On July 13 I’ll be kicking off my six-week summer concert series at Asser Levy Park. The performances promise fun-filled nights of family-themed entertainment, but the most exciting part is the price: They’re free to the community.
Asser Levy Park is located at West 5th Street and Surf Avenue. The dates, times and performers are listed below. All concerts begin at 7:30 p.m., with the exception of the screening of Mamma Mia! The Movie, which starts at 8 p.m. Viewers are encouraged to bring a blanket or a chair to sit on.
I’m proud to sponsor these concerts with the help of Congressman Jerrold Nadler, Assemblyman Alec Brook-Krasny, Community Board 13, the Brooklyn Arts Council, Gargiulo’s Restaurant, The Arker Companies, Deno’s Wonder Wheel, the Brooklyn Cyclones, Seaside Car Service, TD Bank, National Grid, Muss Development, Apartment Management Associates, Con Ed, Health Plus and the Red Cross.
Tuesday, July 13 – 7:30 p.m. – Art Lillard’s Heavenly Big Band
Art Lillard is a musician with many gifts. He has been leading his own jazz big-band, Art Lillard’s Heavenly Band, since 1987, playing in many New York area nightclubs and concert spaces. The band’s repertoire consists almost entirely of original compositions and arrangements, with styles including bebop, Latin jazz, blues, and numbers which defy category altogether. Whatever the style, the music swings.
Tuesday, July 20 – 7:30 p.m. – The Boilermaker Jazz Band
The Boilermaker Jazz Band is an ecstatically fun band performing authentic hot jazz and swing. The group has a wide repertoire that can make an audience swing to a classic jazz standard, get sentimental over an old-time ballad, boogie to a hot jump tune, or get low-down with a gritty blues.
Tuesday, July 27 – 7:30 p.m. – SHOUT! The MOD Musical
Produced by Jeff Samaha, this all-girl musical flips through the years like a musical magazine and takes you back to the music, the fashion and the freedom of the 60′s! This smashing revue tracks five groovy gals as they come of age during those liberating days that made England swing! This is a non-stop journey through the infectious and soulful pop anthems and ballads that made household names of stars like Petula Clark, Dusty Springfield and Lulu.
Tuesday, August 10 – 7:30 p.m. – The Bensen-Scott Big Band, featuring Coney Island native, Gene Bensen
The Bensen-Scott Big Band specializes in the sounds of the New York Jazz and Latin/Jazz scene, including the music of Maynard Ferguson, Duke Ellington, and Count Basie, to name just a few. These jazz greats live on with the original arrangements and the dedication and expertise of every member of the band. Gene Bensen & Regent Scott, both professional musicians, have brought together musicians from the Westchester, New York, Connecticut, New Jersey areas to create the grand sound of the New York Jazz scene.
Tuesday, August 17 – 8 p.m. (please note later start time) – Mamma Mia! The Movie
Mamma Mia! is a 2008 musical/romantic comedy film adapted from the 1999 West End musical of the same name, based on the songs of successful pop group ABBA, with additional music composed by ABBA member Benny Anderson. Meryl Streep heads the cast, playing the role of single mother Donna Sheridan. Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, and Stellan Skarsgård play the three possible fathers to Donna’s daughter, Sophie (Amanda Seyfried).
Tuesday, August 24 – 7:30 p.m. – Kenny Vance & The Planotones
Singer, songwriter, and producer Kenny Vance had a long and varied career in music that began in the late ’50s and was still going strong in the early years of the 21st century. The core of his interest in music was vocal harmony, from the doo wop groups with which he started out to his long tenure as a member of Jay & the Americans in the ’60s. From the ’70s on, he used his musical knowledge in a series of films while also releasing the occasional solo album. In the ’90s, he returned to his original love by forming his own neo-doo wop group, Kenny Vance & the Planotones. Throughout his career, he served as a mentor to a generation of younger musicians that included Walter Becker and Donald Fagen of Steely Dan, Peter Himmelman, and others.
