Tag:

jazz

New York City
BlogLive MusicPhotographySound and Vision

JJ Sansaverino’s Downtown Jazz Jam | Carroll Place, NYC (In Pictures)

by Dan Perez
written by Dan Perez

A couple of weeks ago, I traveled up to my old stomping grounds of NYC for some work and a little play. On my first night in the city, my little brother Ruben invited me to see a jam session going on at Carroll Place on Bleecker Street in Greenwich Village. Trusting my brother’s better judgment, I went along. And boy was I glad I did. Really glad.

Veteran NYC guitarist Joe “JJ” Sansaverino has worked with the likes of George Clinton, Shaggy, Sean Paul, Super Cat, Shabba Ranks, the Jungle Brothers and continues to perform worldwide with reggae legends Maxi Priest and Shaggy. His special guests for his “Downtown Jazz Jam” on this particular evening were Jamaica West Indies Bass Phenomenon Taddy P and NYC jazz fusion saxophonist Curtis Haywood II. Also featured were veteran NYC musicians Nate Jones on bass, Jason Patterson on drums and Jared “Red” Jacobs on Keyboards.

Now, I don’t know how to put it any other way than these guys friggin’ killed it. One of the best live performances I’ve seen. Period.

I brought my camera along and snapped a few photographs that might not allow you to “hear” how great the music was, but it clearly illustrates the passion behind the music. And for those of you in New York City, JJ is back at Carroll Place on October 12 at 8pm with sax player Will Donato. If you can be there, be there. You won’t be sorry. Promise.

Carroll Place

Carroll Place

JJ Sansaverino on left and Taddy P on right

Carroll Place

Carroll Place

Bassist Taddy P

Carroll Place

Carroll Place

Carroll Place

Carroll Place

Curtis Haywood’s sax was smoking. For real.

Carroll Place

Carroll Place

Jared “Red” Jacobs on Keyboards

Carroll Place

Jason Patterson on drums

Carroll Place

Carroll Place

Nate Jones on bass

ORANGE STRIPE

Great time with my brother at Carroll Place, which has a great food menu as well and offers an intimate setting for live shows. Check out JJ and Will Donato on October 12th. You’re welcome.

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Fajardo, Puerto Rico
BlogShort FilmsSound and Vision

VIDEO: Sizzling Latin Jazz live from Puerto Rico

by Dan Perez
written by Dan Perez

So I was in beautiful Fajardo, Puerto Rico last weekend finishing up shooting a short doc film I’m working on and enjoying my usual dinner of grilled mahi-mahi slathered in criollo sauce (with a side of rice and beans, of course) at my fave place on the East Coast of the island, La Ola Tapas Bar. They feature live music there every weekend so this band called Enjambre D Jazz begins playing a sizzling Latin Jazz set. Now, as a video producer, I’m always looking for something cool to turn my cameras on and I happened to have all three cameras (not to mention my tripod) in my car. So the band finish their first set and I ask them if they would mind me taping a song or two from their next set. They, of course, agreed (I didn’t even have to mention that I was Dan Perez, award-winning filmmaker) and I began setting my cameras up.

Canon XF100 on a tripod (wide shot), one Panasonic GH2 (with 20mm F1.7 lens) propped up on a side fence (drums) and I went hand-held with my other GH2 (using my beloved Pentax Super Takumar 50mm F1.4 lens). My H4n audio recorder was back in the hotel so I used the Canon to record the audio (which actually sounds pretty damn good).

I recorded two tracks, one with sax (the classic Afro-Cuban jazz classic “Manteca” written by Dizzy Gillespie, Chano Pozo and Gil Fuller in 1947) and one with flute (Clare Fischer’s Latin Jazz standard “Morning” from 1965). Enjoy…

[vimeo]https://vimeo.com/105945589[/vimeo]

[vimeo]https://vimeo.com/105967920[/vimeo]

Dan Perez Films

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(le) poisson rouge, nycBlogCorporateShort Films

Le Poisson Rouge Celebrates Five Years in New York City (Video)

by Dan Perez
written by Dan Perez

(Le) Poisson Rouge (often referred to as LPR) is a music venue and multimedia art cabaret in New York City founded in 2008 by classical musicians David Handler and Justin Kantor on the former site of the historic Village Gate. The venue is dedicated to the fusion of popular and art cultures in music, film, theater, dance, and fine art. And it hasn’t gone unnoticed. The New York Times heralded LPR as “a forward-thinking venue that seeks to showcase disparate musical styles under one roof” and “the coolest place to hear contemporary music”, while the Los Angeles Times hailed LPR as “a downright musical marvel.”

Kantor and Handler, who met at Manhattan School of Music, had a vision of establishing a venue that offered the highest quality eclectic programming; focusing on classical, avant-garde music, indie rock, and jazz, but also playing host to readings, comedy, film, DJs, theater, and even burlesque. The adjoining gallery space – The Gallery at LPR – functions as an art gallery, secondary bar, and event space and allows the venue to offer a variety of performance set-ups from a seated classical performance to a standing DJ set.

Le Poisson Rouge also changed the classical music landscape, creating a new environment in which to experience art music and in so doing expanded the classical music listenership with the formation of Ensemble LPR, an elite assemblage of the finest New York-based concert musicians. Under the direction of Tito Muñoz, increasingly recognized as one of the most gifted conductors of his generation, Ensemble LPR personifies Le Poisson Rouge’s commitment to aesthetic diversity and artistic excellence.

There’s also a history to the space that can’t be denied. The Village Gate opened to the public back in 1958 and featured such musicians as John Coltrane, Coleman Hawkins, Billie Holiday, The Velvet Underground, Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Jimi Hendrix, Nina Simone, and Aretha Franklin, who made her first New York appearance there. Moreover, LPR’s state-of-the art performance space, endowed with recording studio-level acoustics and a 5.1 surround sound system, was engineered by the legendary John Storyk of The Walters-Storyk Design Group (WSDG) who completed Jimi Hendrix’s Electric Lady Studios in New York City in 1969 and has since designed private studios for Bob Marley, Alicia Keys, and Jay-Z.

As a video producer, I’m always looking to sink my teeth into projects that not only challenge my creativity but that I’ll enjoy. Having already produced a series of videos for the venue over the past year and a half, I must say I’ve gotten my fill of both; especially being the music lover that I am. So, if you haven’t done so already, scroll back up and check out the five year anniversary video I produced that features interviews with founders David Handler and Justin Kantor as well as highlights from the past five years by acts like Florence and the Machine, Norah Jones, Iggy Pop and the Stooges, Atoms for Peace, Marc Ribot and the legendary Yo-Yo Ma (to name just a few). Enjoy…

THANK YOU

to David, Justin and the whole staff at Le Poisson Rouge for their great hospitality and cooperation; Dustin Nelson, LPR Marketing Director, for arranging the interviews and for supplying the additional video footage; and an extra special thank you to my “baby brother” Ruben Perez – this video most certainly would not have been half as good (or as fun to make) without your involvement. Cheers!

PHOTOGRAPHS (FROM TOP)

Atoms for Peace by Lina Shteyn

Ensemble LPR and the Wordless Music Orchestra by Mark Shelby Perry

Florence and the Machine by Ryan Muir

Doveman by Alexis Sumsion

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