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Contents 9
APRIL 2014
The intersection of art, entertainment, culture, opinion and mad genius
Filling the hunger since 1992
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
1-800-354-8776 • 215-862-9558 fax: 215-862-9845
www.icondv.com
CHRISTIAN SLATER | 22
President
Christian Slater is suddenly back in the spotlight with a major role in Lars von Trier’s Nymphomaniac. While this sexual saga seems apt fodder for a former bad boy, the twist is that Slater is the one pulling back the reins.
Assistant to the Publisher
David Bromberg is one complex character—a soloist whose folk-hewn instrumentation has forever blended seamlessly into the whole—a star who faded into the background to alternately study up and hunker down to buy a violin store. That’s an odd, rare bird.
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COLUMNS City Beat | 5 Backstage | 5 Sally Friedman | 40 Jim Delpino | 41
JAZZ LIBRARY | 30 Hank Mobley
EXHIBITIONS | 8 Lafayette College Williams Center Art Gallery Traditional Artists Show Hetzel’s Gallery Mary Townsend Mason, Still Life with Fruit, ca. 1921.
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ART Scott Heiser | 9 Trompe L’oeil to Modernism | 10
FILM CINEMATTERS | 12 Le Week-End
SINGER / SONGWRITER | 34 Johnny Winter; Lisa Biales Carlene Carter; David G Smith James Armstrong
FOOD & WINE Heirloom | 36 A Great Tuscan Wine | 37 Avero | 38
ETCETERA L.A. Times Crossword | 42 Agenda | 43
KERESMAN ON FILM | 14 Nymphomaniac: Vol. I BAD MOVIE | 16 Need for Speed REEL NEWS | 18 Gloria; Philomena; Everyday A Touch of Sin FILM ROUNDUP | 20 It Felt Like Love; Ernest & Celestine Particle Fever; Bethlehem
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DESIGN Designer Lauren Fiori Assistant Designer Kaitlyn Reed-Baker
Backstage & Jazz Scene Editor Bruce H. Klauber / drumalive@aol.com City Beat Editor Thom Nickels / thomnickels1@aol.com Fine Arts Editors Edward Higgins Burton Wasserman Music Editors Nick Bewsey / nickbewsey@gmail.com Mark Keresman / shemp@hotmail.com Bob Perkins / bjazz5@aol.com Tom Wilk / tomwilk@rocketmail.com Food Editor Robert Gordon / rgordon33@verizon.net
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS A. D. Amorosi / divaland@aol.com Robert Beck / robert@robertbeck.net Jack Byer / jackbyer@verizon.net Peter Croatto / petecroatto@yahoo.com James P. Delpino / JDelpino@aol.com Sally Friedman / pinegander@aol.com Geoff Gehman / geoffgehman@verizon.net George O.Miller / gomiller@travelsdujour.com R. Kurt Osenlund / rkurtosenlund@gmail.com
ICON is published twelve times per year. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is strictly prohibited. ICON welcomes letters to the editor, editorial ideas and submissions, but assumes no responsibility for the return of unsolicited material. ICON is not responsible for claims made by advertisers. Subscriptions are available for $40 (shipping & handling).
THE JAZZ SCENE | 26
Lindsay Duncan and Jim Broadbent in Le Week-End.
Executive Editor Trina McKenna
PO Box 120 • New Hope, PA 18938 (800) 354-8776 Fax (215) 862-9845
MUSIC KERESMAN ON DISC | 28 Bob Frank; Peter Walker; Bill Pritchard Danilo Perez; The Claudia Quintet Dex Romweber Duo; The Fleshtones
EDITORIAL
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS NICK’S PICKS | 32 Taylor Haskins; Lisa Hilton; Tim Hegarty Brian Charette; Takuya Kuroda
A THOUSAND WORDS Sternman | 7
Raina Filipiak filipiakr@comcast.net
ADVERTISING 800-354-8776
DAVID BROMBERG | 24 Two Clowns, Paris, 1986. Gelatin silver print, 8 x 12 in. Estate of the artist.
Trina McKenna trina@icondv.com
ON THE COVER: Christian Slater. Photo: Rodolfo Martinez. Interview on page 22.
Copyright 2014 Prime Time Publishing Co., Inc.
City Beat
THOM NICKELS
Backstage
BRUCE KLAUBER
ThomNickels1@aol.com
drumalive@aol.com
A BUDDHIST WALL TAPESTRY hid PMA’s iconic top-of-the-stairs statue of Diana at the opening press event of Treasures of Korea (till May 26). We watched as Korean Buddhist monks danced to ceremonial bongs, our gaze transcendentally fixed on two monks in boxy headdresses holding bouquets of flowers. We assumed the “flower monks” were women but when they removed their head gear suddenly they became two men holding hands. The ritual dance reminded us of the Dalai Lama, even Thomas Merton’s Asian Journal, and set the tone for a more home schooled event the following week: PMA’s homage to the Rocky Balboa cult. As PMA President Gail Harrity told reporters about the Museum’s first time screening of a Rocky film, we knew that the old “closed” Museum world was over. We sensed some change coming about a month ago when we had a nighttime dream of a very happy Anne d’Harnoncourt accepting our offer of a cherry pie baked years ago by Picasso but frozen after his death and now thawed so that Anne could use it as art distribution food. What is this if not modernist surrealism in the extreme? The “sensurround” museum experience seems to be taking hold everywhere, as our recent visit to the Penn Museum also indicated. At Penn we viewed over 200 objects at the Native American Voices exhibit (till May 2014), ate native food (mini buffalo burgers on crackers) and marveled at a head-to-toe ceremonial headdress that had us thinking of the famous chiefs we knew in childhood—Sitting Bull, the Delaware Chief Tedusyscung, and, of course, Philly’s own Chief Halftown.
KIMMEL CENTER HASN’T HAD much success with on-premises restaurants, but this one looks like it could be a keeper. It’s Chef Jose Garces’ Volver, opening this month on Kimmel’s ground floor. Here’s the kicker: The restaurant will accommodate 34 people for two nightly seatings. Want a reservation? Advance tickets only, a first for Philadelphia. Pre-theater tasting menu ranges from $75 to $120 per. Second seating is for a first course of four snacks and a subsequent 12 courses, at a cost of $175 to $250. And if you don’t show? Too bad. You paid in advance for a ticket, so it’s no soup for you.
AT TREASURES OF KOREA we chatted with Edie, an occasional “art forum” PAFA panelist, who suggested we check out a leggy female journalist in tight yoga pants (a current urban style), running sneakers, and a bulky knit sweater top—by no means an outfit that would warm the hearts of Parisians, at least according to author Edmund White, who writes in his latest Paris memoirs that when the women of Paris leave their homes they dress as if they’re going onstage. “Why do some Philadelphians dress like that?” Edie asked, to which we had no answers. The journalist in yoga pants reminded us of the men in bib overalls we used to see at play openings, and even the shirt-hanging-out-of-the-trousers crowd prevalent today among men trying to hide weight gain. The topic of How Philadelphians Dress resurfaced at a Curtis Institute fundraising event at 1616 Locust, where we accompanied Drexel University’s Vanessa Bender to mix with friendly music loving cultural high rollers, including Charles B. Finch, Director of Special Events at Curtis, and Gerry and Marguerite Lenfest. While we didn’t spot a single woman in yoga pants, or a man with his shirt hanging outside his trousers, we did see one radical hot fashion trender: a young male in a shrinking before your eyes Little Lord Fauntleroy petite suit that looked as though it had been painted on his body. It reminded us of the Barbra Streisand song, Sam You Made The Pants Too Long, only in this case the reverse was true. We first glimpsed the Little Lord Fauntleroy look about a year ago when we mistook a straightjacket petite suit at a party to be a Krass Brothers of South Street-style tailoring mistake. WE CELEBRATED JEWISH KOSHER culture at a culinary food fest at Vie (600 N. Broad Street), where Kashrut-sanctioned hors d’oeuvres, chef samplings and specialty wine pairings brought us face-to-face with some of the best looking beards we’ve seen since our visit to an Orthodox Christian monastery. The event raised funds for two non-profits, Philadelphia North and Lubavitch of Bucks County. The music was all Middle Eastern, and reminded us of our first Jewish wedding and the excitement we felt then watching the groom being lifted up on a chair, Priapus style, and then passed over the heads of the crowd like a buoy at sea. In the crowd we spotted former television icon Marciarose Shestack (a judge in the sweets category), but couldn’t find Nancy Glass (also a judge), one-time co-host of KYW-TV’s Evening Magazine. From kosher beards we went to (the closing of) Other Desert Cities at The Walnut, starring Krista Apple-Hodge (she’ll play Queen Elizabeth at the Broad Street Ministry in April) and Ann Crumb (daughter of composer George Crumb) who played Silda Gravman, easily our favorite character in the play. This tale about a disaffected writer-daughter of a Palm Springs California family whose book about her dead brother promises to destroy the family name, had more Jewish ref-
THOSE ULTRA-SENSITIVE FOLKS AT The Danbury Mint don’t waste much time. Less than a month after the death of Shirley Temple, the shrewd folks at the Mint hooked up with Twentieth Century Fox films to market—can you believe this…The Shirley Temple Commemorative Doll. And it’s only $169, payable in five monthly installments of $35. Just so buyers know they’re getting their money’s worth, this product, they claim, is “an exclusive, officially authorized, heirloom quality treasure.” Get yours today, as there will only be a limited amount of these dolls made available to the public. Unless, that is, the Mint gets orders for more. LORNA LUFT, ROSYLN KIND (look it up), Deana Martin, Frank Sinatra, Jr. and Louis Prima, Jr. watch out! The daughter of Billy Joel and Christie Brinkley—singer Alexa Ray Joel— is tearing it up the New York cabaret scene. She appeared at NYC’s Oak Room in 2011 and has just been booked in New York City’s famed Café Carlyle from April 1 to 12. The question is why? The answer is: Because this charming but currently intonation-challenged “cabaret singer” is the daughter of Billy Joel and Christie Brinkley. She will, no doubt, improve with experience. AS NOTED IN BACKSTAGE not long ago, the dynamic and indefatigable husband and wife songwriting team and entertainment industry promoters, Henry and Bobby Shaffner, are out there pitching ideas all over town. Their latest endeavor is collecting signatures for a petition they wrote, requesting that the United States Post Office honor the late actor Van Johnson with a commemorative postage stamp. Johnson, who died in 2008 at the age of 92, was active in films, on stage and in television for over 60 years, notably in dramas like Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo and in musicals like In The Good Old Summertime. The Shaffners asked us to sign the petition—gladly done—while noting that the person who signed it earlier in the day just happened to be Liza Minnelli. Johnson, of course, co-starred with Minnelli’s mom— Judy Garland—in Summertime. A Johnson stamp is likely to happen. Other celeb legends honored with postage stamps include Gracie Allen, Desi Arnaz, Gene Autry, Jack Benny, Raymond Burr, Art Carney, Lou Costello, Jackie Gleason, and almost everyone imaginable, except Jerry Vale. So why not Van Johnson? BIG NEWS FOR COST-CONSCIOUS theatergoers. Philadelphia’s Wilma Theater is cutting the cost of its tickets to $25. This inimitable theater company was able to do this for one reason: Wilma received a gift from noted philanthropist and sometime-actor Leonard Haas, who is heavily connected, family-wise, to the William Penn and Wyncote Foundations. Wyncote will subsidize the lowered ticket prices via a $750,000 grant. Theater info: wilmatheater.org THE ALWAYS PROGRESSIVE THEATRE Exile will close its 17th season with the Philadelphia premiere of Annapurna, a new play by critically acclaimed Broadway playwright Sharr White. The show, which focuses on the emotionally charged relationship between a husband and wife, stars Barrymore Award-winning actors Pearce Bunting (seen in HBO’s Boardwalk Empire) and Catharine Starr (who appeared in the play Any Given Monday, among others). The show opens on April 17, runs through May 11 and will be presented at Studio X, 13th and Reed Street. Info and ticketing: theatreexile.com. WE ALL KNOW WHAT cable television—specifically Comcast—is in dire need of. More re-
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Journalist Thom Nickels’ books include Philadelphia Architecture, Tropic of Libra, Out in History and Spore. He is the recipient of the 2005 Philadelphia AIA Lewis Mumford Architecture Journalism Award. thomnickels.blogspot.com
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Bruce Klauber is a published author/biographer, producer of DVDs for Warner Bros., CD producer for Fresh Sound Records, and a working jazz drummer. He graduated from Temple University and holds an Honorary Doctorate from Combs College of Music.
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erences than the play Tribes at the Suzanne Roberts earlier last month. This got us thinking about family identity, and why both playwrights felt it necessary to have characters frequently identity themselves as Jewish. In real life, of course, families never refer to themselves as Irish, Italian, German, Greek or even Serbian, especially when sitting around talking about their dysfunctional selves... THE ACTING PROFESSION IS divided on whether to call female thespians actresses or actors. Krista Apple-Hodge calls herself an “actor,” (as does Whoopi Goldberg and Gena Davis) but many women in the profession like the word actress because they don’t want the word to defer to men. ‘Female actor’ is somewhat in vogue, but to us it is as sloppily PC as calling a princess a prince or a duchess a duke. And, as so many have observed: Why not give women the dignity that their separate identity deserves? One UK Guardian writer put it this way: “What’s next? Replacing mummy and daddy with male parent and female parent?” PICASSO (SANS CHERRY PIE) once said, “I am only a public entertainer who has understood his times and exploited as best he could the imbecility, the vanity, the cupidity of his contemporaries.” At PAFA’s Open Studio Night, we kissed Heike Rass, helped ourselves to coffee and cupcakes, then went on to explore the open studios we did on a scale of one several years ago when PAFA grad Roman Sierra (now a successful painter in Detroit), invited us into his cubicle. The many open studios covering several floors of the building made us think of a large farmer’s market. Some students attracted large crowds, while others waited for visitors the same way that boardwalk gypsy fortune tellers sneak longing looks at passersby. The popular studios were those exhibiting Bo Bartlett, Andrew and Jamie Wyeth-style realism, while the less crowded ones accented abstraction or the macabre. In one cubicle we spotted painted (decapitated) doll heads; in another, miniature penis wire sculptures placed on the wall like light fixtures. One enterprising student generated a circus atmosphere with a life-sized transgender doll and its heart-shaped red lips, Orphan Annie hair, Mae West bosom and large plug-on satyr’s ceramic erection. His charisma notwithstanding, we wondered who would ever buy such a thing. One visible change was the prevalence of male nudes, something that was not the case at PAFA student shows just five years ago. FOR WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH, we headed to the Rosenbach Museum for a Wine and Readings event. Sponsored by Pearl S. Buck International, we were one of four featured readers who read from a selection of the authors’ books. The mini-Bloomsday-like event gave guests plenty of space between readings to chat with docent Susie Woodland (a Pearl Buck impersonator), say hello to Rosenbach Director Derick Derher, Lisa Heyman, Aaron Ron Hunter, and Philly artist Noel Miles. We were there to celebrate the life and writings of the 1938 Nobel Prizewinner who experienced her fair share of critical derision by stuffy scholars squirrels and literary snobs. Despite these battles, Buck would prove to be ahead of her time: In 1966, she predicted the transformation of communism, was a staunch advocate for birth control and women’s rights, and was one of the first public figures to call people from Asia Asians, rather than Orientals. We have to wonder if Buck were alive today whether she’d be given a top slot in the politically tiered Philadelphia Book Festival, the city’s annual celebration of literacy featuring area authors with new books to promote. Would organizers (who seem connected to the scholar squirrel network) assign her to read at the library’s Central branch, or relegate her to a small branch like Tacony, where the audiences number in the low single digits? MAYOR NUTTER WANTS TO sell the Philadelphia Gas Works to a private corporation in Connecticut, the UIL Holding Corporation, for $1.86 billion. What a bombshell. The New Dealstyle political grassroots Democrat has become an urban version of Governor Tom Corbett. Welcome to a Philly nightmare. If the Mayor’s proposal materializes, the city will be giving up its 178-year ownership of PGW. He says the city needs to sell PGW to rescue “the city’s ailing pension fund,” and the sale would inject $424 million into the city’s pension fund. The pension fund, however, affects only a miniscule group, while the vast majority of Philadelphians have no connection to the fund because they do not work for the city. This tells us that PGW is good for Philly because, as a nonprofit public utility, it benefits the entire city with gas rates that, although still high, would be three times as high if a private corporation like UIL—which exists only to maximize shareholder value—gains control. Pension funds all over the country are dying out or being drastically reduced. In some cases, such as in Detroit, city pension funds have been radically cut. Philadelphia’s pension fund is, by comparison to other cities, extremely generous. There have been no cuts, although according to the mayor there is an $8 billion dollar pension fund deficit. UIL promises that it will not raise gas rates for customers for three years after the sale, and that it will keep discount programs for low income seniors and others. An additional promise was made that PGW employee retiree pensions will be respected. Will a private corporation be as benevolent as PGW when people are late or don’t pay their bills? Can a “for profit” company ever be as “benevolent” as a not for profit company? Can you name one large private corporation that has ever put people before profits? ■
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runs of I Love Lucy and Wonder Woman, of course. Fans of such innovative fare will be delighted to discover that Wilmington-based television station KJWP—known for its library of ancient television shows—has been added to Comcast’s Xfinity lineup in these parts as a part of the basic cable package. Broadcasting higher-ups must be fans of stuff like Our Miss Brooks, etc. as KJWP is designated as a “must carry” station, meaning the Federal Communications Commission rules that cable must carry it. If the station decides to run The Three Stooges and Dragnet, rest assured we will be tuning in. PHILADELPHIA NATIVE, COMIC DAVID Brenner, has died at the age of 78. A genuinely funny man and an innovator of sorts in the field of “observational comedy,” Brenner was once one of the biggest names in the business and holds the record for the most guest appearances on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. Because of some personal issues, perhaps a career misstep or two and changes in the business, his tremendous fame didn’t last, though he continued to tour and make television appearances. His last appearance, in fact, was at the Valley Forge Casino on New Year’s Eve. A scheduled March gig at The Broadway Theatre of Pitman, NJ, was cancelled just days before the play date; medical reaons were cited, but apparently no one outside of family knew how ill he was. Tributes poured in from fellow comics, notably Richard Lewis, who called him “The godfather of hip, observational comedy.” DESPITE PUBLISHED REPORTS HERE and elsewhere, Atlantic City’s beleaguered Revel Casino Hotel struggles on, at least for the moment. Announced bookings—and the word “announced” is stressed here—include Whoopi Goldberg on April 5, Pet Shop Boys Electric on April 25, and a bunch of others booked through June 20. Those who try to make reservations by phone should be aware that there may be no answer. FRANK D. QUATTRONE, FOR 18 years editor of “Ticket,” the weekly entertainment guide inserted in the Main Line Times and other suburban newspapers each Friday, is leaving his post. Two other long-time “Ticket” staffers are also history. In his final column, Quattrone said, “I am not leaving of my own accord. Heads much wiser than mine have decreed that my devoted service is no longer needed.” No word on whether “Ticket,” which has been looking thinner and thinner each week and is now down to a scant eight pages will continue. Quattrone would not respond to calls or emails about this issue. In the first version of “Ticket” published since Quattrone’s departure, still clocking in at eight pages, the masthead and all contact information was removed, meaning that no one is supposed to know who is minding the store. THE “PHILADELPHIA CHEESESTEAK BATTLE” of South Philadelphia’s “Pat’s versus Geno’s” will likely continue for as long as there is a Philadelphia and for as long as this sandwich is served. Someone evidently dropped the ball at Geno’s, as some of the publicity it recently received wasn’t, shall we say, appetizing. Seems Geno’s Steaks had been operating with an expired “food preparation” license since May, and their private dumpster and sidewalk café licenses had been expired since 2011. How did this happen? “There was miscommunication with [owner] Geno Vento, due to his recent surgery and his attending culinary school,” according to a Vento spokesperson. In any event, Geno’s is now “wit” license. Wait. Did they say “culinary school’? AN EVENT CALLED “NEW Generation of J-Horror Films Showcase” has been set up by a newcomer to Philadelphia, Tetsuki Ijichi Tidepoint, who explains that” the “J” in the title stands for Japanese. But the films being screened at this April 5 event at PhilaMOCA—531 North 12th Street—are not of the Godzilla variety. Yukihiro Kato’s The Idol is Dead, along with Sayonara Dystopia and Hide and Seek are cutting edge, albeit low budget, pieces of cinema that often combine a number of genres. The Idol, for example, has been described as “a gory action musical” where “the weirdness is on full display.” This sounds good. Doors open at 7:30 and tickets are $10 Info: philamoca.org ■ Correction: Last month we referenced a new, online column for the transgender community written by area theatrical costumer Lorraine Anderson. The web site address given was incorrect. The correct URL is tgforum.com Be a part of “Backstage” and send items to drumalive@aol.com.
A Thousand Words
STORY AND PAINTING BY ROBERT BECK
Sternman
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WALLY SAT FACING POP as the older man rowed through the darkness. A rhythmic thrust from the oars and a hushed rippling along the side, pull and return, pull and return, out into the cold, four-in-theFebruary-morning harbor. They came alongside the Lorna Laurie, a 34-foot Jonesport, folded the oars and climbed aboard. Wally stowed gear while Pop cleared the bilge of fuel vapors and started the engine, its rumble absorbed by the dense night air. They pulled away from the mooring and headed out of Boothbay toward the ocean. Other cabin lights appeared dimly off to port near Tumbler Island. The wheelhouse radio began to chatter as more boats came to life. The Lorna Laurie would be hauling traps by the time the sun split the horizon. The lobster traps Pop used, or pots as some call them, were attached seven to a line, about 30 feet apart with a buoy at each end. These buoys are striped in colors that identify the owner of the traps, which lay on the bottom of the ocean. Pop brought the boat up to the buoy, grabbed it from the water, strung the line on a pulley hanging over the rail next to his head then wrapped it around a winch beside the wheel. When the first trap emerged from the water, seventyfive pounds wet and loaded, he slid it down the rail to Wally. Wally opened the trap and cleaned it out. Hard shell lobsters went into one tub and soft shell into another. If they were small, or females with eggs, they got tossed over the rail. So did any rocks, crabs, or dogfish that had found their way inside. Then Wally took a long tool and threaded new bait—dead, Robert Beck maintains the Gallery of Robert Beck in Lambertville, NJ. (215) 982-0074 robertbeck.net
stinky fish that lobsters love—onto a line in the trap and closed it up. The trap was placed on the transom. By then another one was waiting for him on the rail. Pop took the Lorna Laurie in close to the granite coast while Wally stretched the trap lines along the deck so they wouldn’t foul. Pop brought the boat up to speed through the slight chop. Wally threw the end buoy in the water and went forward to get out of the way. When the line tightened, it pulled the first trap off the back like a depth charge. Each would drag the next along in turn, the connecting lines singing as they played out over the stern into the ocean. It was a routine they went through twenty times a day. The Lorna Laurie lifted on a swell and Wally stepped back. He didn’t remember the loop of line closing on his foot, pulling his leg out from under, raking him up and across the transom into the winter Atlantic. For him,
one moment was the drumming of the engine and spray on his neck—the next was a dark, weightless void. He watched in vague confusion as the frigid ocean water squeezed the air from his body. Pop saw him go. He immediately put the Lorna Laurie in full reverse to slacken the line and maybe relax the loop. He backed to where Wally went in—as near as he could tell—dropped it in neutral, scurried down to the stern and leaned, belly over the rail. The line released its grip on Wally’s foot and drifted off into the blackness. He watched as bubbles from his mouth rolled silently along his chest, and thought it unusual for them to be going in that direction. Then it came clear: he was in the water, and he was upside-down. Wally twisted to right himself and gave a hard thrust toward the light but it wasn’t enough. His wet clothes held him back. He tried it again. That was all he had.
Pop saw Wally’s hand glimmer under the surface. He plunged his arm into the water, grabbed his wrist, then the strap of his oilskins, and hauled him into the cockpit. Wally knelt, knees and elbows on the deck, shivering. Pop told him to start pulling pots. Wally said he was going into the cabin where the motor was. Pop said no, they were going to pull pots, and made him get back to work, which probably saved his life. Wally tended and stackened as best he could, under Pop’s eye. His arms and legs were rubber. Between lines he went over and hugged the hot exhaust muffler. Just enough work to ease the shivers and get the blood back, then Pop turned for a quick run to Boothbay. Other boats were heading in and talk on the radio increased. Pop picked up the microphone and said, “Waltah went ovah.” A voice that Wally thought sounded familiar said, “Did he get wet?” ■
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Peter Frederick Rothermel, The Landing of the Pilgrims, 1620.
A Band of Exiles on the Wild New England Shore: The Place of Peter Frederick Rothermel’s The Landing of the Pilgrims in America’s National Memory Lafayette College Williams Center Art Gallery 317 Hamilton Street, Easton, PA (610) 330-5361 http://galleries.lafayette.edu Through May 24, 2014. One of the great 19th century American history paintings, The Landing of the Pilgrims, 1620, is a masterwork by renowned Philadelphia artist Peter F. Rothermel (1812–95). His sensational interpretation was less concerned with portraying the facts than in perpetuating its mythic dimensions—the heroic determinism takes its place among the many contemporary images affirming America’s Manifest Destiny. The grand histrionics of this romantic rendering were inspired by poet Felicia Hemans’s wildly popular The Landing of the Pilgrim Fathers in New England, 1825. Through paintings, prints, books, and decorative arts, the exhibition and catalogue essays, curator Mark Thistlethwaite of Texas Christian University and Lafayette’s Bianca Falbo situate the picture within the historical, literary, and artistic contexts of its creation.
Peter Frederick Rothermel, Self Portrait (undated), oil on canvas 30 5/16 x 25 1/4 in. Courtesy the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts Philadelphia Pennsylvania Lent by Peter F. Rothermel, Jr.
Painting by Ray Overpeck.
5th Annual Traditional Artists Show Rolling Green Farm Rt. 202 and Aquetong Road, Solebury, PA 215-262-1083
facebook.com/TraditionalArtistShowBucksCounty May 10 and 11, 11 am–5 pm Reception: Friday, May 9, 5:00–9:00 pm The Traditional Artists of Bucks County at Rolling Green Farm will present its fifth annual invitational art exhibition and sale, benefiting the Bucks County SPCA, on May 9, 10 and 11. The show and sale will kick off with an opening reception on Friday, May 9 from 5:00 to 9:00 p.m. Also featured is a Silent Auction on opening night as well as a raffle to win original paintings. The event will be held in a beautifully renovated barn at Rolling Green Farm on Rt. 202 and Aquetong Road in Solebury, PA. This mission of this show is to raise funds and awareness for the Bucks County SPCA, and to to showcase the talents of local artists. The SPCA is dedicated to enforce anti-cruelty laws and to prevent and alleviate the suffering of animals within Bucks County. They are supported solely by donations from the community. There will be animals present at the exhibit. This year’s artists include: Sandy Askey-Adams, Jerry Cable, Jeff Charlesworth, Don F. Kaiser, Jim Lukens, Betty Minnucci, Bryan Oliver, Ray Overpeck, Fred Place, Materese Roche and Jas Szygiel. Admission is free.
Painting by Sandy Askey-Adams.
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Steampunk ABC National Book Launch & Signing Hetzel’s 34 Main Street, Clinton, NJ (908) 735-8808 hetzelsart.com M-F 10–5:30; Sat 10–4 April 26, 11–2; April 27, 12–2. Local author and illustrator, Lisa Falkenstern, will be signing copies of her latest work, Steampunk ABC, at Hetzel’s Gallery at 34 Main Street in Clinton, N.J. on Saturday, April 26, 2014 from 11:00AM -2:00PM and Sunday, April 27, between 12-2PM. Professor Whiskerton Presents Steampunk ABC, published by Two Lions, is an alphabet picture book in steampunk style, often described as Victorian science fiction, full of gears and imaginary machinery. Original paintings from the book will be on exhibit, as will models of the main characters and their steampunk engine. Signed prints of the art will be available, including a raffle for a signed print. Children (and adults) can punch their raffle ticket in an old-fashioned steampunk time clock. The original art will be on display in the gallery for a month. Copies of the book can be reserved by calling Hetzel’s at 908-735-8808.
Art
EDWARD HIGGINS
SCOTT
HEISER THE STARKLY CONTRASTING BLACK and white photographs of Scott Heiser have been described as being Film Noir or Surrealist. If they are it’s a kinder and gentler type of Film Noir and Surrealism in that there is never evidence of evil or sinister distortion. If anything, this show of his work at the Delaware Art Museum—albeit a touch of 1930s Berlin cabaret feel to it—demonstrates that Heiser died far too young, leaving behind a tantalizing body of work. Fashion, Circus, Spectacle: Photographs by Scott Heiser is the first retrospective of his work. In this exhibition, the images, some 80 of them, run the range from acrobats, to models, to Swedish gymnasts on the World Trade Center plaza, come from Heiser’s world in the 1970s and ‘80s in New York City. He was also a regular at the Westminster Dog Show, the Big Apple Circus, Parisian fashion runways, and parades. This was a world of avant garde magazines, freelance artists of all stripes, Warhol’s Factory, ballet, fashion and an almost desperate need for entertainment and self-aggrandizement. The hip New York scene at the time was a “cross pollination of art, fashion, and photography.” There was also spectacle and performance art and Heiser regarded the public events he attended as art, and he wasn’t alone. Art in those decades was coming off the excitement and exhilaration of the earlier Abstract Expressionists whose drinking, brawling, and lifestyle were the stuff of legends. It was also the age of Warhol’s Brillo Box and what Arthur Danto referred to as the “death of art.” So anybody’s definition, anyone’s judgment was as good as anyone else’s. While Heiser’s reputation was built on fashion shows, public performances, weird angles, close cropping and high contrast, he was a unique type of photojournalist. In fact, most of his work was published in magazines and newspapers “covering” an event; his work was not there to illustrate the copy but rather to “cover” the news as he saw it. As such, his work stands alone, even if it did not often include much of the fashion or the people involved. Heiser was born in Wilmington in 1949 and graduated from Thomas McKean High School. He later attended the Rhode Island School of Design where he studied under the noted photographer Harry Callahan and illustrator Richard Merkin. After graduation he moved to New York where he began as an assistant to photographer Deborah Turbeville. He was a prolific worker and he successfully freelanced his work to the national press: Interview, New York Magazine, Vogue, GQ, Spin, and the Village Voice. He also sold work locally to Soho Weekly News, New York Rocker, and Paper. His portraits are in the display and they include Andy Warhol. Jamie Wyeth, Marianne Faithful and Alberta Hunter. Somewhat surprisingly, he also did portraits of Jessica Mitford and Gerard Depardieu. It was a time of great creativity and opportunity for that creativity to be shown. Heiser showed his work at a number of smaller venues. He kept his expenses low—“bathroom was his lab, a closet his darkroom,” remembers his friend Thomas Woodruff. “A fun evening in those days was to have a cheap meal of General Tso’s Chicken and vodka gimlets...” Heiser’s work was influenced by Surrealist photographers like Man Ray and Andre Kertesz and earlier artists like Cecil Beaton, Diane Arbus, and Gary Winogrand. In 1993, after 20 years of work, Heiser died at the age of 44 from complications of AIDS. That was not the end of the story. About 20 years later, Heather Campbell Coyle, curator at the Delaware Art Museum, came across nine images of Heiser’s. “When I encountered these photographs in storage, I was captivated by the dramatic compositions and beautiful printing.” she said. “I couldn’t believe that he wasn’t better known.” From there came research, interviews, more research and more interviews. That led to the current show and a catalogue with essays by Coyle, Woodruff and others on the life and work of Scott Heiser. Heiser’s work is also included in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian Institution, the National Museum of Fashion, the Museum of the City of New York, the Fashion Institute of Technology, the Brooklyn Museum, and the New York Public Library. ■ Delaware Art Museum, 2301 Kentmere Parkway, Wilmington, DE (302) 571-9590. delart.org. The exhibit runs through June 1, 2014.
Top: Thierry Mugler, Paris, October 1982. Gelatin silver print, 11 x 14 in. Estate of the Artist Middle: Big Apple Circus, New York,1982. Gelatin silver print, 11 x 14 in. Estate of the Artist
Edward Higgins is a member of The Association Internationale Des Critiques d’Art.
Bottom: Marianne Faithfull, 1980. Gelatin silver print, image 6 x 9 in. Estate of the artist.
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Art
BURTON WASSERMAN
Trompe L’oeil to Modernism
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AT THIS TIME, IN celebration of the latest annual Philadelphia Flower Show, The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts has installed an exhibition titled Trompe L’oeil to Modernism organized by Dr. Anna Marley, the chief curator of historic American art at the Academy’s Museum. It features an interesting selection of artworks from PAFA’s permanent collection and is well worth a visitor’s attention. The artworks on view date from highly representational 19th century still life compositions to fascinating examples by such distinguished 20th century masters as Stuart Davis and Horace Pippin. The literal meaning in English for the French term trompe l’oeil is “to deceive the eye.” Its frequent use in the art world goes back many centuries. Specifically, the practice refers to an approach prized by many connoisseurs, and even artists themselves, for pictures that are so literally descriptive that spectators feel as though they are seeing actual subject matter—like a display of real flowers—rather than an approximation rendered with pigments. Today, the practice of trompe l’oeil painting still fulfills a desire for demonstrating virtuosic skill in a way that places importance on an artist’s capacity for replicating the external appearance of assorted objects one encounters in the everyday world. Many people also continue to consider such facility the essential basis for assessing the true value of an artist’s talent. By contrast, there are those who find such excessive emphasis upon on visual trickery to be unduly slick and aesthetically vulgar. Instead, they consider the most important characteristics of a serious artist to be acute aesthetic sensitivity, imaginative resourcefulness in depth and an extraordinary degree of expressive power. The oldest picture in the show is a view of some fruit and a pitcher, resting on top of a table. The contrast between the upright vessel and the round pieces of edible produce makes for a handsome arrangement of three-dimensional shapes situated in space. The composition was put together by William Mason Brown in 1888. Without question, it successfully conveys the flavor of that long-gone era. A more recent painting, from 1934, by Preston Dickinson, titled Still Life, voices the delicate poetry given expression by some yellow and white flowers. Projecting a rather timeless presence, the total image provides a metaphorical statement, symbolizing several philosophical ideals as goodness, truth and justice. Even though such classical notions have largely gone into decline, the artwork perpetuates an idea that enjoyed great favor at an earlier time. Nevertheless, for some people in the here-and-now, there has been a modest revival of interest in the subject. A picture by Julius Bloch, Tulips and Anemones, is rich with vivid color. However, unlike living natural blooms, which must inevitably wither and fade, his flowers, made of strokes of paint, may well last, unchanged forever after. This ability, to both survive the passage of time and the organic destiny of natural objects, gives his painting a degree of transcendence all its own. Without question, this is an exhibition soundly invested with sheer visual delight. It offers visitors a wealth of experience with the distinctive sort of sensuous pleasure that art alone is able to provide. ■ Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Gallery 8, North Broad St. and Lenfest Plaza, Philadelphia. The closing date for the exhibition is August 20.
William Mason Brown, Fruit and Art Objects, ca. 1888. Oil on canvas, 22 1/16 x 16 3/16 in. Joseph E. Temple Fund, 1889.1
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Dr. Burton Wasserman is a professor emeritus of Art at Rowan University, and a serious artist of long standing.
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Cinematters
PETE CROATTO
Le Week-End MAKING PROCLAMATIONS ABOUT MARRIAGE is risky business, especially if the person doing that is barely out of the newlywed stage. Here goes: a couple’s problems don’t vanish over the course of a vacation. The million little things that serve as a buffer zone—work and errands and hobbies—disappear for a few days. You have to face each other, and landmarks don’t whisper marriage advice into your ear. This reality does not escape director Roger Michell and writer Hanif Kureishi in Le Week-End. The frequent collaborators’ small wonder enchants us with its appreciation of marriage as a complex, evolving protagonist, not as a hapless damsel that needs to be wined, dined, and rescued. Of course, having Jim Broadbent and Lindsay Duncan as the leads helps. They play Nick and Meg, a British couple returning to the scene of their honeymoon after 30 years. It’s a glamorous affair, if you’re a commuter. A train ride precedes a trip to the old hotel, which has become a place where hope goes to die. This will not do for Meg, who leads a move to a swanky hotel frequented by Tony Blair—Nick quips that he hopes the bed sheets are clean—and a trip through Paris’ more decadent pleasures. Meg’s cavalier spending is a way to generate some glamour for a relationship that has curdled into complacency. What’s coming around the bend is not pleasant. Nick, a
professor, chooses lunch to reveal that the college wants him to take early retirement because of an inappropriate comment he made to a student. Meg wants to change gears in her career, an idea Nick is not exactly keen on. They’re alone together. There’s time to kill, so the issues mount and fester. A tender moment can’t even occur without a reminder of Nick’s inadequacies popping up. Here it’s a college classmate turned successful writer (the always welcome Jeff Goldblum) who materializes like a calamity from a Greek tragedy. Paris has been a romantic cliché since the first doeeyed freshman moved into her first dorm room, and its use in Le Week-End as the setting for a marriage’s last stand is refreshing. In fact, Kureishi swipes at cinematic tropes from if you’re old, there’s time left to change—Meg: “It’s not too late to find another direction.” Nick: “People don’t change.” Meg: “They do, they can get worse”—to the romance of bold gestures. Nick’s beer tab engagement ring, the symbol of that interrupted tender moment, ends up cutting Meg’s finger. Symbolism doesn’t threaten marriages. The getaway forces Meg and Nick to look at each other, and not just through tartly funny exchanges. A truth for everyone emerges: Getting older is not filled with certainty or a finish
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line to cross. A marriage doesn’t reach landmark status by virtue of longevity. It can crumble at any time. “Love dies,” Meg says, after Nick lobs a vicious accusation her way. “Only if you kill it,” he replies. Duncan and Broadbent play off each other so well that we get a glimpse of a marriage at its midway point. Not a marriage screeching toward disaster, but of two people who have reached the point where neither is complete without the other. Whether they want to admit it is another story. The beauty of Le Week-End is how it uses Paris as a catalyst for honesty yet ends up being romantic almost by accident. Meg and Nick’s ending works not only for them. Marriage is all about finding someone willing to embrace life’s swirling chaos with you. It may not be a storybook happy ending, but it actually works—which is pretty amazing, if you think about it. [R] ■
An ICON contributor since 2006, Pete Croatto also writes movie reviews for The Weekender. His work has appeared in The New York Times, Broadway.com, Grantland, Philadelphia, Publishers Weekly, and many other publications. Follow him on Twitter, @PeteCroatto.
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Stacy Martin and Shia LaBeouf in Nymphomaniac-Volume I, a Magnolia Pictures release. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures. Photo credit: Christian Geisnaes
Keresman on Film
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Nymphomaniac: Vol. I
ANISH FILMMAKER LARS VON Trier may be the Howard Stern of the cutting-edge cinema zone. Both are neurotic, both say and do stuff to be provocative, it’s difficult to discern whether they ever mean what they say, and can seem simply goofy. On the subject of the most reviled human in history (aside from Justin Beiber), quoth Lars: “I understand Hitler, but I think he did some wrong things, yes, absolutely…He’s not what you would call a good guy, but I understand much about him, and I sympathize with him a little bit. But come on, I’m not for the Second World War, and I’m not against Jews…I am of course very much for Jews, no not too much, because Israel is pain in the ass, but still how can I get out of this sentence.” Well, it’s good to know he’s not in favor of the Second World War. I expect he feels similar about undercooked French fries and rainy, overcast days. Von Trier’s films include such cheer-fests as Dogville, Antichrist, Breaking The Waves, and now Nymphomaniac, presented in one of two parts. The latter is a riddle wrapped in a conundrum, rolled in the breadcrumbs of misanthropy, and deep-fried in hot, pretentious oil. A past-middle-aged gent Seligman (Stellan Skarsgård) goes out on a snowy eve to get a quart of something and comes upon (should you pardon the expression) a battered, wounded young lady Joe (Charlotte Gainsbourg, daughter of French icon Serge) and he stops to render assistance. She refuses his offer to summon an ambulance and he does what anyone in the world of movies would do: He takes her into his apartment and provides her with tea, pastries, and a bed. Never mind the poor lass might have serious internal injuries (or maybe she’s a criminal or psycho) we’ve got to move the plot along! After she’s feeling a little better, Joe offers Seligman her life story which Seligman, who apparently has nowhere else to be, offers a sympathetic ear to her tales of sensuality and self-loathing. Joe relates that from an early age she’s had an obsession with sex and from there it’s one tale after another of explicit, joyless, mostly un-erotic sexual encounters. To quote Spike Lee, she’s gotta have it. Why she feels the need to share it in such vivid, exacting detail with
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MARK KERESMAN
this kindly old soul is a mystery, but otherwise “we” wouldn’t have a movie, would we? I cannot speak for the rest of his filmography, but Von Trier has clearly made this movie in that world where nobody talks like this in real life and if they did, anyone with a lick of sense would walk away. Joe speaks not so much like a young lady but as a documentary filmmaker. Seligman sympathetically and un-judgmentally relates what she says to mathematics, classical music (especially J.S. Bach), and fishing, all of which he speaks of in precise, scholarly terms. Golly, it’s good Joe fell into the caring hands of such a guy—imagine if he was an expert on ice hockey, microbiology (especially germ warfare), and Slavic cooking. (The results might’ve been tragic.) She thinks of herself as a lessthan-swell person for the use of her feminine wiles for selfish ends, to which Seligman says most gently, “If you have wings, why not fly?” (Someone probably said something similar to young Jordan Belfort but we won’t go there just now.) He presents Joe with a pastry but has the audacity to present the tiny pastry with a fork, which she derides as “feminine.” Well, isn’t that special? We are shown in graphic detail encounter after encounter, including tedious ones with Jerome, played by Shia LaBeouf, who resembles a result of a genetic cross-breed between Tobey McGuire and Shemp Howard albeit with none of their charm or charisma. (It’s a good thing he retired from public life…or has he?) Anyway, about the making of Nymphomaniac, Shia said, “The movie is what you think it is. It is Lars von Trier, making a movie about what he’s making.” (The guy’s got a way with words.) The (very) graphic-ness is not what’s “disturbing” about this movie— Joe (in flashbacks portrayed with great vulnerability by newcomer Stacy Martin) is essentially a cipher, defined almost entirely by her “condition.” We know nothing about her except she dropped out of her pre-med studies. We don’t know what she does for a living (except in one job she pretends to be a secretary) or if she has any other interests besides sex. During one awkwardly funny scene in which Mrs. H (Uma Thurman, excellent) confronts her in her apartment with her lover Mr. H—did I mention Mrs. H brought their three sons with her?—Joe stands there like a mute and passive lump taking the not-so-veiled insults from Mrs. H… some people MIGHT HAVE said, “Look, take your brood and get out of my apartment and take your dullard of a husband with you!” Of course, this doesn’t take place in any sort of world in which you and/or I live—this is Lars Von Triers’ world, and he didn’t approve of WWII. There are some good performances herein, especially by Thurman, Christian Slater [see interview in this issue] as Joe’s doting (and un-aging) father, and Skarsgård oozes kindly old-feller allure as he did in Thor, and it moves along at a good pace for its two-hour length—but it’s full of unintentionally hilarious dialogue and there are no characters worth caring about: Females are mostly succubae (plural of succubus, a mythical demon-seductress) and men mostly callous horn-dogs. Recommended only for addicts of the provocative. ■
In addition to ICON, Mark Keresman is a contributing writer for SF Weekly, East Bay Express, Pittsburgh City Paper, Paste, Jazz Review, downBeat, and the Manhattan Resident.
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Bad Movie
Official cast photo, DreamWorks II Distribution Co. Photo credit: Anthony Mandler.
F
FIRST OFF, I’M NOT a fan of video games. I’m not condemning them, mind you, but they simply do not appeal to me. There have been some movies based on video games, and—call me a film snob—I think it’s safe to state that none of them have been cinematic classics: Wing Commander, Super Mario Brothers, Alone in the Dark, Max Payne, Pokemon, and the Resident Evil series. (Heck, I’m old enough to recall when movies were based on books.) Which is not to imply that they can’t be fun, just as some movies adapted from comic books can hold appeal for those that haven’t touched a comic book since they were six years old. But comic books—hey, books period—can have things like decent and involving dialogue, character development, and even plots that make a weird sort of sense. (For instance, there’s real-world physics and comic book/science fiction physics, and for those that saw Winter’s Tale, egg physics—at one point, Russell Crowe’s bad guy refers to what sounds like “egg physics.” But I digress.) I like some of the 1970s “car crash” movies—The Gumball Rally is great fun, mainly because there’s some witty/charmingly goofy dialogue and decent acting (Raul Julia, Michael Sarrazin, and Gary Busey before he, well, you know) amid the CRR-rash-es, and Death Race 2000
MARK KERESMAN
Need for Speed was a killer (literally) dystopian-future satire that foreshadowed reality TV shows. Need For Speed is based on a video game and it stars Breaking Bad alum Aaron Paul in his first “lead” role. I hope his career survives this. Paul basically plays Tobey, the Generic Hunk Hero, a Working Class Tuff Guy with a heart of gold— we know this because he’s a Hollywood Cliché: He’s got photogenic stubble and tight T-shirt, plus he broods and grimaces. A lot. The plot, such as it is: A race lands Tobey in jail, framed for a crime he didn’t commit. (Haven’t seen that in a movie before…this week, I mean.) [Actually, he probably deserved some jail time for driving like a madman, but that’s beside the point.] So for the purpose of this movie, Tobey has got to participate in another secret, illegal race to a) get revenge on the guy that set him up and b) clear his name. The former is understandable, the latter makes practically no sense at all: to prove I didn’t commit a crime I’m going to commit another crime, or several. Besides, it’s a little hard to swallow the “morality” of such a character when throughout the movie, dozens of non-participant drivers are cheerily run off the road…but who cares about them, right? Car fans and auto fetishists are going to be on Cloud 9.61
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with this movie—film fans that value acting, dialogue, and characterization, not so much. The cars themselves out-act the humans, really—Tobey and his antagonist Dino Brewster, played by Dominic Cooper, plus Tobey’s obligatory (i.e., token, shoehorned-in, for the female audience members to identify with) love interest Julia (cute Brit Imogen Poots) are for the most part nonentities, symbols, ciphers. They exist to drive the cars and give us something to focus on when we don’t see the cars in action. The good guy, dressed like John Mellencamp, glares soulfully. The bad guy, dressed in black, sneers. (Jeez, why not go the whole route and give him a cloak, a fedora, and a vaguely East European accent?) The cute gal says, “Never judge a girl by her Gucci boots”—presumably to impart the notion she is a woman of Substance, albeit one that doesn’t mind seeing non-star drivers get run off the road, but I think I mentioned that before. The one nice thing about Need For Speed is that it does not rely on that old standby CGI—there are real cars racing and crashing, Dear Reader. That’s about it, really—recommended ONLY if you just can’t wait for Fast and Furious 11. Otherwise, rent Bullitt, The Great Race, The Gumball Rally, and Death Race 2000. Go, Speedracer, goooo! ■
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Reel News
REVIEWS OF RECENTLY RELEASED DVDS BY GEORGE OXFORD MILLER
A Touch of Sin.
★ =SKIP IT; ★★ =MEDIOCRE; ★★★ =GOOD; ★★★★ =EXCELLENT; ★★★★★ =CLASSIC
Gloria (2013) ★★★★ Cast: Paulina García, Sergio Hernandez, Diego Fontecilla Genre: Drama Rated R for sexual content, nudity, drug use, and language. Bubbling with vitality, the fiftyish, divorced, empty-nester Gloria (García) wants a life. She wants fun, excitement, and a lighthearted tumble in bed now and then. She has no problem filling her life, or her boudoir, but she can’t fill the inner void of a lonely, meaningless life. She’s a confident, mature woman who knows exactly what she wants—to love and be loved. Then she meets Rodolfo (Hernández) at a dance club. They fall madly in love, but an enduring midlife relationship takes more than mutual interests, respect, and great sex. Overcoming the accrued baggage of past failures and painful relationships presents the greatest challenge. Through it all, Gloria confronts life and fearlessly plunges ahead. Philomena (2013) ★★★★ Cast: Judi Dench, Steve Coogan Rated PG-13 for strong language and sexual references. In this true story, Philomena Lee (Dench) may have been hiding a soul-wrenching secret for 50 years, but she is not ambiguous. The Catholic sisters took her illegitimate child when she was a teen, but she harbors no ill will against the Church. She just wants to find out what happened to her son. First she must get the nuns to tell her who adopted him. Not so easy. A disgraced reporter, Martin Sixsmith (Coogan), gets in-
terested in the human interest angle for a tabloid and joins the search. He’s worldly, skeptical, atheistic; she’s poorly educated, devout, and reads mushy romance novels which she describes in detail to him. Though Sixsmith initially considers Philomena a doddering old lady, he soon realizes he’s met his equal. The transformation from condescending reporter only after a sensational story to a true friend respectful of Philomena’s determination, convictions, and emotional strength gives heart and soul to what could be a tragic tale. Everyday (2013) ★★★ Cast: Shirley Henderson, John Simm Genre: Drama Like a time-lapse docudrama, this film follows the dynamics of a separated family every Christmas for five years, literally. Karen (Henderson) struggles with all the responsibilities of raising four children, holding a job, and holding her life together. Her husband Ian sits alone, out of touch, in a jail cell. For two weeks every Christmas, he gets to visit his family, and so do we. The movie is filmed over a five-year period so we see the children, played by real-life siblings Shaun, Katrina, Stephanie, and Robert Kirk, grow and mature. The slice-of-life story contrasts the stasis of Ian’s boring, unfulfilling jail life with the everyday joys, disappointments, and challenges of everyday life with four growing kids. The bleakness of four walls versus the bucolic Scottish countryside accentuates the different universes the family inhabits. Don’t expect dramatic
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revelations or a big emotional payoff, just a glimpse into the struggles of a couple hoping that love will find a way, someday. A Touch of Sin (2013) ★★★ Cast: Jiang Wu, Zhao Tao, Wang Baogiang, Luo Lanshan Genre: Drama Awards: Best Screenplay, Cannes Film Festival In Mandarin with English subtitles. In today’s China, the vast chasm between the rich and impoverished, the empowered and the powerless makes the Wall Street Occupy movement seem petty. History teaches that inequality is as much a precursor to violence as tyranny. In these four unrelated vignettes, random acts of violence become the outlet for four oppressed people who have few options in life. A coal miner, sauna receptionist, rebellious motorcycle youth, and a man trapped in forced labor seek justice by abandoning the constraints of a society that supports an unjust system. The tightly woven stories aren’t about political revolution but personal responses to massive inequalities that drive hopeless people to respond to the sins of society with sins of their own. Massive amounts of extreme violence. ■
George Miller is a member of the Society of American Travel Writers and believes that travel is a product of the heart, not the itinerary. See his webmagazine at www.travelsdujour.com.
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Film Roundup
PETE CROATTO ★=SKIP IT; ★★=MEDIOCRE; ★★★=GOOD; ★★★★=EXCELLENT; ★★★★★=CLASSIC
Particle Fever.
It Felt Like Love (Dir: Eliza HIttman). Starring: Gina Piersanti, Giovanna Salimeni, Ronen Rubinstein, Jesse Cordasco. Summers as a teenager can achieve a special kind of boredom. You’re too old to be your parents’ tag-a-long, but you’re too young for the adult pleasures talked about in pop songs. It’s a hazy, endless in-between. Welcome to the world of Brooklyn 14-year-old Lila (Piersanti), the permanent thirdwheel for her sexually adventurous friend (Salimeni) and her thuggish beau (Cordasco). Feeling left out, Lila mimics what she sees and hears, ultimately pursuing the attention of an indifferent, monosyllabic college punk (Rubinstein). As you would expect, it does not go well. In her feature debut, writer-director Hittman employs a low-key, minimalistic style that makes us understand Lila’s need to shake things up while neither condemning nor exaggerating her activities. Some may not forgive the film’s draggy pace, but Lila’s confusion and awkwardness summon the raw childhood memories nostalgia has yet to buff to a high gleam. That matters more. [NR] ★★★
Ernest & Celestine (Dir: Stéphane Aubier, Vincent Patar, Benjamin Renner). In this hand-drawn animated fable, mice and bears live on the same planet but in different worlds. Mice stay in their own subterranean society; bears rule above. Each group harbors its own beliefs, namely that mice are second-class pests while bears are savages who kill mice on sight. When a series of events prompt Ernest, a burly street-per-
forming bear, and Celestine, a tiny mouse with artistic aspirations, to help each other, they’re branded as outlaws—and social pariahs. Forced to rely on each other, Ernest and Celestine become roommates and, later, best friends, which might be their most scandalous crime. This wonderfully conceived parable stresses open-mindedness with humor and gentle intelligence, making it perfect for kids and forgetful adults. A huge asset: the storybook aesthetics (refreshingly free of CGI) and Vincent Courtois’ lovely instrumental score put you inside the pages of Gabrielle Vincent’s series of children books. Deservedly nominated for a 2013 Best Animated Feature Oscar. [Note: This review applies to the subtitled French version, not the one featuring Forest Whitaker and Paul Giamatti with English dialogue. Thankfully, the Ritz Theaters in Philadelphia will play both.] [PG] ★★★★1/2 Particle Fever (Dir: Mark Levinson). The Large Hadron Collider, is a massive experiment involving the efforts of 10,000 scientists from over 1,000 countries. Simply put, it recreates the conditions of the Big Bang in hopes of discovering the elusive Higgs boson, described as the linchpin of matter, the particulars of which could reshape the basic laws of nature. The LHC serves as a way for Levinson, who covers the project’s ups and downs over five years and six scientists, to divorce physics from its stodgy textbook stereotypes. Physics is a lively and evolving field of study (get a load of the multiverse!) that inspires. Fabiola Gianotta, a classically trained pi-
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anist, looks at it as art; Savas Dimopoulos, who fled a politically divided Turkey, gravitated toward science because there the truth was not dictated by “the eloquence of the speaker.” And they’re far from the only ones affected. By humanizing physics, Levinson (a former physicist) gives people a chance to understand—and get excited about—a frequently foreboding topic. [NR] ★★★ Bethlehem (Dir: Yuval Adler). Starring: Tsahi Halevi, Shadi Mar’i, Hitham Omari, Karem Shakur, Simnham, Tarik Kopty. The close relationship between an Israeli Secret Service officer (Halevi) and his teenage informant (Mar’i) starts to disintegrate after the death of the informant’s brother as both face pressure about their roles in the incident—from others and from themselves. Why is it hard to get excited by anything here, especially when the story takes place in the present-day Middle East? Blame the storytellers, not the story. Cinematographer Yaron Scharf shoots with the brooding verve of a DP working on a commercial for laundry detergent. When Adler’s script (written with Arab journalist Ali Wakad) isn’t talking instead of showing, it introduces limp secondary characters (a crooked Palestinian politician, a mournful father) that bolt any momentum to the floor. Blandness permeates Bethlehem; even the acting is strangely lethargic. It’s as if Adler would rather deal with the story’s mechanics than with the people involved. Israel’s official selection for the 2013 Academy Awards. Fully subtitled. [NR] ★★ ■
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Exclusive Interview
R. KURT OSENLUND
the IRONICALLY CALM rebirth of CHRISTIAN SLATER A superstar in the ‘80s and ‘90s whose wild ways crippled his career, Christian Slater is suddenly back in the spotlight with a major role in Lars von Trier’s Nymphomaniac. But while this button-pushing sexual saga seems apt fodder for a former bad boy, the twist is that Slater is the cast member pulling back the reins.
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CHRISTIAN SLATER LOOKS NERVOUS. Meeting me in Lower Manhattan’s Crosby Street Hotel, the immortalized star of such modern classics as Heathers, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, and Interview with the Vampire—hell, let’s throw in Young Guns II, Pump Up the Volume, and Broken Arrow as well—squirms in his seat before darting up to shake my hand. As someone who grew up on Slater cinema and followed his rise and fall, I might be projecting, but the 44-year-old star
I think [even von Trier’s team said] “Wow, we didn’t consider him as a possible option.” It was definitely outside-of-thebox thinking and it just gave me an opportunity to do something different, and quite possibly be seen in a different way. For me, as an actor, it was a chance to do the thing that I think we, as actors, love to do—get as far away from ourselves and things that we’ve done in the past as possible. I felt that it was risky, and it was different.
seems like he’s overcompensating, maybe even bracing for impact. While his co-stars from Lars von Trier’s Nymphomaniac: Volume 1 and Nymphomaniac: Volume 2 prepare for inquiries about the double-feature’s explicit nookie, Slater is in journalists’ crosshairs for a whole other taboo subject: his past. In addition to being tied to many of the essential coming-of-age flicks for millennials like me, Slater has an impressive resume of misconduct, landing at least four arrests between the late ‘80s and mid-aughts, spending three months in jail and 100 days in rehab for assault, getting nabbed in Manhattan for sexual harassment, and even suffering assault himself from ex-wife
R. Kurt Osenlund is the managing editor of The House Next Door, the official blog of Slant Magazine. He is also the film critic for South Philly Review, and a contributing writer for ICON, Slant, Details, Filmmaker Magazine and IndieWire. Follow him on Twitter @AddisonDeTwitt. Email: rkurtosenlund@gmail.com.
Ryan Haddon (she threw a glass bottle at Slater in Las Vegas, leaving him in need of 20 stitches in his neck). The ironic thing is, Nymphomaniac casts the actor as anything but a wild child. He plays the kindly father of Joe, the titular troubled soul, who’s played in adulthood by Charlotte Gainsbourg and in youth by Stacy Martin. Joe and her father have an enriching bond that Slater imbues with vital pathos—the kind he hasn’t been able to offer in the surge of straight-to-video fare that’s become his post-decline fate. Some of that pathos, Slater says, comes from being a father himself (he has a son, Jaden, and a daughter, Eliana), while the rest might be attributed to von Trier’s free-flowing work environment. Whatever the source, Slater delivers, and he also eases down once he gathers that I’m not out to dig up skeletons (even when he practically hands me the shovel). When settled into a groove, Slater has an air of rejuvenation—of someone ready to leave the past where it is and reboot. In Nymphomaniac, he nails one of his few major roles in a major feature in years, and things continue to look up as the ratings for his new dramatic-comedy series, Mind Games, hold steady. Does he watch movies and discuss them over pie like his character in True Romance? Not really. But he does have a botanical suggestion for anyone looking to buy him a gift. R. Kurt Osenlund: You play a very key role in this film as the father of the nymphomaniac, yet the movie seems to resist—and I think it even mentions this— typical notions of Freudian influence. So when you and Lars discussed the role, what was the key function of Joe’s father meant to be? Christian Slater: Well, I think it was for the father and the daughter to have a very appropriate, loving, father-daughter relationship—to really just take our time with the scenes. When I read the script, I looked at these speeches that I had about trees and was kind of thinking, How are we going to do this? How is this going to work? I remember just going out to the set and Lars just really wanting us to slow down. In America, when you make movies, I think sometimes you tend to focus more on “getting the day”—making sure you’ve filmed everything you were supposed to film that day. You’re on a fast moving train and you only have so
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much time. The great thing about this set was that the main focus was that there was no rush. We could just allow the moments to happen and take our time—just let everything breathe. So that was Lars’ main focus: to keep it very simple and make it very human and as real as possible. And just make sure the connection between the father and daughter was genuine. RKO: You do have some really wrenching scenes when your character is dying, which is the only real moment in which you think something may have impacted Joe in a negative way. Because, like you said, otherwise their relationship is very loving and nurturing. What was it like for you doing that scene, specifically in comparison to some of your previous work? It’s one of your most intense scenes, I would say. CS: First of all, I was thrilled to get the opportunity. I was kind of pinching myself as we were filming it. You know, it’s rare for an actor to get the opportunity to really immerse himself in that kind of moment, and have that kind of connection with another actor—putting yourself out there on a limb a little bit. Those are scary moments because sometimes you’re in a situation where you don’t necessarily trust the people that are in charge and that are going to have final cut and final say, and it can be a little nerve-wracking. But with somebody like Lars, who is just a director that I felt extraordinarily comfortable and safe with—you know, he’s just very funny and we ended up having a really good time—he really just let the moments happen, and let the camera roll. I can’t reiterate enough how wonderful it was to not feel rushed at all. It wasn’t like, “Alright, you’re supposed to go crazy here. Just get it done!” Lars really let us have the space. He was in another room for most of scene. He’d watch, of course, on a monitor, but he’d really only come in rarely to say “slow down” or “continue to take your time.” RKO: Since we’re talking about the space and the room and the relative calmness of the character, it occurrs to me that you have this wild past in your career... CS: And my life! Absolutely. RKO: [Laughs] Yes, but also just in your work. There’s True Romance, Heathers and other rebellious projects like that. So when I heard you were going to
be in this film, I had certain expectations, and let’s just say what you ended up portraying was not what I anticipated. It was this much calmer thing that I found to be ironic. Did that occur to you? Is this the role that you pursued? CS: No, this was the role that was presented. It was certainly an atypical role for me to play and an atypical project for me to be involved with. I can really only give credit to my representative. He flew to Denmark for other reasons and then met with Lars and his team and suggested me for this, to which I think even they said, “Wow, we didn’t consider him as a possible option.” It was definitely outside-ofthe-box thinking and it just gave me an opportunity to do something different, and quite possibly be seen in a different way. For me, as an actor, it was a chance to do the thing that I think we, as actors, love to do—get as far away from ourselves and things that we’ve done in the past as possible. I felt that it was risky, and it was different. I was looking at speeches about trees and wondering how was I going to do it. And Lars didn’t even really give me any clear direction about the type of accent he wanted me to have. He just wanted me to speak very clearly. So I kind of felt the fear and did it anyway, and tried to just put myself aside as much as possible. RKO: I think your involvement reflects one of the most appealing things about the film: this very, very eclectic international cast that somehow comes together very cohesively. CS: Yes, I agree. I was so happy when I saw it in Berlin. I think, probably, the best compliment I could have gotten was just when I got up in the morning to go to Starbucks in Berlin and some random person said, “Hey, I saw the movie. I really enjoyed it.” It was just an unsolicited sort of compliment. Those are the best ones. Those are the ones that make you go, “Oh wow, thanks!” And the guy was like, “Have you seen it yet?” And I said, “No.” He said, “I think you’ll be very happy.” So I was thrilled to hear that. RKO: How did your views on Lars change after working with him? He’s a guy who’s got quite a reputation. CS: After working with him and having the experience that I did, I loved him. I found him to be sweet, sensitive— he’s got a very ironic sense of humor, there’s no doubt about it. We’d shoot scenes and he’d come in and go, “Well, you’ll probably never work again.” He’s just that kind of guy. He likes to make those kinds of jokes. He says the opposite of what you’d think he would say, and if you’re not confident or ready, you’ll be devastated and confused. But I just thought he was hilarious. I appreciated it because sometimes when a director comes in and says, “Oh, that was amazing; wow,” you’re just like, “Oh, please. Give me a break.” You don’t believe the guy. It was kind of refreshing to hear somebody poke fun at me. Sometimes when you’re on set it can be so intense. I’ve been in situations as an actor where I thought, This is really going to be great, or, This is going to be so intense. And you see it afterward, and you see how the person who was in charge put it together, and you’re just like, “Oh, what a mess!” So this was the opposite of that. RKO: Despite the fact that your scenes in the film were not the more sexual scenes, now that you’ve seen the finished product, how, if at all, did the movie change your views on sexuality? I know for me, the amount of empathy the film has felt very fresh and enlightening. CS: Yeah, I found it to be...I got so immersed in the story. When I got the script it was a 200-page-long script, which is very unusual, and I appreciated the filmmaker’s ability to really pull me into the story and to make me care about every character. It was interesting to me while we were filming it because I would come in sporadically—seasonally. I had to come in when the trees were full of leaves,
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Exclusive Interview
David
Bromberg David Bromberg is one complex character—an amiable, passionate, string-centric sideman whose role on albums by Tom Paxton, Ed Sanders, Gordon Lightfoot, Carly Simon, John Prine, Ringo Starr, Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris and Bob Dylan (New Morning and Self Portrait, in particular) presented him and his picking, strumming, sawing, and plucking, front and center—a soloist whose folkhewn instrumentation has forever blended seamlessly into the whole—a star who faded into the background to alternately study up and hunker down to buy a violin store. That’s an odd, rare bird. Equally fascinating are the reasons that Bromberg has chosen to rerear his head when he has, such as his long-standing headlining gigs as part of his first hometown’s Philadelphia Folk Fest, several fleeting few solo albums of late such as Use Me, and Bromberg’s Big Band in Concert recording, Only Slightly Mad of 2013, and a tour— plus special guest David Johansen of New York Dolls—that will bring him round to the Keswick Theatre in Glenside on Saturday, April 26.
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A. D. AMOROSI
THE LOGIC OF BEING Bromberg can be confounding. Is he a methodical man who plans things out over a long period of time or one who thinks and acts with impulsive haste and largesse? “I try to be methodical, but, I’m more the other thing,” says Bromberg, who was born in St Agnes Hospital in Philadelphia in September 1945 before his family left for New York—Queens, then Tarrytown—shortly after his birth. “I’m not much for stepping back and trying to figure myself out musically. It’s hard enough figuring myself out as a person.” One thing that the dobro, mandolin, and fiddle player was quick to recall was his first notable memories of the Philadelphia coffee house scene and how it differed from New York City’s folk environment and its wealth of players and poets. “I remember coming to Philadelphia to accompany a singer named Jerry Moore when we opened for Mississippi John Hurt,” says Bromberg of the legendary blues master. “John and I played together backstage constantly. He invited me to play with him at the Newport Folk Festival. I was
sessions with everyone from the Eagles, to Bonnie Raitt, along with above aforementioned list. Most notably he played for Dylan as well as producing an album for him that remains unreleased to this day. While Dylan’s 1970 Self Portrait got lambasted by the critics and fans alike for its slew of (then-considered hokey) cover songs from the likes of Paul Simon and Jerry Jeff Walker, that same year’s New Morning was a richer, gentler original Dylan album tinged with country music influences. Bromberg also appears on Dylan (1973), which features nine outtakes from the bedraggled Self Portrait sessions—all of which have since been lionized and re-released on Another Self Portrait (1969-1971): The Bootleg Series, Vol. 10 (2013). “I didn’t pay attention to any controversy,” says Bromberg about Self Portrait. “I don’t think I noticed it. It seemed like a logical record to me. Bob was a folk singer before he started writing, and he was brilliant. There’s a bootleg album of him at the Gaslight from those days. It’s about
“At one point, I was on the road for two years without being home for as long as two weeks,” says Bromberg. “That will burn you out. I found I wasn’t practicing, jamming or writing when I wasn’t on the road, and—rather ignorantly—decided I was no longer a musician…if I had ever been one. I didn’t want to be one of these guys who drags himself onto a stage and does a bitter imitation of something he used to love, so I decided I had to find another way to lead my life…” hugely flattered, but smart enough to thank him and decline. He was all anyone would have wanted to hear, I just would have been an annoyance to his fans. He was as sweet as his music…and I treasured that time. Also, during that time, I met Jerry Ricks and John Pilla, two great musicians, and learned what I could from them.” Another master that Bromberg learned from was the Reverend Gary Davis, a folk, blues, and gospel fingerpicking icon that Bromberg befriended and studied under early on in the young player’s lifetime. “When I’m fingerpicking like the Reverend, I try to sound like a piano,” says Bromberg when asked what part of Davis’ teachings that he still uses in his everyday playing. “I still use my thumb the way he did, and continue to use some of his unique chord formations. When I play blues with a straight pick, I phrase like a preacher. I realized from time in church with the Reverend that the phrasing of BB King, Albert King, and all my favorite Chicago-style blues guitar players come from preachers. They all use rests and dynamics to hold the listener’s attention.” Holding one’s attention was never a problem for Bromberg. After playing guitar with singer Rosalie Sorrels during Britain’s 1970 Isle of Wight Festival, Bromberg played a solo slot that was so hot that he got an album deal with Columbia Records with his self-titled debut released in 1971. Between the start of his contract with Columbia and 1976, Bromberg recorded six albums, toured and played plenty of
If A.D. Amorosi can’t be found writing features for ICON, the Philadelphia Inquirer or doing Icepacks, Icecubes and other stories for Philadelphia’s City Paper, he’s probably hitting restaurants like Stephen Starr’s or running his greyhound
as good as it gets.” It was the folk scene of the Gaslight where Bromberg first caught Dylan and Dylan caught Bromberg—not buds, but rather respected artists respectful of each other. “I’d said hello to Bob at gigs, but always thought he was there to hear the people I was accompanying,” says Bromberg. “I was stunned and perhaps a bit nervous, when he called me to play, but when you have to do work, you put your mind on the work.” Ask him if Dylan was easier or harder to deal with than anyone else he had played sessions for up until that point and Bromberg laughs. “You may be asking for analysis above my pay grade. In the studio, I was there to be a sideman. I love that role. Outside the studio, and later when I produced some tracks for him, we had a warm collaborative relationship. Working with him might have been harder for some players than working with other artists. For me, thinking on the fly was my strength. We never belavbored a track. We got it quick or not at all. I don’t get lost easily.” What Bromberg did get, after all those years of recording and sessions and tours, was fried. So he took a decade between 1980 and 1990’s Sideman Serenade off, as well as a break from recording between the 90s and 2007. “At one point, I was on the road for two years without being home for as long as two weeks,” says Bromberg. “That will burn you out. I found I wasn’t practicing, jamming or writing when I wasn’t on the road, and—rather ignorantly—decided I was no longer a musician…if I had ever been one. I didn’t want to be one of these guys who drags himself onto a stage and does a bitter imitation of something he used to love, so I decided I had to find another way to lead my life; preferably one that I’d take pleasure in. I found it. I took 22 years off. I performed on rare occasions, and recorded Sideman’s Sere-
nade because I’d committed to it before I stopped playing.” One of the things that Bromberg did while taking time off, was wind up in Delaware where he opened a studio/violin shop. Was Delaware’s air good for the wood, I wondered. “I don’t think that there’s anything especially good or bad for wood in Delaware,” he says. “Nancy [his wife] and I had been in Chicago for 22 years, and weren’t ready for another Chicago winter. We wanted to be back on the East Coast, and if I couldn’t afford to return to New York, I tried to find someplace in the Northeast marginally warmer. we were interested in Wilmington, and the mayor and his staff were interested in our moving there.” As a graduate of violin making school, Bromberg went to Wilmington, not with the idea of becoming a maker, but because violin identification has always fascinated him. “Music and violin identification are things I will continue to study for the rest of my life. There is no end to either endeavor. People bring me violins and most often I can tell them when and where they were made, and sometimes by whom. I do a lot of verbal and written appraisals. If I don’t know, I say I don’t know, and decline to give an opinion or appraisal.” Rather than wonder how Bromberg has changed as a musician—“I’m not good at overviews or interested in them. I like to be in the moment”—it is simply nice to know that when he was ready, Bromberg hunkered down with Dylan playmate and Levon Helm’s studio manager Larry Campbell, recorded a brassy, ballsy vocal album, Only Slightly Mad, and released it (as well as Use Me) on West Chester’s Appleseed Recordings. “Every time I play with him or hear him play, I become a little more aware of the depth of his musicianship,” says Bromberg of Campbell. “On Use Me I asked Levon to give me a song and produce the session. When Levon and I were scheduled to record our track, he was recovering from surgery on his vocal chords, and couldn’t talk, let alone sing. I’d done a few of the Midnight Ramble Sessions, and Larry led the band, wrote most of the arrangements and made up the set list. Levon could play drums, and I wanted him on the CD, so I asked Larry to produce a session. As I couldn’t get a song from Levon, we picked a Chicago-style blues that I had written. Larry wrote a brilliant arrangement for it with a killer horn part. Some months later I asked him to produce a CD of Chicago-style blues for me. He said he’d like to produce a CD with me, but he wanted to do an old-fashioned David Bromberg CD with everything, including the kitchen sink, in it. After thinking about it, I realized he’d be the best producer imaginable for me because he has a deep understanding of all the genres I like to play.” With that, Only Slightly Mad is an audacious old-school Bromberg addition to the newest end of his catalog. “It’s how I feel the music, and Larry’s feel for feeling over perfection,” says Bromberg about his newest work. “For me, the most surprising thing about the album was how easy the vocals are for me these days. I sing a lot better than I used to, and love doing it.” ■ David Bromberg Big Band plus special guest David Johansen of New York Dolls, Saturday, April 26. Keswick Theatre, 291 No. Keswick Avenue, Glenside, PA. For information and tickets, (215) 572-7650 or keswicktheatre.com.
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The Jazz Scene APRIL: TIME TO APPRECIATE JAZZ Kicking off the City of Philadelphia’s “Jazz Appreciation Month” on April 3 at 11 a.m. will be the Philadelphia Jazz Project’s Homer Jackson, who will speak at a press conference hosted by Mayor Michael Nutter. Beginning an hour later will be a series of concerts at the Free Library, Reading Terminal Market and Franklin Square Park featuring a number of performers. This is an exciting happening for jazz and for the city. For the complete schedule, visit philajazzproject.org. The PJP’s belief in Philadelphia jazz is strong and dedicated. AND MORE TO APPRECIATE As referenced in this space several times, although Philadelphia no longer has a multiday, corporately-sponsored jazz festival with performances by national names, the many neighborhood fests with the emphasis on local talent are doing a fine job taking up the slack. One of these is, as a part of “Jazz Appreciation Month,” the Center City Jazz Festival, now celebrating its third year. The fest, set for April 19, will feature 16 jazz groups, performing on four stages—all within walking distance of each other—over a six-hour period, beginning at 1 p.m. The venues: Fergie’s Pub, 1214 Sansom Street; Milkboy, 1100 Chestnut Street; Chris’ Jazz Café, 1421 Sansom Street; and Time Restaurant, 1315 Sansom Street. Among the performers are vocalists Rhenda Fearrington and Joanna Pascale, drummer Justin Faulkner, players from Kimmel Center’s Creative Music Program, reedman Tim Warfield, Jr, and bassist Nimrod Speaks. With the proper support, perhaps this could expand into a multi-day festival with corporate sponsorship. You’ve got to start somewhere. For info and the complete lineup: ccjazzfest.com. IF YOU CAN MAKE IT THERE Even the New York City heavy-hitters are turning to Philadelphia jazz musicians to enrich their talent pool. Latest visitor to NYC from these parts is master guitarist Frank DiBussolo, who will appear at The Metropolitan Room on April 19, performing songs from his latest CD, Songs to Write Home About. This highly regarded venue has quite the singular lineup of talents, from Annie Ross and Marilyn Maye to Peggy King, accompanied by Music Director Andy Kahn (April 9 and 29). A SANCTUARY OF JAZZ Bassist and non-profit The Jazz Sanctuary founder Alan Segal continues to present a full-scale schedule of events from fall to summer. On April 23, Segal’s Quintet will perform
at Main Line Unitarian Church in Devon, 816 South Valley Forge Road, from 7:30 to 9:30, with quintet members TBA. For the record, The Jazz Sanctuary differs from other nonprofits in several areas: It has corporate sponsors, all events are free, and most of the players are assembled from a core of Sanctuary regulars. No matter. Alan Segal gets jazz out there and it’s always outstanding. Information: thejazzsanctuary.com. STANDING PAT…MARTINO, THAT IS Jazz Bridge, the non-profit dedicated to assisting area jazz and blues musicians in need—an organization, by the way, that just received the prestigious Councilman David Cohen Award from the City of Philadelphia— is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year,
Pat Martino.
making its annual spring fundraiser even more special than usual. The headliner this year is legendary guitar master Pat Martino, accompanied by Hammond B-3 organist Pat Bianchi and drummer Carmen Intorre, Jr. This gala will take place on April 25 at The New Leaf Club, 1225 Montrose Avenue in Rosemont, PA, from 8:00 to 10:00 p.m. Advance tickets, via jazzbridge.org, are available on two levels: General admission seating at $35, and a Premium package at $100, which will include front row seating, and a wine and cheese meet and greet with maestro himself.
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BRUCE KLAUBER
BOOKINGS AND DISC DISHINGS I’ve written here of guitarist-composervocalist Phyllis Chappel before, as she is always worth writing about. This multi-talented performer sings jazz, folk and world music, in 13 languages at last count, and has performed all over the world in a variety of musical settings. On April 12, Chapell, in a duo format, will appear at Ariano restaurant at a part of Media’s “Americana Roots Ramble.” Shows begin at 9:30. Ramble info: statestreetblues.com Jazz vocalist Keli Vale is deservedly getting busier and busier in these parts. She’ll be appearing in a duo format within Croydon’s Dog and Bull Brew and Music House from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. on April 25 and at least once a month thereafter. This is a neat little venue, dedicated to presenting all kinds of live music, from jazz jams to blues, every night of the week. Info: dogandbullhouse.com. Saxophonist Larry McKenna’s dates this month include an April 5 gig at The Café in Bethlehem with guitarist Pete Smyser and singer Patti Sakdiponephong (thecafebethlehem.com), April 7 with the Ed Vezinho/Jim Ward Big Band at Sandi Pointe Bistro in Somers Point, NJ (sandipointe.com), and a CD release party on April 12 at Chris’ Jazz Café for Pete Smyser’s new Harry Warren Tribute CD, now number one on WRTI Radio’s “Hot 11 Countdown” (chrisjazzcafe.com). Pianist Dave Postmontier, bassist Andy Lalasis and baritone saxophonist/flutist Denis DiBlasio have been a vital part of this region’s jazz scene for decades. These giants now have CDs well worth checking out. Deep Pockets by the Dave Posmontier Trio—a tasty collection of standards and originals—features Tim Lekan on bass, Bob Shomo on drums and can be obtained by contacting daveposjazz@comcast.net. What’s Old is New, with DiBlasio, Lalasis and Shomo, has an exceptional concept: contemporary renderings of songs from the 1920s, like “The Sheik of Araby,” played sans piano or guitar chordal accompaniment to fill in the gaps. These players don’t need any gap filling. They fill in all the gaps themselves. Available from radjazzproductions.com AND JUST WHAT IS JAZZ? Does anyone know what really constitutes a jazz instrumentalist or singer? Artists like Krupa and Louis Armstrong, who basically played the same solos nightly, were certainly jazz players. And musicologists still maintain that Frank Sinatra, while not a pure jazz singer, had impeccable jazz phrasing admired
by Lester Young, Miles Davis and many other jazz players. Two artists who couldn’t be wider apart stylistically, singer Steve Lawrence and multiinstrumentalist/vocalist/composer David Bromberg, are examples of those “on the cusp.” Philadelphia native Bromberg, appearing at the Keswick Theatre on April 16 [see interview in this issue], started as an outand-out folkie—hey, he played with Dylan, among dozens of others, in 1992—but has been leading a big band of late. This group combines all of Bromberg’s influences, whether folk, blues, bluegrass or jazz, with the addition of a killer horn section. Ticketing: keswicktheatre.com. As for Lawrence, when his wife of 55 years, Eydie Gorme, passed away last August at the age of 84, it was presumed that his performing voice was silenced forever. Not so. Now 78, Lawrence has just recorded When You Come Back to Me Again, which he has dedicated to his late wife, and features guest stars such as Garth Brooks and Billy Joel. I’ve heard this and can verify that Steve Lawrence sounds like a performer of 30 years of age. As for his jazz connections, Mr. Sinatra loved Lawrence as does author and musicologist Will Friedwald, who wrote that Lawrence “had a great deal of jazz in his work.” To order: amazon.com. A JAZZ LOVE-IN FOR RON TALTON Chris’ Jazz Café’ Evening Manager Ron Talton has an almost impossible job: To ensure that every band member in every band booked there, and there are usually two bands a night for seven nights per week, is made to feel comfortable, at ease and at home. He does this with understanding and good humor. When he tragically lost his South Philadelphia home to a gas explosion in February, the Philadelphia jazz community united and came out in full force last month for a benefit performance on Talton’s behalf at Chris’. It was an evening to remember and a lot of funds were raised. All due credit must be given to singer and jazz cheerleader Rhenda Fearrington, who organized the proceedings. Those on stage and/or in the house included the University of the Arts Alumni and Teachers Ensemble; Latin percussionist Edgardo Cintron’s band; drummer Webb Thomas; pianists James Santangelo, Andy Kahn and Luke Carlos O’Reilly; bassists Nimrod Speaks and Mike Boone; singer/songwriter Alexandra Day; and literally dozens of others performing onstage and in the audience. This is what the Philadelphia jazz community was, is and will always be about. ■
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and then in the fall, and the spring, and all these different sections, so I was sort of sprinkled throughout. I would hear stories of what they had shot in between, and how intense it was, and about Shia [LaBeouf] running around with his prosthetic [penis] that they made for him, and how the crew was so nervous that first day they shot some of the sexual stuff. But then the crew became so desensitized to it—to everything that we were doing. It started out so risqué and so intense, and by the end of the shoot I think everyone’s attitude about sexuality was certainly much more open, much more relaxed, and it wasn’t the big deal that we tend to make it out to be. I thought that was fascinating. RKO: We keep talking about the trees. I wanted to know if somewhere along the line you decided what your soul tree might be. CS: [Laughs.] Oh god, what my soul tree would be! I do find my soul tree actually, I think in Volume 2. RKO: It splits. CS: Yeah, exactly. But my personal soul tree? I’ve always loved those bonsai trees. I don’t know. I’ve just always been interested in bonsai trees. RKO: Miniature trees. CS: Yeah, miniature trees. I like a little tree that’s well-groomed. RKO: Very interesting. And I wanted to bring up your new ABC show, Mind Games. How’s that going? CS: Oh, yeah! Well look, I’m very proud of the show. I’m glad that we got to shoot all 12 episodes [of the first season]. I’m proud of that. It definitely has a very interesting arc. Working with [co-star] Steve Zahn was a great, great experience. He’s always been one of my favorite actors and I was always amazed by him. [Executive producer] Kyle Killen would give him dialogue that I would have been very scared of. And with television, you’re not gonna be in the type of situation where the director says, “Just take your time! We’ve got all day!” RKO: It’s not a Lars situation. CS: Right, it wasn’t that. It was a fast-moving marathon that you have to run once it gets started, and you only get eight days to shoot an hour or 42 minutes, or whatever it is. But, yeah. Great experience. Wonderful. And we’ll see how it goes with ABC, and with the audience. You know, TV is one of the more challenging mediums to get involved with. No doubt about it. RKO: It seems intimidating. CS: Oh man, it’s amazing. When it works, it’s very exciting. And also shows come and go, which is part of the business as well. Part of the journey. RKO: I would feel irresponsible if I didn’t ask this: I don’t think there’s a cinephile alive who’s seen True Romance and didn’t want to go catch a movie and talk about it over pie afterwards, like the characters do in the film. Can you offer a memorable time that you’ve seen a movie with someone and sat down to chat about it after? CS: Well, I’ve always been a huge fan of the movies. There’s so many movies! But, look, I guess the most memorable stuff for me was when I was a kid. I was fortunate enough to have been born at a time when Star Wars was out in the theaters. I was there! I was seven or eight, and, probably, going to see that movie every weekend that I was with my father was extraordinarily memorable. It gave us an opportunity to bond, and he was very, very patient every weekend to take me to see that one movie over and over again. RKO: Did you draw on your own father playing a father in Nymphomaniac? CS: You know, I have kids now, and I really love my kids, and it was nice to get the opportunity to play a father that loves his daughter. I got a little choked up about it even while I was watching the movie because it’s just nice to be a nice character in this wild movie. Like you said, it’s sort of unexpected. I even surprised myself, you know? And I think, certainly, having kids has helped me to get in touch with that side of myself and be a grownup and be an adult, and mature, and get along well with my ex-wife. [Laughs] All that stuff. It’s really good. RKO: I think that speaks to the fact that people are not necessarily going to get what they expect from this film. CS: Great! Great. I think that’s always good. It’s like you think, Okay, Nymphomaniac. There’s going to be some sexually explicit things in it. But there are also some really interesting characters, and I think Lars really created something very special. ■
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Keresman on Disc Bob Frank ★★★★ Bob Frank Peter Walker Second Poem to Karmela or Gypsies Are Important Light in the Attic Here are two fascinating obscurities from the vaults of the iconic Vanguard Records label, documenters some of the best folk and blues (also classical and occasionally jazz) of the 1950s, ‘60s, and early ‘70s. The term “collectors’ items” fits these two—each was so unique for their times they went “out of print” almost immediately. Bob Frank was originally released in 1972 but it sounds as if it could’ve been released last week or in 1965. Frank’s approach is equal parts Merle Haggard, Dave Van Ronk, pre-electric Dylan, and Doc Watson, his pretty but slightly ragged, world-weary voice tinged with an oddly soothing vibrato. Frank’s got that folksinger’s knack for putting the listener right into a story with vivid lyrics and laconic style. (12 tracks, 29 min.) Peter Walker’s opus is very different. Not a singer but an acoustic guitarist whose peers include six-string wizards Sandy Bull and John Fahey, Walker also played the Indian stringed instrument, the sarod. From 1968, Second Poem… finds Walker exploring the overlap between Indian raga, Spanish flamenco, jazz, and American folk. It’s both meditative and exhilarating, yet has an unassuming vibe throughout. Not only is this a fairly amazing disc, but its liner notes alone are worth the price of admission, as Walker’s life and paths intersected with those of George Harrison, Timothy Leary, John Barrymore (actor/father of Drew), and Ravi Shankar, among others. If you’re a fan of Leo Kottke, Michael Hedges, Gabor Szabo, Jim Pepper (who plays flute herein), Oregon (the band), and/or Shankar, this is essential. (10 tracks, 48 min.) lightintheattic.net Bill Pritchard ★★★★1/2 A Trip to the Coast Tapete Bill Pritchard is a UK singer/songster with an interesting style—vocally he resembles Tim Hardin (a little) and Lou Reed (quite a bit) circa 1969 and Lloyd Cole and Elliott Smith circa more recently. Stylistically, Pritchard evokes the erudite wordplay of Leonard Cohen; Cole’s genial melodic sense and cheerfully cynical view of romance, and Smith’s folk-y melancholy. His diaphanous, winsome melodic hooks will etch themselves in the thingsto-do portion of your brain ere long, and the burred, twang-edge guitar leads bring to mind your “favorite” overcast days such as in “Almerend Road”—it’ll make you think of that special someone you love to forget to remember to forget. Accomplished, bittersweet, ultra-harmonious— this Trip is gently rockin’ pop music for adults with long memories. (10 tracks, 34 min.) tapeterecords.com
shemp@hotmail.com
D P M T S C
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b o M i A m r c e
w c f i a m t F a
D I B
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MARK KERESMAN ★=SKIP IT; ★★=MEDIOCRE; ★★★=GOOD; ★★★★=EXCELLENT; ★★★★★=CLASSIC
Danilo Perez ★★★★★ Panama 500 Mack Avenue The Claudia Quintet ★★★★1/2 September Cuneiform Here are two albums that’ll be filed in the “jazz” section yet both challenge (and enrich) the idea(s) of what a jazz album can be. Pianist Danilo Perez, born in Panama in 1965, has
spirations are Elvis (the 1st), Roy Orbison, and Eddie Cochran with touches of John Lee Hooker and Tom Jones, and musically rock & roll circa 1954-66. The Ventures, Johnny Cash, and The Who occupy the same level of cool with this lot—in fact, they do a groovy stripped-down take on the latter’s “So Sad About Us.” Songs wherein the singer’s heart is onsleeve for all to see/hear are borne upon crisp, concise, twang-laden guitar and drums like the crashing surf. This is roots-rock with no cheesy or smug retro affectations, lean but not too mean. If you enjoy Chris Isaak but would like to hear him ditch the polish, glom onto this—it’s so fun. (12 tracks, 34 min.) bloodshotrecords.com The Fleshtones ★★★1/2 Wheel of Talent Yep Roc Formed in Whitestone, NY in 1976, The Fleshtones is the little band that could. Despite lack of mainstream recognition, the ‘tones soldier on with their good-time-y amalgam of 1960s garage rock and gritty rhythm & blues. Unlike many of the wave of ‘60s-inspired bands, the ‘tones counterbalance their earnestness with humor (irony-free, thankfully), fiercely
Danilo Perez. Photo by Raj Naik
John Hollenbeck.
been a mainstay of Wayne Shorter’s quartet since ’00. 500 interlaces the rhythms and melodies of Panamanian folk with brightly lyrical post-bop jazz. As befits his inspirations Ellington and Monk, Perez plays with a tantalizing restraint and a pointed but graceful lyricism—one can imagine a fine modern ballet inspired by the music. While some composers inspired by Latin American sounds let the rhythms (over)drive their music, Perez—accompanied by Shorter mates John Patiticci and Brian Blade, among others—exercises similar temperance. Alex Hargreaves’ violin is deeply, achingly soulful. Panama 500 is mos def jazz, but has the intimate precision of a classical chamber group and the “cry” of folk music. (12 tracks, 57 min.) mackavenue.com Speaking of classical chamber styles, The Claudia Quintet has some of that goin’ on along with the smooth sophistication of a large jazz group, albeit scaled-down to a lineup of sax, accordion, vibraphone, acoustic bass, and drums. Drummer John Hollenbeck’s compositions feature deliberate and involving compositions with nods to Philip Glass/John Adams minimalism, the cinematic sound-scapes of eclectic rockers Tortoise, and the lyrical modernism of the aforementioned Shorter, Carla Bley, and Charles Mingus (the latter in his more cerebral moments as opposed to his gospel-y rave-ups). No matter how “oblique” Hollenbeck’s compositions might (initially) seem, there’s always persuasive, engaging rhythms buoying things along. For having only five (slightly unusual) axes, The Claudia Quintet’s palette is luxuriously full and varied—this is fascinating music with heart. (10 tracks, 67 min.) cuneiformrecords.com Dex Romweber Duo ★★★★ Images 13 Bloodshot Dex Romweber’s previous combo, Flat Duo Jets, never quite got the proverbial brass ring in the ‘90s, but they impacted The White Stripes and Neko Case. The Duo is Dex and sister Sara, and they pursue their vision of a pure American music…and “pure” not defined as “purist” but liberated from the gamey gorgonzola of the current marketplace. Vocally, Dex’s in-
rockin’ away without taking themselves too seriously. You got fuzzed-up/out guitar, frenetic and rollicking tempos, swaggering vocals, and terse, catchy songs. One could mistake the drolly manic “Hipster Heaven” for a “lost” N’awlins nugget by Huey “Piano” Smith or Frankie Ford, and the cheerfully defiant “Tear for Tear” for a Jackie Wilson obscurity. For the uninitiated: The Fleshtones could’ve been the combo at Delta House’s blowout in that John Landis/Harold Ramis fraternity flick…what was that called…? (RIP Mr. Ramis.) (13 tracks, 34 min.) yeproc.com ■ W W W . F A C E B O O K . C O M / I C O N D V ■ W W W . I C O N D V . C O M ■ A P R I L 2 0 1 4 ■ I C O N ■ 29
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Jazz Library
I
BOB PERKINS
HANK
MOBLEY
I DON’T RECALL HEARING much about Hank Mobley, until he recorded a certain record album in 1963. But, this was my fault for not listening closely enough to Philly’s alljazz radio station that prevailed at the time. The station must have played Mobley often, because he was a hot jazz commodity about that time. The Mobley piece that made me a fan was his composition of “No Room for Squares,” from his album by the same name. The song had a hip title, and it swung mightily. As fate (or a divine hand) would have it, I began my career in radio a year later, and I, too, began to play Hank Mobley records on the air. Over the years, quite a number of writers have attempted to chronicle and make more understandable the saxophonist’s somewhat enigmatic musical life and times. Some jazz critics may not have mentioned Mobley’s name in the same breath as Getz, Rollins, Coltrane, or those on a lesser ladder rung of jazz tenor giants. But Mobley still had a large fan base, which he’d earned by proving he could play pretty, swing, and more than hold his own when featured on stage and in recording studios with the giants. Why was a musician of his caliber, who had made music with Horace Silver and Art Blakey in the mid-1950s when they co-led the Jazz Messengers, and had filled in as a temp in Duke Ellington’s Band, worked with Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk and Miles Davis, and joined Blakey Hank Mobley with Alfred Lion, co-founder of Blue Note Records in 1939, in Englewood, NJ, and the Messengers a second time when the legendary circa 1960. Photo: Francis Wolff. drummer had full control of the Jazz Messengers, treated so off-handedly by some critics? Mobley was a sideman in demand during the latter 1950s and throughout the ‘60s and many of the jazz giants were proud to have him in their band. The Blue Note label also knew his worth—he was with the label for about 15 years and recorded over 20 albums for them. So…why wasn’t he more heralded by writers and critics? One supportive writer mentioned that Mobley didn’t have a gimmick—he wasn’t into changing fads or fancies, and didn’t chase success…he simply played, and had come upon a style of his own, and it worked for him despite the non-recognition by others. Mobley once said his style was “Not a big sound, and not small, but a round sound.” That’s about what came out of the the man’s horn: a round, throaty, distinctive sound…it wasn’t like a whisper, and not like a foghorn, just unlike any other tenor horn at the time, and I have not heard anything similar since. I met and brought Hank Mobley on-stage almost 30 years ago. He was on his last legs at the time. He may have lasted another year after that. He’d had bouts with drugs and he smoked heavily. He passed away at age 55 in Philly; the cause, pneumonia. His living standards had been greatly reduced over time due to his failing health. Some say he was almost a street person. Whatever measure of success Mobley garnered, he got through his own initiatives. He was born in Eastman, Georgia, and raised in Elizabeth, New Jersey. He beat a childhood ailment which kept him housebound for many months. He was virtually self-taught on the saxophone, which he didn’t start playing until age 16—but in three years, he was playing professionally. Taking personal trials and tribulations into account, along with the lukewarm appraisals of his artisty by critics, Hank Mobley overcame some major stumbling blocks to acquire a place in the history of jazz music. You can hear him at his romping best on the CD No Room for Squares and a mellower Mobley on the disc, Music for Lovers. ■
Bob Perkins is a writer and host of an all-jazz radio program that airs on WRTI-FM 90.1 Mon-Thurs. 6 to 9pm & Sun., 9am–1pm.
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Nick’’s Picks Taylor Haskins ★★★★1/2 Fuzzy Logic Sunnyside Innovative trumpeter Taylor Haskins skillfully toggles between jazz and everything else, most recently on his terrific electro-kissed album Recombination (2011, Nineteen-Eight) and his playing catches you
strings align in flawless formation. Alluring to the last, the album concludes with a buoyant arrangement of Thomas Dolby’s “I Believe In You” and Tom Waits’ “Take It With Me,” a fillip of heartfelt Americana with Haskins on melodica. There’s nothing fuzzy about Haskins’ logic on this superb and special album. (10 tracks; 44 minutes) Lisa Hilton ★★★★ Kaleidoscope Ruby Slippers Productions A jazz musician who lists influences as diverse as Muddy Waters, Steve Reich and Green Day is somebody I’d like to hear from and pianist/composer Lisa Hilton doesn’t disappoint, delivering a whiz-bang listening experience on Kaleidoscope, a mostly peaceful album of uncommon pleasure. The California-based bandleader distinguishes
off guard in a most wonderful way. A member of Guillermo Klein’s Los Gauchos, flutist Jamie Baum’s Septet+ and Dave Holland’s Big Band, Haskins thinks and plays outside the box, the opposite of free form improvisation actually, with welcoming compositions and a sweetly emotive tone that sets him apart. Fuzzy Logic is both a surprise and welcome next step in his process as a musician and artist. Haskins has written for film and commercials for 15 years, and the record has a cinematic sweep with high-grade melodies and lush harmonics courtesy of a trio of string players that Haskins adds to his quartet. The strings add color, drama and a confident beauty to his compositions, which are textural and involving. There’s a hint of Ennio Morricone and Nina Rota in this music that I credit to Haskins’ deft use of strings and his own grounded, magisterial tone that airbrushes the songs with a native emotionality. As a composer, Haskins makes boldly modern music, adding guitarist Ben Monder to strike all the right notes around the trumpeter’s solos, but this album is consistently anchored in a jazz realm. Bassist Kermit Driscoll and drummer Jeff Hirschfeld underscore the vitality of every tune with captivating work on “Four Moons,” the title track and “Airwaves” where Haskins’ band and the
Nick Bewsey has been writing about jazz for ICON since 2004. A member of The Jazz Journalists Assoc., he blogs about jazz and entertainment at www.jazzinspace.blogspot.com. Twitter: @countingbeats
her band and listeners. Sonically, the recording is superior with a resounding depth due to engineer James Farber and mix by Al Schmidt (Diana Krall). With Hilton at the helm of a Steinway D, all her guys help give her music a glorious presentation. (11 tracks; 50 minutes)
and find his own voice—the communication among these pros will easily be appreciated by anyone who digs upright, straightahead jazz. (10 tracks; 70 minutes) Support live jazz and Tim Hegarty when he plays at Trumpets Jazz Club in Montclair, NJ on May 30, 2014.
Tim Hegarty ★★★1/2 Tribute Miles High Records Saxophonist Tim Hegarty gets down to brass tacks on a blues-drenched album succinctly titled, Tribute. A player on the NY scene for 25 years, Hegarty finds himself among jazz royalty on this one, with the estimable pianist Kenny Barron, bassist Rufus Reid, drummer Carl Allen and vibraphonist Mark Sherman on half the tracks. The gratitude that Hegarty has for the teachers and musicians that inspired him (and still do) is woven deeply into the texture of this recording, particularly Jimmy Heath. Tribute is highlighted by four classic tunes by Heath (including his lovely, smoky ballad, “Ineffable”), long with two strong originals by Hegarty who’s notably charismatic on soprano sax (“Not To Worry”) as well as an impressive swinger, “Low Profile.” The supporting band plays with preci-
Brian Charette ★★★★ Square One Posi-Tone Music Ace organist Brain Charette delivers equal amounts of funk and frolic on Square One, a zip line ride through mostly post bebop originals in the Jimmy Smith tradition.
Larry Grenadier, Marcus Gilmore, Lisa Hilton, and J.D. Allen Photo Credit- James J. Gra
her 16th recording with open, airy compositions that are richly lyrical and deliciously ripe for interpretation by a trio that includes bassist Larry Grenadier and the astonishingly inventive drummer, Marcus Gilmore. They dig into an accessible playlist (“When I Fall In Love”) with quiet intensity, especially saxophonist J.D. Allen who guests on three tracks, including the edgy opener, “Simmer.” A tenor player with an admirable solo career, Allen is a majestic player with a big, naturalistic sound you could listen to all day. Hilton has a gifted ear for fresh interlocking melodies (“Sunny Side Up”) and repeated motifs that compels the allegiance of both
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sion and gives Hegarty’s turns on tenor or soprano a fertile foundation to build his sparkling, tuneful solos. Hegarty played in Gil Evans’ band Monday nights at Sweet Basil in NYC back in the day and his own playing is satisfyingly based in the tradition of great tenor saxophonists. “Simone,” a tune by bandleader and Basie alum Frank Foster sets up dynamic and classy solos for Hegarty, Sherman and Barron. Solid with a decent dose of charm, Tribute satisfies Hergarty’s mission as a younger man to study
Charette is a frequent collaborator with saxophonist Mike DiRubbo, whose solo CD was reviewed last month, and though he’s a smooth groove pianist in that group, he sure can kick up some dust on the organ. Apart from Charette’s absorbing set list, the measure of the album’s success rests directly on the shoulders of his amazing trio mates, guitarist Yotam Silberstein and drummer Mark Ferber, each of them fixtures on the NY scene. Charette’s pop-inflected strokes at the outset of “Aaight” and spacey sonic effects on “People On Trains” and “Things You Don’t Mean” give these strong tracks an unexpected buzz and root them in present day. Obsessively soulful, whether swinging through the changes on the Meters tune, “Ease Back” or exploring his own love affair on “Three For Matina,” Charette zig-zags through plenty o’ grooves with superb contrasting harmonics from Silberstein and on target beats by Ferber. Though Square One is his seventh solo record, it’s a highly recommended starting point to discover the diverse and accomplished Brian Charette. (11 tracks; 46 minutes)
NICK BEWSEY
★=SKIP IT; ★★=MEDIOCRE; ★★★=GOOD; ★★★★=EXCELLENT; ★★★★★=CLASSIC
Takuya Kuroda ★★★★1/2 Rising Son Blue Note For listeners who want to put the usual standards and post bebop swing on pause, the 33year-old trumpeter Takuya Kuroda stands tall on his Blue Note debut, Rising Son, a polished set of jazz tunes with retro R&B riffs and de rigueur hip hop sonics. Produced by singer/song-
Takuya Kuroda. Photo by: Hiro Yukiseo
writer José James whose own records, particularly 2013’s No Beginning, No End (Blue Note), smartly braid jazz with pop-glazed rhythm and blues, Kuroda’s album sets an after-hours party mood that starts with the rousing title track and flows throughout. Kuroda’s compositions fuse infectious urban rhythms with in-the-pocket Afro-centric grooves inflated by keyboardist Kris Bowers (an artist blowing up on the national scene with his Concord Jazz debut CD, Heroes + Misfits), electric bassist Solomon Dorsey, drummer Nate Smith and the punch of trombonist Corey King. Kuroda and King redefine the classic two-horn frontline architecture that Blue Note built their reputation on. As a player, the trumpeter falls somewhere between Lee Morgan’s sweet tone and Art Farmer’s subtle capacity for storytelling, especially on the closing track, “Call,” an opus of sorts characterized by a classic CTI-style arrangement melded with a Prince-like jam coda. In much the same way that Prince’s band made their own records under the Madhouse moniker and others, José James’ fingerprints the recording with first class accompaniment and he gives the trumpeter a solid gold stage for Kuroda to shine. It’s easy to be enamored with the half-steppin’ bounce that makes “Piri Piri” sound so terrific or the back-to-back re-imagination of Roy Ayers’ “Everybody Loves The Sunshine” (with James’ behind-the-beat vocals) along with his “Green and Gold,” featuring a super-tight, electric solo by Bowers. The eight tracks are awash with good feeling, sharp riffs and heavy beats that may send purists running, but Kuroda successfully pulls it together with his melodious trumpet and evolutionary exploration of what jazz can be. (8 tracks; 54 minutes) ■ W W W . F A C E B O O K . C O M / I C O N D V ■ W W W . I C O N D V . C O M ■ A P R I L 2 0 1 4 ■ I C O N ■ 33
Singer / Songwriter Johnny Winter ★★★1/2 True To The Blues: The Johnny Winter Story Columbia/Legacy “This cat can play,” Mike Bloomfield tells the audience at Fillmore East in bringing fellow guitarist Johnny Winter to the stage in December 1968. Winter lives up to that introduction with a skillful version of John Lee Hooker’s “It’s My Own Fault” that stretches out for more than 10 minutes. It’s one of the highlights of True to the
Blues, a four-CD box set of Winter’s career that spans the years 1968 to 2011. In the early 1960s, the Texas native honed his skills as a guitarist playing in clubs across the Lone Star State and bringing a fearless approach to his instrument. The anthology, released in conjunction with his 70th birthday this year, reflects his diversity. “Bad Luck and Trouble” shows his skills as an acoustic player. “Rock and Roll,” taken from his 1973 album Still Alive and Well, has echoes of ZZ Top with its infectious rhythm. “Rock and Roll People,” a lesser-known song by John Lennon, is presented as a straightforward boogie while “Hurtin’ So Bad” shows Winter’s affinity for rhythm and blues. In concert, Winter is in his natural element. He transforms Bob Dylan’s “Highway 61 Revisited” into a roadhouse stomp. Covers of the Rolling Stones’ “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” and Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode” are straightforward celebrations of
tomwilk@rocketmail.com
TOM WILK ★=SKIP IT; ★★=MEDIOCRE; ★★★=GOOD; ★★★★=EXCELLENT; ★★★★★=CLASSIC
rock ‘n’ roll. “I Done Got Over It,” recorded with Muddy Waters and James Cotton, is a delight, uniting two generations of bluesmen. 56 songs, 268 minutes. Lisa Biales ★★★ Belle of the Blues Big Song Music On Belle of the Blues, Lisa Biales lives up to the album’s title, thanks to her clear, distinctive voice. On the title track, which kicks off the CD, Biales delivers the lyrics in a smooth, easygoing manner that fits the song. “Sad Sad Sunday” is a romantic lament with a jazzy undercurrent, courtesy of Randall Bramblett’s work on the Hammond B-3 organ. Co-producer Paul Hornsby’s piano underscores the regrets that Biales voices on “Mask.” The acoustic “Graveyard Dead Blues,” which Biales co-wrote, provides her a launching pad to lay down the law to a prospective lover. “Two things to remember,” she warns, “if you ever cheat or beat on me, you’re gonna wish you were graveyard dead.” “In My Girlish Days,” a duet with coproducer EG Kight, pays tribute to singer Memphis Minnie. Biales’ one misstep is “Trouble with a Capital T,” a song about independence, would be better served with a more aggressive approach. Overall, though, Belle of the Blues is a portrait of a singer who is at home with her line of work. 11 songs 40 minutes Carlene Carter ★★★ Carter Girl Rounder Records A descendant of the Carter Family, the first family of country music, Carlene Carter has carried on that artistic tradition. Carter Girl finds her paying tribute to those who have gone before while putting her own stamp on the music with help from producer Don Was. “Little Black Train” receives a rock overhaul with a chugging rhythm. Carter opts for a straightforward, traditional reading on “Give Me the Flowers,” a reminder not to overlook the opportunity to do good for others. “Useless are the flowers that you give after the soul is gone,” she sings. Carter honors the memory of her grandmother, Mother Maybelle Carter, with “Me and the Wildwood Rose,” a country-flavored mix of nostalgia and regret. The high-spirited “Blackie’s Gunman, featuring Elizabeth Cook, plays to the strength of both singers. A duet with Kris Kristofferson on the tra-
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Carlene Carter. Photo: Marina Chavez.
ditional “Blackjack David” is taken at too fast a pace, draining the song of its mystery. More successful is “Troublesome Waters,” a duet with Willie Nelson, that acknowledges the Carter Family’s gospel roots. Nelson’s vocals provide a balm for the soul. “Lonesome Valley 2003,” updates the traditional spiritual to include the deaths of her mother, June Carter Cash, and stepfather, Johnny Cash. 12 songs 46 minutes David G Smith ★★★ One House Hey Dave Music As a songwriter, David G [sic] Smith goes beyond himself to explore topics of social im-
pact on One House, his second studio album, that mixes folk and country sounds. He’s a musician who hopes to make a difference with his art. Opening with an ominous guitar line, the title track tackles the subject of planetary survival in a world of challenges and opportunities. “Can we live in one house that’s built on higher ground?” Smith wonders in describing mankind’s future. “Ivory” looks at the killing of elephants for their tusks. “Jesus is in Prison” examines troubling questions of innocence and guilt: “Evil is loose and Jesus is in prison/And he’s waiting for the truth to set him free,” he sings over a bluesy backing. Vocally, Smith at times recalls James Taylor. “Give Your Love Away,” a country-flavored tune, is reminiscent of Taylor’s “Shower the People.” On “Doesn’t Take Much Light,” Smith honors the memory of a mentor during his youth, a reminder that the smallest good deed has a lasting impact. “Angels Flew, a mix of singing and recitation, recounts the story of the makeshift armada that formed to rescue those stranded in Lower Manhattan on 9/11. 10 songs 40 minutes. James Armstrong ★★★1/2 Guitar Angels Catfood Records James Armstrong combines strong songwriting with solid instrumental skills on Guitar Angels, the follow-up to Blues on the Border, his 2012 album. Armstrong’s songs and eye for details set him apart from many of his blues contemporaries. The breezy “Grandma’s Got a New Boyfriend” is his take on the effects of Viagra on the older generation. “She makes them happy geriatric style,” Armstrong sings over a stop-and-start arrangement. “Bank of Love” is a humorous song that mixes the worlds of romance and finance. Armstrong also displays a serious side. His clean, bluesy guitar lines provide a soothing feeling on “Healing Times,” which details the emotional journey of mourning the loss of a loved one. The title track, presented in two versions, acknowledges those who helped Armstrong overcome the injuries and setbacks he suffered in a home invasion robbery in 1996. While he has earned comparisons to Robert Cray, Armstrong has carved out his own path as a musician. His version of the Eagles’ hit “Take It to the Limit” turns the ballad into a bluesy shuffle with overtones of classic Stax soul. Guitar Angels suggests that Armstrong’s best work could be ahead of him. 11 songs, 45 minutes ■
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Dining
ROBERT GORDON
HEIRLOOM “LIVING IS EASY WITH eyes closed.” So said John Lennon. Heirloom Chef Al Paris does not have an easy life. His life is busy and productive, albeit exhausting, thanks to engaging life with his eyes wide open. Throughout a few decades of diverse experiences in the restaurant industry, Al kept his eyes—and his recipe book—open. At Pat Bombino’s, Al focused on homey Italian cuisine; at Zanzibar Blue,
soul food; at Guru, Pan-Asian Comfort Food; at Oberon, French. That’s a brief sampling of his CV, which bursts with culinary adventures that stretch from Napa Valley to Philly. Al owned and operated a number of swanky, glitzy places in center city. Rococco was spectacular. Guru, a techno-Asian gem, was intoxicating. In contrast, Heirloom’s ambiance is stylish-rustic. It’s decidedly non-glitzy. Overhead, a wooden ladder suspends over a communal table. Grape vines weave in and out of the rungs, which support twig-wrapped spheres and clusters of vintage canning jars. Within each jar is a bulb that provides soft illumination. Paris actually made the dining room tables himself out of reclaimed wood. As it turns out, the countrified, gentrified décor is a terrific fit for Chestnut Hill. Heirloom beckons with upscale food served in a businesscasual yet classy setting. Al is in his culinary groove at Heirloom where he can focus entirely on the cooking arts. It’s apparent he’s loving that freedom. And judging from the packed rooms I’ve seen here—even on some of Philly’s most brutally cold evenings—locals and foodies alike share the love. Al supports a farm-to-table philosophy. His menu is not bound to any particular style. He can freewheel. Sometimes that’s dangerous for less experienced chefs. But he seems to be wielding his freedom with wisdom, aplomb, and some sublime results. For instance, as an escargot traditionaIist who generally favors the classic French 36 ■ I C O N ■ A P R I L 2 0 1 4 ■ W W W . I C O N D V . C O M ■ W W W . F A C E B O O K . C O M / I C O N D V
parsley, flaked garlic-butter and brioche preparation, I was skeptical of Escargot & Herb Egg Noodles. But the recipe proved clever and effective. Wide laces of noodles sop up the traditional butter-garlic sauce and serve as a delectable platform for the escargots. The dish is bolstered with wild mushroom and zucchini with Fresno chili giving subtle tingle to the undercurrent. Heritage Brisket with Pumpkin Ravioli team to textural perfection, while shaved green onion butter adds a perfect layer to a balanced taste spectrum. A puffy, buttery Wellington is stuffed with butternut squash and sweet Medjool Dates. The Wellington bathes in hearty, deep brown port mushroom ragout sauce and the accompanying vegetable medley rocks. Sautéed kale brings balance to a cast of whole roasted carrots, white radishes and zucchini ribbons. Roast Wild Boar Meatloaf typifies the Chef ’s adventurous, sometimes playful stylings. The accompanying spoonbread is deeply soulful itself, but when teamed with meatloaf, the combo is a comfort food coup, particularly when candied boar belly, caramelized to divine sweetness, and maple-mustard sauce join the party. Heirloom’s salads reflect care and attention. The crunch of wholesome, healthy (and underutilized regionally) Wheatberry pairs well with delicate Little Gem Lettuce. Toasted pecans embellish, while burst cranberries and zingy orange vinaigrette shore up the taste. As for dessert, kudos to the already popular doughnut. It’s essentially a funnel cake disc topped with ice cream and sautéed apples with cinnamon and butter. Crème brûlée becomes a standout with accompanying house-made—and delicious—chocolate bark. Al Paris’ CV is impressive. He was featured at NYC’s James Beard House. In various other venues, he took home awards like “Best New Restaurant,” “America’s Top Tables,” and even Philadelphia’s “Best Gourmet Cheesesteak Award.” But in Chestnut Hill, which has recently leapfrogged from foodie anonymity to foodie destination status (thanks to Heirloom and Chip Roman’s Mica), Al Paris seems to have found his zone. He recently opened Green Soul, a healthconscious cafe, in Chestnut Hill, and just opened Paris Bistro and Jazz Café, his jeu de mot homage to Paris, the City of Lights. Although Al is a busy veteran of many kitchen campaigns, I have to say: the last time I saw Paris his heart was young and gay. ■ Heirloom, 8705 Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia, PA (215) 242-2700 heirloomdining.com
Email comments and suggestions to r.gordon33@verizon.net
First Sip
PATRICIA SAVOIE
A Great Tuscan wine ONE OF TUSCANY’S LITTLE-KNOWN Sangiovese-based wines is Carmignano, a blend of at least 50% Sangiovese, up to 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Caniolo Nero, and 5% Mammolo and/or Colorino. Lighter than Chianti, it nonetheless has good body, balanced acidity and nice spice notes. It has been produced in its small slice of Tuscany—about 12 miles west of Florence near the village of Carmignano—since 800 AD. The land was once owned by the Medicis. In fact, the Medicis planted Cabernet Sauvignon in Carmignano in the 1500s, so it is an established part of the blend. That is what makes it a unique wine for Tuscany; Cabernet Sauvignon is allowed in Chianti as part of the blend, but it is a defined component of Carmignano wine. Carmignano DOC (denominazione d’origine controllata) was not recognized until 1975 (retroactively to 1969), thanks to the efforts of Count Ugo Bonacossi, owner of Tenuta di Cappezzana. Then in 1990, it was granted the highest appellation, DOCG (denominazione d’origine controllata e guarantita). Today, Tenuta di Capezzana accounts for 50% of the DOCG wines produced in the area. Capezzana is still a family-run winery, with four of the seven children of the Count involved, including the daughter who is the driving force behind Capezzana, Countess Beatrice Contini Bonacossi. Sister Benedetta is the winemaker, brother Vittorio is vineyard manager, and Filippo handles finances as well as the family’s olive oil business. Currently, almost 250 acres are planted to vines, and 350 to olive trees. Countess Beatrice, who prefers to be called Bea, was in NYC a few months ago, and I was invited to a tasting lunch to sample the wines. She enlisted chef Paul Lang of A Casa NYC, who actually learned to cook at Tenuta di Capezzana. Bea brought several ingredients with her such as farro and flour from which she made a dense, chewy bread each morning. Salumi was sourced from Los Paisanos in Brooklyn. Capezzana has been converting to organic viticulture and expects its vineyards to be certified 100% organic by 2015. It will be Tuscany’s first certified organic winery. Says Bea, “Even after one year we could see…the soil was more alive, the vines stronger.” Capezzana also makes a lovely extra virgin olive oil that is available here and is used in some of NYC’s top restaurants ($55). When in Tuscany, you can take a tour of the property and can even rent one of the historic villas. There also is a cooking school on the property. In Florence, you can see about half of the family’s impressive art collection, which is housed at the Uffizi Gallery. THE WINES (some of the more affordable ones): Barco Reale Di Carmignano DOC 2010 (70% Sangiovese, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Canaiolo, 5% Cabernet Franc). Beatrice describes this as a “baby Carmignano.” It is an easy drinking wine perfect for everyday. Ripe cherry and blackberry. Plush in the mouth. ($13-15) Ghiaie della Furba 2007 (60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Merlot, 10% Syrah). Beatrice noted that the name of the wine is a reference to pebbles in the bed of a stream named Furba on the property. Fresh red and blackberry scents and tastes over black cherry and plum and spice. ($55) Villa Di Capezzana Carmignano DOCG 2008 (80% Sangiovese, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon). Aged in osk for 15 months and at least ten months in bottle before release. Nice dry cherry and currant notes. ($30) Capezzana makes an excellent Vin Santo Riserva, produced by allowing the grapes to dry in the upper room of the winery until they become raisin-like, producng a rich, viscous sweet wine that they call Vinsantia. ($55 half bottle) ■ W W W . F A C E B O O K . C O M / I C O N D V ■ W W W . I C O N D V . C O M ■ A P R I L 2 0 1 4 ■ I C O N ■ 37
Dining
ROBERT GORDON
avero WHEN OSSO BUCCO IS prepared to fall-off-the-bone perfection, there’s little space for improvement. But Avero’s version finds that space. Tender osso bucco lounges atop a vibrant mix of porcini mushrooms, escarole, white beans, and julienned baby carrots. As one whose guilty pleasure has been osso bucco for more than a few decades, I have to say Avero’s recipe ranks with the best I’ve ever had. It merits destination status.
I confess I didn’t expect the level of cuisine I found here. Perhaps I should have. I had been hearing good things about how Chef Christopher DeFeo is transforming Avero, leapfrogging the eatery’s focus from pizzeria to trattoria. DeFeo is up to the task. His impressive CV boasts stints in topnotch kitchens like Savana and Blackfish. Still, on my first visit, the osso bucco, so deliciously conceived and perfectly executed, came as a pleasant surprise. Equally pleasant was its $19.50 price. Comparable dishes elsewhere generally run from the mid-twenties and up. Avero is situated along Lancaster Pike’s increasingly populated, somewhat erratic food corridor where uncommon eateries mix with some quite common ones. In this foodscape, Avero, at first blush, might be missed or dismissed as simply another pizza parlor, albeit an upscale one. Avero’s wood-fired pizza is good. In fact, it holds its own against some of the region’s better-known pizza kitchens. As an example, Avero’s spinach pizza would pass any pizza snob’s muster. Pine nuts, oven-roasted, sun-dried tomatoes, slices of sweet Roma tomatoes, and bell peppers cover crisp, smoke-infused dough layered with creamy Mozzarella and aged cheddar. Kudos need also go to Gorgonzola Pizza, Email comments and suggestions to r.gordon33@verizon.net
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which is loaded with caramelized onion and Mozzarella and scattered ubiquitously with crumbles of bacon. Notwithstanding the pizza, the most interesting menu nuggets reside in the Primi Piatti, Pesce and Carne groupings. Diver Scallop Carpaccio is an attractively stacked, pristine confederation of raw, thin scallops, celeriac, and hearts of palm topped with micro-greens trickled with citrus vinaigrette. Two glistening grapefruit slices flanking the axis of the attractive arrangement bring a sweet-tart dynamic into play, which is at once palate-pleasing and palatecleansing. House-made risotto, a vegetarian alternative, is packed with black trumpet and hedgehog mushrooms along with generous shavings of Burgundy truffles. Red Snapper Crudo with snappy horseradish crema is a winning recipe enlivened with watermelon radish, and crunchy shallots. Pasta selections cost $15 or $16. Tender pillows of Ricotta gnocchi, served with pancetta, butternut squash, spinach, and gremolata qualify as tasty Italian soul food. Ditto for saffron-coated Blue Crab Agnolotti with shrimp, ricotta, and Swiss chard. Dolces, priced from $5.75 to $6.50, include Crème Brûlée and Chocolate Banana Bread Pudding. The latter is a rich confection charged with Nutella and bananas sautéed in butter that add sweetness to the bread pudding. As for drink selections, you’ll find a global selection of moderately priced wines served by the glass or bottle, as well as a rounded roster of beers including Lagunitas Sucks, which is gaining legendary status. There’s an interesting backstory on the origin of the seemingly unflattering moniker, which your server will be happy to share as you sip. The interior of the dining area is pleasant and airy. A large overhead striped canvas supports strings of incandescent bulbs. The spacious, dimly-lit interior casts a casual, resort-like vibe over the pleasant, minimalist uncarpeted space. The bar is contemporary and attractive, and animated with a lively buzz—a buzz I anticipate will notch up substantially when locals and foodies start exploring the entirety of Avero’s improved menu. ■ Avero Bar Italiano, 821 W Lancaster Avenue, Wayne, PA (484) 580-6455 averoitaliano.com
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HOTEL Modern Cuisine h Classic Comfort Corner of Swan & Main Lambertville, NJ 609-397-3552 W W W . F A C E B O O K . C O M / I C O N D V ■ W W W . I C O N D V . C O M ■ A P R I L 2 0 1 4 ■ I C O N ■ 39
Sally Friedman
The Dining Room Table IT WAS MARKED SIXTY dollars, but I got it for fifty because a savvy friend did the bargaining. The dining room table hauled home in the back of a Ford station wagon with faux wood sides from an estate sale 46 years ago has been with us almost as long as our youngest daughter. I was very pregnant with her when I spotted it, and knew I had to have it. Certainly not because it was beautiful or graceful. The square oak table with the gnarled claw feet had no such attributes. But there was something solid and strong and yes, unlovely about it that spoke to me. I wanted this table to be ours even though I couldn’t explain why—not even to my husband, who was initially horrified by it. Nonetheless, we set up that table in our dining room, in an uninspiring four bedroom “manor house” that bore no resemblance to a manor—but obviously helped the model sell in a new home development in South Jersey. The oak table came with six leaves, meaning it could stretch from its basic 48 inches by 48 inches into a kind of behemoth. I served our first official Thanksgiving dinner on that table, draped with a collection of cloths that made it look like something from a low-end Arabian bazaar. It was, I might add, the “anything goes” late 1960s. We moved that table with us when we bought our dream house, an old Tudor where it looked a bit lost in a dining room twice the size of the one in our former house. Now, the table had plenty of elbow room, if you’ll forgive the mixed metaphor. By now, we had finished producing daughters—there were three of them, which was plenty for us. And we were in those wonderful years of family life when the kids were at great ages, my husband was established in his career, and I was finding my way into mine. So we had parties. Wonderful ones. When I was brave, there were dinner parties that made us all feel very grown up. I’d collected enough antique wine glasses and serving dishes at yard sales to set a pretty, if not unified table. And I’d finally splurged on a single banquet cloth for the beast that was our beloved dining room table. As work galloped headlong into my life, we reverted to brunches. Less cooking, less formality, old and new friends and a lot of political debates around the table now that we were all seasoned and opinionated enough to be immersed in such things. There were glorious arguments around that table. And then our daughters had the audacity to grow up and leave us for grassy college campuses far away. We still set the big old table for family holiday gatherings, but be40 ■ I C O N ■ A P R I L 2 0 1 4 ■ W W W . I C O N D V . C O M ■ W W W . F A C E B O O K . C O M / I C O N D V
tween those, it sat idle. We even put two of the eight chairs we used to have around it up in the attic. Then along came three occasions of state: meeting the families of the young men our daughters were marrying. What memorable days those were as we opened the front door—and the table with more leaves—to strangers who would become family. We addressed the wedding invitations at the dining room table, wondering where in the world the years had gone. In the natural rhythms of life, along came the day when we looked around at the empty rooms in our Tudor, and knew it was time to move on. It was like an ambush, that recognition. But there it was. One of our most painful debates was about the dining room table. It would definitely overwhelm the small dining room space in our modern condominium. But in the end, the table was hauled out to the truck by several burly movers who complained about its heft. And now it sits grandly, dominating our small dining room, this object that somehow seems a sacred member of the family. We add as many leaves as we can, and set it several times a year. At the Jewish holidays. On special anniversaries when we gather as a clan with our daughters, their husbands and seven astonishing grandchildren. In between, the old oak table does have a new life. My husband has claimed it as his home office, and there he sits on mornings when the sun streams in, or the rain beats down, and reviews our bills and insurance forms and tax returns. I sit with him sometimes, and just watch him as a Joni Mitchell CD plays “The Circle Game” in the background. “And the seasons they go round and round,” Joni sings. “We’re captive on the carousel of time...” We talk now about giving the table to one of our daughters. The middle one, sentimental Amy, seems interested. Her sisters are not. But for now, the dining room table, with its scratches and nicks, and its slightly caved-in middle, will stay with us. I guess we’ll know when it’s really time to say goodbye. ■ Sally Friedman contributes to the New York Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, AARP Magazine and other national and regional publications. She is the mother of three fierce daughters, grandmother of seven exceptional grandchildren and the wife of retired New Jersey Superior Court Judge Victor Friedman. Email: PINEGANDER@aol.com.
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About Life
JAMES P. DELPINO, MSS,MLSP,LCSW,BCD
Crossing the River Progress WHAT MOST OFTEN CONCERNS people about the kind of changes they must make in order to experience progress in their development is that it will change who they are. And, of course, this sparks fear and makes them recoil, effectively paralyzing their progress. Fear of the unknown is the most common fear we have. Fear is not always such a bad thing. In the healthy realms of functioning, fear is supposed to be an ally in life’s journey. Fear is there to protect us from being hurt, physically or emotionally. Fears can be triggered by even the chance of hurt. Without enough fear, humans might not have survived to the present day— higher risk behaviors would dramatically raise mortality rates. Of these two sides to fear, it is the common fear of the unknown that outweighs them both. For the high risk-taking individuals, progress often means becoming too still and bored with life. For the low-risk individuals, progress most frequently appears as a very dangerous and scary thing. For Carl Jung, exploring the inner essence of people meant digging into the “Shadow,” the unexpressed aspects of a person, to bring them into the light and balance them with the manifest aspects of the person. From the inside view these aspects already exist. They’ve been split off or repressed from consciousness. This is how they become part of the Shadow (unconscious). Plato understood progress to be a “remembering.” There are many things we know but have somehow forgotten. Whether it’s the process of forgetting in the ancient sense, or repressing in the modern sense, most everyone has lost touch with at least some of their aspects. The river that runs between the shadow and the manifest (the conscious and the unconscious) is the place where fear resides. Making progress is much like crossing a river. For an aspect of the self to reach the far bank it cannot simply stay resting in the shadow. Too much fear will stunt the forward progress to the other side. Too little fear might also result in a failure to cross the river boundary. There is a happy medi-
Jim Delpino is a psychotherapist in private practice for over 33 years. Email: jdelpino@aol.com Phone: (215) 364-0139.
um somewhere between these two extremes, something Aristotle referred to as the “Golden Mean.” The concept of the Golden Mean would advise proceeding ahead, but with caution. The are several things required for progress: A desire to progress that’s stronger than the fear that would block it; having patience to study the path before proceeding; reviewing what has been observed and learned so the challenges of successful change are accurately identified; formulating a plan or solution that effectively meets the identified challenges; and activating the plan or solution. Progress can be a very slow and painstaking ordeal. To continue the river metaphor, perhaps one person’s river crossing requires the time to build a bridge that’s strong enough to bear the weight of a certain aspect. Sometimes progress is as simple as sticking a toe in the water or diving in to quickly swim across. Progress requires that people must do what is necessary to reach that far bank of the river. It may take many attempts. Or people may find themselves wading the river again and again because the progress they achieved was reversed. Blaming the river for failures, just like blaming ourselves, rarely helps to make progress. There is an old Zen saying that goes “Blame disappears where understanding begins.” Developing a deeper understanding of the challenges, as well as a commensurate understanding of the self are most helpful after a failure is experienced. Blaming the river deprives us of believing we can transcend the difficulties that progress demands. Each time someone solves the personal equation of river crossing, she or he becomes more able to do it. Every aspect that is manifested from the Shadow/unconscious has a unique experience of going from one bank of the river to the other. This is why the same solution doesn’t work for all aspects. This is where courage and persistence in the face of fear is required. Each time a river is bridged, in some way the person becomes more expansive in their thinking and feeling as well as confident in their abilities. The best results occur when the manifest (conscious) self reaches over the water and pulls while the hidden (unconscious) aspects push—then they may once again be joined in what we call progress. ■ W W W . F A C E B O O K . C O M / I C O N D V ■ W W W . I C O N D V . C O M ■ A P R I L 2 0 1 4 ■ I C O N ■ 41
The Los Angeles Times SUNDAY CROSSWORD PUZZLE
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THE LIVING END By Jason Chapnick and c.c. Burnkel Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
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Agenda CALL TO ARTISTS The Downtown Bethlehem Association is seeking fine crafters and artisans for its Annual Summer ArtWalk Series. Artists will be paired with a retail or restaurant business, having the opportunity to sell their wares and wears along Main and Broad Sts, in Historic Bethlehem. ArtWalk will be held from 4-8PM Saturday May 31, June 28, July 26, and August 30. For an application contact emilyg@lehighvalleychamber.org or 610-739-1273 Deadline: June 15, 2014. Philadelphia: 114th Philadelphia Water Color Society Int’l Anniversary Exhibition of Works on Paper at The Community Arts Ctr, 414 Plush Mill Road, Wallingford. Show Dates: 9/14-10/17. For prospectus: pwcsociety.org in March 2014, or send SASE to PWCS Entries, 13 Brandywine Dr., Media, PA 19063. Two entries: pastel, water media, drawings, hand-pulled prints. Members $15, Non-Members $45. Juror of Selection: Linda Baker, AWS, NWS, Juror of Awards: Antonio Masi, AWS. Over $5,000.
ART EXHIBITS THRU 4/18 Mapping Meaning: Easton. Lafayette Art Galleries, Grossman Gallery, Williams Visual Arts Building, 243 N. 3rd St., Easton. 610330-5361. galleries.lafayette.edu THRU 4/20 Terri Amig, Falling. The Quiet Life Gallery, 17 So. Main St., Lambertville, NJ. 609-397-0880. quietlifegallery.com THRU 5/4 There and Back, photographs by Mark Fields and Forrest Old. Red Filter Gallery, 74 Bridge St., Lambertville NJ Tues-Sun, 12-5. 347244-9758. redfiltergallery.com THRU 5/18 Paul Harryn, Essence of Nature. Allentown Art Museum, 31 North Fifth St., Allentown, PA. Allentownartmuseum.org THRU 5/22 A Band of Exiles on the Wild New England Shore: The Place of Peter Frederick Rothermel’s ‘The Landing of the Pilgrims’ in America’s National Memory. Williams Center Gallery, Lafayette College, 317 Hamilton St., Easton, PA. 610-3305361. galleries.lafayette.edu THRU 6/1 Paul Evans: Crossing Boundaries & Crafting Modernism. James A. Michener Art Museum, Pine St., Doylestown. 1-800-595-4849. michenermuseum.org
THRU 6/1 Fashion, Circus, Spectacle: Photographs by Scott Heiser. Delaware Art Museum, 2301 Kentmere Parkway, Wilmington, DE. 302-5719590. delart.org
4/23-5/4 Meredith Willson’s The Music Man. DeSales University, Labuda Center for the Performing Arts, 2755 Station Ave., Center Valley, PA. Tickets: 610-282-3192. desales.edu/act1
THRU 6/22 British Pop Prints. Exhibition of 23 prints. Allentown Art Museum, 31 N. Fifth St, Allentown. 610-432-4333. Allentownartmuseum.org
4/24-4/26 Mad Forest, a play from Romania by Caryl Churchill, directed by Beth Schachter. Muhlenberg College Theatre & Dance, 2400 Chew St., Allentown. 484-664-3333. Muhlenberg.edu/theatre
4/4-4/18 Adult Student Exhibition. The Baum School of Art, 510 Linden St, Allentown. 610-4330032. baumschool.org 4/10-5/10 Photographs from the Traditional Darkroom. Reception 4/10, 6-8. The Bucks County Project Gallery, 252 W. Ashland St., Doylestown. 267-247-6634. buckscountyprojectgallery.com 4/12-5/18 New Hope Arts Sculpture 2014. 13th annual juried exhibition. Reception 4/12, 5-8. New Hope Arts Center, 2 Stockton Ave., New Hope. 215-862-9606.newhopearts.org 4/25-4/27 Animal Logic: A Surreal Happening by Cheryl Hochberg and Friends. Allentown Art Museum, 31 North Fifth St., Allentown. 610-432-4333. Allentownartmuseum.org 5/4-6/15 The Art of the Miniature, the 22nd invitational exhibition of fine art miniatures from around the world. Reception 5/4, 1-5. The Snow Goose Gallery, 470 Main St., Bethlehem. 610-974-9099. thesnowgoosegallery.com 5/9-5/11 5th Annual Traditional Artists Show. Reception/silent auction 5/9, 5-9. Sat. & Sun., 5/10 and 5/11, 11-5. Rolling Green Farm, Rt. 202 & Aquetong Rd., Solebury. 215-2621083. facebook.com/TraditionalArtistShowBucksCounty
THEATER 4/3-4/13 Journey: Dreams of the Red Pavilion. Thurs.-Sat. 8 pm, Sun. 2 pm. Touchstone Theatre, 321 E. Fourth St., Bethlehem. 610-867-1689. touchstone.org 4/8-4/13 In The Mood, a 1940’s musical revue. America’s greatest big band show celebrates its 20th Anniversary Live on Tour. 70 South Main St., New Hope. 215-862-2121. bcptheater.org. Iinthemoodlive.com
4/24-4/27 Polaroid Stories, a visceral blend of dance & classical mythology told by street kids. Samuels Theatre, Cedar Crest College, 100 College Drive, Allentown. 610-606-1408. Cedarcrest.edu/stage. For mature audiences only. 4/26 The Bronx Wanderers: One Part Oldies, Two Parts Rock N’ Roll. 8 pm. State Theatre, 453 Northampton St., Easton. 610-252-3132. 1800-999-STATE. statetheatre.org 5/4 The Ugly Duckling & The Tortoise and The Hare, as seen by the viewers of America’s Got Talent, 4pm. 2:30 pm, lobby show, The Baum School of Art, a mixed media sculpture workshop for students ages 711. Lightwire Theater @Zoellner Arts Center, Bethlehem. Free parking attached to center. 610-7582787. zoellnerartscenter.org
4/5 YES. Sands Bethlehem Event Center, Bethlehem. Box office: 610-2977400. Sandseventcenter.com 4/10 The Ten Tenors, Sing Broadway’s Most Loved Classics. Sands Bethlehem Event Center, Bethlehem. Box office: 610-297-7400. Sandseventcenter.com 4/12 All Nature Sings. Music by Mendelssohn, Delius, Shostakovich. Pennsylvania Sinfonia Orchestra @First Presbyterian Church, 3231 W. Tilghman St., Allentown. $15$35 in advance/at door. 610-4347811. PASinfonia.org. tickets: lvartsboxoffice.org 4/25 Gryphon Trio. Chamber Music Society of Bethlehem, Faith United Church of Christ, 5992 Rte 378 So, Center Valley, PA. Tickets at door or lvartsboxoffice.org. cmsob.org 4/26 Melissa Etheridge. Sands Bethlehem Event Center, Bethlehem. 610-2977400. Sandseventcenter.com 5/2-5/3 and 5/9-5/10 The Healing Power of Music. Bach Cantatas, Young Meister Bach comic opera, Ronn McFarlane & William Simms lute, Mass in B Minor. The Bach Choir of Bethlehem, Lehigh University, Bethlehem. Info: bach.org or 888-743-3100, ext. 10 or 15.
DINNER & MUSIC Saturday nights: Sette Luna Restaurant, 219 Ferry St., Easton. 610-2538888. setteluna.com Thursday nights: DeAnna’s Restaurant, 54 N. Franklin St., Lambertville, NJ. Live music/raw bar. 609-3978957. deannasrestaurant.com. Every Thurs.-Sat., Dinner and a Show at SteelStacks, Bethlehem, PA. 510:00pm. Table service and valet parking. Information, menus and upcoming events visit artsquest.org Every Monday, Live guitar with Barry Peterson, 7-10pm. Karla’s, 5 West Mechanic St., New Hope. 215-8622612. karlasnewhope.com
CONCERTS Some organizations perform in various locations. If no address is listed, check website for location of performance. THRU 4/30 The Noon-Ten Concerts, Tuesdays, 12:10 PM. Arts at St. John’s, St. John’s Lutheran Church, 37 So. Fifth St., Allentown. 610-435-1641. Stjohnsallentown.org
5/3 Survey Says… Family Feud Live! Sands Bethlehem Event Center, Bethlehem. Box office: 610-2977400. Sandseventcenter.com 5/4 Spring Choral Concert. Arts at St. John’s, St. John’s Lutheran Church, 37 So. Fifth St., Allentown. 610435-1641. Stjohnsallentown.org 5/9 Staind, Live in Concert with special guest Theory. Sands Bethlehem Event Center, Bethlehem. 610-2977400. Sandseventcenter.com 5/16 Walden Chamber Players. Chamber Music Society of Bethlehem, Faith United Church of Christ, 5992 Rte 378 So, Center Valley, PA. Tickets: lvartsboxoffice.org. cmsob.org
KESWICK THEATRE Keswick Theatre 291 Keswick Ave., Glenside, PA keswicktheatre.com 4/2 Jon Anderson - SOLO 4/3 Jesse Tyler Ferguson &
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Eric Stonestreet Of Modern Family Los Lonely Boys KEB’ MO’ (Acoustic) James Van Praagh $29, $39, $59 Neil Finn Dizzy Heights Tour + Midlake (Acoustic) Jesse Cook Nana Mouskouri All Tickets Honored for Re-scheduled Date! Liberia Girls Night The Musical David Bromberg Big Band + David Johansen of New York Dolls The Fab Faux performs “Revolver”
ARTSQUEST CENTER AT STEELSTACKS MUSIKFEST CAFÉ 101 Founders Way, Bethlehem, PA 610-332-1300. artsquest.org 4/3 4/4 4/10 4/10 4/12 4/18 4/19 4/21 5/2 5/8
Jon Anderson Who’s Bad: Tribute to Michael Jackson Fishtank Ensemble Leo Kottke The Blues Brotherhood, with Tom “Bones” Malone Little River Band Colin Quinn: Unconstitutional Zucchero Livingston Taylor Preservation Hall Jazz Band
at door or at lvartsboxoffice.org and cmsob.org 4/12 “All Nature Sings.” Violinist Karina Canellakis. Mendelssohn, Delius, Shostakovich. 7:30 p.m. Pennsylvania Sinfonia Orch., First Presbyterian Church, 3231 W. Tilghman St., Allentown. $15-$35. 610-4347811. Tickets: lvartsboxoffice.org
READINGS & BOOK SIGNINGS 4/12 Poet James Richardson. 2011 Jackson Poetry Prize-winner will read new work along with poems from ‘By the Numbers: Poems and Aphorisms.’ Book signing, Q&A, and refreshments. 6PM. Panoply Books, 46 N. Union St., Lambertville, NJ. (609) 397-1145 4/26 Steampunk ABC, by Lisa Falkenstern. National book release, 11am-2pm. Hetzel’s, 34 Main St., Clinton, NJ. 908-735-8808. Hetzelsart.com 5/10 Poet B.J Ward. Pushcart Prize-winner will read from his latest collection, Jackleg Opera: Collected Poems, 1990-2013. Book signing, Q & A, refreshments. 6PM, Panoply Books, 46 N. Union St., Lambertville, NJ. Free. (609) 397-1145
GODFREY DANIELS Original live music room since 1976 7 E Fourth St, Bethlehem 610-867-2390 godfreydaniels.org 4/3
PA Jazz Collective presents LV Charter Arts Jazz Band 4/4 CKS Band – Randy Ciarlante, Bruce Katz, Scott Sharrard 4/5 Mary Fahl of October Project 4/10 Charter Arts Vocalist Cafe 4/11 Harpeth Rising with Caryn Lin 4/12 Pierre Bensusan 4/17 Sarah Ayers 4/18 The Nighthawks 4/19 Paul Geremia 4/24 Charter Arts Play Readings 4/25 Seamus Kennedy 4/26 Steve Gillette & Cindy Mangsen 4/27 Brittany Ann & Pesky J Nixon 4/5 Yes. Sands Bethlehem Event Center, Bethlehem. 610-297-7400. Sandseventcenter.com 4/11 Daedalus Quartet. 7:30 p.m. Purcell Three Fantasies, Britten String Quartet No. 1 in D Major, Op. 25, Beethoven String Quartet No. 13 in B-flat Major, Op. 130 & Grosse Fuge, Op. 133. Chamber Music Society of Bethlehem, Foy Concert Hall, Moravian College, W. Church & Main Streets, Bethlehem. Tickets
AUCTIONS 5/17 29th Annual Baum School of Art Auction. Silent auction 5:30 pm, live auction 8pm. Preview, 5/15, 68. The Baum School of Art, 510 Linden St., Allentown, PA. 610-4330032. baumschool.org
EVENTS 4/11 Tinicum Art and Science Coffee House Fundraiser, 5-8pm. Performances, artwork, food, silent auction. Tickets $25 in advance. 85 Sherman Rd., Ottsville, PA. (610)8476980. tinicumartandscience.org
FESTIVALS 5/10 & 5/11 49th Annual Fine Art & Craft Show, Main St., Bethlehem. Sat. 10-5, Sun. 11-5. Over 80 regional, national & local artists and art projects for kids. Bfac-lv.org 5/17 Arts Alive! Now in its 14th year, is Upper Bucks county’s premier juried art show. Wine-tasting area, food, & fun for the whole family. Broad Street in Quakertown, PA from 4th Street to Route 212, 10am – 4pm. Raindate: 5/18. 215536-2273. Quakertownalive.com
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Carol C. Dorey Real Estate, Inc. Specialists in High-Value Property www.doreyrealestate.com (610) 346-8800
CHIC SOPHISTICATION Pristine grounds envelop this home minutes from I-78, the PA Turnpike and Lehigh Valley Hospital. The floor plan boasts high ceilings, detailed moldings, wood doors, and abundant windows. Rooms include formal living and dining areas framed by a marble entryway and 3 sets of French doors leading to the flagstone patio, fountain, and covered outdoor entertaining area. Five bedrooms, 5.5 baths, 2 home offices, a spacious kitchen with breakfast nook and family room highlight this sun-filled home. $1,195,000
BUCKS COUNTY ESTATE Set along a spring-fed creek and trout stream with mature gardens, private woods, and pristine farmland, Aurora Springs Farm offers a rarely available 133-acre Bucks County estate. The heart of the Aurora Springs is its 1756 stone farmhouse. Beyond the spacious farmhouse there is a large cottage, multiple guest houses, barn with party room, pool house with sauna and steam showers, staff apartment and inground pool and hot tub overlooking the tennis court and meadow. $1,995,000
WINCHESTER HEIGHTS This design fulfills all lifestyle expectations without compromising character. Southern exposure, high ceilings & windows bring wonderful views to the living space. Of interest are the custom built-ins and special design features such as a signed, custom-built staircase by the renowned artist, Karel Mikolas. A stately exterior with circular drive are the first impressions of the quality echoed in the home’s interior. Four to five bedrooms, 6 baths and over 8,000 sqft of living space. $1,250,000
THE SUMMIT AT SAUCON VALLEY Lotus Lane is set in a neighborhood of distinguished cul-de-sac homes offering easy access to I-78, The Promenade shops and restaurants, and Southern Lehigh schools. An attractive stone and stucco exterior and foyer with sweeping dual staircase welcomes you to this 5,000 plus sqft home. A 2-story family room has a gas fireplace at its center and is framed by a wall-of-windows looking out to the pretty yard. There are four en suite bedrooms, a partially finished lower level, 1st floor office, and private deck and patio areas for outdoor entertaining. $810,000
WALK TO THE COUNTRY CLUB A winding flagstone walk leads to the entrance of this stone 1948 gem, while a romantic front door beckons welcome to a delightful interior of whimsy and sophistication. Inside, there are wonderful details such as a Moravian tile foyer, handsome moldings, rounded window cheeks, Moroccan arched doorways, plaster walls, bay windows and a fireplace with Moravian tile surround. A wonderful southeast windowed library overlooks the private 7.55 acres where there are mature plantings and towering trees. $599,900
EXCEPTIONAL IN WEYHILL WOODS Walk or bike the rails to trails, enjoy the privacy of over 2 acres or visit the Promenade Shops from this custom home, exquisitely designed and appointed and located in Weyhill Woods. There are 3 levels of living space which includes an entertaining room with custom bar, exercise room, full bath and office all on the LL. This home is an example of the best craftsmanship in every room. Abundant curb appeal, stylish amenities and an elegant interior set this attractive home apart from the ordinary. $1,095,000
FAIRWAY VIEWS Steps from the Saucon Valley Country Club, this lovely home is set on 2 flat acres with vistas of surrounding hills and the manicured grounds of an award-winning golf course. Generously-sized rooms are geared for sophisticated entertaining with a well-equipped kitchen, adjacent breakfast room and butler’s pantry. Glimpses of the sparkling pool and flagstone terrace accentuate the formal dining room and grand family room. Side porches offer sweeping views and a place to relax. Close proximity to the Promenade Shops and I-78 are an added bonus. $1,425,000
CHESTNUT HILL Enviable details abound in more than 4,500 sq ft tailored for everyday comfort or entertaining. The main level has a sunny bedroom and full bath, office w/French doors, pyramid ceiling and floor-to-ceiling shelving. A formal dining room is highlighted by columns, coffered ceiling and picture frame molding. Wood floors, rich cherry cabinetry, granite countertops and counter seating in the kitchen. Dual staircases lead to the 2nd fl with 4 bedrooms and 3 baths. Entertaining beckons on a lovely patio with built-in fire pit and grill, hot tub, and lush acreage and views. $749,000
FLAWLESS MARRIAGE OF OLD AND NEW Tuck’s Cabin is a step back in time, offering a picturesque 1.5-acre setting and charming interior space with wood floors, beamed ceilings and exposed log walls. Completely renovated in the last year, the home boasts an open, sun-filled kitchen and dining area with granite counters and doors to the deck, pool and pergola beyond. New mechanicals, electric and plumbing ensure efficiency in this move-in condition home. There are 2 to 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths and a convenient second floor laundry. $329,000
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