Attend concerts for 15 bucks at The Manhattan School of Music on Sundays:
Amazing musicianship.
The Institute of Musical Art, which became the Juilliard School, once occupied this building on the upper (upper) West side. When Juilliard moved to Lincoln Center in Midtown, The Neighborhood Music School, which was located on the East side, moved into the building and became The Manhattan School of Music.
It’s a wonderful building. Three buildings altogether, actually. Above a stairwell in the oldest part of the building, the evening light filtered through a circle of stained glass with the name and logo of the Institute of Musical Art.
The concert was held in the John C. Borden Auditorium.
Also on the upper West side, Smoke Jazz and Dinner Club, has all the atmosphere of a smoky jazz club without the cigarettes (hooray).

The show was fantastic, absolutely. Tribute to Pepper Adams (http://www.motema.com/artist/pepper-adams-joy-road). The experience doesn’t come cheap: over a hundred, but worth it. The acoustics very good, proximity amazing. Ballads and sung poetry directed to you.

Action!

Ms. Cole collaborated with poet (and performance poet), Barry Wallenstein (http://www.nyqbooks.org/author/barrywallenstein), to translate e.e. cumming’s [i carry your heart with me(i carry it in] into jazz lyrics. Unbelievably beautiful. Do check out this wonderful poem: