Sharp Radway

PHOTOS: ARTISTS WITHOUT WALLS' SHOWCASE AT HOFSTRA UNIVERSITY

Artists Without Walls’ Showcase at Hofstra University: Photos by Nick Garr

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Sharp Radway, Niamh Hyland and Deni Bonet

Niamh Hyland, Sharp Radway and Koro Koroye

Charles R. Hale and Sharp Radway

Priya Gupta

Brigid Gillis, Mary Kate Sheehan and Darrah Carr

Antoinette Montague

Niamh Hyland, Brian Farrell, Antoinette Montague, Sharp Radway, Brigid Gillis, Koro Koroye and Kate Sheehan

Brian Farrell and Deni Bonet

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

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).

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!

ARTISTS WITHOUT WALLS' MEMBERS ON THE TOWN: WEEK of 2/9/14

Singer Tara O’Grady will be at Why Not Jazz Room, 14 Christopher Street, in NYC’s West Village on Sunday, February 9, 9-11pm. $10 at the door. She will be joined by Pete Kennedy on guitar and David Shaich on bass. At the corner of Christopher St and Gay St in the West Village, a lovely coffee shop sits on the corner and plays records on a turn table. And below the turning and churning of Etta James and Colombian beans, nestled below the street, is a tiny jazz club where one can escape the cold and imagine the Village of Bob Dylan’s days.

Sana Musasama exhibits her sculptural ceramics, the Unspeakable Series at the Museum of Arts and Design, 2 Columbus Circle, NYC until March 2, 2014. Each work, inspired by a personal incident or symbolic tale, expresses a deep emotional identity, contrasting societal, political, and personal views on themes such as anxiety, bias, mortality and memory. Entry to the museum is $16.

Fiddler Deni Bonet will be performing with Ed Romanoff at Rockwood Music Hall on Saturday, February 15 at 7:30 PM. 196 Allen Street (Between Houston & Stanton). Tickets can be purchased here for $10

Join Artists Without Walls at their first “Showcase” at Hofstra University, Tuesday, February 18th, 2:15pm in Hempstead, NY . A talented array of artists will be performing: Members of Darrah Carr Dance, Hofstra students including spoken word artist Koro Koroye and dancer Priya Gupta, fiddler Deni Bonet, Irish singer/songwriter Brian Farrell, Brit-Asian stage performer Nadia Parvez Manzoor, jazz pianist Sharp Radway, Irish singer/songwriter Niamh Hyland and jazz singer Antoinette Montague.

WHY ATTEND the ARTISTS WITHOUT WALLS' SHOWCASE at HOFSTRA UNIVERSITY: READ THIS

What can you expect when you attend an Artists Without Walls’ Showcase? Artists from Nigeria, India and Pakistan, a few from Ireland, two African-Americans and a number whose families came to our shores over a hundred years ago. Individually, they’re wonderful artists, but combine them and their cultural backgrounds and you have something special. Join Artists Without Walls at Hofstra University on Tuesday, February 18, 2:15pm in the The Helene Fortunoff Theater, located in the Monroe Lecture Center, for an event sponsored by Hofstra’s Irish Studies’ program–with a generous grant from the Hofstra Cultural Center–to see and hear for yourself.

Who’ll be performing?

Niamh Hyland, cofounder of Artists Without Walls, was born in County Leitrim, Ireland. Finding her passion for the arts at an early age, Niamh received a vocal scholarship to the University College Dublin where she performed during a Papal performance at St.Peter’s Basilica for Pope John Paul II. Niamh has toured Europe & the US as the lead singer of the original rock band Lily Sparks. Notable band and solo performances include The Ourland Festival at Lincoln Center, Webster Hall and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

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).”

Not every classically-trained musician plays the violin like an air guitar or opens for the Eagles. Deni Bonet does both. A college radio favorite who’s performed with the likes of the Cyndi Lauper, R.E.M., Sarah McLachlan and Robyn Hitchcock, Deni fits her string and vocal skills into ironic, catchy alternative pop. Be prepared for this incredibly talented, “anything goes” performer.

Nigerian born spoken-word artist Koro Koroye, a Hofstra graduate who is currently enrolled in Hofstra’s MFA of Creative Writing program, imbues the art of storytelling and spoken-word with energy, passion, and strength. Koro has appeared at The Cell Theater, the Living Room and Lehman College in New York City during the past year. Recently, Koro appeared in Charles R. Hale’s production, “Rise Up Singing: Women and the Labor Movement.” Koro both performed and wrote for the show.

Darrah Carr Dance sources from two genres, traditional Irish step and contemporary modern dance. Darrah pulls in two directions, one toward tradition and another toward innovation, and seeks to create dance in the space between. Dance in Ireland traditionally happened at a crossroads, which is exactly what Darrah has planned for this event…Dingle meets Diwali.

Dancing with Darrah Carr Dance will be Brigid Gillis, Mary Beth Sheehan and Priya Gupta.

Brigid Gillis is a native Long Islander, who started her formal dance training in competitive Irish dance and later explored her passion for modern dance at The College of Brockport SUNY, where she acquired her BFA. Brigid has performed in various professional venues in New York City with Zehnder Dance and Darrah Carr Dance.

Mary Kate Sheehan began her dancing career training in Irish step dancing, ballet, and jazz. She competed in Irish step dancing for over 15 years on the international level, placing in the top 10 in the World. She moved to New York City in 2010 to shift her focus to modern, contemporary, and ballet as a pre-professional trainee at the Joffrey School.

Priya Gupta is dancer and a Dance Education major at Hofstra. She is a student of Professor Carr and studied Indian classical dance with Mrugakshi Patel, an accomplished exponent of dance and well known choreographer of Indian folk dances. Priya will be performing a style of Indian classical dance called Bharatnatyam.

Brian Farrell a pianist/guitarist/singer and songwriter from County Leitrim Ireland, made his first appearance with Artists Without Walls at NYC’s Swift, with a brilliant performance accompanied by fiddler Deni Bonet. Brian will be showing off his musical chops on both the guitar, piano and and with his unique vocal style.

Nadia Parvez Manzoor’s one-woman show Burq Off! played to sold out performances in December and will reopen in New York City in March. How does Nadia describe herself? “I’m a Brit-Pakistani. I grew up in London, went to an all white, all girls English school where I was constantly perplexed by the cultural dichotomy of the English and the Paksitani. I’m an improviser, a writer, a free creator and mediator. I love being on the sidewalk in the sun, creating a revolution with my sisters, redefining feminism, taking a break from the status quo–with no intention to return.

REVIEW of "RISE UP SINGING: WOMEN IN THE LABOR MOVEMENT"

“Eloquent writing, beautiful voices, charismatic performers who connected with each other — it was an inspired evening.” Justine Blau, author of “Scattered: A Mostly True Memoir,” after attending “Rise Up Singing: Women in the Labor Movement” at Lehman College.

On Tuesday night, The City & Humanities Program, in conjunction with the CUNY Institute of Irish American Studies and the Department of African American Studies at Lehman College, presented writer/creator Charles R. Hale and a brilliant cast of Artists Without Walls’ members in “Rise Up Singing: Women in the Labor Movement” a multi-media event incorporating storytelling, film, photographs and music.

The evening began with Honor Finnegan’s rousing performance of Jack Hardy’s “Aint I A Woman,” a song borne of Sojourner Truth’s speech on gender inequalities. Actor Jack O’Connell followed with an introduction in which he quoted author John Steinbeck: “We learn a great deal about people by listening to their music. Listen to their songs, for into the songs go the anger, fears and frustrations, the hopes and aspirations.”

Throughout American history, activists have adapted the lyrics from spiritual songs and applied them to various causes. Singer Antoinette Montague and pianist Sharp Radway followed a short story, accompanied by photos, of the deadly 1911, New York City, Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire, with an inspired rendition of “We Shall Not be Moved,” a American folk song whose lyrics date back to slave era. One-hundred-forty six women, mostly young immigrants, lost their lives at the Triangle factory fire.

A year after the Triangle fire, striking women mill workers in Lawrence, MA were surrounded by the threat of physical harm. They continually sang “Bread and Roses,” a poem written by James Oppenheim, put to music. Honor Finnegan and guitarist Vincent Cross gave rise to the spirit of that event with an intense performance of “Bread and Roses.”

Following the Civil War, racial prejudice kept African American women working in jobs such as cooks, maids and laundresses. Spoken word artist Koro Koroye presented a poem that she wrote, called “The Sickness of Freedom,” which poignantly describes the difficulties faced by African American women, many of whom were slaves and daughters of slaves, in the post Civil War era.

**Antoinette Montague and Sharp Radway**

Woody Guthrie was an American singer-songwriter whose musical legacy includes hundreds of songs about the experiences of the poor and oppressed. Woody’s song “1913 Massacre” is one of the most powerful interpretations of the Calumet, Michigan tragedy in which seventy-three people, mostly striking miners’ children, were trampled to death on a staircase during a Christmas Eve party. Vincent Cross evoked the spirit of Calumet and Woody with a stirring rendition of Woody’s tune.

Women have written a number of “workers” songs. One of them, Diana Jones, performed two songs she’s written, the heartbreakingly tender “Henry Russell’s Last Words,” in which she was beautifully accompanied by violinist Annette Homann, and “I Told the Man.” Each song tells the story of miners trapped hundreds of feet below ground, writing farewell notes to their families.

In the summer of 1968 six miners were trapped for 10 days in a cold, flooded mine in the Appalachian hills of West Virginia. Jeanne Richie wrote a song from a wife’s viewpoint called “West Virginia Mine Disaster.” Honor Finnegan sang and performed from the perspective of a trapped miner’s wife and Jack O’Connell played the trapped miner who describes the horror of the experience. The back and forth between Finnegan and O’Connell was exceptional and one of the evening’s many spectacular performances.

Addie Wyatt, who became the first African American woman to retain a high position in an international union, couldn’t do enough for people. She was born into poverty in Mississippi in 1924 and grew up in Chicago during the depression. When Addie was a child she played piano for her church choir…she even sang with the great gospel singer Mahalia Jackson. Addie’s life was marked by “getting over” indignities such as discrimination and prejudice. Koro’s poem “Praise,” speaks to the pain of Addie’s setbacks but ends triumphantly with the words “I prayed until I got over.” This was a perfect lead-in to final tune of the evening, “How I Got Over,” which was popularized by Mahalia Jackson. Singer Montague, pianist Radway, violinist Homann and Koro combined to create a unique and rousing ending to the show.

Photos by Cat Dwyer.