Cornelia Street Cafe Presents Landmarc, Chris Crocco Trio And More

In May 1977 three artists--Robin Hirsch, a writer and director; Charles McKenna, an actor; and Raphaela Pivetta, a visual artist--stumbled across a tiny storefront on Cornelia Street in the heart of Greenwich Village and thought it the perfect place to open a café. For two months they scraped and sanded, plumbed and plastered, and did the intricate dance one does with the authorities who live beyond the Village, and on the weekend of July 4, 1977, mirabile dictu, they opened the Cornelia Street Café.

This Weekend At Cornelia Street Cafe
Fri Feb 19 9:00PM & 10:30PM
LANDMARC
(Marc Mommaas, tenor saxophone, compositions; Tony Moreno, drums; Nate Radley, guitar; Vic Juris, guitar)

Anticipating a new release of Tenor Saxophonist Marc Mommaas (LANDMARC) he will be performing at the Corneliastreet cafe with his long time collaborator Tony Moreno on drums including Nate Radley and Vic Juris on Guitars. Landmarc does not include bass and the charts specifically written for this setting have no written-in bass function. This group is from the highest caliber and has been highly anticipated on. Stop by to hear for yourself.
The new release "Landmarc" will be released by Sunnyside Records and will be out in March 2010. Pre-ordered it now on www.mommaas.com
Cover $10

Sat Feb 20
9:00PM & 10:30PM CHRIS CROCCO TRIO
(Christopher Crocco, guitar; Peter Slavov, bass; Francisco Mela, drums)

Having been a long time friend and musician under the mentorship of George Garzone, Chris's fluidity on the instrument is uncompromising.
His current group is called "The Fluid Trio", a bassless group at home in New York City, includes legendary saxophonist George Garzone, and Cuban native Francisco Mela on drums. Exploring every aspect of truth, this trio plays with a ferocity and freedom... swing and organic color. Having performed all over NYC, The Fluid Trio is convincing people that beauty and strength can be found in small numbers. Every show is energized with the colors of life.

Tonight, Chris brings in a Trio including bass (Peter Slavov) and the drummer Francisco Mela.

CHris has performed and recorded with Kenny Werner, Johannes Wiedenmueller, Ross Pederson, Mike Mainieri, Dennis Irwin, Peter Slavov, Greg Tardy, John Lockwood, Bob Gullotti, Frank Tiberi, George Garzone, Francisco Mela, Ben Street, Pete Zimmer, Jeremy Allen, John Sullivan, Ian Froman, Rick Margitza, Antonio Faraò, Essiet Essiet, Gerry Gibbs, Charles Blenzig, Sean Conly, Jeff Davis, Anthony Pinciotti, Eivind Opsvik, Tony Moreno, Johannes Wallman, and Rob Garcia.
He currently teaches privately in New York City as well as frequent positions within the N.Y.U. Jazz Department, The New School Jazz Department, and Virginia Jazz Clinics and Improvisational Studies.

"This is one of the more original discs (Chris Crocco Fluid Trio CD) this reviewer has encountered in a long time, presenting free and indeed fluid improvisation as refracted through the instrumental prism created by electric plectrist Crocco."
- John Stevenson - EJazznews

"If the old expression "you are the company you keep" has any credence, then young guitarist Chris Crocco would appear to be headed in the right direction. For his debut CD, he gets strenuous support from the impressive Cuban-born drummer Francisco Mela as well as from veteran saxophonist George Garzone, whose tenor voicings can range from melodic to dissonant with many steps and moods in between. Mela is a very animated and accomplished player who seems to enjoy his vocation as much as audiences love hearing him. The nature of this bass-less band requires its drummer to be more than just a timekeeper and Mela provides all the bells and whistles to keep this "fluid" band rhythmically afloat.In a live show to celebrate the CD release at Cornelia Street Café, Mela literally whistled while he worked, at times providing other welcome and appropriate accents by tapping a tambourine, shouting out and even singing as an introduction to one of Crocco's songs. Of course he is only a third of this hard-working, earnest trio and the others make significant and confident contributions of their own to the proceedings. Crocco's playing and some of his compositions can be dark and somber, though also probing and edgy. In the live performance some of his playing seemed to resonate so deeply it sounded a bit reminiscent of organ, especially in show and CD openers "Piece of Mind" and "Meta-Ethics."But there's a brighter side to some of the music and Crocco's interpretation on the guitar lightens up as well. "To Silvia (Don't Say Goodbye)" is a lyrical, beautiful ballad with strong melodic support from Garzone's more tender tenor vocalizing. And "If I Only Had a Brain," from The Wizard of Oz, provides ample opportunity for inventive improvising.These two pieces highlighted a highly energized live set. The skillful Garzone piloted the more buoyant mood further with a rousing version of the standard "I Remember You"-not on the recording and so a nice reminder that with jazz outings you never know what you are going to get."
Laurel Gross - Allaboutjazz - CD/Concert
Cover $10 http://www.chriscrocco.com

Sun Feb 21
8:30PM DAVE LIEBMAN & ELLERY ESKELIN DIFFERENT BUT THE SAME
(Dave Liebman; Ellery Eskelin, tenor saxophone; Tony Marino, bass; Jim Black, drums)

As the band name suggests, David Liebman and Ellery Eskelin come from two different yet compatible areas of the jazz improvisation continuum. Liebman emerged in the late '60s early '70s appearing on John McLaughlin's My Goals Beyond, Miles Davis's classic On the Corner and Dark Magus, and numerous albums by the great Elvin Jones. Liebman become established as a direct link between the tradition of all-out, swinging, post-Coltrane acoustic jazz on the one hand, and the emerging discourse of cross-cultural, electric proto-fusion on the other. He went on to form the bands Lookout Farm and Quest, create an incomparable duo language with pianist Richie Beirach, and become one of the most influential players and jazz educators of our time. He continues to work with a host of musicians in duo, small group and big band settings.
Eskelin came up in the generation following Liebman's, moving from his native Baltimore in 1983 and jumping into the cauldron of New York. Finding a strong affinity with the downtown scene he joined drummer Joey Baron's group, "Baron Down", an experience that proved to be an important catalyst in his own work fostering an increased interest in new and unusual instrumentation. In 1994 Eskelin formed the group most often associated with him including accordionist Andrea Parkins and drummer Jim Black, called "...one of the finest units in progressive jazz" by Downbeat Magazine. Over the years Eskelin has developed important associations with musicians such as Gerry Hemingway, Mark Helias, Sylvie Courvoisier, Mark Ribot, Han Bennink and Bobby Previte and has worked with a broad cross section of jazz, avant-pop and new-music figures such as organist Brother Jack McDuff, composer Mikel Rouse, guitarist Eugene Chadbourne, oud player and composer Rabih Abou-Khalil, drummer Daniel Humair and the pseudo-group "The Grassy Knoll" among many others. "A major player in today's creative music" (Downbeat Magazine, 1995).

In 2009 Eskelin was commissioned by Chamber Music America to compose an extended composition for Different But the Same for CMA's New Jazz Works grant series. The group will be debuting the composition this evening at the Cornelia Street Cafe.
http://www.daveliebman.com/

Mon Feb 22
8:30PM 21ST CENTURY SCHIZOID MUSIC PRESENTS: RACHELLE GARNIEZ
(Rachelle Garniez, songwriter, accordion)
Performer, Songwriter, Multi-instrumentalist Rachelle Garniez is a native of New York City. Known as a "Diva with a Difference" (Billboard Magazine) "a master of surprise" (Entertainment Weekly) and "a certified free spirit...with a wild imagination" (The New Yorker), Rachelle started playing as a street musician at the age of 17 busking in Europe and NYC; and has since then independently produced and released several CDs of original songs and continues to perform regularly in a wide variety of situations. A 7" vinyl single, "My House of Peace" produced by Jack White, was released June 1, 2009 on Third Man Records. Most recently Rachelle was co-musical director of the neo-cabaret troupe The Citizens Band, for the revue The Panic is On which was presented at the Spiegeltent in New York, Abrons Art Center at Henry Street Settlement ('08), and Ars Nova ('07); She is the co-creator Shadowland, a collaborative performance/recording with composer/performer Sxip Shirey, which was presented at MoMA in July 2008 and is the voice of Jane Cadbury, narrator of the critically acclaimed documentary film The Mystery of Claywoman. Rachelle has also been a featured member of Thomas Dolby's house band at the TED Conference off and on for several years. We are thrilled to welcome her back to the 21st Century Schizoid Music series at Cornelia Street Café where she previously performed alongside Sxip Shirey in 2008.
More info: http://www.rachellegarniez.com
Watch her at the cafe, October 2008:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n56-BCNT88A
Frank J. Oteri, host. Cover $10

Spoken Word

Fri Feb 19
6:00PM SON OF PONY
(Bob Quatrone, featured poet)

The Friday night legendary open mic poetry series.
Arrive before 6 pm to sign up.

Featured poet Bob Quattrone

Bob Quatrone has written poetry since the late 1960s at Columbia, where his Master's study on the creative process in Yeats earned him a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship. His poetry has been published in the Aquarian, Passaic Review, Lips and the literary ezine, The 4 Horsemen, where he is editor-in-chief. He has also served as chief editor of literary journal Lunch, was program director at the Walt Whitman poetry society in NYC. During the past 35 years, Quatrone has also been a lecturer in literature at Rutgers, Queens College, Montclair St., Stevens Tech, and, most recently, Felician College in New Jersey.
Kat Georges, host. Cover $7

Sat Feb 20
6:00PM GREEK-AMERICAN WRITERS ASSOCIATION
(Mary golias; Julie Foster; Corrine Robins; Michael T Young)

Dean Kostos, host. Cover $7
Sun Feb 21
6:00PM 5 SPICE PRESS
(Lois Adams; Patricia Markert; Constance Norgren; Pui Ying Wong)
Lois Adams spent part of her early childhood in the Middle East, in Beirut and in Saudi Arabia, and part of her adolescence in South Korea. She has lived since then in and around New York City, where she works as an editor in the field of children's book publishing. She is the author of the chapbook Body and Soul, published by 5 Spice Press, and is one of the coauthors of To Genesis, a collection of poems also by 5 Spice Press. She has published poems in The Louisville Review and Heliotrope.
Patricia Markert was born and grew up in Syracuse, New York. While she was an undergraduate at the University of Iowa, she edited Me Too, a literary magazine, with Mary Swanson. Since moving to New York City, she has worked in the publishing industry and is now a librarian. Her poetry has been published in American Poetry Review, St. Luke's Review and Home Planet News, and in her chapbook, Watched You Disappear, published by 5 Spice Press. She is one of the coauthors of To Genesis, also by 5 Spice Press. Her blog is patriciamarkert.blogspot.com.

Constance Norgren is the author of the chapbook Same Boat and co-author (with Lois Adams, Barbara Elovic and Patricia Markert) of To Genesis, both from 5 Spice Press. She has poems published in West Branch, Common Ground Review and Yankee - as well as in other journals. She has been a teacher of young children for over thirty years and lives with her family in Brooklyn.

Pui Ying Wong is a native of Hong Kong and is bilingual in English and Chinese. She is the author of two chapbooks: Mementos (Finishing Line Press, 2007), Sonnet for a New Country (Pudding House Press, 2008). Her poems have appeared in The Asian Pacific American Journal, Blue Fifth Review, DMQ Review, 5 AM, New York Quarterly, Poetz. Her poems in Chinese have appeared in China Press and New World Poetry. She has read her work on Talk Back, WBAI, Writers on War and Peace, Hudson Valley Writers and at the Queens Library where she also gave a talk on the premier Hong Kong poet Ping Kwan Leung. She has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. An interview with her at Southern Bookman can be seen at www.louismayeux.typepad.com
Cover $7 http://www.louismayeux.typepad.com