Dan Morgenstern Receives Prestigious Jazz Masters Fellowship AwardÂ
I first met Dan Morgenstern more than five years ago when I picked him up one Saturday morning outside his Journal Square apartment in Jersey City. Our destination was the Catskill Mountains home of the late George Handy, a genius experimental jazz composer/arranger from the 1940s’ and 50s’ with whom I had studied piano after getting out of the Army in 1970. Dan and I had never met until Handy’s widow, Elaine, asked us to drive up together that day to discuss archiving his scores, albums, and memorabilia with the Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers University in Newark. Dan Morgenstern is the director of the Institute, where he oversees the world’s largest collection of jazz-related material. Our two-hour drive to the mountains, that included a few wrong turns, was like my own personal history of jazz, in fast time. During the duration of our trip, as I asked Dan about some of the jazz greats and not-so-well-known players he had met over the years, he recalled stories and memories about the many musicians he was “lucky enough to meet.†We returned home to Jersey City that night; Dan had secured George Handy’s collection for the Institute, preserving his legacy for future generations of music lovers. And it was a ride that opened my eyes to a man whose life is jazz; and who loves every moment of it.
Last April, Bill and Nancy Barry of Jersey City, welcomed three dozen volunteer workers into their home. The workers were there to do much needed repairs on the Barry’s home as part of a program called Rebuilding Together Jersey City. Bill Barry is retired and his wife Nancy is disabled. By the time the day was over the volunteer workers had built a small bathroom for Nancy, painted, installed new windows and cabinets and accomplished a dozen other repairs. “When we first applied for the program they asked us what our wish list would be when it came to work on our house. They surpassed our wildest dreams when it came to the amount of work they did for us,†Mr. Barry said. Both Nancy and Bill Barry are deeply grateful for the work done on their home and think that Rebuilding Together Jersey City is a wonderful program. “They were just so friendly and courteous to us and they never treated us like we were a charity case or anything like that, we even tried to give them a donation but they wouldn’t hear of it,†Mr. Barry explained. “These are really wonderful people, which make it a wonderful program.†A few weeks after the work was completed on their home the Barry’s sent a letter thanking Rebuilding Together Jersey City and said, “You made our golden years platinum.†Continue reading Rebuilding Together Jersey City→
A Wonderful Addition to the Jersey City Waterfront
Beyond the glass facade of Porto Leggero, the bright newcomer to the waterfront-dining scene in Jersey City, there are two restaurants.
One has the undercurrent of an electric charge that moves through the restaurant when the power lunch crowd fills the place with finance types on weekdays. The other is the relaxed hum of families and friends enjoying an evening out in the neighborhood.
You want to get away and shake out the winter blues but where to go and what to do? There are the adventure vacations where you get to scuba dive with the sharks before breakfast and climb a mountain before dinner; and then those healthy getaways where you get pampered with the latest spa treatments and come back ten pounds lighter to the envy of all of your friends; the cozy lover getaway where passions are reignited; the cultural/historical vacation –“if it’s Tuesday it must be Bora Bora‖and of course the “don’t bother me I’m not moving from this beach chair†vacation. The good news is that the travel industry knows that each traveler is different, and they are continually trying to give the client what they want. So with a bit of homework on your part, dear Hudson County traveler, you can experience everything you want on your next getaway, and not break the bank. Continue reading Winter Getaways—It’s Not Too Late!→
Liberty State Park will celebrate its 30th birthday on June 10th, and considering that last year alone 5 million people visited the park — this could turn out to be one heck of a birthday party. If you’re one of the lucky people who have already discovered Liberty State Park, then you might want to take a moment to honor Morris Pesin, the driving force behind turning a once-desolate Jersey City dumpsite into one of the greatest parks in America. Mr. Pesin, who passed away in 1992, was honored by President Ronald Reagan at the White House in 1985 with a Volunteer Action Award for creating Liberty State Park, the Gateway to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.
He’s determined and dedicated to his craft, his band is made-up of a compilation of some of the most talented musicians in the industry, and their music is a mix of classic story telling rock.
Artists have been coming to Hudson County for decades looking for an inexpensive place to do their art while becoming part of a caring community. In Union City, the 1,400-seat ParkTheatre has been creating high quality artistic programming since 1931. In 1983 the theatre became part of the Park Performing Arts Center—a private, not-for-profit arts center dedicated to presenting and producing programs for the diverse surrounding communities of urban New Jersey. Over the past twenty-one years the center has presented nationally recognized theatre, jazz concerts, well known folk musicians, educational programs, and its presentation of The Passion Play has drawn audiences from up and down the East Coast for the past 89 years. Father Kevin Ashe, a catholic priest, has been the guiding force at this renowned performing art center since 1983.
When Jerry Castaldo and the founder of the Reptiles, Alan Wyles sit to arrange an original song, they both wonder why they didn’t do this 30 years ago. At 53 and 52 years old, Castaldo and Wyles feel that it’s better late than never. In the last 2 years since Castaldo has joined the Reptiles, the duo have written 14 original tunes and are putting together their first original CD which will be available in January. The original music of the Reptiles is a reflection of the life experiences of both Castaldo and Wyles. Every song has a direct meaning to their lives.
A lifestyle and entertainment publication serving the Jersey City, Hoboken, Bayonne, Weehawken, West New York, North Bergen, Cliffside Park, Edgewater, Secaucus and Guttenberg Waterfront Communities
I first met Dan Morgenstern more than five years ago when I picked him up one Saturday morning outside his Journal Square apartment in Jersey City. Our destination was the Catskill Mountains home of the late George Handy, a genius experimental jazz composer/arranger from the 1940s’ and 50s’ with whom I had studied piano after getting out of the Army in 1970. Dan and I had never met until Handy’s widow, Elaine, asked us to drive up together that day to discuss archiving his scores, albums, and memorabilia with the Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers University in Newark. Dan Morgenstern is the director of the Institute, where he oversees the world’s largest collection of jazz-related material. Our two-hour drive to the mountains, that included a few wrong turns, was like my own personal history of jazz, in fast time. During the duration of our trip, as I asked Dan about some of the jazz greats and not-so-well-known players he had met over the years, he recalled stories and memories about the many musicians he was “lucky enough to meet.†We returned home to Jersey City that night; Dan had secured George Handy’s collection for the Institute, preserving his legacy for future generations of music lovers. And it was a ride that opened my eyes to a man whose life is jazz; and who loves every moment of it.
Liberty State Park will celebrate its 30th birthday on June 10th, and considering that last year alone 5 million people visited the park — this could turn out to be one heck of a birthday party. If you’re one of the lucky people who have already discovered Liberty State Park, then you might want to take a moment to honor Morris Pesin, the driving force behind turning a once-desolate Jersey City dumpsite into one of the greatest parks in America. Mr. Pesin, who passed away in 1992, was honored by President Ronald Reagan at the White House in 1985 with a Volunteer Action Award for creating Liberty State Park, the Gateway to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.
