Daniela Riojas, front woman for Femina-X performing at Kung Fu Necktie, Philadelphia PA, 3/22/17. Concert photography by Craig Carpenter.
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Daniela Riojas, front woman for Femina-X performing at Kung Fu Necktie, Philadelphia PA, 3/22/17. Concert photography by Craig Carpenter.
Lion Babe performing at Afropunk's "Carnival of Consciousness" Atlanta, GA 10/16/16. Concert photography by Craig Carpenter
The Steven Kasher Gallery is holding two amazing exhibitions right now. As is often the car in New York, the arts community finds itself in the same places, and the community grows stronger. Tonight I met Lyric Cabral, a documentary filmmaker whose work touches on race, religion and surveillance in the US. Her first feature length documentary, '(T)ERROR' made its debut at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. It is available now on Netflix. (at Steven Kasher Gallery)
Had the honor of meeting Bobby Seale, lifelong political activist and co-founder of The Black Panther Party. Celebrating the 50th anniversary of its founding, and on the occasion of the release of a new book containing a beautiful collection of historical photographs, POWER TO THE PEOPLE: THE BLACK PANTHERS IN PHOTOGRAPHS by Stephen Shames and GRAPHICS by Emory Douglas. Many of the photos and original newspaper graphic prints will be on exhibition from September 16th- October 29th, 2016 at the Steven Kasher Gallery in NYC. This is an amazing display of a history still very relevant today. Highly recommended. (at Steven Kasher Gallery)
Esperanza Spalding performing with The Revive Big Band at SummerStage at Central Park, 8/7/16. Concert photography by Craig Carpenter.
Nicholas Payton (trumpet), Vicente Archer (bass) performing at Birdland, NYC, 7/30/16. Concert photography by Craig Carpenter
Judith Hill performing at The Highline Ballroom, NYC, 6/22/16. Concert photography by Craig Carpenter
Kimberly Nichole performing at Rockwood Music Hall, NYC 6/12/16. Concert photography by Craig Carpenter.
When you get a chance to witness one of the true and legendary greats, you go. Neville O'Riley Livingstone, also known as Bunny Wailer is a founding member of The Wailers - without a doubt the most influential reggae groups ever. He walked onto the stage as the band played the anthemic and canonic "Rastaman Chant", steps to the microphone and lets loose his unmistakeable voice, to the delight of the max capacity NYC audience. After a more than twenty year absence, the crowd was witness to a history lesson from one of the masters that, for more than a few,, was a bucket list moment. I don't have enough superlatives for this space to explain, but suffices to say that my reservoir was filled. Bunny Wailer performing in NYC, 5/1/16. Concert Photography by Craig Carpenter
Before last week I had never heard of Steven Bernstein before. It’s probably not possible to know all of the players in New York City’s music scene, even if they have a long history. All I know is that Antibalas, the long-time Brooklyn based afrobeat ensemble had announced him as a guest performer as part of their monthly residency at Brooklyn Bowl. They earned my trust as purveyors of good music years ago, so I’d enthusiastically lend an ear when Mr. Bernstein hit the stage. Martín Perna, the band’s founder, introduced him as one of their mentors, both musically and professionally, and expressed what a great honor it was to share the stage with him. Again, many of us in the audience were unfamiliar, but it was clear from the way he strode up to the mic stand that he’d come to play. And play, he did. Wielding a slide trumpet, he beamed mastery and confidence. My colleague, shooting photos beside me asked, “who is this guy?”, remarking on the way he served as both bandleader and guest, with a swagger - perhaps learned or earned in NYC, but utterly convincing, either way. The entirety of the great Antibalas band, ten members, looked on and played with the admiration of younger brothers being invited to hang with their coolest, eldest brother, and produced a full-on brass clinic. I could say this was as surprising as it was entertaining. But it wasn’t. It was just another night that Antibalas and their friends made Brooklyn proud.
Steven Bernstein performing with Antibalas at Brooklyn Bowl, Williamsburg, NY, 3/9/16. #concertphotography by #craigcarpenter
I've been a Gil Scott Heron fan for my entire life. His music always reflected struggle and activism, consciousness and cultural and political awareness. Lesser known to many were the contributions of his longtime collaborator Brian Jackson, who provided songwriting, vocals, keys, and his signature flute. While I'd seen and met Scott-Heron numerous times, I'd never been able to say that about Jackson. That changed this week when he joined the stage with Antibalas for their monthly residency at Williamsburg's Brooklyn Bowl. This was a bucket list moment, for me, that for some reason I never thought would happen. He performed two of my favorites, "It's Your World" and "Home Is Where The Hatred Is". As part of their catalog, those songs represented opposite poles of the human experience; empowerment, with the former, and recovery from personal failings with the latter. These were profound songs, as was always the case from this duo. I miss Gil Scott Heron. He was an important artist playing important music. But Thursday I got to see Brian Jackson and, with the backing of Antibalas, it felt just as important, and I can't be more thankful.
I've now seen Antibalas perform 6 or 7 times, and it's hard to ever say one show was better than the others. For those familiar with the band, whose name means "bulletproof" in Spanish, these nights are always a wonder. Williamsburg's Brooklyn Bowl hosted them again as part of a monthly residency, bringing along openers, El Imperio, as well as guests Takuya Kuroda, Brian Jackson and Steven Bernstein. For those who know what all of that means, this is quite literally as good as it can get. For those who have yet to see for themselves, there's another show next month.
Two days and eighty-five miles separated the times I saw Eryn Allen Kane perform; New York and Philadelphia, respectively, which she admitted were only her second and third live shows. Her mother, who had driven up from DC this Thursday night would attest to this, though this writer, and everyone in attendance would never believe that. It just wouldn't be believable. The nearest non-music comparison I can use to compare the scary potential of the Detroit born singer is to explain Tim Duncan, the soon-to-be NBA Hall of Famer. It's said that he didn't start playing basketball until high school. He developed an unflashy, consistent beauty to his game that will be his legacy. Projecting forward, I'll one day reflect on these two performances I witnessed, her second and third, and know we'll have seen the birth of an all-star. The Philadelphia show was a modern set of burners, which Kane delivers with the wit and charm of a seasoned vet, while buoyed by a young vigor that makes blues fresh. The close of her show, naturally left the audience wanting more. She confided to me after that she didn't have an encore song prepared, so she relied on her go-to karaoke song, "Hit The Road, Jack". It's important to remember that this song, originally written by Percy Mayfield in 1960 became famous after being performed by Ray Charles. It has since been used in movie soundtracks, commercials retirement parties - it's part of the American landscape. So, there's almost an element of camp to choosing such a song at a karaoke event. It's instant fun. But, given to a prodigal talent like Ms. Kane, the well known song is transformed into a hard blues romp, Chicago-style, of course, and slack-jawed two people standing beside me. She said to me afterwards, "I said to the band, let's play it. They know the blues, and it's just blues."
When I met Eryn Allen Kane, moments before her first show in New York, I had one question for her. I knew she was from Detroit, and resides in Chicago. As a fan of blues and soul music, I asked her if she felt intimidated or burdened by representing the musical legacies of those cities. Ms. Kane, small, soft spoken and easy to smile, understood where I was coming from. I could tell that she instantly felt the weight of my arrogant question. I can paraphrase her answer with a simple “no”, but that doesn’t convey the confidence with which she took to the stage. Faced with a full capacity crowd, literally from the door to the balcony, the diminutive singer reintroduced the full-throated sounds of The Great Migration to an audience that knew what they were coming for- without asking questions. It was all show and prove; an hour of loud answers, hand claps and call and response. Welcome back, blues and soul. We missed you.
New York City's Webster Hall is perhaps the longest continually operating music performance and recording venue in the country. Since 1886 it has played hosts to literally thousands of musicians and other entertainers, as well as millions of guests. Last night they opened the main hall to host one of the members of the new vanguard of West Coast Jazz, Kamasi Washington. By itself, the NYC Winter Jazzfest, and Mr. Washington with his band, The Next Step would be just another show on just another night. But, this was a rainy, inconvenient late February night, and a thousand plus New Yorkers made their way out to see the rescheduled date because Kamasi Washington and his band are far from just another act.
An often used way of describing someone seemingly wise beyond their years is to call them an "old soul". To first witness guitarist Marcus Machado at work is to personify that idea. His musical vocabulary- what some may call his "chops", suggest a player who has been bodily inhabited by the greats who came before him. There are obvious influences and favorites- Hendrix and Scofield come to mind pretty quickly. But his isn't a revue show, and his playing isn't mimicry, but instead, a measured and reverential excellence that gives nods to his heroes, while offering a glimpse into the limits he's clearly intent on stretching. Speaking with the former child prodigy reinforces this idea, as his grasp and understanding of that which preceded him, as well as what is happening in the now, makes clear this body as vessel had been filled with an old man's lessons. Listeners should and will be grateful. //#MarcusMachado performing on the B-Side for @brictv #concertphotography by #craigcarpenter 1/21/16, Brooklyn, NY.
Nick Long of Lonely Horse at Mission Espada, San Antonio TX Photography by Craig Carpenter.