PAINTING THE BLUES

Picasso painted the blues, but the Whitney’s newly opened “Blues for Smoke” exhibition (through April 28) is inspired by those who have sung the blues. This interdisciplinary exhibition is where art and cover art converge, showcasing the genre’s aesthetic as more than just music. Explore the overall creative sensibility of the blues and its avant-garde angles with works from more than 40 artists, spanning from the 1950s to the present. Taking its title from a 1960 solo album by jazz pianist Jaki Byard, the show features events, screenings, and of course, performances.

Blues for Smoke

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LAST CALL

This New Year’s Eve isn’t just the end of a year at the Lenox Lounge: It’s the end of an era, or several for that matter. The iconic Harlem jazz spot is set to shutter on December 31 after 70 years in business. During its heyday, countless legends passed through, from literary giants, like Langston Hughes, to jazz greats, like Frank Sinatra, Billie Holiday, and John Coltrane, among others. One of the city’s few remaining Art Deco buildings, in recent years, it’s inspired fashion pictorials and music videos for everyone from Madonna to Mary J. Blige. Eater.com pays tribute by sending blogger Brooks of Sheffield uptown for one last set.

One Last Visit to the Historic Lenox Lounge in Harlem

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SOMETHING NU, SOMETHING BLU

The West Village might be synonymous with jazz, but any post-Beat
Generation hipster can tell you the East Village is also where it’s
at. Over on Avenue C, Nublu, that little music venue that could, has
stayed strong for some nine years and now even spearheads its own
music fest. Back for its third year, the Nublu Jazz Festival kicked
off last Wednesday and runs through December 18 with shows at Nublu’s
two spaces and Joe’s Pub. Speaking about the event, owner/curator
Ilhan Ersahin says, “Nublu is a continuation of jazz culture, it has
the spirit of jazz with a sound that is relevant today.” Tonight catch
Aya with Jonathan Maron and Itaal Shur, and the Nuble Orchestra
conducted by Butch Morris, among others.

Check it out!

AN “INFORMEL” INVITE

The Chelsea Art Museum (CAM) is celebrating its night anniversary with
an evening of jazz, wine, and art, running from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. The
event features music by the Angels in Harlem and the opening of two
retrospective exhibits, “Highlights of CAM” and “Asian Variegations.”
Home to the Miotte Foundation, the CAM also honors the legacy of L’Art
Informel artist Jean Miotte, who was an influential figure in the
post-war art scenes both in the U.S. and Europe. Now in his late 80s,
Miotte first arrived in NYC in 1961 and has had a studio in Soho since
1978. (The event is free, but donations are welcome.)
More Details on the 9th Annual CAM

Get all jazzed up and head over to Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola for Howard
Fishman and the Biting Fish Brass Band this evening. Deemed “the best
jazz room in the city” by Tony Bennett, the space channels a bit of
New Orleans much like Fishman himself, who “filters a deep passion for
New Orleans jazz, Brooklyn soul, open-hearted country, blues and
gospel music through a completely original, experimental aesthetic, to
create a sound entirely his own.” Playing with his longtime
collaborators Mazz Swift on violin, Roland Barber on trombone, Kenny
Bentley on tuba, and Dave Berger on drums, Fishman offers up an
“exuberant, spontaneous, and unvarnished” brand of jazz that has
earned him a devoted following.

RSVP

www.howardfishman.com