Club D’Elf
CLUB D’ELF with JOHN MEDESKI BRINGS MOROCCAN TRANCE GROOVES to HELSINKI HUDSON
(HUDSON, N.Y.) – Moroccan-dosed dub-jazz collective Club D’Elf, featuring superstar keyboardist John Medeski of Medeski Martin and Wood fame, returns to Club Helsinki Hudson with its funky world-trance grooves on Sunday, December 20, at 8pm. The brainchild of Boston bassist/composer Mike Rivard (Morphine, Either Orchestra, Guster, Boston Pops), Club d’Elf is a constellation of top musicians from the jazz, DJ, rock and world music scenes of Boston and NYC who get in the groove and proceed to blow it up. With Rivard and drummer Dean Johnston at the core, guitars, turntables, Fender Rhodes, laptops, horns, tablas and a myriad of exotic instruments flow in and out of the mix. Special guest John Medeski, who has been an “honorary core member” of Club d’Elf from day one, is best known for his work with the genre-defying trio Medeski Martin & Wood. Built upon jazz roots, electronics and rhythmic grooves – not unlike Club d’Elf — MMW have broken out of the traditional jazz sphere and have shared the bill with groups such as The Roots, Beck, A Tribe Called Quest, Ray Charles, Hermento Pascoal, and Phish, frequently appearing in venues unavailable to most jazz artists.
George Frideric Handel by Balthasar Denner
COMMUNITY ‘MESSIAH’ SING-ALONG at FIRST PRESBYTERIAN
(HUDSON, N.Y.) – The annual community Messiah SING takes place at the First Presbyterian Church as part of Classics on Hudson’s second season of concerts on Saturday, December 19, at 4pm. Directed by Gwen Gould, with an instrumental ensemble and featured soloists, the audience is invited to pick up a score and join the chorus to sing the Christmas portion of Handel’s magnificent oratorio.
John Pizzarelli
JOHN PIZZARELLI BRINGS FRANK SINATRA CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION to MAHAIWE
(GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass.) – Pop-jazz guitarist and vocalist John Pizzarelli celebrates the centennial of Frank Sinatra’s birthday at the Mahaiwe on Saturday, December 19, at 8pm, with “Swing 7 Frank Sinatra Centennial Celebration.” Using greats like Ellington, Cole and Sinatra and the songs of writers such as Rodgers, Gershwin and Jobim as touchstones, Pizzarelli is among the prime contemporary interpreters of the so-called great American songbook, bringing to the work his signature style and brilliant guitar playing.
Walkabout (Past the Pond) by David Konigsberg
‘RADICAL INVENTIONS’ EXHIBIT at CARRIE HADDAD GALLERY
(HUDSON, N.Y.) – “Radical Inventions,” a group show featuring the work of five artists, is on view at Carrie Haddad Gallery this weekend, and remains on view through December 27, 2015. Recent work by painters David Konigsberg, of Hudson, and Ralph Stout are displayed alongside gallery favorites of fellow artist Shawn Snow. Multi-media constructions by Stephen King are also featured with large abstract works by architect turned visual artist Juan Garcia Nunez.
Ski Chalet, the Nevele
ABANDONED CATSKILLS RESORTS FEATURED in PHOTOGRAPHY SHOW at VALLEY VARIETY
(HUDSON, N.Y.) – “Echoes of the Borscht Belt,” a poignant series of photographs by Marisa Scheinfeld, featuring haunting contemporary images of the former thriving resort hotels in the Catskill Mountains region now abandoned, ghostly, and caught in a state of entropy and decay, is on view at Valley Variety this weekend and will remain on view through the end of the year.