2003-2004 Coffeehouse Schedule:

Archive Index

• 2002-2003 Season
• 2001-2002 Season

Current Coffeehouse Calendar

September 19 - James Reams and the Barnstormers

Nominated as an Emerging Artist of the Year by the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA), with an album (Barnstormin') selected by WKCR-FM as one of the top 12 bluegrass releases of 2001 and another album (James Reams, Walter Hensley & The Barons of Bluegrass) nominated by the IBMA as a Recorded Event of the Year, this band offers, as one emcee of a bluegrass festival recently put it, "charismatic bluegrass at its finest." Bluegrass Unlimited magazine (often called the "bible of bluegrass music") wrote, "There are few vocalists as natural as Reams. He doesn't have to try to sound down-home, he's there at each turn in the song."

 

September 20 - Park Slope Old-Time/Bluegrass Jamboree

A full day of music workshops, jamming (guitars, fiddles, mandolins, banjos, acoustic upright basses, dobros, harmonicas) and concerts featuring bluegrass and old-time bands. Time Out New York called this the "happy little festival." Spend some time at the Jamboree and you’ll know why! Three dollars donation!

(click here for full schedule)

 

September 26 - Andrew T. Hunt; Ned Massey

Andrew T. Hunt is a country/bluegrass and folk-inspired singer/songwriter. His large body of original material is centered around the harmonies and duets sung with his wife Nancy. His fine acoustic band features multi-instrumentalist Karen Hogg, Max Dietshe on banjo, and bassist Paul Gold. Playback said: "A great New York artist whose debut CD Whiskey Talking is a sublime mix of bluegrass and country."
Plus, Ned Massey is a singer/songwriter you're sure to hear more about. He was described as "the finest talent since Dylan and Springsteen" by none other than John Hammond, the famous record producer who signed both Dylan and Springsteen. Ned will be appearing in support of his album, A Brief Appearance.

 

October 3 - Los Acustilocos; Alma y Vida

Los Acustilocos are a six-piece band (flute, acoustic bass, acoustic guitar, Venezuelan cuatro, accordion, and percussion) that performs original songs based on rhythms from Brazil, Haiti, Cuba, Venezuela and beyond. Their music has an emphasis on vocal harmonies and lyrical melodies, and they all sing in English, Spanish, French, Italian, Creole and Portuguese. Their music makes for enjoyable listening -- and hip-moving.
Plus, Alma y Vida is a New York-based band that plays a fusion of jazz and a South American style of African music called Candombe that was developed in Uruguay. Led by drummer Ramón Echegaray, Alma Y Vida also features a trio of tamboriles, the typical Uruguayan candombe drums, with guitarist-pianist Beledo, and Toshi Someya on bass. Their album, Candombe en New York, features Hugo Fattoruso, considered to be one of the greatest icons of Candombe, and also Paul Simon's bass player Bakithi Kumalo from South Africa.

 

October 10 - Columbus Day Weekend

No Coffeehouse Concert.

 

October 17 - Third Fridays with the Park Slope Food Coop

Peter Hess (tenor saxophone, clarinet) aligns himself with those musicians who ignore musical boundaries and are fond of the various traditions they're breaking with. He will be joined by Scott McLemore (drums) and Will Woodard (bass).
Plus, Michael Blake's Free Association (saxophones) finds ways to make fragments and tangents behave in a comprehensive manner. Blake's band revitalizes the Art Ensemble's old game: ancient to the future continuity, doled out in a subversively vivacious manner.

 

October 24 - The Main Squeeze Orchestra

This all-female, all-accordian orchestra performs traditional as well as contemporary musical pieces, under the direction of the internationally known accordionist Walter Kuhr.

 

October 31 - Halloween - BSEC "Monster Mic" Party

 

November 7 - Pat Wictor; Jeff Solomon

Pat Wictor has been winning over listeners with his melodic, sometimes brainy take on roots music. A triple-threat, with great slide guitar, singing and song-writing, Pat is currently touring the Northeast in support of his third RiskyDisc Records release, Temporary Stay.
Plus, Jeff Solomon plays cerebral, fun, indie-pop full of twisty rhymes and jazz chords. Alternating between piano and an effects-laden acoustic/electric baritone ukulele(!), this former jazz composition student is quickly carving his own niche in New York City's singer-songwriter scene with his breezy onstage humor and songs that really sound new.

 

November 14 - The Klezmer Mountain Boys; Sam Zygmontowicz

The Klezmer Mountain Boys join bluegrass and southern fiddle tunes with klezmer melodies from pre-war Russia and Eastern Europe. Clarinetist Margot Leverett joins forces with today's stars of klezmer and bluegrass to explore the shared musical spirit of two genres worlds apart.
Plus, a multitude of influences affect the haunting fiddling of Sam Zygmuntowicz. His ensemble performs original and traditional string band tunes and songs. Be prepared for a night of musical juxtapositions.

 

November 21 - Third Fridays with the Park Slope Food Coop

Dave Phelps (guitarist/composer) writes music for a quartet for this concert, with Kate Sullivan on vocals, Michael Sarin on drums, and Alexis Cuadrado on bass.
Plus, Andrew Drury (drummer/composer) recorded his recent CD, A Momentary Lapse, with Myra Melford, Mark Dresser, Chris Speed, Briggan Krauss, and Eyvind Kang.

 

November 28 - Thanksgiving Weekend

No Coffeehouse Concert.

 

December 5 - Ellsworth & Hicks; James O'Malley

Workshops can't teach you to write songs like the ones that Ellsworth & Hicks write. It's more than technique; it's real life. "Whether harmonizing, trading instrumental licks, or just exchanging onstage banter, these two settle into their repertoire like a pair of old cats on a windowsill. Their music is cool, observant, and delivered with a baggy-pants soul..." (Mark Keating, Sound Views)
Plus, James O'Malley has shared the stage with such notables as Cheryl Wheeler, Jack Williams, Lynn Miles, Louis Taylor and Chuck Pyle. His songs are eloquent hook-laden gems delivered in his own inimitable style. "What puzzles this reviewer most is how an artist this talented is not already an established fixture on the national acoustic music scene." (Music Matters Review)

 

December 12 - The Love Handles

Offering classic rock, blues, and folk in the final leg of their "Gimme Affordable Shelter Tour," the Love Handles show is an annual Good Coffeehouse special event!

 

December 19 - Third Fridays with the Park Slope Food Coop

Rufus Cappadocia plays a self-designed 5-string electric cello, tours internationally with the acclaimed music and dance company Urban Tap, and performs regularly with oriental, jazz, and African musicians. He will be performing original compositions for solo cello.
Plus, violist Leann Darling draws from her classical technique, her Arabic and jazz skills, and her passion for improvisation. She will appear solo and with her Arabic ensemble.

 

January 9 - Allison Kelley & Friends

A night of traditional singing and traditional songs.

 

January 16 - Third Fridays with the Park Slope Food Coop

Stephen Clair (singer/songwriter) sings in a charming, octave-jumping deadpan style and offers thought-provoking songs that balance whimsy with pathos, angst with redemption, and horror with humor.
Plus, Elisa Korenne (singer/songwriter) blends husky vocals, engaging lyrics, and catchy melodies to create a raw, moody sound with a rock flair.

 

January 23 - Special Performance: A Night of Magic

Magic authority, performer, author, and historian Richard Steven Cohn presents an array of magicians, including outstanding comedy magician Jon Stetson; Boston's top magician, David Oliver in his first Brooklyn appearance; off-Broadway magic star Michael Chaut; and man-of-mystery Diggy Fontaine. (Program subject to change.) Advance tickets ($10 for all) available for this show only at Park Slope Copy, 123 Seventh Avenue; tickets also available at the door on the evening of the performance.

 

January 30 - Straight Drive

Straight Drive is a NY/NJ-based bluegrass ensemble that is solidly grounded in the sounds of such legendary artists as the Carter Family, Bill Monroe and Flatt & Scruggs while also performing original material. Fans of high-lonesome, traditional bluegrass will enjoy this band's first appearance at the Good Coffeehouse.

 

Febraury 6 - John Hasbrouck

John Hasbrouck has been honing his skills as an acoustic guitarist for more than a quarter century. His highly personal fingerstyle and bottleneck guitar playing takes its inspiration from traditional, roots and contemporary American and world music, as well as artists such as Charley Patton, Michael Hedges, and John Fahey. Hasbrouck’s first CD, Ice Cream, was called one of the best CDs of 2002 by Acoustic Guitar magazine. He lives in Chicago. This is his first appearance at the Good Coffeehouse.

 

February 13 - Ken Perlman

Ken Perlman is a pioneer of the 5-string banjo style known as "melodic clawhammer" and a master of fingerstyle guitar. He is considered one of the top clawhammer players in the world, known in particular for his skillful adaptations of Celtic tunes to the style. On guitar, Ken's finger-picked renditions of traditional Celtic and Southern fiddle tunes are not to be missed. Ken is also an acclaimed teacher of folk-music instrumental skills. He has written several widely respected banjo and guitar instruction books and has been on staff at prestigious teaching festivals around the world.

 

February 20 - Third Fridays with the Park Slope Food Coop

"Fine musicians seem to be among Iceland's most visible exports these days, and pianist Sunna Gunnlaugs is proof that jazz is as much a part of the picture as the pop of Bjork or Sigur Ros." (Time Out New York). She and her quintet play compositions fusing her native Icelandic folk music and jazz with lyricism and grace.
Plus, Ohad Talmor (saxophonist & composer) and quartet perform radical jazz originals. As an arranger/composer, his writing includes pieces for the Brecker Brothers, Lee Konitz, Steve Swallow as well as music written for leading classical musicians such as Martha Argerich, the Spring String Quartet in Austria and the Axis String Quartet in New York.

 

February 27 - River Alexander; TriBoro

River Alexander is a songwriter, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist (guitar, violin, harmonicas, mouth harp, tin whistle) who draws deeply from the wellsprings of rural blues, traditional Irish music and early jazz. Recipient of an NEA meet-the-composer grant and winner of the1994 Mid-Atlantic Fleadh Ceoil (traditional Irish music competition) on harmonica, he has performed at Symphony Space, Merkin Concert Hall, Lincoln Center and The Smithsonian as well as at dances, house parties and the sidewalks of New York.
Plus, TriBoro hails from the boroughs of New York, but looks beyond the Hudson, to other places and other times, for songs and inspiration. They are an acoustic vocal trio that applies fine three-part harmony to an eclectic mix of musical genres: old-time, country & western, bluegrass, and more. Triboro is Phyllis Elkind (Manhattan), Don Friedman (Brooklyn) and Evy Mayer (Bronx).

 

March 5 - Janie Barnett; Bev Grant

Since her last show at the Good Coffeehouse, singer songwriter Janie Barnett has been busy singing sessions, completing songs with her collaborator Margaret Dorn for a family musical, producing albums, and performing at shows including some with the Bacon Bros (aka Kevin and his brother Michael), including a duet for the film "The Red Betsy". Recently Michael and Janie collaborated on some music for a film Kevin is directing. In between that Janie is joining with other songwriters in setting poet Marsha Pelletier's poems to music for a June 2004 release.
Plus, Bev Grant's songwriting and performance reflect a life of social activism that reaches back to the 1960s and is still going strong. Bev's work is described in Sing Out magazine as "unhesitatingly fervent, unflinchingly personal and reflecting the diversity of a real person's musings." Her song "Inez" was recently released on the Grammy-nominated Smithsonian/Folkways Best of Broadside.

 

March 12 - World Music concert

There is a new movement growing in the music world: new music with deep roots in African music. Come hear two exciting musical explorers: Imaginary Homeland delves deep into various Ghanaian musical traditions and bursts forth with a fresh blend of American fiddling and jazz sax. And get ready for the world's most famous African-Hungarian jazz band, Dallam-Dougou. Gypsy fiddle grooves with layers of African marimba melodies will make you realize that we all dance together.

 

March 19 - Third Friday with the Park Slope Food Coop

Jenny Hill and Liquid Horn offer original jazz, with a mixture of Brazil and the funky side of Brooklyn, featuring Jenny Hill on saxes and flute.
Plus, guitarist Tomas Rodriguez celebrates the release of his new CD, Dialogue, offering a cross-cultural musical celebration, paying homage to musical treasures from Venezuela, Columbia, Puerto Rico and Spain, and introducing new original compositions echoing the soulful musical dialogue of the Americas.

 

March 26 - Bruce Markow

Singer/multi-instrumentalist Bruce Markow brings passion, playfulness and well-seasoned craftsmanship to his eclectic songwriting, with stirring melodies, engaging stories and colorful lyrics that linger with you long after evening's end. A CD of Bruce's folk, rock, jazz and world-flavored songs -- about hope, healing and the joys and trials of becoming fully alive -- is due out in mid-2004.

 

April 2 - String Theory

In approaching the cello, Barry Kornhauser draws on a parallel musical incarnation as a bass player and guitarist, thinking rhythm section first, plucking and strumming basslines and chords, laying down a funky skeletal harmonic foundation. Performing original jazz-informed compositions, improvisations and songs with special guest percussion and others to be announced.

 

April 9 - Easter Weekend

No Coffeehouse Concert.

 

April 16 - Third Friday with the Park Slope Food Coop

Rose Bartu is an Austrian jazz violinist, singer and composer. Her music is influenced by her experience with African, Afro-Cuban and numerous jazz musicians she worked with in NYC, as well as by her classical background.
Plus, basisst J. Granelli's quartet grooves with infectiously buoyant interplay. Mr. Lucky delivers a set of grooving and introspective playing that goes from pin-drop quiet to bone-crushing intensity in the blink of an eye. The music "flows from noir-ish exotica to blistering soul-jazz," writes Down Beat.

 

April 23 - Beautiful Harmonies and Hot Pickin'

Whose harmonies could be closer than those of a long-time married couple? This evening we present two of Brooklyn's finest examples of how good those harmonies can get: Kate & Lou have been offering Good Coffeehouse audiences their traditional music -- acoustic music with a mixture of bluegrass, blues and jazzy vocals combined with instrumental virtuosity -- for many years. They are a Good Coffeehouse favorite!
Plus, This evening marks the first performance of another husband-and-wife duo that's destined to become another Good Coffeehouse favorite: Frank & Nancy Moccaldi perform folk music, old-timey, original and Irish fiddle tunes, banjo tunes, and songs that you've heard but that no one is performing nowadays. They will be joined by guitarist and singer Kevin Mahoney, "Harmonica Bob" Rosensweet and bass player Jules Siegel.

 

April 30 - Nick Katzman

Blues and ragtime guitarist Nick Katzman recorded a series of highly regarded albums in the 1980s for Kicking Mule records, an influential guitar record label. Critics praised him for his virtuoso picking skills and his ability to craft songs that sounded as if they'd been written in the 1920s. A native New Yorker, Katzman now lives in Germany. He's making a rare U.S. appearance.

 

May 7 - James Reams & The Barnstormers

The International Bluegrass Music Association nominated James Reams & The Barnstormers as an Emerging Artist of the Year in 2003, and the album the band recorded with banjo-virtuoso Walter Hensley was nominated as a Recorded Event of the Year. Doug Tuchman, first editor of Pickin' magazine, DJ on NYC's WKCR, and a bluegrass promoter for 30 years, wrote: "I believe this is the best traditionally oriented bluegrass band in the area. They combine wonderful harmonies and instrumental back-up in a very sensitive but energy-charged show." Catch them before they head off on a summer tour of bluegrass festivals from Maine to North Carolina and back to James' home in Kentucky!

 

May 14 - Participatory Hungarian Folk Dance

This is your chance to move your ears and feet to the groove of Hungarian music from Transylvania! New York is a hotbed of the best Hungarian musicians and dancers in North America, and this is the first chance to enjoy one of the hidden pleasures of the city. Come see why Eletfa is the most popular Hungarian band in the Americas, and learn the real steps from those in the know. Aron and Hedi Szekely will lead dances from Transylvania.

 

May 21 - Third Friday with the Park Slope Food Coop

Singer Jezra Kaye brings her warm and spirited sound to songs that range from standards to 60s pop, from show tunes to the blues. Featuring guitarist Jerome Harris and friends in a program of eclectic, entertaining song.
Plus, Originally from Germany, Stefan Bauer (vibraharp and marimba) has traveled extensively as a musician, giving him the opportunity to absorb inspiration from around the world. Bauer is regarded internationally as an excellent instrumentalist and as a dynamic and flexible improviser who moves within a wide spectrum of music. His credentials as a composer include more than 40 pieces documented on CDs.

 

May 28 - Memorial Day Weekend

No Coffeehouse Concert.

 

June 4 - Spotlight on Songwriting

No songwriting workshop can teach you to write songs like the ones that Ellsworth & Hicks write. It's more than technique; it's real life. "Whether harmonizing, trading instrumental licks, or just exchanging onstage banter, Ellsworth & Hicks settle into their repertoire like a pair of old cats on a windowsill. Their music is cool, observant, and delivered with a baggy-pants soul." (Mark Keating, Sound Views)
Plus, James O'Malley has shared the stage with such notables as Cheryl Wheeler, Jack Williams, Lynn Miles, Louis Taylor and Chuck Pyle. His songs are eloquent hook-laden gems delivered in his own inimitable style. "What puzzles this reviewer most is how an artist this talented is not already an established fixture on the national acoustic music scene." (Music Matters Review)

 

June 11 - The Main Squeeze

The Main Squeeze Accordion Orchestra returns to the Good Coffeehouse with an evening of accordion music like you've never heard. If you are an accordion fan, this is your night. If you aren't, be prepared to change your mind! Internationally known accordion master Walter Kuhr leads an orchestra of fourteen women accordionists in a concert of accordion favorites and songs that were never meant to be played on the squeezebox.

 

June 18 - Third Friday with the Park Slope Food Coop

Join WOMBA and Pulsation and Ben Silver in a celebration of Gay Pride.

 

June 25 - Season Finale

The Brooklyn Women's Chorus consists of 45 women singing together to create one powerful voice for peace and justice. Founded and directed by Bev Grant, the chorus is backed by a band of Brooklyn musicians including Barry Kornhauser on bass, Bruce Markow on electric guitar and mandolin, Bev on acoustic guitar and Robin Burdulis on percussion, with guest musicians to be announced.