Cornelia Street Cafe Announces Weekly Events, 7/5-12

The Cornelia Street Cafe announces its weekly line-up:

Mon Jul 05
9:00PM AMRAM & CO
(David Amram, piano, french horn, flutes, composition & surprises; Kevin Twigg, drums, glockenspiel; John de Witt, bass; Adam Amram, percussion; John Ventimiglia, actor)
This series explores in his highly personable, generous and informal style the astonishing variety of David Amram's interests and accomplishments--renowned composer of symphonic classical music, jazz compositions, improvisation, spoken word, scat, he sits at the piano, schmoozes about music, about the greats, the beats, the obscure, the legendary; plays the French horn, pulls out all kinds of instruments (flutes, drums, horns) gathered from his many circumnavigations of the globe, pulls in guests drawn from just about every artistic walk of life.
Cover $10 http://www.davidamram.com

Tue Jul 06
9:00PM BRETT CHALFIN'S BROOKLYN PROJECT
(Brett Chalfin, drums, toys, harmonium; Sam Barsh, piano, nord, melodica; Tomek Miernowski, guitar; Jeff Koch, bass; Special guest to be announced)
Brett Chalfin's "Brooklyn Project" has been around now for a little over 3 years. Brett started the group with the help of bassist/composer Jeff Koch briefly after the two graduated from Adam Bernstein's Jazz Program at the Berkeley Carroll School in Brooklyn. The collective of interchangeable musicians serves as a launching platform for new, improvised and experimental music. In addition to original compositions, Brett's "Brooklyn Project" plans to bring to Cornelia Street creative reinterpretations of works by Squarepusher, Joni Mitchell, and Jay-Z. The collective will be joined by the keys player Sam Barsh (Avishai Cohen Trio) and Tomek Miernowski, a fabulous recording engineer/producer and a virtuosic guitarist who is rapidly making his mark after just one year in New York City.
Cover $10

Wed Jul 07
9:00PM NINA MOFFITT QUINTET
(Nina Moffitt, vocals; Kyle Wilson, tenor saxophone; Rafiq Bhatia, guitar, loops; Aidan Carroll, bass; Kassa Overall, drums)
Vocalist NINA MOFFITT uses an instrumental approach to interpret music from a distinctive, genre-bending perspective. A native of Brooklyn, NY, Nina learned to integrate diverse musical influences at an early age through collaborations with her father, pianist Peter Moffitt, and through studying the music of masters such as Sarah Vaughan, Joni Mitchell, and Wayne Shorter. These influences led Nina to develop herself as both a storyteller and an instrumentalist alike, bridging the gap between lyrical delivery and collective improvisation. Nina recently received her B.A. with honors in cultural anthropology at Oberlin College, where she studied at the world-renowned Oberlin Conservatory with mezzo soprano Lorraine Manz and jazz professors Wendell Logan, Marcus Belgrave, Robert Ferazza, Peter Dominguez and Paul Samuels. This past January of 2010, Nina released her new EP Where I Have Been (now available on iTunes), a collection of her arrangements by composers ranging from Ravi Coltrane to Joanna Newsom. Visit Nina on the web at www.myspace.com/ninamoffitt, become a fan on Facebook, or follow her on Twitter.

Thu Jul 08
9:00PM RICARDO GALLO'S TIERRA DE NADIE
(Ricardo Gallo, piano, compositions; Ray Anderson, trombone; Tony Malaby, saxophones; Mark Helias, bass; Pheeroan akLaff, drums)
Ricardo Gallo's "Tierra de Nadie" performs earthy original music that propels otherworldly improvisations. This "No man's land", as a sort of imaginary musical folklore, is the intriguing basis for collective explorations. Featuring in this occasion Mark Helias on bass, Pheeroan akLaff on drums, Ray Anderson on trombone and Tony Malaby on saxophone, pianist Ricardo Gallo aims for a vivid collective sound, rooting the music with lush compositions. Born in Bogotá, Colombia, Ricardo Gallo is active as a composer of contemporary concert music, and as a pianist performing jazz and improvised music. He leads different projects that relate aspects of Colombian folklore to contemporary musical expressions.
"The emotional resonance invoked by the music is striking. So too is the structural and formal sophistication of the young keyboard player Ricardo Gallo's music." James Nichols, All About Jazz, May 9th 2008.
http://www.ricardogallo.com
Cover $10

Fri Jul 09
9:00PM & 10:30PM EMILIO SOLLA TANGO JAZZ TRIO
(Emilio Solla, piano, compositions; Pablo Aslan, bass; David Silliman, drums, percussion)
http://www.emiliosolla.com

Sat Jul 10
9:00PM & 10:30PM FABIAN ALMAZAN TRIO
(Fabian Almazan, piano; Linda Oh, bass; Kendrick Scott, drums)
Pianist Fabian Almazan has gained high visibility for the last two years as a member of Terence Blanchard's acclaimed quintet. He appears on Blanchard's latest disc Choices as well as the soundtrack for the Spike Lee joint "Miracle at St. Anna". A native of Cuba now residing in New York, Fabian attended the New World School of the Arts High School in Miami. After graduation in 2002 he soon migrated to the Brubeck Institute in California, and finally Manhattan School of Music where he recently completed his Masters; a path that entailed private study with Jason Moran. In addition to his work with Blanchard, he has performed with Gretchen Parlato, Lionel Loueke, Ambrose Akinmusire, Walter Smith, Derrick Hodge, Chris Dingman, E.J. Strickland and Bilal, among others. This week the brilliant emerging pianist leads a trio with Linda Oh and Kendrick Scott, both highly respected and familiar New York musicians.
"Fabian Almazan is the latest pianistic prodigy... a Cuban-born dazzler with a melodic instinct to match his technique."
- New York Times
Cover $10 http://www.fabianalmazan.com

Sun Jul 11
9:00PM Dan Tepfer/BEN WENDEL DUO
(Dan Tepfer, piano; Ben Wendel, tenor saxophone)
"A sharp young talent, rugged and emphatic... An intently modern pianist who is also drawn to the deeper currents of melody."
-- New York Times
Cover $10 http://www.dantepfer.com

Mon Jul 12
9:00PM AKSHARA PERCUSSION ENSEMBLE
(Bala Skandan, mridangam, kanjira; Nitin Mitta, tabla; Arun Ramamurthy, violin; Trina Basu, violin; Amaili Premawardhana, cello)
Akshara is an exciting new percussion group rooted in Indian classical musical traditions. Comprised of virtuosic performers in Carnatic and Hindustani classical genres, Akshara performs an energetic blend of classical Indian melody and rhythm highlighted with solo and scale-based improvisations. The group performs original compositions by Bala Skandan, demonstrating the powerful and complex rhythmic structures inherent in South Indian classical music. The leading instrument is Mridangam, a double-barreled drum that produces a deep rich tone and played with both hands to produce powerful and complex rhythm patterns. Other percussion instruments include Tabla, the main Hindustani percussion instrument North Indian equivalent of Mridangam, and Kanjira, the South Indian frame drum with a bass tone. Melodic accompaniment is provided using Carnatic Violins and Cello.
Cover $10

Spoken Word

Mon Jul 05
6:00PM POETRY: SHORT POEMS BY POETS OF STATURE
(Sanford Fraser; Susan Gerardi Bello; Cindy Hochman; Sarah Cohen; Angelo Verga; Dorothea Scher)
Many of the best poems being written today are brief; these six poets are among the outstanding contemporary practitioners of the quick powerful poem.
Cover $7

Tue Jul 06
6:00PM EMOTIONAL RESCUE : INTERACTIVE POETRY
Emotional Rescue :
Lust, anger and confusion. Four poets and performers face their audience.

Erica Miriam Fabri and Robin Andre, Thomas Fucaloro, Jud Newborn,and Jackie Sheeler shake up the poetry scene with this interactive reading. The audience names an emotion, the performers react. Bliss, obsession, or melancholia? You decide!

ROBIN ANDRE grew up and worked with multi-platinum group the Fugees. Later he signed to RCA and toured with The Dave Mathews Band. Robin lives in NYC and you can see him perform weekly at the Village Underground.

ERICA MIRIAM FABRI is the author of the poetry collection Dialect of a Skirt (Hanging Loose Press, 2009). Erica has performed, and facilitated workshops, at venues including Cooper Union, NYU, Columbia University, Poet's House. She is also a spoken word mentor for Urban Word NYC, a non-for-profit organization dedicated to bringing spoken word, poetry and hip-hop arts to inner-city teens.

THOMAS FUCALORO has the sexiest legs in poetry he just hasn't learned how to use them, yet.

JUD NEWBORN is an author, poet, lyricist, and filmmaker. Co-author of Sophie Scholl and the White Rose (Oneworld, 2007), Jud is also a leading Holocaust scholar and served as Founding Historian for NYC's Museum of Jewish Heritage.

JACKIE SHEELER is a poet, songwriter, and activist who enjoys performing random acts of kindness almost as much as random acts of righteous indignation. Her third book, a New & Selected Poems, will be published by NY Quarterly in the fall.
Cover $7

Wed Jul 07
6:00PM FREE RANGE READINGS
(A.B. MEYER; SUZANNE GUILLETTE; TEDDY WAYNE)
Founder Mira Ptacin hosts Freerange Nonfiction, a monthly nonfiction reading series that brings together up-and-coming and established writers to share their work with the rest of the world. Freerange practices the method of literary husbandry where the authors are permitted to write, read, and roam freely instead of being constrained by traditional categories or labels of their genre. This principle is to allow the writers as much freedom as possible, to live out their instinctual behaviors in a reasonably natural way, regardless of whether or not they are eventually killed for meat.
Readings by up-and-coming writers DAN LOPEZ and Nicole Miller.

Featured authors include:

A.B. MEYER, the pseudonym of the author of two books, one fiction and one nonfiction, which were published under another name. Her writing has often appeared in The New Yorker and The New York Times.

SUZANNE GUILLETTE, a Manhattan-based writer whose first book, Much to Your Chagrin: A Memoir of Embarrassment, was released on March 10, 2009 by Simon and Schuster.

TEDDY WAYNE, author of the novel Kapitoil (Harper Perennial). He is a graduate of Harvard and Washington University in St. Louis, where he taught fiction and creative nonfiction writing. The recipient of a 2010 NEA Creative Writing Fellowship, his work has appeared in The New Yorker, the New York Times, Vanity Fair, Time, Esquire, McSweeney's, the Wall Street Journal, and elsewhere.

Connect through Twitter: @freerangereads

and Facebook: Freerange Nonfiction Reading Series

Art is a lie that makes us realize truth. -- Pablo Picasso
Mira Ptacin, host. Cover $7 http://www.freerangenonfiction.com

Thu Jul 08
6:00PM TODOS SANTOS BY DEBORAH CLEARMAN
Deborah Clearman launches her new novel

Fri Jul 09
6:00PM SON OF PONY
(Ted Jonathan, featured poet)
The Friday night legendary open mic poetry series.
Arrive before 6 pm to sign up.

Ted Jonathan is a poet and short story writer. Born and raised in the Bronx, he lives in Manhattan. His work has appeared in numerous literary magazines. And has recently been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. His chapbook Spiked Libido was published by Neukeia Press. A full-length collection Bones & Jokes has been published by NYQ Books (2009).
Jackie Sheeler, host. Cover $7

Sat Jul 10
6:00PM ITALIAN-AMERICAN WRITERS ASSOCIATION
(Michael LaSorsa Steffen; Joel Alegretti)
Italian American Writers Association, featured readers are: Bordighera Poetry Prize Winner Michael LaSorsa Steffen and Performance Poet, Joel Alegretti
plus open mic, 5 minute limit.

Of Joel Alegretti's most recent poetry collection Thrum, Raymond Hammond, editor of The New York Quarterly called it "an intriguing and must read for anyone who has a sense of all that culminates in the commingling of the arts." Indeed, last year Kean University in New Jersey presented the world premiere of a song cycle based on Allegretti's poetry. A Cycle by the Sea by Frank Ezra Levy, for decades a cellist with the Radio City Music Hall Orchestra and whose symphonic work is in the American Classics series on the Naxos label.
Maria Lisella, Gil Fagiani, hosts. Cover $7

Sun Jul 11
6:00PM RADIO PLAYERS
Radio scripts on stage.
Oligarchs, Circuses and Trial by TV

Russian Contemporary Society as revealed in 3 new plays for BBC Radio

Hear excerpts of sneak previews of the plays and meet the cast of actors - all Russian speakers - who are based in New York. Judith Kampfner the director will host a Q and A

This is an opportunity to hear new writing about Russia which is fresh and authentic. The stories are all from Russian sources but adapted by English writers.

Sunday 11: The Moscow Prodigal - Vasily returns to his native town after living in London and finds his best friends involved in racist bullying and corruption. A political thriller

Sunday 25: Circus Train - Two Performers who miss their train, travel the remote countryside meeting eccentric characters who are working out ways to survive in the new Russia.

The Target Audience - a model, a businesswoman and an investigative journalist invite an oligarch to talk on their hot TV show but the outcome of their trial by TV is hotter than they could have predicted. The Russian writer is from a corporate business background and writes as an insider.

We will play audio excerpts, the actors will read short scenes and we will discuss the process of establishing a repertory radio company in New York for these radio plays. Radio drama is more like film than theater and we will demonstrate our production values and the dramatic thrills.
Judith Kampfner, host. Cover $7

Mon Jul 12
6:00PM MONOLOGUES & MADNESS
Actors, time limits, laughter, tears, our floorboards are used to perfection.
An Evening of Original Monologues. No slamming, no judges, just great material, excellent actors and YOU.

Come See These Amazing Daredevils Perform Without a Net!!!

Tulis McCall, host. Cover $10 http://www.monologuesandmadness.com