By Tracy Zwick
February 13th through 15th
Bill Charlap Trio at Smoke Jazz Club: Friday, Saturday and Sunday, dinner shows at 6 and 8 p.m. with added 10 p.m. non-dinner shows on Friday and Saturday; 2751 Broadway between West 105th and 106th Streets; reserve tickets here; starting entry price is $25
Grammy-winning jazz pianist Bill Charlap will bring his piano trio to Smoke Jazz Club this weekend for a series of intimate shows featuring bassist David Wong and drummer Kenny Washington. The New Yorker has called them “the premiere mainstream piano trio of our day,” and the NYT has called Charlap “one of the foremost interpreters of the classic American popular song (think Gershwin, Porter, Berlin).” Charlap, now in his late 50s, has been playing professionally since he was a student at the High School for Performing Arts, which became the UWS’s LaGuardia Arts High School. The trio has collaborated with the likes of Diana Krall and Tony Bennett, among many others.
“Gainsborough: The Fashion of Portraiture” at the Frick: Open Wednesday through Monday from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; 1 East 70th Street at 5th Avenue; timed tickets required, prices start at $17, with pay-as-you-wish pricing on Wednesday afternoons (children under 10 never permitted)
Trying to think up a loving gesture this Valentine’s Day? You could do worse than renowned 18th century English artist Thomas Gainsborough’s gesture; he’s said to have painted his wife every year on the occasion of their anniversary. One of those canvases is making a rare appearance in NYC, as part of the Frick’s landmark Gainsborough portraiture show that opened yesterday. In it, Margaret Gainsborough is tenderly depicted at age 50, after 30 years of marriage, “not all of them easy.” (The two married as teens in 1746, and their first child died as a toddler.) The show is cleverly timed to coincide with New York’s Fashion Week, and it includes enough satin to clothe a court, along with hunting attire, livery dress, pearls aplenty and much modishly piled hair. It’s the first exhibition devoted to the artist’s portraiture ever held in NY. Over a dozen paintings are shown with complementary wall text that explores the meaning fashion held in Gainsborough’s time.
Valentine’s Ice-Skating Party at Gottesman Rink: Friday, February 13th from 6 to 9 p.m.; The Davis Center at 106-51 East Drive in Central Park; tickets start at $5
Gottesman Rink’s offering special DJ-led evening skate-sessions during this inaugural season at the Davis Center in northern Central Park near the Harlem Meer. In honor of Valentine’s Day, skaters this Friday are encouraged to wear red or pink Valentine’s-themed clothing, and to glide and groove along to music synced to the occasion. For those not skating, the contemporary indoor space is open to the public, no ticket required. Concessions, including warm drinks and bites, are offered for sale by Settepani. Helmets, locks, skates and skate aids are all available to rent.
Seneca Village Tour in Central Park: Saturday at 2 p.m.; meet at Mariner’s Gate at West 85th Street and Central Park West; registration here required; tickets $8.50 and up
Before Central Park was built, the area from West 82nd to West 89th Street was home to Seneca Village, the largest community of African-American property owners in New York. In this 90-minute tour during Black History Month, visitors will learn about the physical landscape of Seneca Village and the value it provided to Black New Yorkers seeking refuge from racial discrimination and crowded conditions in early 19th century NYC. The tour will be led by a Central Park Conservancy guide, who will also discuss the events that resulted in the displacement of Seneca Village residents for the construction of the park.
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