Arts & Culture
Steven-Jon and Tyler of Ditmas Music Lessons. (Photo by Michael Yu)Looking for an alternative to the “inequitable and underfunded” arts education offered in New York City public schools? (It’s been “weakened by a decade of disinvestment and disincentives” according to a 2014 report by the City Comptroller [http:
Arts & Culture
Roy Nathanson (left) and Tim Kiah (right). (Photo by Charna Meyers)Composer, bassist and vocalist Tim Kiah, who is playing a show at Qathra this Sunday with Roy Nathanson [/blog/art-music/past-present-ditmas-park-saxophonist-roy-nathanson-comes-home/] and Jesse Mills [/blog/art-music/come-qathra-sunday-unique-jazz-trio-performance/], has enjoyed an eclectic career as a musician. Kiah works in diverse
fort greene
Courtesy of DOTA New York City Department of Transportation comprehensive plan for the Flatbush Avenue/Atlantic Avenue area, presented at a public meeting Wednesday, included several proposals for changes around Times Plaza [/blog/politics/local-politicians-remind-dot-safety-design-must-co-exist-times-plaza/] , the triangle created by the intersections of Flatbush, Atlantic and Fourth Avenue. Noting that there
Arts & Culture
Photo courtesy Kings TheatreAs a spectacular summer alternative to “Netflix and chill,” the Alamo Drafthouse is showing a triple feature of the original Star Wars trilogy [https://drafthouse.com/event/star-wars] at the Kings Theater [http://www.kingstheatre.com/] this Sunday, featuring 20th anniversary editions of Star Wars: A New
Arts & Culture
Photo via Gothamist [https://www.instagram.com/p/BDeA1W-LEMy/]Brian Whiteley [http://www.brianwhiteleyart.com/] got his tombstone back. The artist came to the attention of New Yorkers — and the NYPD and Secret Service — after he cut a fence to install a grave marker carved with Donald Trump’s name
Arts & Culture
Albert Marques on keyboards, joined by Israeli bass player Ran Livneh. (All photos by Chris Farrell)Ditmas Park musician Albert Marquès doesn’t boldly go where no artist has gone before, but he is on a mission to seek out — well, not new life and new civilizations, but new venues
Arts & Culture
Jeff Lederer. (Courtesy of the musician)Stop me if you heard this one before: Popeye the Sailor, Herman Melville and jazz legend Albert Ayler [http://www.ayler.co.uk/] walk into a bar. Actually, that’s not the set up for a joke but a shorthand description for a recent
Arts & Culture
(Photo via OMNI ensemble / Facebook)The OMNI Ensemble, a chamber music group founded and directed by neighbor David Wechsler, will perform their sixth annual Midsummer Night’s Benefit Party on Thursday, July 21. Come out for a night of music, barbecue and drinks, and dancing under the stars in Ditmas
Arts & Culture
(Photo by Brainerd James)Two Ditmas Park musicians have invited a Grammy-nominated violinist to join them in a free concert at Qathra Cafe at 5pm on Sunday, July 10. Saxophonist Roy Nathanson [http://roynathanson.net/] and singer/bassist Tim Kiah [http://timkiah.com/] perform together regularly in Sotto Voce [https:
Arts & Culture
Neighbor Harriet Semegram has surprisingly deep and diverse roots in the Ditmas Park arts scene. More than 50 years ago, she compiled a visual history of Eastern European Jewish life that became the visual inspiration for Fiddler on the Roof. But before this groundbreaking project, Semegram had never made a
Arts & Culture
(Students Angelina, Maria, Alexis, Melanie, and Jayson prepare for the spring recital. Teacher Judy Brandwein and Ahyaan)The first spring recital of P.S. 217’s Afro Latin Jazz Alliance’s Academy of Music (ALJAM) ended on a high note. But perhaps the most impressive part of that May 31
Arts & Culture
Bennett Paster at the piano. (Photo: Scott Friedlander)You might think that for a small recording studio located in the basement of a house in Kensington, the presence of a Steinway grand piano would be the most extraordinary factor in the business’ success. But for Benny’s Wash N Dry
Arts & Culture
Photo: Brainerd JamesSeven months after quietly taking over at Qathra [https://www.facebook.com/Qathra], new owner Brainerd James is ready to make some noise. This Friday (5/13), the café on Cortelyou Road will host the second in what James hopes will become a regular series of live musical
Arts & Culture
(Photo: Bourbon Sprawl)Bourbon Sprawl [http://bourbonsprawl.net/] will bring a little bit of Brooklyn to the Bakersfield sound when the local band pays tribute this week to country-music legend Merle Haggard, who passed away April 6. In the mid-60s, Haggard was one of the pioneers of the Bakersfield sound,
Arts & Culture
Saxophonist Roy Nathonson. (Photo courtesy of Charna Meyers)The first place saxophonist and Ditmas Park native Roy Nathanson heard the song “Nearness of You” was at the house on East 19th Street his father bought in 1957 for $5,000. “Nearness of You,” written by Hoagy Carmichael in 1938, became
Arts & Culture
Photo: Scott Teplin / teplin.com.The path from Lascivious Biddy to PTA Mom is not immediately apparent, but Deidre Rodman Struck connects the dots with far fewer than six degrees of separation, ending up at the Second Annual Music Festival to benefit PS 130 [https://www.facebook.com/Ps130Pta/photos/