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Unpretentious jazz in New York City?

laze — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 08:50:37 -0800

What are some of the best and (most importantly) unpretentious jazz clubs in New York City? I'm headed to New York soon and would like to check out some live jazz some night while I'm there. But, I want a place I can go to in jeans and a t-shirt (or equivalent).

For reference, I loved the old Small's (haven't been to the new Small's).

A cover charge isn't a problem as long as it's not too much. Should be in Manhattan, preferably midtown, though I'd travel a bit for the right location.

In terms of styles of jazz, anything from bop to the freest of free. Just none of that silly "contemporary jazz." Recognizable names are not important.

Where to buy ska/reggae in NYC?

cyrusdogstar — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 22:02:35 -0800

Where can I get relatively unknown ska/reggae music in New York City (or online)? The specific target of my search right now is a recentish album by a group called the Debonaires (a southern California band formed in the mid 90s, not the 1960s group with the same name). I've had such good luck with finding music on iTunes -- even stuff that's not really mainstream -- that this is the first time I've gotten an earbug that I couldn't immediately buy off the iTMS (boo hoo, I know).

As such, and because I've only lived here for a few years, I'm totally clueless about decent places to physically obtain non-popular music in New York, even though I imagine the place is teeming with indie music stores and the like. Does anyone know of such spots that would carry a decent amount of ska/reggae type music? I'll make the "lol Jamaica, Queens" joke now to get that out of the way.

Alternately, online music stores with a non-terrible ship time (the label for aforementioned album does have it but it's 2-4 weeks ship time) might work.

Hip-hop stuff to do in NYC

seeminglee — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 14:12:22 -0800

The 17-year-old son of a friend from Austria is into hip-hop. He'll be visiting NYC on 7-10 December and wants to know how to find out about concerts, venues, etc. Can anybody tell me the relevant websites to send him to?

Looking for quality goth clubs in NYC

kenoshakid — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 08:06:32 -0800

Looking for quality goth clubs in NYC, or clubs in NYC with a quality goth night.

Help Me Break a Band in the NYC Press

raconteur — Fri, 25 Aug 2006 23:04:23 -0800

My question is pretty specific. I'm a freelance writer. I have zero clips. I'm trying like hell to get noticed, but it's tough. I like to write about a wide variety of things (which may be part of the problem), but one in particular is music. There's a small band coming through NYC soon, and I want nothing more than to break them in print or web. They're playing a well-known and respected venue next month. Why do I think I'm worthy of doing this? I have good taste in music. I have listened to many of the small indie bands that have become big bands well before they were discovered. I am usually the one passing around CDs and MP3s to friends looking for the next new sound. The band I'm talking about is really great. They're never going to be Bloc Party, but they will have a big future, and from having met them, I know they are serious about succeeding. They actually played a biggish music fest on the east coast recently, and I can tell that word is seeping out.

To put it even more bluntly-- I'm sitting on a story here. I want to get it out, and I want to get some credit for it. Help.