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Jazz musicians bring lively energy to East Village community garden

Bandleader Willie Martinez played to a full garden at El Sol Brillante
(Photo by Bob Krasner)

In the East Village, there are a whole lot of community gardens – 39, at last count. In a city that has a total of 550, that represents a big chunk.

By Bob Krasner
AMNY
Sept 1, 2021

Excerpt:

Luckily, the caretakers of these lovely oases take the “community ” part seriously, sharing their well-tended spaces with their neighbors and frequently hosting events that range from art workshops to poetry readings to composting events to concerts. Last week was a perfect example, with two of the more active spaces lending their plots to some wonderful performers.

On Aug. 25 El Sol Brillante, an extremely lush garden at 522 East 12th St., partnered with Ariana’s List and the Jazz Foundation of America to present Willie Martinez and His Latin Jazz Collective in a free show as part of the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival. Parker lived a few blocks away on Avenue B and there is traditionally a day-long concert in his honor in Tompkins Square Park, but COVID concerns canned that event.

Introduced by Ariana Hellerman (of the eponymous List) and Maddy Feldman of the City Parks Foundation, Martinez’ band – consisting of veteran players Steve Gluzband (trumpet), Ben Lapidus (guitar), Bernardo Minoso (bass), Renato Thomas (percussion) and Martinez on drums and vocals – put their own spin on world-class renditions of tunes associated with Parker such as ‘Night In Tunisia’, ‘Caravan’ and ‘Body and Soul’.

Read the complete article here.