Saturday, August 14, 2010

Jerry Dantzic Exhibit


The neon lit CLUB DANTZIC sign announced the Jerry Dantzic show at ARTSPACE . The jazz band was marvelous and set the mood. Black interior walls are the perfect background for the amazing photographs.
For me, viewing the faces of Lionel Hampton, Gene Krupa, Ella Fitzgerald et al is like seeing my old friends. And added to the great, insightful jazz works, I enjoyed the "life" photos of a couple's New Year's Eve kiss in Times Square, a birds eye view of men in fedoras conversing, my friend, Cynthia, so young and carefree on a Coney Island carousel. The shots taken at the Newark Minsky's burlesque are great and the shrouding curtain really is just an isolating element. I was at that burlesque house in its declining days, the ones shown in Jerry's photos, and saw the fabulous Georgia Southern perform. The chorus line lacked Rockette precision; in fact their costumes were worn, tawdry, torn, their shoes unmatched. Jerry's photos add magic to the legendary place.

Grayson Dantzic delivered a heartfelt moment as he spoke about his dad, and then played and sang two of his own compositions. His mom was teary as she accepted a bouquet of flowers from him, and I joined those tears as I was so beautifully recognized.

Maggie Martinwise, I'll tell you about the delightful attendees: Jodie Glorioso, Carolyn Nelson, Robert and Talbot Trudeau, Cookie Garner, Nadine Charity, Marcy Everett, the Thorne-Thomsens, Shirley and Ron Silverman, the Leonard Washingtons, Neil Johnson, Jerry Wray, etc., a sterling audience for Jerry.

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