New Jersey arts and entertainment news, features, and event previews.

(ENGLEWOOD, NJ) — On Saturday, November 5, 2022 at 7:30pm, Medeski Martin & Wooden’s Billy Martin — a long-time Bergen County resident — will carry out one other solo set using percussion devices, discovered objects, voice, flutes, hen calls, and extra at The Black Box Performing Arts Center, 49 East Palisade Ave between Grand Ave and Dean Avenue. Designed for folks of all ages and backgrounds, this mind-blowing, distinctive, and soulful efficiency will take you to locations past the creativeness — and it continues an ongoing residency for Mr. Martin at The Black Field.

Billy Martin was born in NYC in 1963 to a Radio Metropolis Rockette and a live performance violinist. At age 17, he devoted himself to music and dove into Manhattan’s thriving, eclectic musical panorama. Within the years to observe, he honed his craft in every single place from Broadway orchestra pits to Brazilian nightclubs and burgeoning underground efficiency areas. From the roots of the downtown scene he emerged with Medeski Martin and Wooden, bridging the harmonic complexity of jazz, the conversational fluency of free improvisation, and the groove and swagger of traditional R&B and funk. 

A collection of albums and high-profile collaborations with John Scofield, John Zorn, Iggy Pop, Natalie Service provider, and others introduced the band worldwide acclaim.  Martin has relentlessly pursued various musical contexts, from free improvisation to chamber compositions to movie scores. A lot of his work is offered by way of his Amulet Information label, which just lately launched ‘The Highway to Jajouka’ —a collection of Martin-produced collaborations between the Grasp Musicians of Jajouka and renown artists resembling Ornette Coleman, Flea, Marc Ribot, John Zorn, Lee Ranaldo, Invoice Laswell, Mickey Hart, MMW, and extra. 

Martin can also be an completed filmmaker and visible artist, whose work has been exhibited in solo and group installations world wide, together with 2014’s Cartegena de indias Bienal in Colombia and the Drawing Sound collection at The Drawing Heart in NYC (2015).  What started for Martin as tireless enthusiasm for music, percussion, and improvisation advanced into a large ranging seek for the roots of inspiration. Among the many most precious undertakings on this ongoing exploration is educating. 

“Once I educate,”  Martin explains, “I be taught and uncover strategies to construct my vocabulary and elegance, and I like to assist others do the identical.”  His experiences as a trainer, scholar, and musician led him to create and direct Life on Drums, a cinematic exploration of percussion and the artistic course of along with his childhood drum teacher, Allen Herman. Billy is at present Government Creative Director and CEO of the legendary Artistic Music Studio. He additionally owns and manages his personal document label, Amulet Information.

Restricted tickets, $25 ($15 for college kids), are on sale now at www.blackboxpac.com.   

Downtown Englewood’s Black Box Performing Arts Center has emerged from the pandemic to turn into New Jersey’s premiere incubator for brand new and under-produced works for the stage by world-class writers.  In Fall ’21, our uniquely collaborative group of theater professionals developed Eric Bogosian’s 1+1, which has since obtained a Particular NYC Premiere and is scheduled to look Off-Broadway in early ’23.  BB’s ’21-’22 season additionally included the NJ premiere of Ode to Pleasure by Broadway’s Craig Lucas, the regional premiere of The Cleopatra Membership by legendary filmmaker Paul Schrader, and the current world premiere manufacturing of Uncovered by Beth Henley.

For 202-23, choose performs and musicals in collaboration with artists resembling filmmaker/playwright Neil LaBute, prolific Hollywood sitcom author Ken Levine, Nicky Silver, and Craig Lucas & Craig Carnelia – in addition to some distinctive partnerships with the Estates of Edward Albee, Sam Shepard, and I.B. Singer — are all in progress.

BBPAC is the group behind Shakespeare within the Park Bergen County, having offered reveals free to the general public for the previous 5 Summers. As well as, a choose group of acclaimed artists in music, comedy, and movie – beginning off with Billy Martin’s solo performances! – will probably be ‘in residence’, creating a slate of recent initiatives, performances, and workshops.  Lastly, our distinctive area homes Black Field Studios, the realm’s most revolutionary collaborative performing arts college, established in 2007.  The Black Field PAC is a 501c3 nonprofit group based mostly in Englewood, New Jersey.