Jazz at Basil, Every Thursday

Wilmington is a world-class jazz town -- the annual Clifford Brown Jazz Festival downtown is evidence of that. In theory, we should be able to go out on any given night and catch some great live jazz. In reality, Thursday night is the night to experience it in Wilmington, at Basil at 422 Delaware Ave. Basil is an atmospheric little bistro inside the Sheraton Suites, with its own separate entrance. Look for the distinctive green awning to bypass entering through the hotel.

Jazz at Basil is an early night: the first set starts at 8:00 PM, and the bar closes at 10:00. The timing is good for a late dinner (Basil is a bistro serving traditional American fare--I saw lots of chicken wings and veggie burgers) or after dinner cocktails. The real draw, of course, is the music. Basil has a nice setup for jazz musicians, with a small stage that is well visible from the bar and much of the seating area in the restaurant.

On Thursday the 15th of July, the trio FVC was featured, and if this trio represents the sort of jazz Basil features every week, it's worth checking out any Thursday night. FVC, led by Philadelphia-based keyboardist Dennis Fortune, who is also a piano & jazz instructor at Wilmington's Christina Cultural Arts Center, started with an all-instrumental traditional jazz tunes with catchy beats and cool solos. Two singers were also featured: established jazz vocalist Barbara Yates, who knocked out standards such as "Misty" and "Blackbird," and up-and-comer Safia Davis, who brought a smooth, contemporary R&B styling to the set. Both vocalists fit seamlessly with the trio, each bringing her own style and edge to the set. A nice mixture of live jazz by some great regional artists.

Jazz at Basil has a $5 cover. Get there by 8:00 for a good spot--the place was filled up, except for the furthest tables, by 9:00.

For more:
Basil at Sheraton Suites
FVC Live at CDBaby

Washes of Color and Sound

For years, visual artists’ works have been inspired by music and musical instrument. Just think of Pablo Picasso and his friends: guitars, violins or even fragments of sheet music are often present in the paintings and collages. Russian Painter Wassily Kandinsky’s colorful works were his visual interpretations of Jazz. Composers such as Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel used the glistening imagery from French Impressionist paintings and infused their music with it. The intertwining of visual and musical art, and the love and collaboration that exists between these two worlds allow for deeper understanding and richer, more meaningful art. Ellen Priest with her works both the Carvel Building and the Delaware Center for Contemporary Art continues and elaborates on this tradition.

Priest creates a small world of art inside her exhibit at the Carvel Building, scheduled to run through the end of the month. Making a stop there during Wilmington’s July Art Loop, we could hear strains of Edward Simon’s “Venezuelan Suite” as we entered the building. Simon's jazz composition is an aural canvas for Priest’s work. Priest told me she had worked listening to both the composer’s midi files and his piano version of the score, so that she could truly understand the music and have it inform her creation. She describes how she used Simon’s “call and response” theme in the fourth movement as a structure for one of the diptychs in the series: the two paintings communicate with each other.

Her work is performance art in its own right: the abstract shapes and colors are layered. Built with translucent vellum on top of watercolor paper, they reach out to their audience with their bold hues and delicately sculpted curves. To retain each layer’s independence, the artist attaches the pieces using gel. Priest explained how she had worked painstakingly to find ways to paint on the vellum (a paper originally designed for use by architects) without destroying it. Ultimately, she came up with a technique in which she let the oil paints drain in coffee filters overnight, allowing most of the oil to slough off.

see www.ellenpriest.com

A fabulous fourth at the farmers’ market

Fleeing the beach, long lines and traffic was easy for this Newark resident as the Newark Coop and Farmer’s Market was in full swing on July 4 (since it was a Sunday). The Coop and the Newark Arts Alliance have both begun to take advantage of the crowds who shop at the Newark Farmers’ Market. The Newark Arts Alliance opens on Sundays at 12 and hosts Sunday music jam sessions from 2 to 6 p.m. This month they have an exhibit of their members’ works and, as usual, have jewelry, art and handmade stationery for sale.

Out in the sunlight of the market, Captain Blue Hen Comics had set up their rows of items any Star Trek groupie would be proud to own.

In the background, Kevin Neidig was performing on guitar – singing his personalized brand of folk music which was amplified just enough to be heard but not enough to annoy. His gentle strains made me think of James Taylor, with that soft but piercing message in his music. Perhaps Mr. Neidig would have had more attention had he been louder, but the music resonated on this gentle wave of sound and I enjoyed standing nearby, listening to the music as I shopped for the perfect peaches, berries and green vegetables.

Of course, a trip to the Newark Farmers’ Market also means a meet and greet with all of the more hip population of Newark. An Alexander Technique teacher was relaying philosophies from a recent workshop in Virginia and a Transition Town enthusiast was planning their fall concert/lecture series intended to draw attention to the crisis of peak oil.

And all of the solar heating vanguards, organic vegetable enthusiasts and slow food promoters can be seen and heard at the Coop as well.

For a total world change, nip into Wang’s Oriental Market where you can find everything Asian you ever wanted, including fresh vegetables and prepared e dishes.

The Newark Farmers’ Market runs until fall; trust me, you should get there. Buying local and celebrating life, friends and music doesn’t get much better than this.

See www.kevinneidig.com

See www.newarkartsalliance.org

See www.newarknaturalfoods.com

See www.captainbluehen.com