Another day at work with the great baby photographer Terry Geerdts. This time in a Park Ave apartment location. (www.aPrettyPixel.com)
A call came in from my old friend Chris Lee to catch his Dad conducting his big band at the Knitting Factory. (www.Knittingfactory.com) Sure we'll go, we're already in the city and haven't been there since 2002 when we played the Big Room as the Ex Vandals- WHAT!?! The Knitting Factory is no longer in Manhattan! It's now in Brooklyn- Sheese!
We picked up my best friend Phil who is a masterful musician (and the person who got me to play) Chris is also known as SHADOW and might know Phil as CHOPPER. We got our times wrong, arrived early but fine with me- I used to cut High School and boldly walk into the Beacon Theater (www.BeaconTheatreNYC.com) with my cameras blazing to to mingle and photograph The Kinks, Robin Trower, Kiss, Allman Brothers etc back in the day-! I love sound checks, I fondly recall the years I spent at the Blue Note (www.BlueNoteJazz.com) photographing the jazz greats at those sound checks!
Heralding an unmistakable and poignant Brooklyn sound, Bill Lee and the natural Spiritual Orchestra has been swingin' for three decades. Mr Lee's Natural Spiritual orchestra is comprised of 20 NYC's finest jazzmen and jazzwomen, playing an intriguing range of all original compositions that exude the grit, humanity, color and soul of Brooklyn. (www.gothamjazz.com) This is an ensemble capable of truly stirring musical expression and a delight for all fortunate enough to behold. Band leader and composer Bill Lee is a formidable icon in both his bass playing prowess ( performing and/or recording with the likes Odetta, Aretha Franklin, Bob Dylan, Johnny Griffin and Duke Ellington to name a few) and his gifted composers pen, scoring his son, Spike Lee's films: She's Gotta Have It, School Daze, Do The Right Thing and Mo'Better Blues.
Chris is Spike's brother, I never got to meet Spike- it seems I'm mostly drawn to siblings of famous people. That's OK, I find my friends to be very unique
and talented. I also know Arlene Gottfried www.ArleneGottfried.com (sister of the comedian Gilbert) and Enid Faber www.EnidFarberFotos.com (sister of Robert, Farber.com) I do want to thank Robert for coming to see my exhibition at SohoPhoto.com years ago but that was the only time I met him...
