Last summer, Zola Jesus gave one of the hottest performances at the Catalpa Festival on Randall’s Island, prancing across the stage, smashing cymbals, and climbing the scaffolding. Things are likely to be somewhat more subdued when Nika Roza Danilova, aka Zola Jesus, plays Our Lady of Lebanon Cathedral in Brooklyn Heights on September 14, supporting her gorgeous new album, Versions (Sacred Bones, August 2013). In May 2012, Zola Jesus was invited to perform at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and she decided to do something different, teaming with industrial music guru J. G. Thirlwell (Foetus, Manorexia), who rearranged Zola Jesus’s songs for a string quartet, removing the electronic techno aspects and giving the songs a whole new life, with the vocals allowed to take off front and center. Zola Jesus and Thirlwell continued the collaboration on Versions, reinterpreting such songs from Danilova’s repertoire as “Avalanche,” “Fall Back,” “Hikikomori,” “Seekir,” and “In Your Nature,” which previously appeared on such albums as 2010’s Stridulum and 2011’s Conatus and the 2010 EP Valusia. On the new disc, Danilova is backed by the Mivos Quartet, consisting of Olivia De Prato and Joshua Modney on violins, Victor Lowrie on viola, and Mariel Roberts on cello, offering mesmerizing takes on Zola Jesus’s intimate songs about love and fear. “Oh, it hurts me / Yes, it hurts to let you in / But I won’t make a sound / when the crowd comes to call,” she sings on “Collapse.” The crowd will indeed be coming to call on Saturday night in Brooklyn, when Zola Jesus will be making very different yet still beautiful sounds, with Thirlwell and a string quartet.
this week in music
JOHN ZORN SELECTS: PIERROT LE FOU
Jean-Paul Belmondo and Anna Karina star in Godard’s colorful crime musical, PIERROT LE FOU
PIERROT LE FOU (Jean-Luc Godard, 1965)
Anthology Film Archives
32 Second Ave. at Second St.
Saturday, September 14, 4:45, and Thursday, September 19, 9:15
Series runs September 12-30
212-505-5181
www.anthologyfilmarchives.org
Art, American consumerism, the Vietnam and Algerian wars, Hollywood, and the cinema itself get skewered in Jean-Luc Godard’s fab feaux gangster flick / road comedy / romance epic / musical Pierrot Le Fou. Based on Lionel White’s novel Obsession, the film follows the chaotic exploits of Ferdinand Griffon (Jean-Paul Belmondo) and Marianne Renoir (Anna Karina, Godard’s then-wife), former lovers who meet up again quite by accident. The bored Ferdinand immediately decides to leave his wife and family for the flirtatious, unpredictable Marianne, who insists on calling him Pierrot despite his protestations. Soon Ferdinand is caught in the middle of a freewheeling journey involving gun running, stolen cars, dead bodies, and half-truths, all the while not quite sure how much he can trust Marianne. Filmed in reverse-scene order without much of a script, the mostly improvised Pierrot Le Fou was shot in stunning color by Raoul Coutard. Many of Godard’s recurring themes and style appear in the movie, including jump cuts, confusing dialogue, written protests on walls, and characters speaking directly at the audience, who are more or less along for the same ride as Ferdinand. And as with many Godard films, the ending is a doozy.
PIERROT LE FOU is screening as part of “John Zorn Selects” series at Anthology Film Archives
Pierrot Le Fou is screening September 14 and 19 as part of the Anthology Film Archives series “John Zorn Selects,” comprising a dozen works chosen by the master experimental musician on the occasion of his sixtieth birthday, focusing on the soundtracks. “Godard continues to be the ONLY director whose drop-the-needle strategies work for me — he alone commands a supreme knowledge of how previously existing music can be used in an overall sonic design, and his Histoire(s) du Cinéma is perhaps the highest level of this technique, reducing Hollywood’s attempts at the same approach to nostalgia, advertising, and cartoon silliness,” Zorn writes on the Anthology website. “But here in his early years he trusted the brilliant Georges Delerue to do his thing and the results are magnificent. This and Shoot the Piano Player are fabulous examples of 1960s French scoring — heavy on strings, lyricism, and moodiness. Pierrot holds a special place in my heart — I am really a Romantic, not a Postmodern — and this film’s music never ceases to reduce me to tears.” The festival runs September 12-30 and includes such other films as Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo, Michael Winner’s The Mechanic, Masahiro Shinoda’s Pale Flower, and Orson Welles’s Touch of Evil. From September 20 to 28, Anthology will present “A Pocketful of Firecrackers: The Film Scores of John Zorn,” consisting of such films as Marc Levin’s Protocols of Zion, Michael Glawogger’s Workingman’s Death, and Joseph Dorman’s Sholom Aleichem: Laughing in the Darkness, but the real highlight are two nights of Zorn performing live to short films.
JOHN ZORN SELECTS: THE CONVERSATION
Gene Hackman traps himself in a corner in Francis Ford Coppola’s gripping psychological thriller, THE CONVERSATION
THE CONVERSATION (Francis Ford Coppola, 1974)
Anthology Film Archives
32 Second Ave. at Second St.
Thursday, September 12, 6:45, and Sunday, September 15, 4:15
Series runs September 12-30
212-505-5181
www.anthologyfilmarchives.org
While changing the face of Hollywood cinema with The Godfather and The Godfather Part II, American auteur Francis Ford Coppola snuck in yet another 1970s masterpiece, the dark psychological thriller The Conversation. Gene Hackman gives a riveting performance as Harry Caul, an audio surveillance expert who has been hired to record a meeting between two people (Cindy Williams and Frederic Forrest) in Union Square in San Francisco. Thinking that he might have stumbled onto a murder plot, Caul soon finds himself in the middle of a dangerous conspiracy that threatens the lives of all those involved. The Conversation is a gripping, taut examination of obsession, paranoia, and loneliness as well as an exploration of language and communication. Caul might spend most of his time listening in on the intimate conversations of others, but he is an intensely private individual who is extremely uncomfortable in his own skin. A deeply religious man who also plays the saxophone, Caul has trouble relating to other people; Hackman is particularly outstanding in a party scene where Caul is forced to talk shop with fellow surveillance expert Bernie Moran (Allen Garfield), who wants to know Caul’s secrets, but the always nervous Caul isn’t about to share everything. The film also examines how people hear what they want to hear and see what they want to see, and it takes on even more meaning in a twenty-first century dominated by public and private surveillance, from store security cameras and government monitoring to Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. The supporting cast, which also features Harrison Ford, Robert Duvall, Teri Garr, and John Cazale, is exceptional, but this is Hackman’s show all the way, leading to one of the great endings in the history of cinema.
A recorded conversation between a mysterious couple (Talia Shire and Frederic Forrest) triggers a possible conspiracy in Coppola masterpiece
Winner of the Palme d’Or at Cannes, The Conversation is screening September 12 and 15 as part of the Anthology Film Archives series “John Zorn Selects,” comprising a dozen works chosen by the master experimental musician and Anthology composer-in-residence on the occasion of his sixtieth birthday, focusing on the soundtracks. “Along with Murder by Contract, The Third Man, and a very few others, The Conversation is a perfect example of restraint, modesty, and intimacy in film scoring — the entire film scored by a single instrument!” Zorn explains. “With an incredible economy of means [David] Shire provides tension, release, excitement, and melancholy to this masterful tale of Harry Caul, the surveillance expert. Originally scored for a small jazz ensemble, Coppola wisely decided to use the solo piano score instead throughout the entire picture. The music was composed first and played to the actors before shooting to get them into the mood. A modern classic.” The festival runs September 12-30 and includes such other films as Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo, Michael Winner’s The Mechanic, Masahiro Shinoda’s Pale Flower, and Orson Welles’s Touch of Evil. From September 20 to 28, Anthology will present “A Pocketful of Firecrackers: The Film Scores of John Zorn,” consisting of such films as Marc Levin’s Protocols of Zion, Michael Glawogger’s Workingman’s Death, and Joseph Dorman’s Sholom Aleichem: Laughing in the Darkness, but the real highlight are two nights of Zorn performing live to short films.
BLINK YOUR EYES: SEKOU SUNDIATA REVISITED
The legacy of multidisciplinary artist and social activist Sekou Sundiata is being celebrated in wide-ranging retrospective
Multiple venues
September 10 – October 12, free – $20
www.sekousundiata.org
In his poem “Blink Your Eyes,” poet, writer, teacher, activist, playwright, musician, and performance artist Sekou Sundiata wrote, “I could wake up in the morning / without a warning / and my world could change: / blink your eyes. / All depends, all depends on the skin, / all depends on the skin you’re living in,” addressing what is now known as stop and frisk. Born Robert Franklin Feaster in Harlem in 1948, he adopted the name Sekou Sundiata while attending the Caribbean Festival of the Arts in Guyana in 1972, taking the first name from the first president of Guinea, Sékou Touré, and the last name from the founder of the Mali Empire, Sundiata Keita. Over the next thirty-five years, until his death in 2007 at the age of fifty-eight, Sundiata performed with his bands, Are & Be, the Kou, and dadahdoodahda; became the first writer-in-residence at the New School; kicked a heroin addiction; staged such theatrical productions as The Circle Unbroken Is a Hard Bop, blessing the boats, the 51st (dream) state, The Return of Elijah, the African, and The Mystery of Love, Etc.: An Anthology of Folk Tales, Stories, Poems, and Lies; received a kidney transplant; delivered keynote addresses at international conferences, including “East Coast, West Coast, Worldwide: American Artists and World Citizenship,” “An Artist’s Journey Through Transplantation and Recovery,” and “Ground Zero: One of Many Thin Places / Notes on My New Project”; and started WeDaPeoples Cabaret, all the while fighting for social justice, building local communities, and trying to make the world a better place for everyone.
In honor of what would have been his sixty-fifth birthday, MAPP International Productions has put together the wide-ranging retrospective “Blink Your Eyes: Sekou Sundiata Revisited,” a series of events around the city that continues through October. On September 10, Cave Canem presents “Oralizing: The Speed of Spoken Thought” at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture ($10, 7:30), with Juliette Jones, Marvin Sewell, Val-Inc, Dael Orlandersmith, Tyehimba Jess, and Karma Mayet Johnson, reimagining Sundiata’s “blues of transcendence.” On September 13, teachers, activists, artists, musicians, and others will gather at the New School for “The America Project Methodology Remix: A Symposium for Educators, Artists, and Students” (free but advance RSVP required, 10:00 am). On September 22, Michaela Angela Davis, Bryonn Bain, Ebony Golden, and others will participate in the public dialogue “From Double Consciousness to Post‐Black: A Long‐Table Conversation on Black Identity” at the Actors Fund Arts Center (free, 2:00). On September 27, Hip-Hop Theater Festival artistic director Kamilah Forbes will stage an updated version of The Circle Unbroken Is a Hard Bop with MuMs, Carvens Lissaint, and Traci Tolmaire at the Kumble Theater for the Performing Arts ($10, 7:30). On October 3, Columbia University will host “Geographies of Incarceration: A 21st-Century Teach-In” (free, 6:00) examining the role of the artist in social transformation, led by Kendall Thomas. On October 10, Arthur Yorinks directs a radio version of the 51st (dream) state at the Jerome L. Greene Performance Space ($20, 7:00), hosted by John Schaefer and starring the original cast, with LaTanya Hall taking over Sundiata’s narrator role. On October 11-12, Harlem Stage presents “Days of Arts and Ideas,” with a panel discussion with Khalil Gibran Muhammad, Rob Fields, Shani Jamila, and Forbes at Harlem Stage Gatehouse (free, 7:30) the first day and dance and talk with Jawole Zollar and Liz Lerman at Aaron Davis Hall (free, 4:00) the second day. The “Blink Your Eyes” festival then comes to a triumphant close on October 12 with WeDaPeoples Cabaret at Aaron Davis Hall ($20, 7:00), a community celebration with Chanda Rule, Liza Jesse Peterson, Mendi Obadike, Keith Obadike, Immortal Technique, Rashida Bumbray, Frantz Jerome, Aisha Jordan, and Zora Howard, with a special look at his seminal speech “Thinking Out Loud: Democracy, Imagination, and Peeps of Color.” In his poem “Hopes Up Too High,” Sundiata wrote, “And what if we could show / that what we dream / is deeper than what we know? / Suppose if something does not live / in the world / that we long to see / then we make it ourselves / as we want it to be.” Sundiata continues to be an inspiration to so many; this retrospective offers a great way to keep that legacy vibrant and alive.
THE DANCE CARTEL: ONTHEFLOOR
Liberty Hall at the ACE Hotel
20 West 29th St. at Broadway
Monthly Saturday nights at 9:00 through December 7, $15-$20
www.thedancecartel.com
Earlier this year, in an exclusive twi-ny talk, dancer and choreographer Ani Taj Niemann said about OntheFloor, “We really embrace the idea of making dance happen in unexpected places so that people outside of the usual dance crowd can have access to it. . . . Our MC offers a few simple guidelines at the top of the show, but mostly it’s common sense: If you see a body flying toward you, move; if you like the beat, groove. Part of the fun is that you’re being asked to be aware of your own body in space — as you would at a crowded concert or club.” Conceived by Niemann and codirected with Sam Pinkleton, the Dance Cartel’s OntheFloor is back at the newly renovated downstairs Liberty Hall at the Ace Hotel for monthly shows September 14, October 5, November 2, and December 7. Among the special guests scheduled to join Dance Cartel members Alexandra Albrecht, nicHi douglas, Thomas Gibbons, Audrey Hailes, Sunny Hitt, Danika Manso-Brown, Justin Perez, and Niemann are Reggie Watts, the Mast, Grace McLean, DJ Stefan, DJ Average Jo, BatalaNYC, and others. When we saw the immersive, interactive production last fall, we raved, “After spending about an hour and a half with the Dance Cartel, you might not know exactly quite what hit you, but you are likely to feel energized and exhilarated. . . . Things get fast and furious, the dancers getting right in everyone’s face, eventually leading to a free-for-all finale.” The frenetic show features tantalizing costumes by Soule Golden, lighting by Vadim Ledvin (be careful not to block the spots), and video by Harrison Boyce and Stephen Arnoczy, making sure there is plenty for you to see and do every step of the way.
GLOBAL CITIZEN FESTIVAL 2013
Great Lawn, Central Park
Saturday, September 28, free lottery with eight action points
www.globalcitizen.org
There’s still a week left to accumulate enough action points to be eligible for unclaimed free tickets to the 2013 Global Citizen Festival, taking place September 28 on the Great Lawn in Central Park. This year’s all-star lineup features Stevie Wonder, Kings of Leon, Alicia Keys, and John Mayer, after the 2012 inaugural event included the Black Keys, Neil Young, K’Naan, Foo Fighters, Band of Horses, and John Legend. Global Citizen is an online project that encourages people to take action to help bring an end to extreme poverty around the world. Through education and support and advocacy campaigning, people can accumulate points by watching and sharing videos, signing petitions, purchasing fair-trade products, and calling and e-mailing political representatives. The Global Citizen website examines such critical issues as child mortality, gender equality, food and hunger, polio and other diseases, primary education, and environment sustainability, providing links to find out current information and to donate to various causes. Even if you don’t get tickets, you can still make a difference, as every little step helps, so sign up and do your part in changing the world for the better.
LOWER EAST SIDE OPENING NIGHT: ART AND FASHION
Strange Loop group show focuses on fashion design and photography (photo by Ryan Burke)
Orchard St. at Grand St. and other locations
Sunday, September 8, free, 4:00 – 8:00 pm
www.lowereastsideny.com
The Lower East Side says goodbye to the summer season and welcomes the new fall shows at the second annual Lower East Side Opening Night: Art + Fashion, taking place on Sunday, September 8, from 4:00 to 8:00. More than fifty galleries will be participating in the free block party, with opening receptions for such shows as Jella Gueramian’s “Let’s Go Further” at Allegra LaViola, “Vaginascope: Sijae Byun’s Solo Exhibition” at Tally Beck Contemporary, Katherine Bradford’s “Small Ships” at Steven Harvey Fine Art Projects, Brian Leo’s “Party’s Over, If You Want It” at S&J Project(s), and the group exhibit “dots, stripes, liquid cyber, and other platitudes: Fashion Design — Fashion Photography” at Strange Loop, which provides an excellent segue into the evening’s other highlight, the “Looks of the LES” fashion show. Curated by Amy Odell of cosmopolitan.com, the fashion show features hairstyling by Adel Atelier and makeup by Dustin Knoblauch, with presentations from such local stores as Any Old Iron, the Cast, the Dressing Room, Old Hollywood, the Great Frog, Earnest Sewn, Urban Cricket, By Robert James, and others. In addition, there will be live music by DJ Onda Skillet, Nancy, Countdown Love, DJ Anton Bass, Heaven, and Threats.