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LICNotes Events:

    • Monday, January 24th 2011
    J Walter Hawkes Residency

    J Walter Hawkes residency at LIC Bar featuring JWH Trio and special guests The Jacob Varmus Group!

    • Location: LIC Bar
    • Time: 8-11pm
    • Tickets: No Cover
    • Contact: 718 786-5400


    • Tuesday, January 25th 2011
    Steve Blanco Trio

    Catch Steve Blanco Trio Tues and Fri nights at Domaine Wine Bar!

    • Location: Domaine Wine Bar
    • Time: 9-midnight
    • Tickets: No Cover
    • Contact: 718 784 2350


    • Tuesday, January 25th 2011
    Steve Blanco Trio

    Catch Steve Blanco Trio Tues and Fri nights at Domaine Wine Bar!

    • Location: Domaine Wine Bar
    • Time: 9-midnight
    • Tickets: No Cover
    • Contact: 718 784 2350


    • Wednesday, January 26th 2011
    The Hand Band, Dave Diamond, Jason Crosby

    The Hand Band at 8pm, Dave Diamond at 9pm, Jason Crosby at 10pm live at LIC Bar!

    • Location: LIC Bar
    • Time: 8-11pm
    • Tickets: No Cover
    • Contact: 718 786-5400


 

It's Tuesday night at LIC Bar – have you checked out or even hopped onstage for the LIC Jazz Jam yet?!

 

Since this past October, the LIC Jazz Alliance has hosted an extremely unique and welcoming kind of open jam jazz event at LIC Bar. Tonight is another round of the Jazz Jam from 8-11:30pm. There's no cover and a one drink minimum to enjoy 3+ hours (!) of live local jazz. Jazz guitarist Amanda Monaco, member of the LIC Jazz Alliance, weighed in on what the Jazz Jam experience has been like thus far, and shares her hopes for LICJA's future:

 

"The session has been quite a success so far. The atmosphere has been warm and inviting – like a cozy, fun party in someone's living room (only with a fully stocked bar). We've had musicians from all over Queens come to play, as well as neighbors who have come to listen. It's a unique session in that the house band (currently Broc Hempel, piano; Sam Trapchak, bass; Christian Coleman, drums and host) performs about 3 tunes and then opens up the session for the next 3+ hours. The music is continuous – no set breaks to speak of – and musicians are invited to stick around for the entire time as there is almost always more than one opportunity to play, as opposed to the usual 'wait forever, play one tune, get off the stage' routine that sadly accompanies other jam sessions. We also have a tradition of ending each session with the jazz classic 'I'll Remember April' and inviting all of the horn players back on stage for a rousing finale.

 

LICJA's goals in the next year are to supplement this weekly jam session with a monthly concert series in the neighborhood featuring LIC Jazz Musicians and their own groups. We are also on the lookout for a permanent space where we can provide jazz workshops and lessons to children and adults in the community, creating a space where LIC residents can come and learn about and enjoy this great music called jazz.

 

We are hoping that the jam session will continue to be a weekly event as we see it growing over the coming months and bringing the community together."

 

Special thanks to Amanda and LICJA for fostering a creative – and quite importantly, FUN – atmosphere for open jazz jams and improvisation right here in LIC. The LIC jazz community is growing and whether you're bringing instruments to play or just enjoying the music, you can be a part of it with this event at LIC Bar!

 

The weekly Jazz Jam will continue on Tuesdays through November – and hopefully beyond!

 

LIC Bar
45-58 Vernon Blvd, LIC
Jazz Jam from 8-11:30pm

 

* Top photo by Jesse Winter

Published in Vox Populi
Friday, 08 October 2010 17:00

LIC Jazz Alliance launches weekly JAZZ JAM!

A special announcement via the Long Island City Jazz Alliance official website:

Greetings, jazz fans and neighbors! We have TWO WEEKS to build up a jam session at the local watering hole known as LIC Bar, and if it goes well, we’ll be there every Tuesday. We’ll be playing music from 8 to 11 p.m., with $3 Miller Hi-Life Bottles to drink and a big box of FREE CDs to take home with you! Come and play so we can make this a weekly happening!

The first two weeks (October 12 and 19) will be hosted by guitarist Amanda Monaco and her trio. They’ll play a few tunes before opening up the bandstand to whoever comes out to play. It’s going to be a great time!

LIC Bar is located at 45-58 Vernon Blvd (corner of 46 Avenue), Long Island City NY. 7 to Vernon-Jackson, G to 21 St/Van Alst, or E/M to 23 St/Ely. 

Congrats to LICJA on their new endeavor, and to all of our readers: come out & SUPPORT LOCAL JAZZ IN LIC!

Published in Vox Populi
Wednesday, 26 May 2010 14:21

The Rise of the LIC Jazz Scene

 
Mark my words. People will remember 2010 as the year the LIC Jazz scene came to prominence!

So far 2010 has been an amazing year for LIC Jazz--and it's just getting started! In just a few short months a potent and powerful jazz scene has reared its head. The sleeping giant has awoken!

This didn't exactly happen overnight.There have been some heavy players living in the neighborhood for years, but after a series of smaller jazz shows at neighborhood haunts like Creek and The Cave, Domaine & LIC Bar, a real scene has started to coalesce. On top of that people often forget that Queens has a very rich jazz heritage. It was a home for greats like Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Jordan and many more.

On March 28th, 2010 the first ever Long Island City Jazz Festival was held at The Secret Theatre. It was a terrific success, a great celebration of our homegrown talent. It not only dazzled the audience but inspired musicians to seize the moment and take control of their collective destinies. In April a collective of jazz musicians, supporters and enthusiasts formed the Long Island City Jazz Alliance.

The Alliance was created to strengthen and develop the LIC Jazz scene by using its collective resources to create more and better opportunities for jazz musicians. The Long Island City Jazz Alliance has already shown itself to be swift in their actions because there is now something resembling a tidal wave of jazz heading toward the neighborhood!

On Sunday, June 13th The Long Island City Jazz Alliance will be forming a local "supergroup" led by guitarist Amanda Monaco to kick off the popular Live At The Gantries outdoor concert series.

LIC Bar has declared June its Jazz Month by filling its calendar with many jazz concerts as well as a special and innovative residency by saxophonist and composer Anthony Cekay. A large piece composed by Cekay called "The Spectacular War Museum" will be broken up into four separate shows each Monday in June. And to make it even more interesting, Cekay will be the first artist in LIC (at least to my knowledge) to stream live video of an entire residency.

Also don't forget about Domaine Wine Bar--the original hub for LIC Jazz--where every Tuesday and Friday pianist Steve Blanco continues to fan the flames of the scene he helped to spark.

New on the scene: just a few train stops away on the 7 train on the LIC/Sunnyside border is The Ra Cafe. Ra features live jazz concerts every Thursday and a jazz brunch every Sunday. The majority of their shows are devoted to neighborhood jazz musicians.

Keep your dial tuned to LICNotes for the latest developments in the jazz community!

From the desk of Silbin Sandovar
 


Published in Vox Populi