BLENDING ART AND MUSIC: KATHLEEN BENNETT BASTIS’ “ONE NIGHT STAND”

Two years ago, Kathleen Bennet Bastis’ mixed-media art exhibit was shown at the First Street Gallery. One night featured an event that melded Kathleen’s art with performance art. The night was enormously entertaining and a great success. Click here to read what poet and author Connie Roberts had to say about the evening.

In conjunction with Artists Without Walls, Kathleen will be doing another event on Saturday, May 6, 6:00pm to 10:00pm, called “One Night Stand.” The evening will feature Kathleen’s work and three great jazz musicians, Thana AlexaJosh Cohen and Nicole Zuraitis

Mark your calendar for what is sure to be a special evening. First Street Gallery is located at 526 W 26th St #209, in Manhattan.

JAZZ ARTISTS SHARP RADWAY and ANTOINETTE MONTAGUE at HOFSTRA, TUESDAY, 2/18 2:15PM

Sharp Radway
Sharp Radway

 Two outstanding jazz artists, pianist Sharp Radway and vocalist Antoinette Montague, both well known on the New York jazz scene, will be performing on Long Island at the “Artists Without Walls’ Showcase at Hofstra University,” tomorrow, Tuesday, Feb. 18 at 2:15pm in the Helene Fortunoff Theater located in Monroe Lecture Hall.  It’s a free event, thanks to a generous grant from the Hofstra Cultural Center and the great support of the Irish Studies program. 

 

Sharp Radway is composer/arranger/author and self-taught pianist whose roots can be found in the church. As a jazz pianist he has played throughout the country and abroad.  Among the recording artists whom he has worked and/or recorded with are  Bucky Pizzarelli, Yusef Lateef, Benny Golson, Peewee Ellis, Diane Schuur, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, to name a few.  In addition to playing the piano he is also a prolific composer, arranger and the author of the book Musicianship 101 (What They Don’t Tell You In School).

 

 

Antoinette Montague
Antoinette Montague

Jazz singer Antoinette Montague has a love of humanity and music that brings joy to people. Born and raised in Newark, Antoinette Montague was drawn to the music by her mother–“She was always singing and sounded like Ella Fitzgerald”–and listening to Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington. Antoinette has played most of the major jazz clubs in New York, including Lincoln Center’s Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola, the Lenox Lounge and the Blue Note. 

 

Hope you can make it to Hofstra. It’s going to be a great show.  And there’s no charge for admission!

 

 

 

 

ANTOINETTE MONTAGUE and TARA O'GRADY "ON THE TOWN"

th-3Interested in hearing some great music today?  Join Antoinette Montague  and the  PJS Jazz Society at the First Presbyterian Church East Lincoln & North Columbus Avenue, Mt. Vernon, NY 10553-1196.  With Antoinette will a be an all star line-up including, Bobby Sanabria, Danny Mixon, Solomon Hicks and more! 

 

 The “Young Musicians” opening act begins at 5:15-6:00pm. The doors open at 5:15 and the show will run into 9:00pm.

 

TICKET COST: PJS Members $14 Non-members $22 Concerts are held in a cabaret setting – Free Wine, Coffee & Tea available – Bring your own food & snacks or buy our famous hot dogs, snacks and sodas.

 

Additional Parking is available at the Holmes School (next to the First Presbyterian Church on Columbus Avenue) For more information call JOHN @ 914-667-0823 or check out their  website www.pjsjazz.org

 

Antoinette asks “Can you please support the next generation of jazz artists! They’re absolutely incredible.”

 

1390497_10201072710432777_467059290_nAnd on Tuesday night, January 14th from 6-9pm, Tara O’Grady will be performing with her jazz trio at the Refinery Hotel in Winnie’s Lounge located at 63 W. 38th Street.

AWoW presents MARY McPARTLAN and BERTHA HOPE at NYC's ZirZamin, FRIDAY, MAY 24th

 

Mary McPartlan
Mary McPartlan

A special and unique collaboration has begun  between the Irish Folk singer Mary McPartlan (who is in New York on a Fulbright Scholarship) and Jazz pianist Bertha Hope, one of the great exponents of the jazz idiom. Mary and Bertha, who both embrace AWoW’s multicultural approach to the arts, met when they each performed at an AWoW Showcase earlier in the year. The two women quickly hit it off and embarked on a new collaborative effort, which combines Mary’s Irish folk style and Bertha’s jazz piano.

 

Mary McPartlan has a high profile in Ireland as a  tradional and contemporary folk singer with extensive rave reviews for two recent award winning albums The Holland Handkerchief and Petticoat Loose.  Mary recently recorded a song with a poem from the now President of Ireland Michael D Higgins dedicated to the Chilean poet Victor Yara.  Mary McPartlan Website

 

Bertha Hope
Bertha Hope

Bertha Hope has led an all american women’s ensemble JASSBERRY JAM for 15 years and is prominent on the jazz scene in the tri-state area. Bertha Hope Website

 

The collaboration and the making of this exciting piece of art will take place at ZirZamin, 90 West Houston, Friday, May 24 2013, 8pm. The doors will open at 7.30pm promptly and early arrival is clearly recommended. Click here for further details.

SPECIAL EDITION "SPOTLIGHT ON" ANTOINETTE MONTAGUE

Antoinette Montague
Antoinette Montague

Who is Antoinette Montague?

 

Antoinette is a New York jazz and blues entertainer. “I’m an artist who loves witnessing and trying to go ‘beyond category,’ a person still learning to enjoy the trip and I’m grateful to have the opportunity to sing.

 

What are you working on at the moment? 

 

“World Peace in the Key of Jazz.”  Its’ a movement I’m asking people to join. My goal is to bring together a collective consciousness about the matter of World Peace.  The date and time is April 30., 12-2pm, (place to be announced) when I hope we can discuss the topic and the call to service. All ideas and participation welcome. (I am particularly thankful for projects like AWoW and jazz organizations such as the Jazz Vesper Church Hosts. ) 

 

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Do you have any upcoming events?

 

Yes, and I’m thankful for all the support my friends can bring my way:

 

On Sat April 13, 2013 at 8pm Flushing Town Hall,  Here’s to the Ladies who Bling and Swing. Tickets are $15 but there is a big discount if you use the code ‘am20.’   The number for the venue is 1 718 463-700  Please spread the word.  

 

I’ll also be appearing in the Artists Without Walls’ Showcase at Lehman College on April 25, 7PM.

 

Bertha Hope and Antoinette Montague
Bertha Hope and Antoinette Montague

And April is Jazz Appreciation Month.   Many of the world’s greatest jazz musicians are at rest in The Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, including Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, Lionel Hampton, Coleman Hawkins and Joseph “King” Oliver, On Sunday April 22nd I will be one of a group of musicians and composers honoring Ellington, entertainer Florence Mills and more. My heart’s aflutter.  More info forthcoming. 

 

Name 5 things on your bucket list:

 

How about six!

  1. Sing the blues at Carnegie Hall.
  2. Sing in a club in Paris.
  3. Do a recording with strings
  4. Hang out in a place called Eleuthera
  5. Act 
  6. Do a huge festival

 

What is your favorite place in the world to visit and why?

 

Eleuthera. “Its like going to Paradise without having to die.” AM

 

Who is your greatest inspiration?

I have two greats: Etta Jones and Carrie Smith. I’m grateful to them still, thankful God sends guides.

 

What picture or image do you love to stare at?

 

Elaine Montague Hargrove
Elaine Montague Hargrove

The first image I see every morning and at night is my sister Elaine Montague’s high school graduation picture. She raised me along with my parents. She was wonderfully tough and she made all of us better as people and as a family.  She was the first African-American Registered Nurse to become a head nurse in the state of New Jersey. I remember when I was a young girl how proud I was reading about her accomplishment in the newspaper, over and over.  

 

The second image I stare at is a picture of Florence Mills. Flo Ziegfield wanted to hire her, but Florence stayed loyal to the cast of Blackbirds and the music of Eubie Blake, including “I’m Just Wild About Harry.” I inherited the picture from Carrie Smith of Broadway’s Black and Blue. So much more to say, but that’s for another time. 

 

If you could dream about trying out something you haven’t tried out in the arts yet, what would that be?

 

Without a moment’s doubt…acting in a movie. Real Estate. Painting on canvas. 

 

And I want to add a special thanks to my friend Karen Daly for introducing me to Artists Without Walls.

 

 Antoinette Montague Facebook Page

Web page antoinettemontague.com 

 

www.artistswithoutwalls.com

 

"SPOTLIGHT ON" TARA O'GRADY

 

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1. Who are you?  

Tara O’Grady is a singer/songwriter who leads her own jazz/blues band in New York City.  She seems to have been born in the wrong decade with a voice like Billie Holiday and retro threads reminiscent of the golden age of Hollywood. Growing up on Irish trad music and big band swing, she combined both and released her first album, Black Irish, in 2010. Swinging songs like “Danny Boy” led to wanting to compose her own songs, so in 2011 she recorded her sophomore CD, Good Things Come to Those Who Wait, in Nashville.

 

2. What are you working on at the moment?  

Tara is preparing for her upcoming recording of her third album, A Celt in the Cotton Club, a collection of new songs and a few Irish favorites in her unique style blending jazz, blues and folk. The songs will take listeners on a journey from Belfast to Butte, Montana.

 

_MG_02623. Do you have upcoming events you would like people to attend?

On February 14, Tara will be performing live at the Cell Theatre for the premiere of a new jazz series called “Jazz at the Cell “with members of her Black Velvet Band, as well as special guests including Jordan Sandke on trumpet and Michael Howell on guitar, a former member of Dizzy Gillespie’s band. The ‘My Funny Valentine’ show will take the audience through the stages of love. The rapturous heartache begins at 8:00pm at 338 W. 23 Street. FREE.

 

4. What are five things you can’t live without?

  • Chocolate
  • Music
  • Chocolate
  • Red lipstick
  • Chocolate.

 

5. Your favorite quote at the moment and why?

“Be more awesome.” A nine-year old called Kid President has his own You Tube channel and is trying to teach boring adults to have more fun, create cool stuff for the universe to make the world a better place, and dance more. I think that’s awesome.

 

6. Who have you always wanted to work with and why?

Steven Spielberg. I’m a film fanatic, and have always wanted to work in cinema.

 

Tara O'Grady @ Toshi's7. If you had the opportunity to ask someone when you were starting out for advice, who would you have asked and what would you have asked?  

My question would have been, how do I pursue a life in the arts, and I would have asked anyone in any art form that looked happy about their chosen path. I was always taught to pursue “a real job” with stability, health insurance and a retirement package. I wish someone advised me when I was a teenager that pursuing something you are passionate about is as real as it gets. And that bliss is better than bucks.

 

8. If you could dream about trying out something you haven’t yet tried out in the arts, what would that be?

I would really love to be able to play guitar, piano, ukulele, just about any instrument.  I wish I learned when I was younger. But it’s never too late to start. My voice is my instrument, but I would like to learn the physical tools to express myself even more.

 

9. What was the best gift that someone gave you that inspired or facilitated an interest in your art? 

Encouragement. I used to be told not to sing. I was even rejected when I auditioned for my high school chorus. I didn’t believe I was a musician because I didn’t study music. I needed people to tell me, hey, you have a voice, and you have the ability to write, so just do it.

 

http://taraogradymusic.com/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Tara-OGrady-Jazz-Vocalist/117033958343666?ref=search 

http://www.youtube.com/taraogradymusic

 

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Website: www.artistswithoutwalls.com 

Contact: info@artistswithoutwalls.com