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.
It was from the beginning an artists' café. Within a month there were poetry readings and music performances; and then a tiny play written for the café; and fiction writers; and Eskimo poetry; and puppeteers; and a living portrait of James Joyce; and the Four Quartets and the entire Iliad; and mime shows on the street outside the café; and comedians; and fairy tales and storytellers and Punch and Judy shows.
Over the years it has presented an enormous variety of artists, from singer-songwriter Suzanne Vega to poet-senator Eugene McCarthy, from members of Monty Python to members of the Royal Shakespeare Company. It has offered a performance home to the Songwriters Exchange, the Writers Room, the Writers Studio, the Greek-American Writers Association, the Italian-American Writers Association, the New Works Project/Theatre, and many others.
This Week At Cornelia Street Cafe
Wed Mar 17
8:30PM THE SONGWRITER'S BEAT
(Tommy Mandel; Kati Mac; Jon Albrink; Pia Zierhut; Alan Starr)
Now in its 10th year, The Songwriter's Beat is New York's premiere performing songwriter series. Hosted and founded by singer-songwriter Valerie Ghent, four up-and-coming songwriters perform new material in a supportive and intimate atmosphere.
This month's Songwriter's Beat features Tommy Mandel, Kati Mac, Jon Albrink, Pia Zierhut, and special guest Alan Starr from the Dublin band DC Tempest.
Every third Wednesday of the month, four songwriters of varying musical styles perform original songs and are encouraged to try out their newest material and arrangements. The series culminates in a week-long festival each July, featuring performers from throughout the years.
Founded in 2000, The Songwriter's Beat has presented over 280 songwriters from the Tri-State area as well as visiting songwriters from other parts of the United States, Canada, France, the UK, Ireland, Australia, South Africa, Cuba and Japan.
Join us!
The Songwriter's Beat is honored to receive support from The ASCAP Foundation.
Valerie Ghent, host. Cover $10 http://songwritersbeat.com
Thu Mar 18
6:00PM POJAZZ : "WOMEN GET THE BLUES"
(Jim Bartow, vocals, guitar; Hilliard Greene, bass; The Double Sharps, sax, piano, bass, drums; Nika di Liberto Sabasteanski, poet)
CELEBRATE WOMENS "HERSTORY" MONTH
The Double Sharps: Dan Lipsitz, sax; Pierre Piscitelli, piano; Nathaniel Schroeder, bass; Francis DiNoto, drums.
Jim Bartow, is ever mindful of his audience. We get the words of his poets, wrapped lovingly in Jim's remarkable renditions- Kenneth P. Neilson, Director, All Seasons Art
Hilliard Greene, Intense. Powerful. Versatile. Not for the faint-hearted,... Greene showed us how it's done- Bass World, Journal for the International Society of Bassists
Golda Solomon, Poet Solomon... think of it as Jack Kerouac revisiting the mile high city and grabbing a sandwich at the New York deli while in town- Norman Provizer, Rocky Mountain News
The Double Sharps, They are respectful and mindful of the masters and find their own voice in the classic standards and originals they compose and play- Golda Solomon, Poet and Host, Po'Jazz at Cornelia Street Café
Nika Di Liberto Sabasteanski, I have watched and heard this young poet, now young woman, grow. Her words are wisdom!- Golda Solomon, Poet and Host, Po'Jazz at Cornelia Street Café
doors open at 5:30; Jazz begins at 5:45
$15 ($10 students with ID) includes one drink (cash only)
Hosted and Words by Golda Solomon "THE MEDICINE WOMAN" of Jazz. Cover $15
8:30PM GNU VOX: WENDY GILLES
(Wendy Gilles, voice; Petr Cancura, sax, mandolin; Alan Markley, piano; Kendall Eddy, bass; Brian Adler, drums)
Since moving to New York in 2006, vocalist and songwriter, Wendy Gilles, has been a part of several musical projects, and performs regularly as a leader of her own ensemble. Her quintet plays an eclectic variety of original compositions, jazz standards, and covers at such venues as Cornelia Street Café, Via Della Pace and the Peter Max Gallery. Wendy has also sung with Joe Phillips' Numinous and Sam Sadigursky's Words Project Ensemble at the Puffin Room, Rose Live Music, and Brooklyn Lyceum. Wendy can be heard on Sadigursky's Words Project II, released by New Amsterdam Records in 2008.
Wendy is a versatile singer whose voice lends itself easily to any genre. A Washington native, she earned her Bachelors degree in Vocal Performance from Pacific Lutheran University, and completed her Masters in Jazz Studies at New England Conservatory in Boston. She has had the opportunity to study with teachers in varied disciplines; Marcia Baldwin, Dominique Eade, John McNeil, and Sharla Nafziger, and to perform in many capacities; from big band to symphony orchestra, and jazz quartet to chamber ensemble.
