I'm MOVING this blog!

Hello readers!

I'm moving this blog to http://artistsoulspeaks.wordpress.com/ - click on that link to read the current and future posts. I hope you will choose to "follow" me on this new site - which I hope will be easier for all of us to access.

Thank you, and I'm sorry for any inconvenience.

Judith Z.
aka Artists Soul Speaks
http://www.zamo-zamo.com

She’s NO Lady!

Foreign Affairs

Isengart & Lady Rizo

Bringing the raunch back to TIMES SQUARE where it belongs, LADY RIZO, a chameleon comedienne chanteuse, opens her set as a gobbling pill-popping, then literally vomiting, housewife. One part cabaret singer, one part burlesque performer, one wonders – “where can she possibly go from here?” But at “Foreign Affairs,” the “transnational lounge, postmodern cabaret” at THE NIGHT HOTEL with her co-host, the precisely campy German cabaret singer ISENGART, the show goes just about everywhere in a rollicking roller coaster ride that left the audience screaming with pure joy.

Presented by producer LEE CHAPPELL, (who created the original Saturday nights at the ROXY from 1990-91, Saturdays at the Palladium, events at the Limelight, Tunnel, USA, etc.), included enough fishnet and feathers to fill a millinery store.  Taking place smack-dab in the middle of the new “Disneyland” on West 45^th Street, this show was a welcomed reverie back to a time of fun-filled elegance, decadence, absurdity, song and dance -- on the smallest stage in NYC. Wednesday night’s performance included everything from German folk songs, to Lou Reeds’ “A Walk on the Wild Side,” along with “the Russian Sourdough Pretzel,” EKATERINA, a stripping contortionist, and the voluptuously muscular Ballet Trockadero dancer, CARLOS MILLER, who singularly comprised the nights’ “Middle Eastern homosexual harem.”

Yes, there was something for everyone of every possible persuasion.  

Did I mention the Muppet? Well ... you'll have to see for yourself.

In beautiful clear voice, fishnets and very high heels, Isengart managed to get a NYC audience to sway in unison to a German beer song, and Lady Rizo got us to sing along, dancing, clapping and shouting.  The party shifted to 5^th gear when Tsar Stefan, the “impresario of NYC cabaret,” who was seated practically on the tiny stage, joined in the fun as the ever-flexible Ekaterina managed to hoist her leg up atop his 6-foot plus frame.  During the wild frolic, Lady Rizo shouted out from the stage: “That’ll cost you $100 between my titties.” True to form, and without missing a beat, Tsar Stefan promptly whipped out a Franklin and shoved it smack in the middle… where upon the “Lady” replied “You’re not getting it back this time, I’m gonna eat it and shit it out so you won’t want it!”

When I read those words in print, “Lady” Rizo sounds course and unappealing, but coming with her lovely smile in the context of her performance, she’s more Mae West than guttersnipe. This powerful Lady, at home with hecklers and able to put each and every one in their place, simultaneously delights us with a lovely voice and her hour-glass figure zipped in an array of skin-tight evening gowns - one for each and every song.  Equipped with a riveting gaze and trained vocal instrument, she’s in control of every nuance.

Dedicating one number to “all the ladies getting Botox,” and with a tongue-in-cheek nostalgic introduction to “My Man” and “the good old days when women got beat up” – she’s a strong performer who can involve us on multiple levels, dead-on serious, violent, over the top disgusting or just pulling our collective leg.

Do I have any regrets after my night of debauchery? Only that Lady Rizo didn’t sing her drop-dead powerful rendition of the song Edith Piaf’s made famous “Non, je ne regrette rien,” which I was privileged to hear recently at Joe’s Pub – the song that drew me to last night’s performance. But I suppose I’ll just have to return another Wednesday for the pleasure – and so should you!

 The show was backed by the ever vigorous and subtle trio of Mike Jackson on guitar, Patrick Farrell on accordion and Dave Berger on percussion, who managed to play in time despite Ekaterina’s leg in his face.

Future Wednesday show dates: 6/10, 7/15 & 8/26, then every Wednesday starting September 16. Doors open at 8 pm, showtime 9:15-10:15. Tickets $20

http://www.foreignaffairsnyc.com/; www.leechappel.com, www.nighthotelny.com

Lady Rizo: http://www.myspace.com/ladyrizo

Isengart: http://www.isengart.info/

After being so high, how could I go home? So we dashed straight across the street THE GRACE HOTEL, where within steps from the street, at “Drip,” the pool party with pretty boys bathing in a multi-colored light drenched swimming pool paraded around in tiny suites. The party, also produced by Lee Chappell, includes several beautifully lit lounges enjoyed last evening by guys in high drag, cute Chelsea types and a smattering of women. Also on hand were the “AlienNation” Creatures costumed by designer Hector Perez, as “Waterina”; Alex as “Blinkarina,” and Raquel Giberstein, the self-proclaimed “Broadway Danny Rose,” as “Swirlien.”

My night concluded when I stopped in for a bite down the street at Europan Bakery Café on my way back to Brooklyn, where the server recognized me from a recent evening because of my handmade necklaces and blue fabric-tied hair. I may not be a star, but I’m recognized on Broadway! See images of my handmade wearable art at http://www.zamo-zamo.com/sticks_and_stones/index.html

VIVA NYC Nightlife!

Judith Z. Miller

Aka Artist Soul

http://www.zamo-zamo.com

BAM African Festival Vibrates with Positivity & Creativity

The parking lots and streets outside the Brooklyn Academy of Music are transformed every Memorial Day weekend into a vibrant bazaar with hundreds of booths filled with gorgeous handcrafted and imported goods. The sound of the drum is everywhere, as elegance, spirituality, radical black theory and hipness mix on Brooklyn streets, and where creativity and positivity abound. Evening performances include the best dance, music & film Mother Africa has to offer. Here are just a few of the wonders of the festival.

Original oil paintings by Abdul Badi Abiumi@people.com

Go Green African-style with a hand-painted recycled cardboard and coconut fiber hat. These “Chameleon” hats look like vase shaped sculptress when off the head, and can be worn in a variety of different ways. Sylvia, the vendor, spoke to me about how she met the man that creates these great hats at last year’s Festival, and her decision to turn them into bright and colorful designs with paint. Sylvia can be reached at syl.reno@verizon.net or by phone at718-738-6989.

Freedom Bey paints suitcases and briefcases with stark zebra stripes and images of the African continent – how could anyone travel without one? Reach her at Luremobilart@aol.com or 678-755-6111.

Freedom’s fiancé, Afreakstar, of Sacred 77 clothing makes hand painted cotton designs that go beautifully with Freedom’s travel bags.Afreakstar@gmail.com

For that perfect handmade leather shoulder bag, stop by Artwear by Robbie who hails from Georgia. Robbiewear@aol.com, http://www.robbiewear.com.

Dress like the royalty you are with Obinrin Asiko from Nigeria, by donning a high gold “gele” style hat. http://www.obinrin-asiko.com, 646-552-3823.

Of course I had to stop by my favorite vendor, Lavalais at Bamboozle, to purchase several “ear spears.” These wonderful ear adornments come in all sizes and shapes – and they allow me to look “pierced” when in fact they penetrate the ear using only standard earring holes. I had a great chat with Lavalais about my travels to Algeria and enjoyed meeting his new assistant and very dear old friend Jocelyn, who told me about her Japan adventures. The ear spears I bought this year match my wild blue hair and are a great bargain. http://earspears.com

Although I’m true-blue to Lavalais, having been his customer for many years at the African Festival, I couldn’t’ resist the beautiful silver and onyx ear decorations created by Melody D. Burns at KiiniIbura Jewelry, http://KiinilburaJewelry.com. The delicate branch-shaped piece I bought is made to be worn singly, and run up along the outer rim of the ear itself. Her many larger designs are pure elegance and some of the very best pieces I saw all day.

More exquisitely beautiful jewelry designs can be found at Embellished Woman, where Pat Terry and Debra White show their best handmade pieces along with imported items. This piece is from Scandinavia made of bone and lamb hide. More at embellishedwoman@aol.com, 914-589-3661.

Tucked in the exit way to one of the areas, Caroline Brewer, an author and educational consultant from Washington, DC, displayed Barack Obama: A Hip Hop Tale of King's Dream Come True, “A humorous, satirized, and fictionalized rendering of the presidential campaign of Barack Obama. Its swift-moving rhymes, rhythm, and drama entertain, while educating young readers and listeners about one of the most important events in American and world history. It ultimately reveals President Obama’s powerful connection to the enduring legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. And what a beautiful book it is! Http://www.carolinebrewer.net.

Walking by Angelic Artistry, exhausted from so much stimulation and the hot sun, I saw a man having his feet bathed in a large metal tub by a beautiful woman. “That’s what I need” I sighed. The lovely woman suggested I put my name down for next on the list. How could I refuse? When my turn came ‘round, I was treated to a delicious pure cane sugar scrub with all natural citrus by the charming Trinidadian masseuse who offers aromatherapy body products, chakra balancing, auric readings and paintings for health and wellness. At her suggestion, I’m going to breath more while imagining clouds taking away my worries and eat more spice. But right now I'm enjoying the tingling sensation in my feet. Allisonartis4@gmail.com, 347-278-4263.

A swirling painting “Booty Pop” by Willie Torbert on display at Afroart Designs http://www.afroart-designs.net

Intensely attracted by the powerful wood and metal staff he carried, and by his warm and inviting smile – I introduced myself to Sehu, the director of Goddess Herstory. “The Goddess HerStory Theatrical Players were born out of a collective of women and men of good will towards women who cyclically come together to study the ancient herstorical time line of feminine divinity, their mythological stories and the ancient principles of feminine centered culture and sexual arts. The Theatrical Players were developed to address through drama the need for women to begin to revision themselves as new modern day Goddesses expressive of the greatness of the female spirit.” Sehu’s energy was so loving, and his artwork, made from plumbing supplies (!) so powerful; I just have to check out this group! http://goddessherstory.org/

On my way out of the festival, I run into poet, writer, book publisher and teaching artist, Jade, who is working with the Smithsonian on a festival that will take place next year on African women and adornment. Jade runs a community folk arts program interested in bringing me in to teach about my own “Sacred Staffs.” Lots of connections are made at this festival where so many wonderful people congregate!

I meet painter Seda Harunogh and her friend Scott Wiley with African Mosaic Soul Dance Collective …

Everyone dresses for the festival …

... tired and hot, I make my way back home, but nevertheless I take minute to SMELL THE ROSES on Bergen Street.

.... and dream of MORE of the African Fest at BAM ... 'till TOMORROW!

Go ahead, jump right in to the African Festival at BAM --contribute to the positive vibration!

http://www.bam.org

Judith Z. Miller

aka Artist Soul

EMMANUEL PIERRE-ANTOINE & LIANA CHURILOVA Burn it Up at Stepping Out Studios NYC

May 22, 2009

Sizzling. Electric. Steamy.

Russian Liana Churilova (former International Latin Junior Champion) and her fiery partner, Emmanuel Pierre-Antoine (World Professional Mambo Champion) set the room on fire tonight at Stepping Out Dance Studios during a free performance to the delight and amazement of the regular Friday night ballroom dance crowd.

This couple is HOT! Their moves sizzle like drops of water flicked on a hot griddle – perfectly in sync, exuberant, but always in total control. In their triple-speed salsa routine, dressed in sheer black with plenty of skin to entice, Liana, a mere 18 with pale skin, black hair and her partner, dark-skinned Emmanuel, are a strong, lithe and perfectly matched pair. There isn’t an ounce of fat between them or a wasted beat. Each second of their beautifully choreographed and lighting-fast routine was precise, fun, daring – and filled with plenty of butt-shakin’ action.  Their second routine was more subtle, graceful, elegant and strong, with long flowing motions and languid extensions -- but always, always sexy. There was a spark that bounced back and forth between these two that glittered and shined and rebounded right off their sparkling costumes out into the audience – we all felt it and cheered with delight.

Check out future performances – but remember to bring a handkerchief to mop your brow! 

(Please check back, I’ll be posting performance dates & photos as soon as I get them in.)

Stepping Out Dance Studios: http://www.steppingoutstudios.com/

Judith Z. Miller

Aka Artist Soul

 

 

 

 

 

Charnett Moffett Blows the Roof off the Iridium!

Blog May 20, 2009

Charnett Moffett’s CD Release party

at the Iridium Jazz Club

“Fierce playing, on both acoustic (arco & pizzicato) and fretless bass.” Downbeat magazine

YES! “Fierce” and sensitive and playful and graceful and majestic! The mind-boggling multi-bassist Charnett Moffett mesmerized audiences at the Iridium Jazz Club last night where he released his 10th solo recording and his Motéma Music debut as a leader, The Art Of Improvisation.

I don’t know what your life is like – certainly I can’t guess what the other 8.2 million people in NYC do on any given day or night -- but last night I witnessed music so profound and wonderful – I realized, yet again, that being alive in the presence of great art and great artists is what makes my life as a New Yorker joyous and worth living.

Charnett Moffett, among the most creative artists alive today, performed with his trio and an assortment of uber-talented friends who, together at the Iridium, blew the house away.

I’ve always been fascinated with the power of rhythm – mostly with a passion for drumming – but I’ve wondered, especially, about bass players. It just seems like they are from another planet, plucking away on those thick strings, keeping the underneath pulse alive, sometimes in a way that seems so odd and different – living in a world where the only mode of communication is the vibration of a deep, dark, string.

Charnett Moffett is one such inter-planetary bass player – a man from another dimension – able to tap the pulse of the universe with his fingers. He taps his universe through your head and your heart and even your groin. Simply put – no one plays like Charnett Moffett, and, with his out-there trio performing live last night at the Iridium, he proved once again, that he is in constant state of invention.

Jazz is, of course, is an improvisational tradition, and with the tradition of permission, Charnett creates his own form of exciting, vibrant and all-encompassing sound. He dances with his instrument. He slides his fingers along the strings in long fell swoops, he taps it percussively with his bow, he draws out the most beautiful and haunting melodies. And Charnett’s driving band has energy to burn – and burn they do - because what they play is clearly all-new all the time.

Steven Scott a piano that sounded, sometimes, like shattered glass, and like water swirling in a fast-moving stream. During his solo he confused me briefly, loosing me in the fast rush of his fingers running on white and black, and then reeled me back in, helping me understand where he had been taking me, with the expert weaving of familiar melodies and musical puns - making me feel comfortable and right back at home again.

When drummer Will Calhoun began to build the rhythm increasing in intensity inside a very funky piece, and then took what turned out to be a long solo, this master was like a rampaging bushfire, a pride of lions moving forward in a spiraling wave-like motion, building, building, and building. Listening to him roar, I felt so damn satisfied!

I had I entered the club, on time for the second set – but the first set just never seemed to end, the energy was so powerful, the band just did not stop. So I slipped in and took a seat while they were still playing. I’m glad I got in that room and didn’t wait, because within the first half hour or so, I heard and felt rhythms that inspired my body to rise up and freed me to get out of my chair to dance. Mr. Moffett inspired me with the freedom of his playing. His band, including the polyrhythmically blessed drummer Mr. Calhoun, ricocheted machine gun bullets, and caressed me with a underlying layer of sway, like an Island women’s hips shaking to a she karee – well, with all that, how then could I stay in my seat?

So there I was, in the middle of the Iridium Jazz Club, shakin’ my 57-year-old booty, dancing around the whole club - alone. Many of you who know me might not find that scenario so strange –me dancing like a wild-woman -- but it’s a rare occurrence, even for me, to dance like that to jazz.

At one point during this astounding concert, I was sitting quietly and I eased out of an hypnotic spell created by the musicians. I looked around the room … heads were nodding and bobbing and bodies were swaying in every kind of curve and pattern imaginable, all in time to the music, with each person immersed in his or her own private ecstasy – I studied the faces – each and every person in that room was in a trance. We were in a collective trance.

After the first set finally ended, the club was filled with an orgasmic afterglow. Charnett’s team of dedicated artist support personnel, including his manager, Vernon H. Hammond III, a very tall, handsome, impeccably dressed man with a debonair air, his publicist the buoyant Don Lucoff, a passionate supporter of his work, Jana Herzen, president of the Motéma record label, and the rest of the team -- all buzzed with the joy of possibility. I could feel it in the air.

I’m sorry if weren’t there too, because you missed one hell of a performance, but I encourage you to check out Mr. Moffett’s tour dates, and pass them along to your friend around the country. http://motema.com/events-artist.php#artist_id44

To see a little glimpse of what the master has to offer, go to: http://www.motema.com/video/CharnettMoffett/75

And here, below, in case you don't believe me, is a quote to further encourage you to learn more about the great Charnett Moffett:

"Moffett is a hypnotic performer. Playing the upright and the electric bass and accompanied only by piano and drums, he mesmerizes with a series of propulsive minimalist grooves..." - DETAILS

All Power to the Music!

Judith Z. Miller

Aka Artist Soul

Luna Tart died at Joe's Pub & She Took Me Down with Her!

Luna Tart at Joe’s Pub May 18, 2009

Pathos. Fragility. Drama. The absurd.

... Sung by the kind of slightly aging woman you'd pity, drunk, at the end of the bar.

Draped in a bright yellow boa, paired absurdly with a ukulele – this broad’s got a sardonic sense and a surprisingly beautiful voice. She’s so damn depressing, it’s funny – like when you cry so hard you start laughing, or vice versa.

Luna Tart – a Bernadette Peters look-a-like – with an equally on-target sense of timing, is the alter ego of Laura Freeman, who wobbled on stage at Joe’s Pub tonight, in a semi-drunken stupor. Deceptively faltering, yet always in charge of her phrasing, Luna left me hanging on every word. Whether quivering her poetic lyrics, or singing in shockingly high full voice, she imbued her story-songs with heartbreak and longing. Luna’s “I’ve Forgotten You,” an imagistic piece sung by a woman struggling to remember even a fragment of her lost love, was simply devastating. When she eeked out the final question “Did we dance … did we … dance?”... In the silence that followed, I felt a tangible unity with the rest of the audience – a kind of group mourning, a shared sensibility of personal loss and grief.

For some odd reason, I kept imagining a TV show where Luna gets into all kinds of hopeful, sad and bizarre romantic situations, punctuated by the songs on her “Luna Tart died” CD … the plotlines are all there: Luna remembers her sad childhood as her mother sings a lullaby, Luna gets jilted, joins the circus, becomes a prostitute, lives the highlife, gets jilted, gets jilted, gets jilted … time and time again … as she reflects on it all from a barstool in a dark and seedy joint.

I advise you to check out Luna out at her next gig. If you’re a TV producer, at least give her a screen test for a pilot. Whoever you are, while sitting, listening in the dark – you won't feel alone in your anguish – and you’ll probably find the strength to laugh at your relative good fortune.

Many thanks to Tsar Stefan for bringing her to Joe's!

http://www.myspace.com/lunatart

http://www.zamo-zamo.com

Follow me, Judith Z. Miller, on Twitter

Tsar Stefan's Birthday Bash for Prince Philip

Thursday, May 14th was the date of a wonderful party in honor of "Prince Philip" thrown in all its magisty by Philip's partner of many, many years, "Tsar Stefan" - the impresario of New York Cabaret.

The party had four fabulous phases:

At 6:00 pm "Prince Philip, who as being honored for his 60th birthday, gave a 45-minute recital- in German. From all reports Philip was astounding … I wish I could report the details, but I did not attend. Instead, I took a brief, but much-need “club nap,” to prepare myself for what I knew was going to be a night to remember.

I showed up for drinks at 7:00, very much on time, for the 2nd phase -- a multicourse dinner at the Chinatown Brasserie, near Astor Place. The guests streamed in costume and finery, for great food and lovely and fun company.

Rebecca Joy Fletcher sang a Jewish blessing for the food in Hebrew and English, and another woman sang a post-dinner gospel song.

Dinner (from 7-9 pm) was followed by a parade made up of the now slightly inebriated party, bedecked and bejeweled, in feathers and wild outfits (see the photos!), carrying multi-colored Chinese umbrellas supplied by our host. The throng made its way towards Joe's Pub, accompanied by tuba, trumpet and snare drum, drum - with a fire-breather dancing along leading the way – stopping traffic – and I’ve recently found out, drawing the attention of NY-1, which featured the parade on the news the next morning. The dancing continued outside Joe’s Pub, where the elated group finally entered, donning strands of beads on their wrists to identify us as the “in crowd” able to enter the party. The parade band kept the energy up in the club ‘till the first performer took the stage to delight the audience, which was made of cabaret artists, friends and entertainment professionals.

I could wax poetic about the long list of performers who delighted us ‘till 2 am – crazy wild and wonderful people, who touched my heart, shocked me, propelled me up out of my seat to dance, and caused me to almost fall out of that seat with laughter. Performer after performer simply knocked me out. These songs were prayers of the self -- deep, passionate, odd, campy, and outrageous. This quirky mix of night-lifers – a stripper, a beat-box guy who played with toys, and singers – one after another – who have loved and honed their craft – entranced us.

I wish I could name names, but I was too spellbound to do anything but experience the moment – I’ll get that list up soon. For the time being, suffice it to say: if you ever get invited to one of Tsar Stefan’s parties – GO!!!