It’s in the Bag at Westbeth Flea Market
It’s been three wild days (Nov. 11-13, 2017 ) of bargains and amazing finds at the annual Westbeth Flea Market. Think: Coach leather bags and Lands’ End and Ralph Lauren Polo coats and jackets all for $5.
Click for Villager article Photo credit: The Villager

After the Storm
If you enjoy second-hand shops for things like clothing and furniture, you’re likely to find the familiar faces of shop-owners waiting in line at 10am on Tuesday, November 6th, as they hope to get the pick of the litter. They’ve gotten wise to the fact that artists have good taste! In addition to the vintage wears and wares you’re likely to find, there’ll be numerous works of art donated by the residents. You can get an amazing bargain, particularly on the striking pieces by artist and original Westbeth resident Edith Isaac Rose, who passed away this year.

Read the entire article by Stanley Wlodyka at WestView News Nov 2018

From the introduction by John Godfrey.
“There’s room in these poems for all her minds.”

For more info on Carol’s new book of poetry: https://www.spdbooks.org/Products/9780999835012/acme-rubbers.aspx

Dance and arts luminaries gathered at Westbeth Artists’ Housing at noon on Thurs., Sept. 20, to unveil a plaque in the memory of the great choreographer Merce Cunningham.

Among the dignitaries at the ceremony, at 55 Bethune St., were legendary dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov; Joan Davidson, president emeritus of the J.M. Kaplan Fund; Carolyn Brown, a dancer and founding member of Merce Cunningham Dance Company; and the author and artist Richard Kostelanetz.

Cunningham, who died at age 90 in 2009, was an original tenant of the famed West Village affordable artists’ housing complex. His studio was located on Westbeth’s 11th floor for four decades.

– Lincoln Anderson

Read More Here

An electrifying remake of the soul-blues classic written by Dave Mason and made famous by Joe Cocker, Valerie delivers a strikingly powerful performance, heralding a band of world-class musicians recorded in New York City and France. In her full, live production complete with rock solid rhythm section, sizzling horns, a blazing piano solo and gospel-soul backing vocals, Ghent brings her multi-faceted talents (vocals, piano, organ, production, engineering & arranging) shaped by 20+ years working with music luminaries Ashford & Simpson, Nina Simone, Maya Angelou, Debbie Harry & Billy Preston to the forefront.

“We’re thrilled to release our version of Feelin Alright in 2018,” Valerie says, “Feelin’ Alright is a timeless song, with a universal feeling everyone can relate to. Even though it was first released fifty years ago, to me the lyrics take on even more relevance today. Plus it’s such a fun song to play live! We had a blast putting our own NYC spin on it, while honoring the power of Joe Cocker’s version. We’ve been closing every show with Feelin Alright and audiences on both sides of the Atlantic love it. We salute you Dave Mason, and Joe Cocker, thank you both for bringing Feelin’ Alright into the world and giving us such a great song to sing.”

Feelin’ Alright features stellar performances from Valerie on piano and vocals, and top musicians you have heard on countless R+B hits including Luther Vandross/Ashford & Simpson bassist Tinkr Barfield, Average White Band drummer Rocky Bryant, Blues Hall of Fame pianist Dave Keyes, world-renowned percussionist Bashiri Johnson, Roberta Flack backing vocalists Dennis Collins, Keith Fluitt and Toto’s John James. Add to the mix a blazing horn section from Paris, Blues’Up organist Pierre Sibille, renowned French guitarist Jérôme Buigues, and Feelin’ Alright is ready to light up the world again in 2018! Available April 27 on iTunes, amazon and all streaming platforms.

Listen to “Feelin’ Alright” on Jazz Radio France!: http://www.jazzradio.fr/news/musique/35095/valerie-ghent-un-nouveau-single

Listen to “Feelin’ Alright” on on SoundCloud!:

Valerie Ghent
at Nick Ashford’s “Nuttin but the Blues”
Tuesdays
Oct 2 and Oct 9 at 8PM

Ashford & Simpson’s Sugar Bar
254 W. 72nd Street
NYC 10023
Reservations: 212.579.0222

More info at: http://valghent.com/valerie-ghent-at-nick-ashfords-nuttin-but-the-blues-2/

Powerhouse recording artist VALERIE GHENT is a New York singer, songwriter, keyboard phenomenon who regularly wows audiences with her emotive, evocative voice, piano chops to match, and “soul-stirring, uplifting songs full of vitality and joy.” An outstanding live performer, Valerie weaves together blues, soul, R+B, jazz and pop. With her stunning 3 1/2 octave range, listeners are treated to soulful, romantic, highly melodic music rendered with passion, undeniable skill and a mighty heart.

It’s no surprise Valerie has toured with music legends Ashford & Simpson and Debbie Harry, and performed/recorded with artists as diverse as Dr. Maya Angelou, Billy Preston, Nina Simone, Roberta Flack and Defunkt. In addition to her newest single, Feelin’ Alright (2018), Valerie has produced five albums, including Day to Day Dream, which launched her #1 hit song on iHeart Radio, Love Enough for a Lifetime. Her album Velours, recorded in NYC and France, was named Soul Tracks Top 50 Albums of 2016, plus launched the hit song and video, New York City Streets, hailed by critics as a “New Anthem for NYC”. Valerie tours and records in France several times each year. Her growing popularity in Europe led to the release of The French Sessions (2017), her first album on a French label.

Music, video & more at valerieghent.com

“Ghent sings from the guts. Her contralto rises with the smooth momentum of something out of NASA.”- Woman About Town

“Ghent, herself, is a vocal phenomenon. She has the professionalism and rippling, effervescent energy of a top pop/rock star.” – NY Cabaret Today

The Westbeth Playwrights Feminist Collective was a group of professional women playwrights in New York active from 1971 to 1975.

Co-founder-playwrights were Dolores Deane Walker, Gwen Gunn, Christina (Chryse) Maile, Helen Duberstein, Patricia Horan, Sally Ordway and Susan Yankowitz. Megan Terry and Dacia Maraini were among the guest playwrights.

The Advisory Board included Gloria Steinem, Muriel Rukeyser, Eleanor Perry, Florynce Kennedy, along with Margaret Croyden, Alice Denham, Elizabeth Fisher, Ellen Frankfort, Carol Greitzer, Tania, Alix Kates Shulman, and Anita Steckel.

The plays of the Westbeth Playwrights Feminist Collective featured such women’s issues as religious patriarchy, work-place discrimination, dominance/submission relationships, historical figures, masquerade, and sexual harassment

Their plays transcended the limiting context of agit-prop theatre by discarding the revenge themes current in much feminist writing at the time, and instead strove to accurately reflect the complexity of women’s lives and celebrate their accomplishments.

While the Collective used both male and female actors – unusual for feminist stage productions in the 1970s – the company offered serious employment opportunities for women stage managers, directors, producers, and lighting designers.

New York Historical Society ABSTRACT: Introduction to the Westbeth Playwrights Feminist Collective collection:

Records of the short-lived but groundbreaking Westbeth Playwrights’ Feminist Collective, one of the earliest feminist theater groups in the United States. Incorporated 1972 and dissolved 1976, the WPFC was headquartered at the historic Westbeth Artists’ Housing on West Street, Manhattan, and produced plays by feminist authors focused on issues central to the women’s movement like sexual harassment and workplace inequality. The collection includes scripts, publicity material, articles and reviews, some correspondence, ephemera, and photographs of select production scenes and WP members.

More information: Westbeth Playwrights Feminist Collective on Wikipedia

Your immune system helps your body fight germs by producing substances to combat them. Once it does, the immune system “remembers” the germ and can fight it again. Vaccines contain germs that have been killed or weakened. When given to a healthy person, the vaccine triggers the immune system to respond and thus build immunity.

Before vaccines, people became immune only by actually getting a disease and surviving it. Immunizations are an easier and less risky way to become immune.

Brought to you by Grove Drugs, the neighborhood pharmacy located on 8th Avenue near 12th Street.
Ilana Aminov BSPHarm RPH is the Speaker
Robert Embrey, Host

Catering by Michael Steward of Tavern on Jane, your neighborhood local restaurant and bar located on 8th Avenue and Jane St/

Air Force First Lieutenant Edward Field was born in Brooklyn and attended New York University. He served in World War II as a navigator in heavy bombers and flew 27 missions on a B-17 in 1945.

While based in England on his third mission over Berlin, Lt. Field’s plane was damaged by flak. Down to two engines, the bomber headed back to England but ran out of fuel and crash-landed in the North Sea…..

Lt. Field is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Lamont Award from the Academy of American Poets, the Shelley Memorial Award from the Poetry Society of America, the Prix de Rome from the American Academy of Arts & Letters, and the Lambda Literary Award.

Read the full article HERE

Ralph Lee, lifelong artist, is the father of the Greenwich Village Halloween Parade. From the age of seven, he knew he wanted to work in the theatre. At 11 he created his own puppet company, and at 17 he became a set designer. The first Village Halloween Parade in 1974 incorporated over one hundred of Ralph’s masks and giant puppets. Following the twelfth parade in 1985, Lee stepped down from his position as director, stating, “The parade has always been a celebration of the individual imagination in all its infinite variety. It continues to provide a framework for this expression and invites the participation of everyone.” His Wesbeth studio remains filled with new and old puppet creations.

On June 6, 2018 GVSHP will hold its 38th Annual Meeting and 28th Annual Village Awards in the landmarked Auditorium of The New School.

Each June GVSHP holds a community-wide celebration, consisting of its Annual Meeting and Village Awards presentation. The Village Awards recognize the very special people, places, businesses, and organizations that make a significant contribution to the quality of life in Greenwich Village, the East Village, and NoHo. We will also review GVSHP’s accomplishments and work from the past year.
Reception to follow.

More info at http://www.gvshp.org/_gvshp/events/awards-2018.htm

The newest stamp in its Music Icons series will honor singer and songwriter John Lennon (1940–1980), “….a rock ’n’ roll hero successful both as a founding member of the Beatles and as a solo artist.”

If the photograph for the stamp looks familiar, it was most recently used on the cover of Philip Norman’s book John Lennon – The Life, which came out in 2008. The image is by legendary rock photographer Bob Gruen who knew Lennon well and has taken many iconic images of him. The photograph comes from a photo shoot for the cover of his 1978 album Walls and Bridges:

The Postal Service has previously honoured The Beatles as a group on a 1999 postage stamp as part of its Celebrate the Century series. That issue depicted the Yellow Submarine from the animated movie and soundtrack Yellow Submarine. The upcoming Lennon release will be the first to feature an actual likeness of one of the Beatles on a U.S. stamp.

In 2007 Britain’s Royal Mail issued ten different stamps celebrating the importance of The Beatles to Britain and the world. These depicted album covers (With The Beatles; Help!; Revolver; Sgt. Pepper; Let It Be; and Abbey Road, plus the single ‘Love Me Do’), along with images of Beatle memorabilia. For more detail on those releases click here.

Detailed information and the issue date for the Lennon US Postal Service stamp will be revealed later. The stamp design is preliminary and subject to change until issuance dates.

Bob Gruen, Westbeth resident, is one of the most well-known and respected photographers in rock and roll. From John Lennon to Johnny Rotten; Muddy Waters to the Rolling Stones; Elvis to Madonna; Bob Dylan to Bob Marley; Tina Turner to Debbie Harry, he has captured the music scene for over forty years in photographs that have gained worldwide recognition.

Shortly after John Lennon moved to New York in 1971, Bob became John and Yoko’s personal photographer and friend, making photos of their working life as well as private moments. In 1974 he created the iconic images of John Lennon wearing a New York City t-shirt and standing in front of the Statue of Liberty making the peace sign – two of the most popular of Lennon’s images.

More info on Bob Gruen at bobgruen.com

Read the entire story here at the New York Review of Books, May 2018 internet edition

Huguette Martel was born in Paris, France. At the age of nineteen, she moved
to New York, where she’s lived ever since. She is a graduate of Cooper Union.
She has been a cartoonist for the New Yorker magazine; her work has also
appeared in the New York Times, Le Monde, and Worth, as well as in
the Narrative Magazine and The New York Review of Books daily.
A painter and writer, she is the author of several books in which she incorporates
paintings and text. Her latest solo show of paintings was curated by Ben Katchor.