Category Archives: Events

Arnie Perez’s “Sunday Serenade – TWOFER TRIBUTE (Walter Bishop Jr. & Pepper Adams)” at the Five Spot Jazz

Text by Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi

This past Sunday, I attended the second set of Arnie Perez‘s “Sunday Serenade – TWOFER TRIBUTE (Walter Bishop Jr. & Pepper Adams)” at the Five Spot Jazz in the East Village. I went to support Arnie, check out the new venue, and listen to the baritone saxophone.

Arnie did a fantastic job producing this monthly event. Curating live jazz in New York City is challenging, especially when it comes to building a consistent local audience. The Five Spot Jazz recently opened—paying homage to the historic original—and offers an intimate 70-person capacity with live music, Japanese food, and drinks every night.

The lineup featured Rick Germanson (piano), Jason Marshall (baritone sax), Lonnie Plaxico (bass), and Charles Goold (drums). The performance was excellent throughout. Rick’s piano playing was flawless and inventive; the rhythm section was locked in, and Jason’s rich tone and dynamic baritone sax playing were truly inspiring.

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2nd Hudson Valley Music Summit: 40 Speakers, 10 Panels, 4 Networking Breaks!

“The Hudson Valley has long been intertwined with the American music industry. It goes back further than you think. Staying power is what this is all about – building an artist/fan relationship that outlasts trends, evolves with the artist, and spans generations. The music that comes out of this region has always been less about reading charts and more about channeling a vibe, and a conference works similarly: it’s the unspoken connections that help us navigate to where we’re going,” – David Hoffman

The Hudson Valley Music Summit returns after a seven-year hiatus for a full-day industry conference and live showcase on Saturday, November 21, 2026, at the Chappaqua Performing Arts Center (480 North Bedford Road, Chappaqua, NY 10514) in New York. The day features panels, networking, and live music.

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FlamenKora

FlamenKora Live in New York: A Night of Ancestral Crossings and New‑World Fire

For the first time in New York City, FlamenKora steps onto the stage carrying the breath of three distant homelands—Senegal, Brazil/Spain, and finally New York—woven into one luminous musical current. This is music shaped by migration, memory, and the ancient pathways between continents.

Ali Boulo Santo Cissoko (Senegal) – Kora, Vocals
Roberto Monteiro (Brazil/Spain) – Flamenco Guitar
Volker Goetze (USA/Germany) – Trumpet, Flugelhorn

From Dakar, Paris‑based griot Ali Boulo Santo Cissoko brings the shimmering pulse of the kora and the ancestral voice of the Cissoko lineage, a family whose music has carried stories across centuries. From Brazil by way of Madrid, flamenco virtuoso Roberto Monteiro channels the duende of Andalucía through a South American heart—his guitar a bridge between Iberian fire and the rhythmic soul of the Atlantic. Completing the triangle, German‑born New York trumpeter and composer Volker Goetze summons the open‑sky imagination of jazz, shaped by decades of deep apprenticeship within West Africa’s Mande tradition.

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Cross-Cultural Connection (CCC) Presents “Jazz in the Park”

Text by Glenn Hoagland

Ray BlueOn Sunday, August 11 from 1 PM to 7 PM, jazz saxophonist and MFM member Ray Blue‘s nonprofit Cross-Cultural Connection (CCC) will present its 6th Annual Jazz Festival on the beautiful Peekskill waterfront. Jazz in the Park is a free concert SUPPORTED BY VARIOUS SPONSORS. It is accessible by both Metro North train and car. It is held in Peekskill Riverfront Park, Hudson Ave., Peekskill NY, on the banks of the Hudson River.

Top-level jazz performers at this year’s event include trombonist Clifton Anderson, The Kristina Koller Band, Ray Blue Quintet, and The Carl Allen Band.

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MFM Supports Ongoing Strikes by Writers and Actors Unions!

The Writers Guild of America (WGA) agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) expired on May 1, 2023, and the union struck on May 2.

Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) agreement with the AMPTP expired June 30, 2023, and they struck on July 14.

AMPTP includes Amazon/MGM, Apple, Disney/ABC/Fox, NBCUniversal, Netflix, Paramount/CBS, Sony, Warner Bros. Discovery (HBO), among others.

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