Anya M. Wassenberg's Blog: Art & Culture Maven, page 70

NYC Hotel Buzz 2018: Freehand New York Hotel in the Flatiron District

With material from a media release:

NYC Hotel Buzz 2018:
Freehand New York - Est 2018
23 Lexington Avenue
New York NY 10010
NEW YORK - The Freehand New York hotel opened earlier this month in the Flatiron District, and it's already garnering a lot of buzz in this city that is already so rich in hotels, restos, and hype.

The Freehand New York takes over the former George Washington Hotel in the Flatiron District. The 180,000 square foot property was designed by architect IBI Group + Gruzen Samton with interiors by Roman & William Buildings and Interiors. There are 394 rooms, meeting spaces, and a growing number of restaurant and bar options. A few are already open, with others in the works. The idea is to give patrons a reason to eat, drink, and relax with choices from casual cafes to contemporary American cuisine.

The hotel is owned by the Sydell Group, which also owns the more upscale NoMad Hotel group, among others. Freehold is positioned as the more casual (and affordable) alternative. Like the other Freehand properties, it combines a hotel and hostel, with room options that include king and queen bedrooms, suites, bunk rooms equipped with two bunkbeds, and a unique room configuration that sleeps three. Furnishings are comfortable and modern.

The 90-year old structure still holds some of its original architectural features. The old George Washington Hotel was once the haunt of many of New York City's storied writers, musicians, and artists, and the new management wants to continue the tradition. Freehand New York will also launch The Freehand Fellowship in partnership with Live Arts Bard, Bard College’s artist residency and commissioning program, and the Bard MFA program. Through this program selected artists will have the opportunity to live, work and exhibit at the hotel.

Eats & DrinksRestauranteur Gabriel Stulman -- of Gabriel Stulman’s Happy Cooking Hospitality -- has made his mark largely in the West Village with restos like Joseph Leonard and Bar Sardine. He's bringing his cred to the Flatiron district to collaborate on three distinct restaurants within the Freehand New York.

Studio
The second floor Studio is drenched in sun by day and lit by the streets at night. In the morning, Baker Zoe Kazan presents fresh baked sweet and savory pastries and other breakfast fare, including freshly baked Chocolate Challah Babka or Barbari Bread served with Smoked Salmon & Capers. The full menu at Studio, served for lunch and dinner, draws from Gabriel's heritage as a Moroccan Sephardic Jew, with many flavours of North Africa, such as Croquettes with Green Lentils and Harissa Aioli, Turkish Dumplings, Beet Crepe with Fennel, Mint & Sunflower Seeds along with classic American style dishes.

George Washington Bar
The first President and founding father is the centerpiece of this eponymous bar, set in the hotel’s former library room. The original mahogany millwork and fireplace have been restored, with upholstered vintage furniture punctuating the atmospheric space. It’s a warm and inviting place to enjoy a sophisticated cocktail. A tightly-edited food menu runs high-low, featuring small bites for every taste ranging from deviled eggs to Osetra Caviar with latkes.

Simon & The Whale - opening soon
Simon & The Whale, the hotel's stand alone restaurant, is set to open in early February. Its menu of new American cuisine has been described as both elegant and rustic, drawing inspiration from both coasts. Chef Matt Griffin promises creative choices, leaning towards tartares and crudos. The 80-seat resto will include outdoor seating in the summer.

Along with the Stulman creations, the hotel will offer two more dining/bar options, set to open soon.
Coming SoonSmile To Go
For guests on the go, Matt Kliegman, Carlos Quirarte & Melia Marden will open a takeout outpost of their popular Noho café, The Smile.

Smile To Go is Matt Kliegman and Carlos Quirarte’s off-shoot of their popular downtown café, The Smile. Chef/partner Melia Marden serves healthy and tasty Mediterranean-inspired fare focusing on daily rotating seasonal ingredients inspired by her youth spent between Greece and Greenwich Village. The dishes, pastries, and coffee options are perfect for a bite at a table or on-the-go.

Broken Shaker
Gabriel Orta and Elad Zvi of Bar Lab will also bring a New York City version of the original Miami Broken Shaker, winner “Best Hotel Bar in America” by Tales of The Cocktail (2015).

A rooftop paradise with sweeping views of the city, Broken Shaker offers an eclectic menu of handcrafted cocktails and small bites. A James Beard Award finalist and winner of Tales of the Cocktail’s Best American Hotel Bar, our skilled bartenders shake up the perfect blend of elixirs, syrups and infusions, paired with fragrant herbs, fresh-pressed juices and exotic ingredients from around the world.

Pipa Virtuoso Wu Man and the Huayin Shadow Puppet Band to Embark on Twelve-City U.S. Tour Through March 2018

From a media release:

Pipa Virtuoso Wu Man and the Huayin Shadow Puppet Band to Embark on Twelve-City U.S. Tour Through March 2018
• Tour cities to include Berkeley, Boston, Cleveland, Los Angeles, New York, Santa Barbara, and Washington DC, among others
• Check out the full schedule at the link

NEW YORK, NEW YORK (January 26, 2018) — An ambassador for China’s vibrant cultural heritage, pipa virtuoso Wu Man embarks on a twelve-city U.S. tour in March with the Huayin Shadow Puppet Band, whose traditional shadow puppetry and music she discovered in rural China while unearthing ancient art forms to preserve and bring to international attention. This group, formerly known as the Zhang Family Band, continues a centuries-old tradition of blending music, drama, and classic Chinese shadow puppetry, but was little known outside the mountains of northeastern China until Wu Man brought them to Carnegie Hall in 2009 and now to the wider U.S. The concert program features Wu Man performing both solo and with the Huayin Shadow Puppet Band.

As seen in her documentary Discovering a Musical Heartland, Wu Man has traveled regularly since 2007 to China’s remote regions to uncover the country’s ancient musical traditions that are in danger of being lost, including the traditions of the Huayin Shadow Puppet Band. The band comprises farmers from Shaanxi Province’s Huayin County in a rural village at the foot of Mount Hua in northwest China. For more than 300 years the Huayin Shadow Puppet Band has toured the countryside, bringing its rugged shadow puppet plays that call to life the mythical heroes and gods of the oral folk culture of Shaanxi, often evoking famous battles of the Tang dynasty (618-907), temple fairs, and rituals.

The shadow puppet plays are accompanied by “old tune” (laoqiang) traditional music with guttural and high-pitched singing (by senior singer Zhang Ximin) with a rough, mad spirit; percussion including clappers, cymbals, and gongs; stringed instruments including the yueqin (moon-lute) and fiddle; the shawm, a double-reed instrument similar to the oboe; and a natural trumpet.

The shadow puppetry tradition that exists in the village first appeared during the Qing Dynasty under Emperor Qianlong (1736-96) and has been passed down from generation to generation. For many years the shadow puppetry was part of the Zhang family household only, and not until recently has it been passed down to performers outside the family.

Wu Man and the Huayin Shadow Puppet Band in trailer to Discovering a Musical Heartland (segment begins at 6:35)



Wu Man brings the Huayin Shadow Puppet Band to the U.S. for only the second time in an effort to not only preserve this traditional art form, but also show its relevance in our 21st century. Following the U.S. tour, Wu Man and the Huayin Shadow Puppet Band return to China to perform at the Shenzhen International Music Festival.
Tour DetailsThe tour travels to Provo, UT, on March 1 at Brigham Young University; Rexburg, ID, on March 2 at BYU | Idaho; the Los Angeles, CA, area (San Marino) on March 5 at The Huntington Library; Santa Barbara, CA, on March 8 at UC Santa Barbara’s Campbell Hall; Phoenix, AZ, on March 10 at the Musical Instrument Museum; Berkeley, CA, on March 11 at Hertz Hall; Lincoln, NE, on March 14 at the Lied Center for the Performing Arts; Washington, DC, on March 16 at GW Lisner Auditorium; New York, NY, on March 17 at the New York Society for Ethical Culture; Ithaca, NY, on March 19 at Cornell University; Cleveland, OH, on March 21 at The Cleveland Museum of Art; and Boston, MA, on March 25 at NEC’s Jordan Hall.
Wu Man Wu Man is the world’s premier pipa virtuoso. As a soloist, educator, and composer, she has given her lute-like instrument—which has a history of over 2,000 years in China—a new role in both traditional and contemporary music. She has premiered hundreds of new works for the pipa while spearheading multimedia projects to both preserve and create awareness of China’s ancient musical traditions. Her collaborations with musicians from wide-ranging artistic disciplines allow her to reach diverse audiences as she works to break through cultural and musical borders. For more information, visit wumanpipa.org.

Wu Man and the Huayin Shadow Puppet Band

Jazz CD Release: Dan Pugach Nonet - Plus One (Unit Records on February 16 2018)

From a media release:

Jazz CD Release:
Dan Pugach Nonet Transforms Proverbial Styles With A Singular Approach and A Secret Weapon On His Debut Recording Plus OneSet for release via Unit Records on February 16, 2018
CD Release Concerts 
o Sat. April 21 - The Cutting Room, NYC
o Sun. May 6 - Urban Artifact, Cincinnati, OH    
o Thurs. May 10 - Cliff's Bells, Detroit, MI   
o Fri. May 11 - Merriam's Playhouse - South Bend, IN    
o Sat. May 12 - The Jazz Estate, Milwaukee, WI
o Fri. June 1 - Piedmont Piano Co., Oakland, CA

o Pre-order/Buy the CD

Arriving in the US from his native Israel in 2006 to study at Berklee College of Music before earning his master's at The City College of New York, drummer/composer Dan Pugach played cash-and-carry gigs, traditional ethnic dates, worked coffee shops-anything to keep his drumming and music pure. Eventually teaching himself arranging and orchestration, his complete reimagining of Horace Silver's "Silver's Serenade" led instructor (and renowned pianist/composer/educator) Mike Holober to exclaim, "Your arrangement departed from the original song; it wasn't just an adaptation, but a rearrangement. Dude, you're going to thrive as an arranger/composer."
Dan Pugach by John DankwardtRoughly ten years later, Pugach's debut recording Plus One is the fruit of years of hard work, practice, writing and rewriting, a joyous and thematically diverse recording that expresses Pugach's vision of a "mini big band."

"What I like the most about the sound and concept of Dan's Nonet is that the playing and the writing is selfless," says five-time Grammy Award winning composer and perennial Pat Metheny Group member, Antonio Sanchez. "It's all about the music. The writing is on point, sharp, concise and so is everybody's playing. Beautiful album."

Gathering some of New York's finest musicians in his Nonet, Pugach's Plus One is an exciting ride encompassing a New Orleans second-line strut, expansive arrangements of familiar pop material, and dynamite original compositions performed in classic small ensemble tradition.

"I'm not trying to be too modernist; I want to have a few surprises," Pugach says. "But they're hidden. Each tune has a specific vibe I'm staying loyal to. I'm trying to keep everything focused."

Pugach's compositions and arrangements mirror his personality as a drummer. Each note flying off his drums, cymbals and percussion is concise, poised and delivered with purpose. A YouTube search yields Pugach's  drumming blowing the lid off various NYC clubs with different ensembles, his collective rhythms a streamlined approach animated (all too briefly) by fiery solos. Similarly, Plus One is music of a stylized, singular principle with moments of absolute burn.



"I believe playing less is more until it comes to my solo-then I explode," Pugach explains. "And in my music, I don't want to hear overblown drumming."

Pugach is aided on Plus One by his plus-one in life, powerhouse singer Nicole Zuratis, whose recent release, Hive Mind, shows her at full force.

"Nicole is my secret weapon," Dan confides. "Our relationship onstage is part of the conversation. She handles the mic duties; I might come up to speak and she'll cut me off. The audience laughs. It's our natural banter."

Pugach goes from strength to strength on Plus One, the album showcasing his beautifully intricate  compositions, peerless arrangements and yes, his drumming, which is funky, on-point and surprisingly restrained for a musician of such skills and gifts. Dan's arrangements for Nonet recall the classic sounds of Thad Jones and Mel Lewis, Bob Mintzer, and the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra-expressed in a far smaller ensemble. Deft compositions, challenging arrangements, brilliant players and Dan's silken rhythmic touch make Plus One a special outing.

The album including moving vocal versions of Dolly Parton's "Jolene," Chick Corea's "Crystal Silence," Quincy Jones' "Love Dance" and Zuratis' male-ego-impaling rouser, "Our Blues," Plus One culminates in the two centerpieces: "Coming Here" and "Discourse This."  The former, a circuitous coming-of-age journey with great solos all around, including a dexterous showing by Pugach; the latter, a blustery, sparse Nonet dance that reveals the musicians' glove-tight interplay and cohesion. Through it all, Pugach's sizzling drumming drives his Nonet-hard.

The Nonet plays as a single organism throughout Plus One, with plenty of soloing power. The Dan Pugach Nonet, plus one, is comprised of Nicole Zuraitis, voice; Ingrid Jensen, David Smith, trumpets; Mike Fahie, trombone; Jen Hinkle, bass trombone; Andrew Gould, alto saxophone; Jeremy Powell, tenor saxophone, Andrew Gutauskas, baritone saxophone; Carmen Staaf, Jorn Swart, piano; Tamir Shmerling, bass; Bernardo Aguiar, pandeiro; and Pugach, drums.

From his experiences growing up near Tel Aviv to the influences of the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Big Band and Bob Mintzer Big Band, Pugach's compositions and arranging on Plus One are a thrill, including the opening, second-line bruiser, "Brooklyn Blues," to the closing, full-throated, "Discourse This." An album of such high-level ensemble playing and standout vocal tracks is exceedingly rare. Plus One is pure and powerful-simply exceptional music.

"People love the warmth and interaction between myself and Nicole and the Nonet," Dan says. "It's natural. The audience feels the connection. And connection is what it's all about."

Dan Pugach is a Brooklyn-based, two-time ASCAP Jazz Composer Award-winning drummer/arranger. Dan has worked with Ingrid Jensen, Rosa Passos, Airto Moreira, Gregoire Maret, Billy Drews, Jeremy Pelt, Wayne Bergeron, Sloan and Lucy Wainwright, and Dave Stryker, among others.  Originally from Israel, Dan served his mandatory three-year military duty as the drummer of the Air-Force Orchestra. He received his bachelor's degree from Berklee College of Music and his master's from the City College of New York, where he studied with Hal Crook, Joe Lovano, George Garzone, John Patitucci, Terri-Lyne Carrington and Ari Hoenig.

Art Battle New York at le poisson rouge March 8 2018

From a media release:

Art Battle New York
at le poisson rouge
Thursday March 8th, 2018
• Buy Tickets

Art Battle International live competitive painting series, connecting the amazing New York live painting community to the world. 12 artists compete in timed rounds of live painting, it’s a sizzling night of creation and celebration. The winners by audience vote move on to the Final round with a chance to qualify for New York City Championships and ultimately the US and International Finals. It’s a wild night, great music, paints flies and masterpieces are created before your eyes.

Art Battle is the story of Art, a one night party that goes from from blank canvas to beautiful creation. Artists have been coming together in NY Art Battle events since 2001, the movement has spread to more than 100 cities and 6 continents, with International Championships crowning the best live painter in the world.

Artists can apply to join the tournament at Artbattle.com – this event occurs on a monthly basis in New York and several cities across the country and the globe, come and be a part of the world’s largest live painting community, the best is yet to come!

Tix on Sale Jan 26: Meshell Ndegeocello at le poisson rouge New York City April 27 2018

From a media release:

Meshell Ndegeocello at le poisson rouge New York City
Friday April 27, 2018
Tickets on sale January 26 - noon
• Buy tickets
• Buy the album

There are albums dedicated to personal pain, or political protest, love, death, nostalgia, rage. There are those that are simply fun, glossy, the soundtrack to a good time. Some are exploratory, a musical journey, shapeshifting soundmaking, a new way to do an old thing. An artist can make a choice about concept and content, or heed a vision, follow their muse or their manager. But in times so extreme and overwhelming, when there is no known expression for the feeling, no satisfactory direction for art or action, then they might take refuge in a process, a ritual, something familiar, the shape and sound of which recall another time altogether, so that they can weather the present long enough to call it the past. Some albums are testimony, some confessions, and some are escape. “Ventriloquism”, the latest album from MESHELL NDEGEOCELLO, is a place, like its process, to take refuge from one storm too many.

Musically, Ventriloquism has the hallmarks of all of Ndegeocello’s work, lush and investigative, subversive and sublime. As always, she pays tribute to her diverse influences and in these eleven covers, we hear them layered over one another. Ndegeocello filters “Tender Love” through a folky, Californian filter and brings Vaudevillian accents to “Sensitivity”. She recreates Smooth Operator in five, and turns “Private Dancer” into a sultry waltz. The reimagining affords not just a new musical experience but also a comment on the narrow expectations of sounds and structures for black artists and black music.

“Early on in my career, I was told to make the same kind of album again and again, and when I didn’t do that, I lost support. There isn’t much diversity within genres, which are ghettoizing themselves, and I liked the idea of turning hits I loved into something even just a little less familiar or formulaic. It was an opportunity to pay a new kind of tribute.”

This album was recorded in Los Angeles with the familiar family of partners and players that Meshell has worked with for years. Chris Bruce plays guitar, Abraham Rounds is on drums, Jebin Bruni co-produced the album and plays keys. S. Husky Huskolds engineered while Pete Min mixed and mastered. Lasting and collaborative relationships with her fellow musicians is among the most important parts of music making for Meshell, prompting her to say on more than one occasion: “Meshell Ndegeocello is a band”.

Some tracks were selected for their reflections: The album opens with “I Wonder If I Take You Home”, which marked the early influence of Prince and Hip Hop on commercial pop, and was a reference for Ndegeocello’s own “If Thats Your Boyfriend”. Constantly asked to be “funky”, Meshell includes “Atomic Dog” as a reminder that the heart of funk is ineffable and irreverent, not just acted in showy flourishes, slaps, or noodling. Other songs offered an outlet for plain emotional truths: “Waterfalls” was stripped down, and delivered as an honest and needed personal lament. “Sometimes It Snows In April” has an extended intro, an accidental result of the band’s desire to delay the new and inevitable sadness of the song. “Funny How Time Flies” approaches sarcasm in its ominous and lonely sounds, exemplifying how these times – personally for Meshell, politically for many – are neither flying nor fun.

“The year around the recording of this album was so disorienting and dispiriting for me personally and for so many people I know and spoke to all the time. I looked for a way to make something that was light while things around me were so dark, a musical place to go that reminded me of another, brighter time.”

A final note to the listener, Meshell chose art for the album package that hints at what’s inside: A graphic V, a hidden M, the artwork is symbolic, sexy, and calls on the language of protest of the era these songs were mined from. With no words or pictures, the artwork is itself a declaration that even when you cannot imagine what to say, if you come together to create, you can find transformation and reinvention, the old can become new, today can become tomorrow.

A portion of the profits from this album will be donated to the American Civil Liberties Union.

Travel Tip: High Tea at the Windsor Arms Hotel Toronto Canada

Travel Tip:
High Tea at the Windsor Arms Hotel
Toronto Canada
• Reserve your table
• Please call for additional details: 416-971-9666

When the weather outside is frightful or the excesses of Yorkville shopping and downtown Toronto living become too hectic, an escape has been waiting for those in the know for 90 years now - high tea at the Windsor Arms Hotel.
Windsor Arms Hotel,Toronto - purple tea roomThe Windsor Arms has just completed a year-long renovation project with the theme of Old World opulence and elegance. It's a warm ambiance that will envelop you from the moment you enter the lobby with its columns covered in lush embroidered velvet and a stunning tree sculpture by Canadian artist Bruno Billio.

Tea has been served at the Windsor Arms since its opening in 1927, and it has become one of Toronto's hidden treasures, beloved by locals and tourists alike. You can choose from two different tea rooms - the French-style teal room, or the purple room with its original working fireplace.
Windsor Arms Hotel, Toronto - teal tea roomThe room is just the first of your choices. Next, you'll want to choose your tea, a selection that attentive staff will be more than happy to help you with. Here are just a few of the many, many choices:
Our Private Windsor Arms - Ceylon, Nilgiris and Assam (India)Eve's Temptation - Pure Fruit! Apple and Mango, Excellent for Children!Chai Arms - Cardamom, Cinnamon, Clove, Ginger, Pepper & Organic BlackPassion & Envy - Passion FruitDarjeelingMakaibari EstateTibetan Tiger - Chocolate Bits, Vanilla, Organic Rooibos & Black TeaRussian Caravan - Lapsang, Souchong and Bergamot High tea at the Windsor Arms Hotel, TorontoPerhaps you'd like some sparkling wine or sherry to begin...then there are the sandwiches such as Egg Salad Roll Mini Croissant with Smoked Salmon, Cucumber and Cream Cheese or Pumpernickel Bruschetta with Mozzarella, Basil, Shallots and Olive Oil, and delicious bites like Cheese and Caramelized Shallot Quiche, Prosciutto Roll with Fig, Arugula and Chevre or Wild Mushroom Salad in Vol-Au-Vent, along with traditional favourites like Fresh Scones with House Made Preserves and Cream. Then, of course, there are the delicate petit-fours, cakes, and sweets.

• Gluten Free Menu Available With 24-Hour Notice Monday to Friday
• Order Tea to Go- Enjoy some of our delicacies in the comfort of your own environment.
• Afternoon Tea served Daily - 12:30 pm / 1:00 pm / 3:00 pm / 3:30 pm / 5:30 pm / 6:00 pm

Just Released: Sante Les Amis' New Single "Como Animales" (Nacional Records)

From a media release:

Just Released:
Sante Les Amis' New Single "Como Animales"
Album Sueño Animal Out March 9th 2018 on Nacional Records
Previous album Sudamericana heavily supported by KCRW, Billboard, PRI's The World, and KEXP among many others

• Listen to it on Spotify

With a catchy fusion of rock and electronica, Sante Les Amis are back with their newest single, “Como Animales.”

Sante Les Amis, an alternative rock group hailing from Montevideo, Uruguay, quickly became part of the local music scene by producing a sound that has been called “rock for the dance floor.” With two EPs and a full-length album under their belt, plus a series of live shows characterized by intense audiovisuals, they played on the biggest stages in Montevideo alongside such artists as Café Tacuba and Mala Rodriguez. They have been nominated and won important awards in their home country and have been acclaimed by outlets like Rolling Stone Argentina.

Sante Les Amis has toured with Franz Ferdinand, Foals, and Calle 13, making the band a fan favorite among indie rock fans. Indie Shuffle describes the band's music as "electro rock that you can’t help but dance to.”

Check out the video:

Toronto Restaurant News: Spring 2018 - La Palma owners to open Constantine and Scarlet Door inside The Anndore House

From a media release:

Toronto Restaurant News:
Spring 2018 - La Palma owners to open
Constantine and Scarlet Door inside
The Anndore House - 15 Charles Street East
Toronto, ON – From the culinary creators who brought sunny SoCal to Toronto with Insta-worthy La Palma, comes their second collaboration, Constantine. Craig Harding and Alexandra Hutchison (Campagnolo) and Jack and Domenic Scarangella and Steve Christian (Mercatto) bring a soulful amalgamation of flavours and atmosphere from Italy to the Middle East, set to open spring 2018 inside The Anndore House (15 Charles St. E.).
 Constantine’s menu, spearheaded by Chef Craig Harding, will highlight local ingredients at the peak of season presented in thoughtfully-inventive dishes, where striking and aromatic flavours reign. A wood-burning oven and hearth will be the focal point of the kitchen, churning out crispy pizzas, alongside expertly roasted and lightly smoked meat and seafood. Like La Palma, vegetable dishes take centre stage with family-style dining encouraged. Equally important to the food presented at Constantine, is a meticulously designed wine program, which will feature a curated mix of old world balanced with fresher modern wines.

“Italian food will always be my first love, but I think there is a fascinating story to tell in this kitchen about the history of Mediterranean food,” said Harding, Chef and Owner of Constantine. “The Roman influence is present in the east and in many ways, the exotic flavours have made their way back to Italy. Once you see the way the food works together, it makes for an incredible menu.”

Craig Harding. Photo credit: Rick O’Brien  The 145-seat main dining room includes 18 Chef’s Bar seats with unencumbered views of the sprawling, open kitchen and an additional 50 seats at The Bar at Constantine. A 40-seat outdoor patio will follow in late spring.

Scarlet Door, a casual counterpart café nestled next to Constantine and beside the Crows Nest Barbershop inside The Anndore House will serve the local morning, noon and afternoon walk-in crowd. Scarlet Door will offer a more approachable yet rebellious aesthetic with décor references to the seminal punk and new wave scenes that defined the neighbourhood in the '70s and '80s.

Both spaces, designed by award-winning multidisciplinary design firm Studio Munge, will provide guests of The Anndore House and local patrons alike with a variety of spaces and dining options – whether it’s a quick bite in the lounge or at The Bar at Constantine, a delightful coffee in the café or a leisurely meal in the restaurant’s main dining room.

• Looking to escape to the Mediterranean but don’t have the means to get there? Do the next best thing and join the Constantine team. A hiring fair will be held on January 20 from 12 - 4 p.m. Apply for positions in person at the East End of The MaRS Centre Atrium (101 College St.).
• Inquiries and resumes send to info@constantineto.com

The Anndore House
Long before The Anndore House became one of Toronto’s most stylish and celebrated hotels, it was The Anndore Hotel & Apartments, a charming 10-story brick building that opened in the 1950’s. It was home to many of Toronto’s most eccentric personalities and famous faces.

Today, we’re a fusion of our quirky past + modern style.

Completely revamped to be your favourite Toronto destination, we believe the foundation of a great hotel is a place where you’d want to live and be yourself.

The Anndore House has a creative soul and we lovingly share our passion for art and culture to kindred spirits. You’ll discover some of Toronto’s most talented artistry in our building’s finishes. They’re all one of a kind. Just like us.
Meeting room, The Anndore House  About Constantine
The second venture from Craig Harding and Alexandra Hutchison (Campagnolo) and Jack and Domenic Scarangella and Steve Christian (Mercatto) – the creators behind wildly popular La Palma in Toronto, Constantine is an homage to the diverse, stimulating and primal cuisine of distinct regions of the Mediterranean. Located inside The Anndore House (15 Charles St. E.), the restaurant, lounge and bar aim to cultivate an intimate and inviting atmosphere that will be a gathering place for local residents and guests of The Anndore House, as well as a destination spot for anyone looking for a generous dining experience full of the familiar and exotic.

Website: constantineto.com
Instagram: @constantine_toronto
Facebook: /ConstantineTO
Hashtag: #15Charles

Jazz/Rock/Avant-Garde - Name Your Price for Cuneiform Records: The Albums of 2017 Sampler

From a media release:

Cuneiform Records: The Albums of 2017
released December 20, 2017
• Name Your Price for this Sampler of Cutting Edge Music

This special "Name Your Price" compilation album features an hour of creative and fun music over the course of 12 tracks all of which was released by Cuneiform Records in 2017.

We invite you to listen to Cuneiform Records: The Albums of 2017 and explore the wide spectrum of music we recently released over the year. Each track by each artist is unique; we invite you to sample all. And then, if you've not already done so, we encourage you to listen the full albums by the artists who most appeal to you.

TRACK LISTING

1. Schnellertollermeier - Rights (Part I) (6:11) [from Rights]
Clarity. Attitude. Skill. These really aren’t qualities that define our present time. All too often, our ephemeral reality finds itself reflected in a jittery retro-music that sucks its data from the Cloud – that atomised archive accessible to all. Schnellertollermeier’s fourth album is their reply to all this: Rights, and it offers ample demonstration of their own clarity and ability.

2. The Ed Palermo Big Band - Flamingo (Todd Rundgren) (2:23) [from The Adventures of Zodd Zundgren]
The Ed Palermo Big Band combines two unlikely American masters with The Adventures of Zodd Zundgren, a dizzying and ingenious reinvention of music by Todd Rundgren and Frank Zappa, two much-loved but drastically different American rock composers.

3. Bubblemath - The Sensual Con (7:36) [from Edit Peptide]
Fifteen years in the making, Minnesota eclectic prog / avant-pop / art-math quintet Bubblemath's sophmore sequence, Edit Peptide, provides a worthwhile wait with it's non-formulaic formula of lively textures, wacky and virtuosic musicianship, hypnotically robust vocals and charmingly astute attitude.

4. The Great Harry Hillman - The New Fragrance (5:54) [from TILT]
Switzerland doesn’t produce many musical acts compared to other European countries, but the ones that do emerge are always of the highest quality. The Great Harry Hillman is a quartet from Lucerne, a lakeside city in the center of the country.



5. CHEER-ACCIDENT - Immanence (4:12) [from Putting Off Death]
Against all the odds, in the face of an unstable record industry that never embraced their restless experimentation, Chicago avant-rock pioneers CHEER-ACCIDENT have survived to release their 18th album, Putting Off Death.

6. Raoul Bjorkenheim / eCsTaSy - Ecstasy Dance (4:50) [from Doors of Perception]
Finnish-American guitarist Raoul Björkenheim and Ecstasy take a trip into the unknown with Doors of Perception, a session of kaleidoscopically inventive improvisation. The album captures an extraordinary working ensemble stretching into transfixing new spaces, settings defined as much by texture, vibe and sinuous melodic lines as by rhythmic and harmonic structures.

7. Miriodor - Venin (4:33) [from Signal 9]
"Metaphorically, we could say that Miriodor is a planet, with aliens communicating in their mysterious ways with planet Earth," says Miriodor's keyboardist, Pascal Globensky. In that sense, the long-lived Montreal band's ninth album, entitled Signal 9, could simply be considered the ninth set of musical messages from that exotic heavenly body.

8. Chicago / London Underground - Boss Redux (excerpt) (6:59) [from A Night Walking Through Mirrors]
For the last two decades the Chicago Underground Duo – Rob Mazurek and Chad Taylor – have created music meant to open minds and explore alien territory.

9. Thinking Plague - The Echoes of Their Cries (6:37) [from Hoping Against Hope]
Thinking Plague is a storied band, whose thirty-five year history has seen it cleave consistently to the extreme limits of what is possible to do within rock music–influenced by folk, chamber music, and particularly, the avant-garde tradition of twentieth-century classical music.

10. The Ed Palermo Big Band - The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys (Traffic) (5:29) [from The Great Un​-​American Songbook: Volumes I & II]
Crazy times call for outrageous music, and few jazz ensembles are better prepared to meet the surreality of this reality-TV-era than the antic and epically creative Ed Palermo Big Band. The New Jersey saxophonist, composer and arranger is best known for his celebrated performances interpreting the ingenious compositions of Frank Zappa.



11. Art Zoyd - Tone Reverse (Live: Ubique Maubeuge (2000)) (4:10) [from 44 ½: Live and Unreleased Works]
Trying to make France's Art Zoyd fit into a single neat description is an exercise in futility. Sometimes they're fiendish sonic saboteurs bent on destroying listener's preconceptions about the way music works. Sometimes they're musical sorcerers conjuring strange but bewitching moments of lyrical beauty.

12. The Microscopic Septet - Don’t Mind If I Do (4:04) [from Been Up So Long It Looks Like Down to Me: The Micros Play the Blues]
What happens when you put the blues under a microscope? When the lens is wielded by the incisive deconstructivists of the Microscopic Septet, the musical odyssey traverses territory that’s disarmingly strange, pleasingly familiar and consistently revelatory.

2017 has been a good year for professional recognition. Cuneiform received its first "Album of the Year Award" from the DownBeat International Critics' Poll, which named Wadada Leo Smith's America's National Parks the 2017 "Jazz Album of the Year". Our DownBeat award plaque hangs proudly on Steve's office wall. Several of our artists won prominent 2017 awards, including Wadada Leo Smith, named Jazz Journalist Association's 2017 "Musician of the Year" and 2017 "Jazz Artist of the Year" & "Trumpeter of the Year" in the DownBeat International Critic's Poll; and Mary Halvorson (in Cuneiform's Thumbscrew trio with Michael Formanek and Tomas Fujiwara) named 2017 "Rising Star Jazz Artist" and "Guitarist of the Year" in the Downbeat Critics' Poll. A number of Cuneiform artists, including Smith and Ed Palermo (of the Ed Palermo Big Band), have appeared in prominent magazine features.

Dance in Toronto: Citadel + Compagnie presents decoding bharatnatyam February 14-17 2018

From a media release:

Citadel + Compagnie presents decoding bharatnatyam,
an Evening of Works and Performance by
Toronto’s Award-Winning Nova Bhattacharya
February 14-17, 2018
Mesmerizing Triple Bill Celebrates Indian Language of Movement, Bharatnatyam,
as part of Contemporary Dance Lexicon 

• Get Tickets

TORONTO, ON – Citadel + Compagnie (C+C) presents Toronto’s award-winning choreographer Nova Bhattacharya in decoding bharatnatyam, a triple bill illuminating contemporary Canadian bharatnatyam dance, February 14-17, 2018 at The Citadel: Ross Centre for Dance. This evening showcases the poeticism of an exquisite multi-disciplinary art form, bharatnatyam, through the choreography and performance of one of its most preeminent practitioners in Canada. Audiences will become immersed in two Bhattacharya works: Broken Lines (2016), and Alaap (2013), and will witness Bhattacharya perform in Calm Abiding, a 2006 commission from Montreal’s José Navas.
Photo by Ed Hanley“The three choreographic works presented in decoding bharatnatyam create a sort of cultural and creative Venn diagram,” says choreographer Nova Bhattacharya. “They investigate the places where cultures overlap – where the influence of Indian dance produces fresh and exciting contemporary Canadian art.”

Citadel + Compagnie Artistic Director Laurence Lemieux added, “It is an honour to host Bhattacharya before our diverse audiences at The Citadel. As the founder of Nova Dance, she has been pivotal in transmitting the technique and knowledge of bharatnatyam in Canada and carving out its place in our contemporary dance vocabulary.”

Nova Bhattacharya - Photo by John LauenerWinner of the Canada Council for the Arts’ Victor Martyn Lynch-Staunton Award, Bhattacharya’s choreography is known for diving deep into lyrical, metaphorical, and mythic exaltations of the human spirit. As the first graduate of Nrytyakala, The Canadian Academy of Indian Dance, she studied under one of Canada’s most influential figures in Indian classical dance: Menaka Thakkar.

Bhattacharya’s desire to integrate the depth and breadth of bharatnatyam technique, reaching beyond iconic poses and intricate gestures, and investigating trance and transmission into modern cultural expression has driven her to exhilarating explorations and collaborations. She has over her career worked with a wide range of artists such as Peggy Baker, Mika Kurosawa, and José Navas.

Hailed as “a radical work that pulls apart notions of power, tradition and ritual,” Bhattacharya’s Broken Lines premiered at Summerworks in 2016. She describes this award-winning duet, which will be performed by acclaimed experts Neena Jayarajan & Atri Nundy as a “love letter to bharatnatyam dancers.”

Alaap, a term for the opening improvisation in Hindustani music, is a thoughtfully crafted meditation on the creation of the universe choreographed for Toronto-based dance artist Lucy Rupert in 2013. Known for her raw, articulate individualism and vulnerability in performance, Rupert has absorbed elements of bharatnataym into her physicality with stunning results.

Calm Abiding was created for Bhattacharya by Venezuela-born, Montreal-based contemporary choreographer José Navas, and premiered at the Canada Dance Festival in 2006. This compelling solo consists of pure dance and complete abstraction fuelled by a belief in the power of movement over words. Praised for her “entrancing personal intensity,” Bhattacharya will revisit this radical experiment combining Navas’ strict formalism with the technical precision of bharatnatyam.
Photo by Ed Hanley About Citadel + Compagnie
Citadel + Compagnie, formerly Coleman Lemieux & Compagnie, was founded by Bill Coleman and Laurence Lemieux in 2000. This Toronto-based professional dance company creates, produces and presents works on local, national and international scales from its home base in a former Salvation Army Citadel in the Regent Park neighborhood of Toronto.

Named in honour of its cherished home at The Citadel, C+C has evolved from a husband-and-wife run company to a distinguished organization with a renewed mandate of fostering cultural participation and nurturing creative excellence. C+C encourages artistic risk and innovation through its performing arts series, Bright Nights, and tours accessible works of contemporary dance across Canada. By demonstrating fearless artistic leadership backed by strong community engagement, C+C has established itself as one of the leading companies of its kind in Canada.

After nine years as artistic director of the National Ballet of Canada (1996-2005), James Kudelka was named C+C’s resident choreographer in 2008. With C+C, he has revisited some of his greatest works and developed challenging new contemporary creations. Kudelka’s presence at C+C has elevated the company’s profile, and offered audiences a new platform to experience the work of one of the country’s finest choreographers.