years old, thanks to my mother, I was listening to the radio. First it was what we now call the American Songbook, then it was Doo Wop, the Girl Groups, Rock, Jazz, and Classical. And then there were/are the venues….the Village Vanguard, Carnegie Hall, the Apollo, Central Park, 55 Bar and on and on.

I, like so many of us, live for good music…and I’m also very interested in the history of music, particularly in New York City.

So join me at Facebook by CLICKING HERE: Share your favorite New York music stories with a photo. (No YouTube videos, please, I’d like this to be a story and photos page.) If you want to personalize a story, go ahead. Everyone loves a universal story…it may be your story, your parents, your grandparents, a friend or an old family acquaintance.

A few rules…please don’t use this sight to promote a product or your career…no politics….no musical downloads such as YouTube videos…no more than two posts a day…please do not repeat what someone else has already posted…and remember…this should be specific to New York City.

VERA MAURA’S PHOTOS: “CLASSICALLY EXPOSED: CARNEGIE HALL to THE CELL”

Vera Maura’s photos, “Classically Exposed: Carnegie Hall to The Cell.”  A Charles R Hale Productions/Musica Solis presentation. 

Michael Katz and Luke Fleming

 

Michael Katz and Seunghee Lee

 

JP Jofre and Michael Katz

 

Emily Daggett Smith

Brendan Speltz

Pablo Cafici, Emily Daggett Smith, Brendan Speltz, JP Jofre, Michael Katz, Luke Fleming and Seunghee Lee

 

Emily Daggett Smith, Brendan Speltz, Seunghee Lee, Michael Katz and Luke Fleming

NICOLE ZURAITIS: “GENERATIONS OF HER: WOMEN SONGWRITERS”

Nicole Zuraitis and her quartet…                                                                                                                                                            . 

Including Ingbar Paz, Hugh Stuckey, Colleen Clark, and Jordan Pettay, with special guest Dan Pugach, during a brilliant presentation of Nicole’s show, “Generations of Her: Women Songwriters and Lyricists of the Past 100 Years.”

Photos by Mitch Traphagen.

Nicole Zuraitis 

Collen Clark

                                                              Inbar Paz

Hugh Stuckey

Jordan Pettay 

Dan Pugach

Nicole Zuraitis Quartet performing live at the cell theatre, New York City, August 14, 2018. A Charles R. Hale Production

Nicole Zuraitis Quartet performing live at the cell theatre, New York City, August 14, 2018. A Charles R. Hale Production

                                                        The Cell Theatre

Hugh Stuckey, Nicole Zuraitis, Jordan Pettay, Charles R. Hale and Ingbar Paz and Colleen Clark. 

LUBA MASON: TRIANGLE–MAGICAL PERFORMANCE at THE CELL

“What a fantastic evening. Many thanks to Charles for wrapping up the season with this performance. Luba was terrific as was her accompaniment by both on the bass Luques Curtis/and vibraphone Felipe Fournier. Luba has a range in both her voice and music that made this an incredible evening.” Vince Nauheimer

“I had the incredible good fortune of seeing Luba Mason and her remarkable band perform twice on Thursday — once at Lehman College, thanks to Professor Joseph McElligott  and then later at the cell theatre in Manhattan thanks to Charles R. Hale and Charles R. Hale Productions. I can honestly still hear her voice. Stunning is too small of a word.” Mitch Traphagen

“Spectacular show this evening. Thank you Charles R. Hale Productions for bringing Luba Mason to the stage and to the attention of those who have not heard her live or in such an intimate setting with her trio. She is a true talent, with a singularly unique style of singing – heartclutching nuance and an extraordinary vocal range. Looking forward to hearing more from Luba and her wonderful trio!” Vera Hoar

“The “Luba Mason: Triangle,” including Luba, Felipe Fournier/vibes and Luques Curtis/bass proved to be a tightly knit trio whose fabulous music was enhanced by Luba’s witty, tender storytelling, perfectly reflecting the title of the series, “New Yorkers: Together in Story and Song.'” Charles R. Hale

Photos by Mitch Traphagen

Luba Mason, Luques Curtis /bass, Felipe Fournier/vibes

Luba Mason

Luba Mason and Luques Curtis

Luba Mason and Felipe Fournier

Luba Mason

Luques Curtis

Felipe Fournier 

Charles R. Hale, Luba Mason, Luques Curtis and Felipe Fournier.

 

MIHO HAZAMA and M_UNIT: PHOTOS by MITCH TRAPHAGEN

Comments after Miho Hazama and M_Unit’s performance at The Cell, Thursday, November 9. All photos by Mitch Traphagen:

“A performance worthy of Carnegie Hall (and almost as full a house). A wonderful musical evening…jazz meets chamber music” Jo Migdal

“Great music! Glad that I witnessed the night!” Shu Nakamura

“A truly great show! Fresh, vibrant, sweet, shadowy. Good work, Charlie…thanks for producing another home run.” Gary Ryan

“What a fine, memorable evening of new music at The Cell tonight. Thank you, Miho and the m_unit, for your awe-inspiring artistry and vitality and for championing creativity and musical possibility. Also, special thanks and gratitude to Charles R. Hale for his curatorial brilliance!” Vera Hoar

“Nothing like having a front row seat for a fabulous live performance. Congratulations to Miho Hazama and the M_ Unit. I had the feeling that the audience were all guests at Charles’s personal concert.” Tom Myles

“Great job of creating and implementing this project, Charles! Each performance was fantastic and added to the musical knowledge of every member of each audience. Thank you.” Vinnie Nauheimer

 

Miho Hazama

Andy Gravish

Miho Hazama

Tomo Akaboshi

“Blue Forest”

John Lowery

Meaghan Burke

Charles R. Hale and “M_Unit”

Andrew Gutauskas

Dave Pietro

Brilliant Performance!

 

NEW YORKERS TOGETHER in STORY and SONG: NIAMH HYLAND and BAND RAISE the ROOF at THE CELL

The first Charles R. Hale Productions performance of six shows for the 2017 Spring / Summer season “New Yorkers: Together in Story and Song” was an unqualified success with a sold-out house and an emotional, impassioned performance by Niamh Hyland and her band, featuring Ado Coker, Ron Negro, Traci Robinson-Greene, Danny Weller, Sybil Scoby and Shu Nakamura.

A glimpse of a remarkable, memorable evening at the cell. Photos by Mitch Traphagen

Niamh Hyland

Nick Garr welcomes the audience and introduces the band.

Niamh Hyland

Shu Nakamura

Shu Nakamura

Ron Negro

Ron Negro

Ado Coker

Ado Coker

Danny Weller

Danny Weller and Niamh Hyland

Traci Robinson-Greene and Sybil Scoby

Traci Robinson-Greene and Sybil Scoby

Niamh Hyland

Niamh Hyland

Closing the show on an amazing up note.

The performers at Niamh Hyland’s show at The Cell. From left: Ado Coker, Ron Negro, Traci Robinson-Greene, Danny Weller, Niamh, Sybil Scoby and Shu Nakamura.