News and Housekeeping

Well, it didn't take very long did it? I mean, this was supposed to be a write-up of my interview with Yale Strom and Elizabeth Schwartz. Those of you who are longtime regular readers of my film blog (plug.plug.plug), are probably resigned to my inability to keep to a schedule previously announced. But in the first week?

Yeah, but as I'm sure you will all admit, paying work comes first. Deadlines prevailed and I will get to that inteview before the week is out.

In the meantime, there are some great events coming up that are worth your venturing out in the frozen rain, snow and -- okay, in LA it's probably 80 degrees and sunny, even though it's about 10 at night there as I write this.

A.J. Teshin, whose album, The Kurt Weill Project, I'll be reviewing later this week (I promise!), is doing a piano-and-voice set of Weill Friday evening, 1/9 at the MBar (Vine Plaza on the corner of Vine and Fountain, 1253 Vine Street, Hollywood, CA). Reservations are a necessity; phone number is 323-856-0036. I have some misgivings about the album, but Teshin has a beautiful voice and does Weill proud.

Yoshie Fruchter and his jazz-rock-noise-punk-Jewish music band, Pitom, are playing Saturday night, 1/10 at The Jewish Music Café (401 9th Street, Brooklyn, NY) with Benji Fox-Rosen's Minutn Fun Bitokhn. The show starts at 8 pm.

Ayelet Rose Gottlieb will be playing the same night as part of the NYC Winter Jazzfest. For more info, go here.

Same night, same town, Ryan Cohan and Omer Avital meet up for a program that will include the world premiere of Avital's "Song of a Land." Saturday, January 10, 2009 at 8:00pm, Merkin Concert Hall ( 129 West 67th Street, between Broadway and Amsterdam).

Finally, Sunday afternoon in the lovely town of Madison, CT (where I've occasionally been guest speaker at their Sunday Cinema Club), Josh Horowitz and Cookie Siegelstein, two-thirds of Veretski Pass, will be performing at the Scranton Library.For directions to Scranton Library or to RSVP, please call (203)265-7365.