The UTNE Reader takes a look at New York's jazz scene in their latest issue, and more specifically how the epicenter has shifted from Manhattan to Brooklyn. They recall that back in the day "the music especially thrived in areas where crime and abandoned buildings kept the cost of living low for artists like Charlie Parker, who rented an apartment at 151 Avenue B." So where can one find the best live jazz now, without......

The no-cover daytime jazz club EZ's Woodshed in Harlem is closing after two and a half years. Its owner, Gordon Palotnick, took a quixotic stab at sustaining the music that is identified with Harlem. Instead of a smoky late-night club, Palotnick opened a weekdays-only, daytime juke joint that only served soft drinks; and he didn't charge a hefty cover charge either. Despite his best efforts--immersing himself in hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt and......

THEATER: One of the most anticipated theatrical events of the year comes to DUMBO next month when St. Ann’s Warehouse presents a highly acclaimed production of Macbeth by the Polish company TR Warszawa. Staged for just 12 performances at an outdoor theater in the Civil War-era Tobacco Warehouse across the street from St. Ann’s, the bold production “reinvents the classic with a dramatic two-story set, video walls, special effects, and an extraordinary, layered soundscape.” Tonight......

Jazz in New York is lingering in a precarious state. It’s certainly not for lack of musicians, or audiences -- but it’s something that has been plaguing New York for decades: there just aren’t enough venues. Last summer, Adam Schatz, a jazz studies student at NYU, and organist in the band The Teenage Prayers, started a rock series in Brooklyn called Zombieville. After a successful first few months, some of his buddies suggested he start......

Italian pianist Stefano Bollani has been known to play everything from Pet Sounds to Prokofiev. As a kid he could keep up with Scott Joplin recordings sped up from 33 to 45 rpms, and even today the 35-year-old, classically trained, composer is nothing less than rousing (Check out Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz on NPR.org). Twelve years ago Bollani was touring with Italian pop star Jovanotti when he caught the ear of famed trumpet player Enrico......

MUSIC: Of course we're going to recommend you come hang out with us tonight at our 5 year anniversary show. Come on by and check out Pattern is Movement and The Forms, along with a special guest band at midnight. On top of all that, you'll get Craig Wedren deejaying between sets. What more could you ask for? Buy tickets here. Friday // 9pm // Union Hall [702 Union St, Park Slope] // $10......

Jazz 100, Knicks 89: In a departure from their behavior in Tuesday's loss to the Lakers, the Knicks didn't have a lead to squander in this one. They have lost the first three games of this five-game swing against playoff-caliber teams from the Western Conference. Their strategy -- let Jamal Crawford shoot as much as possible -- doesn't seem to be working. They couldn't play defense and fell victim to Utah's. To have 19 turnovers......

Sure, you could go to a traditional sports bar to watch the Super Bowl, but that would just be so . . . traditional. We've rounded up a few more options for you -- find one to suit your mood. For something a little less ordinary, try the Blind Tiger. Having cleared up their liquor license drama from early last year, they've been up and back in action for some time now. As for......

A look at some of this week's noteworthy television: Spike TV's Video Game Awards 2007 (Sunday, 9:00 p.m., Spike TV) It is the fifth annual outing for this awards show for video games. Live From Lincoln Center: Red Hot Holiday Stomp (Monday, 8:00 p.m., WNET 13) Jazz at Lincoln Center is highlighted with this special hosted by Glenn Close. There will be a program of holiday music and jazz, plus it also features the broadcast......

SHOP: Tonight head to Dumbo for an “Evening of Cheer,” where three neighborhood events coordinated by the Dumbo Improvement District will be taking place. "The night’s events combine Dumbo’s monthly cultural event, First Thursdays, with extended shopping hours and promotions by local retailers and the illumination of the Empire Stores in Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park by famed lighting designer Brendon Boyd." 6pm // Various location details here EVENT: Tonight some experts gather around to celebrate......

Knicks 113 Utah 109: Now we get it. The plan was to flash some early success and then create more headlines with manufactured drama and a big losing streak. Then, the Knicks would rise off the mat, run of a huge winning streak and make the playoffs. Unfortunately, it’s not quite that simple. Yes, the Knicks are now on a winning-streak with their victory Monday, but that is more a function of bad Utah defense......

Islanders 2, Rangers 1: For all the success the Rangers have had against the rest of the league, they still can't solve the Islanders. Five-game winning streak? Poof! Rick DiPietro made 18 saves and the Islanders won for the third time in three games between the two clubs. Ruslan Fedotenko and Josef Vasicek each scored in the second period, and Michal Rozsival scored a short-handed goal for the Rangers. He now has seven goals......

Last week Paula Scher's exhibit of painted city maps opened at the Maya Stendhal Gallery (running through January 26th). The Pentagram design firm partner has created the looks of the Public Theater, the Metropolitan Opera, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Symphony Space, the High Line, the Asia Society (and more) through logos. This exhibit expands on her Maps series which took over the gallery last year, and depicts "entire continents, countries and cities from all......

EVENT: Tonight, as part of the recurring Upstairs at the Square event, Nellie McKay plays tunes from her latest, Obligatory Villager and host Katherine Lanpher talks with author and filmmaker Antonio Monda. Monda's new book Do You Believe? Conversations on God and Religion will hit shelves soon -- and tonight he'll relay the discussions he had about religion with folks like Spike Lee and David Lynch. 7pm // Barnes & Noble [33 E 17th St]......

This Saturday and Sunday, Madison Square Garden welcomes the Annual CFA-Iams Cat Championship Cat Show. The show has many guest speakers and events, like the Feline Agility Competition, which is open to the public's cats, too. And, of course, there is the Best of Breed and Best in Show judging. We'll have more about the cat show tomorrow, but we wanted to draw your attention to one of the areas. The Mayor's Alliance for......

RALLY: Barack is back! This time he's hitting up Manhattan with an evening rally in Washington Square Park. It's gonna be a big one, so get there early! At least this time there won't be any unhappy paying customers, because it's free! Check out his video invite: 5pm // Washington Square Park [W 4th St and Fifth Ave] // Free, RSVP here EVENT: Tonight the Fall 2007 season at NYPL is in full effect as......

In what could be his biggest personal accomplishment ever, Mr. Met is going to the Mascot Hall of Fame. Yesterday, the Mascot Hall of Fame named Mr. Met a member of its 2007 class along with the San Antonio Coyote. The Post, which is thumping its chest with the news, talked to Mets spokesman Jay Horowitz, "We're thrilled at what he does. He does a lot of good charity work, the kids love him, and......

The NY Sun takes a look at the impact of graphic design firm Pentagram on the city’s arts institutions. The article focuses mostly on partner Paula Scher, who has created identities for the Public Theater, the Metropolitan Opera, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Symphony Space, the High Line, the Asia Society and a host of others. Scher, who designed the original “Boston” album in 1976, is now designing for the Park Avenue Armory and Drill Hall,......

MUSIC: Scottish indie sensations Camera Obscura bring their pop and their rock to the Seaport tonight. They're joined by The Last Town Chorus. After that, there's only one more show down there this season! Friday // 7pm // South Street Seaport, Pier 17 // Free MOVIE: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory is playing tonight, and you've got a golden ticket! Stock up on sweets and enjoy the 1971 classic down by the river. Friday......

THEATER: With his zany imagination and distinctive bass-baritone voice, Joseph Keckler (myspace) has been generating buzz throughout the gooey honeycomb of the downtown performance art cabaret scene. Tonight he sprinkles his particular blend of whimsical catnip at Dixon Place with Cat Lady, in which a man re-enacts an ordinary day with his mother, who runs a community theater with cat actors out of her home. “Past lives are recalled, songs are sung, and finally a......

THEATER: The annual Soho Think Tank Ice Factory, arguably New York’s most impeccably curated theater festival, has been hosting an exhilarating array of new shows every weekend since July 4th . Starting tonight you can sink your teeth into Vampire University, in which “a struggling vampire family descends on an evangelical college in the Midwest, the dad’s mid-life crisis of immortality triggers a desire to come back to life and the gulf between first and......

July 15: Bastille Day at Bar Tabac If you've never played petanque, head on down to Smith Street for North America's largest petanque tournament -- the two block stretch betweeen Bergen and Pacific will be shut down and covered with sand just for the occasion. While your'e watching the action, enjoy special cocktails from Ricard and other drink specials ($5-6), nibble on grilled merguez and chicken sandwiches ($5) and groove to Jazz band Blue Orchid......

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a fatal fall victim at Clove Rd. and Hillcrest Terrace on Staten Island, a severed finger on East 38th St. and Madison Ave., and an animal rescue at 173rd St. in Queens. Sirius satellite radio (channel 85) will feature tribute broadcasts of performances by the recently deceased Beverly Sills tonight and tomorrow evening, at 9 pm and 8 pm, respectively. Shooting of the film adaptation of Jerome Robbins' ballet......

BBQ: Close out Popfest (and the long weekend) today with a BBQ at Union Pool. Served up with your burgers and beer are some bands, of course: The Orange Peels, Finish School, the Gazetteers, the Lil Hopsital, Surefire Broadcast and Titans of Filth. 1pm // Union Pool [484 Union Ave, Williamsburg] // $10 COMEDY: We're not afraid to admit that Over The Top may just be our favorite Sylvester Stallone movie. Well now that movie......

All across the Ist-A-Verse (or at least the American parts thereof), writers and editors are in the midst of enjoying their three-day weekend. But after the week we've all had, we feel like the break is not only needed, but deserved. Just look at everything we've been doing! Gothamist headed into the Memorial Day weekend with a number of tasks accomplished. They worried about Long Islanders giving New Yorkers a bad name. They tried......

Yesterday afternoon, hundreds of New Yorkers took to Fifth Avenue and participated in the first annual Dance Parade. From whirling dervishes to salsa dancers, from break dancers to hula hoopers, not even the rain could stop the two-hour celebration that started near Herald Square and ended in Wasington Square Park. Here's a brief description from the organizers about the parade's vision:To honor Dance's historical roots: New York has never celebrated the forms of dance......

Here's a heads up on sunny summertime shows. Sure, after the first week we'll be complaining about the heat, the smell of the city as it melts, and the lack of shade...but it's always nice to have some music to look forward to. So stock up on the SPF for the following shows: Celebrate Brooklyn picks (full schedule here, always the most diverse lineup) • June 16th Joan Osborne, The Jazz Passengers: The Supremes Project......

With all this talk about venues closing, opening, renaming and branding themselves...it's easy for the little venues that aren't so publicized to get lost in the shuffle. Perhaps that's good, because once you find a nice small (no drink minimum) jazz club, you don't want everyone to know about it. However, you want it to stay in business, too. Over In Brooklyn (the blog) has a list of jazz spots in the borough, and a......

It's a holiday weekend for the NY Times Weddings Announcements! Total Number of Weddings: 9 (including Vows column) Total Number of Same-Sex Weddings: 0 Youngest Bride: 25 Oldest Bride: 51 Youngest Groom: 28 (two grooms) Oldest Groom:52 Biggest Age Difference: 17 years Number of Couples Where Bride and Groom Are the Same Age: 0 Number of University of Arizona Graduates Married: 2 (to each other) Number of Dartmouth Graduates: 1 Number of Yale Graduates......

The British teen whose parents were frantically looking for him after he ran away from his London home on Monday was found at JFK yesterday. Seventeen- year-old George Lenon had an argument with his parents and managed to get himself on a plane to New York. Lenon had been seen at JFK's immigration area, but never showed up at an Upper West Side hotel where he claimed he was staying. The Post reveals that Lenon......