Love, New York, a virtual concert fundraiser will take place on the one year anniversary of New York City declaring a shelter in place for the COVID-19 pandemic. Featured musicians include Rich Medina, Paris Monster, and James Casey. It will stream live on March 20th, 2020 at 7 PM EST.
A year later, the end of pandemic is far closer, yet music still needs relief and artistic outlet. Love, New York is comprised of creatives, visionaries, musicians, street performers, dancers, Broadway artists, and lovers from New York.
The festival is organized by Sound Mind Collective, a Brooklyn based community organization founded in 2017 by Katherine Powell (KP Artist Management), Chris St. Hilaire (musician, The London Souls, Sinkane, Doyle Bramhall II) and Nikhil P. Yerawadekar (musician, Nikhil P. Yerawadekar & Low Mentality). Sound Mind Collective’s goal is to connect independent artists with local communities to encourage growth through social justice advocacy, policy change, and much more.
The proceeds from Love, New York will be allocated amongst the performers and independent music venues that are at risk of closing indefinitely as the virus continues to keep doors closed.
Picture of Tony Bennett from AARP taken By Kelsey Bennett
Bennett and his family kept his diagnosis a secret for about four years. He was diagnosed in 2016 by a neurologist named Gayatri Devi at Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan. Alzheimer’s is a progressive disease that results in memory loss and interferes with other cognitive abilities. It is the most common cause of dementia.
While Bennett has not had the severe symptoms of the disease, he faces short term memory loss. His wife Susan says he doesn’t understand Alzheimer’s and feels fine physically but only because he wasn’t aware of what changed. He still recognizes loved ones but he isn’t sure about his surroundings or what’s happening.
Susan and son Danny decided to disclose the status of his health because he can no longer entertain public interviews. His son has taken place as his manager for decades and Susan is now his primary caretaker. Since Bennett does not understand the gravity of Alzheimer’s, they decided it was best to make this decision without him.
Before his diagnosis years ago, Bennett was a New York City native who dropped out of school to support his family after his father’s death. He also served in the Army during WWII when he was 18 and returned to New York at 20. His big break in the industry when he sang with Pearl Bailey at the Village Inn. He started with the stage name Joe Bari changed it to Tony Bennett under Joe Hope’s suggestion that the former name didn’t suit him.
In 1950 Bennett signed to Columbia Records and made several hits. Throughout his career, he faced ups and downs, married three times, and had four children. After his career hit rock bottom in the 70s, his son Danny became his manager and is responsible for his revival in the industry. Bennett met Sandra in 1985 and they resided in New York where she started her own career and he continued to sing and paint.
In 2015, Bennett realized there was something wrong when he didn’t remember the names of musicians he recently worked with and wanted to go to the doctor. Currently, he is functioning well despite his condition due to medication, exercise, a Mediterranean diet, and his true love, singing. His latest work is an LP with his protege Lady Gaga that was recorded between 2018 and 2020.
Although his life has changed significantly under this disease, one thing he remembers is his passion for music. He continues to sing and his doctor encourages singing sessions twice a week because it stimulates his brain. After years of his health being under discretion, Bennett’s story is giving inspiration.
New York City singer Cassandra Jenkins released her new song “Hard Drive” in celebration of Inauguration Day.
Photo from Cassandra Jenkins website
“Hard Drive” is the third track and second released single off Jenkins’ upcoming album titled An Overview on Phenomenal Nature. The song is in the style of a spoken word beginning with audio of a security guard pondering about Mrinalini Mukherjee’s display “Phenomenal Nature” at the Met Breuer. It follows with lyrics filled with Jenkins recalling encounters in her life. The song works its way to her repeating “one, two, three”, a guided meditation from her friend. It ends with words from a psychic Peri Lyons stating the year will be good. Jenkins thought that Lyons’s statement was necessary after living through the uncertainty of 2020.
The single serves as a journey through a month in her life where she was in the middle of doing two tours. Jenkins also released a video to accompany the track, consisting of scenes with her walking and peacefully riding down a road. The instrumentals are supplied by musician Stuart Bogie on the saxophone and engineer Josh Kaufman on the guitar. The song was purposely released on Inauguration Day to symbolize the country collectively moving forward into a new chapter after the past four years.When creating the album, she was reflecting on ways to heal while living under Trump’s administration.
An Overview on Phenomenal Nature is releasing on Feb. 19 from Ba Da Bing Records. Jenkins worked with Josh Kaufman on the album and finished it within a week. It comes after her last album, Play Till You Win, which came out in 2017. Her previous body of work showcased her talent but the forthcoming work shows her adaptability. It has a theme of being optimistic and being open to change.
In efforts to rescue the legendary New York jazz club, Birdland, a virtual concert will take place with many celebrity appearances on Jan. 24. This is the final attempt to save the iconic venue.
Photo from Theater Mania
Birdland is named after and inspired by famous Jazz artist Charlie “Yardbird” Parker, opened in 1949. It was located on Broadway and 52nd which was the hotspot for jazz during that time. As inspiration for the club, Parker was the headliner. Several notorious jazz artists performed there, causing 1.4 million people to attend within the first five years of its opening. It attracted the likes of locals and celebrities and continued to do so throughout the years.
The club closed in 1965 and reopened and relocated Uptown to 2745 Broadway in 1986. While Birdland was able to discover about 2,000 rising artists, the Uptown location didn’t last for long. It moved back to Midtown at 315 West 44th St. in 1996. Since it returned to the area it gained even more popularity for the music and the menu.
Although the club is a staple in the jazz world, the pandemic’s restrictions recently took a toll. First, the shut down of indoor dining became a setback and caused them to rely on a concert series called Radio Free Birdland. At first, the series took place in the club but as COVID-19 became more unpredictable, there were more restrictions. Producers Tom D’Angora and Tim Guinee created a GoFundMe that raised over $200,000 in hopes of saving it. The virtual concert “Save Birdland: A Celebration of Music, History, and Community” was created in order to call more attention to the GoFundMe. It will stream on the website “Save Birdland”.
This concert will be a star-studded event with appearances and performances from many celebrities of different backgrounds. Former President Bill Clinton, Michael Broderick, Leslie Odom Jr, Chita Rivera Giancarlo Esposito, and many more are a part of the lineup. With the hopes that “Save Birdland” will bring enough awareness, this is the final effort to save the renowned jazz club.
Charlie Parker (as), Fats Navarro (tp), Bud Powell (p), Curly Russell (b), Art Blakey (d). Birdland New York, June 30, 1950
Governor Andrew Cuomo announced the launch of ‘New York Arts Revival’ program on January 12, 2021. After the devastating blow the live entertainment industry has taken from the Coronavirus Pandemic the ‘New York Arts Revival’ could be exactly the push New York needs to help save the live entertainment industry.
The ‘New York Arts Revival’ will be a combination of a public and private partnership and will be one of the most ambitious programs to promote live entertainment on a statewide scale. The program will feature and promote indoor and outdoor shows over the coming months and will feature upward of 150 performers.
What is a city without social, cultural, and creative synergies?… We must bring culture and arts back to life… and almost one has been hurt more by COVID than our Artists. According to a study by the national endowment of the Arts 52% of actors, 55% of dancers, and 27% of musicians were out of work in September of 2020. In New York the arts and culture account for almost half a million jobs and generate $120 billion in economic output. But these aren’t just statistics. These are our friends and our neighbors. These artists are part of what makes New York, New York.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo
Governor Cuomo’s plan to help save these artists and the industry is with the ‘New York Arts Revival’ program. The program will host multiple pop up performances starting on February 4, 2021 across the State of New York. The outdoor venues will be outdoor stages in prominent Cities across the state to State Parks. They will also use flexible venues adapted for social distancing. These pop up performances will include big names Amy Schumer, Chris Rock, Renée Fleming, Wynton Marsalis, and Hugh Jackman. Art organizations will also be involved with the ‘New York Arts Revival’ like the Ballet Hispanico, ARS NOVA, The Albany Symphony Orchestra, The National Black Theatre, and the Pendragon Theater.
Jane Rosenthal who is known as the co-founder of the Tribeca Film Festival and Broadway and film producer Scott Rudin will be leading the charge in the ‘New York Arts Revival’ along with the New York State Council on the Arts according to Governor Cuomo. The program will culminate with the opening with the Little Island at a new 2.7-acre public park on Pier 55 in the Hudson River, close to Greenwich Village and the 20th anniversary of the Tribeca Film Festival.
Not everyone is as thrilled about the ‘New York Arts Revival’ though due to the fact it didn’t seem to focus on the music industry as much as the other live entertainment industries. Lowell Wurster of Plattsburgh band Lucid spoke on Cuomo’s address saying, “He doesn’t mention anything about live music in there. If you can socially distance at Chris Rock show then you can do the same thing for live music. More than half my friends are out of work right now. Most of them aren’t making ends meet by doing live streams. If they can find a safe and responsible way to have an audience for stand up comedian then they should be including live music in that mix also.”
Greg Bell of Guthrie/Bell Productions shared a similar sentiment, noting the lack of specifics and attention to Upstate New York from Cuomo.
It appears that Gov. Cuomo is basically talking about the greater Metropolitan region when discussing his new Arts Revival. He does not appear to be considering the rest of the state at this time. I assume that he is planning to test the waters Downstate before making plans for the rest of New York. At best, we would be looking at outdoor venues, large theaters and large arenas that may be able to put on shows with social distancing. I do not see clubs and smaller venues benefiting from this at all. I do not know if the plan includes independent promoters doing Drive-In shows or small outdoor festivals returning or if it is geared towards large corporations like Live Nation and State or local municipality run events. While a step in the right direction, I think that it is unclear how much this new plan will affect live music overall.
Greg Bell, Guthrie/Bell Productions
Will the ‘New York Arts Revival’ help the music industry? It’s unclear if it will but hopefully musicians will be added to the docket and be included in the programing as much as performers from other entertainment industries.
