Park Stickney is a harpist who lives in Switzerland and Sunset Park. He played recently in a Sunset Park bar, solo, duet and in trio* all together a set of jazz infused miracles. His banter was almost as captivating as his music, and another of his gifts which he freely shared, The performances were a rich alchemical mix and transformed […]
Arts
MUSIC: Tits Up Brooklyn, by Medea Hoar
Hey there Brooklyn! Welcome to “Tits Up Brooklyn!”, the first column about the musical mayhem that is happenin’ in our borough. I am musical maven Medea Hoar, your local music slut. Why music slut you may ask? Well, because, musically speaking, I’ll try anything once, and if I like it, you betcha I’ll be back for more. Summer in the […]
Red Hook Community Cinema Expands to Multi-Day Film Festival, by Dante A. Ciampaglia
Red Hook is long overdue for its close-up. And this month, it gets one. Running November 1-10, the 2nd Annual Red Hook Community Cinema film festival showcases 25 films made in, about, or that feature the neighborhood. The series opens Friday, November 1 with Isaac Dell’s Boys at Twenty at 7 p.m., followed by a costume party at 9. Like […]
Art is all around us, especially this fall, by Roger Bell
This morning I enjoyed a special benefit of my impersonation of an art critic when I attended the press opening of the Brooklyn Museum’s 200 Anniversary Celebration exhibitions, “The Brooklyn Artists Exhibition” and the extensive reimagining of the museum’s ” American Art” collection. The “Brooklyn Artists Exhibition” includes over 200 artists and occupies the ground floor galleries which once held the magnificent American Indian collections. […]
Quinn on Books: Pick a Card, Pick Any Card Review by Michael Quinn
If you value listening to your inner voice, you know there are many ways to access this wisdom. I’ve studied astrology since I was a teenager, meditate daily and keep a dream journal. Now, I’m exploring tarot—not for the first time. Stepping into the unknown (The Fool) I had a brief flirtation with tarot when I first moved to New […]
The Wind and the Rain: A story about Sunny’s Bar, by Oscar Fock
Sunny’s Bar is a community staple in Red Hook. It has served local patrons and out-of-towners alike for over a hundred years, first as a lunch spot for dockworkers, and since the 1990’s as a archetypal Red Hook watering hole. Now, it is also the subject of a play, titled The Wind and the Rain: A story about Sunny’s Bar. […]
Wiggly Air, by Kurt Gottschalk
Who says a jazz band can’t play rock music? George Clinton didn’t quite ask that question on the 1978 Funkadelic track “Who Says a Funk Band Can’t Play Rock?” but it’s a logical implication of the various permutations of the lyric, which questioned genre divisions at a time when radio and television were still segregated, even if schools weren’t. These […]
The Perpetual Library of Powell, by George Grella
By the time you read this, Bud Powell’s 100th birthday (September 27) will have passed, with a 24-hour broadcast from WKCR and a 25% discount promotion from Blue Note records on the two Powell LPs on their label currently in print. So after blowing out the candles, let’s take a look at how that is a tragedy. Powell was the […]
Dispatch from the New York Film Festival: A Disorienting Trip Into Portugal’s Past a Highlight of Currents Lineup, by Dante A. Ciampaglia
The 62nd New York Film Festival kicked off September 27 with Nickel Boys, RaMell Ross’ adaptation of Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize-winning 2019 novel. What followed on the main slate was one heavy hitter after another: U.S. premieres of The Room Next Door, Spanish auteur Pedro Almodóvar’s latest, Brady Corbet’s Oscar frontrunner The Brutalist, Paul Schrader’s Oh, Canada, and Hard Truths, […]
Red Hook Author’s New Novel Explores the Dark Side of Artistic Ambition
Review of “Static,” by Brendan Gillen Review by Michael Quinn New York has always been a magnet for ambitious creative types. Making it in this city rewards you with a unique badge of honor—though success here often comes at a high price. How much are you willing to pay? This question lies at the heart of “Static,” the well-paced debut […]