Carrie Haddad Gallery is pleased to present “Great Estates”, a two person show that will feature paintings by Bill Sullivan (1942 – 2010) and Joseph E. Richards (1921 – 2007). This exhibit will juxtapose Richard’s photorealistic depictions of steam locomotives and industrial machinery with the dramatically hued Hudson Valley and South American landscapes by Sullivan. The exhibit will be on view January 9 – February 24, 2109 with an opening reception on Saturday, January 12th, 5-7pm.

Come see the first show of the new year, open everyday, 11 am – 5pm.
(This is our last exhibit before the gallery’s February break)

Through charcoal drawings, fresco, sculpture, and painting, artist Maryna Bilak documents what it means to be a caretaker for someone with Alzheimer’s and delves into the varied roles each person involved plays, including the patient herself. The exhibition is curated by Emily O’Leary.

Four powerhouse players evening made for jazz lovers: NEA Jazz Master David Liebman, a saxophonist with the “ability to touch the soul with an extraordinary depth of emotion and dramatic range” (Downbeat Magazine); “the most adventurous singer in jazz” (The Village Voice) and pioneer of the free jazz movement, Jay Clayton; “flawless section bassist and a fleet full toned soloist” (Los Angeles Times) Jay Anderson, and renowned pianist, 2002 Fulbright Scholar, author and HJF curator, Armen Donelian.

For the past 40 years, BeauSoleil avec Michael Doucet has been making some of the most potent and popular Cajun music on the planet. Born out of the rich Acadian ancestry of its members, and created and driven by bandleader Michael Doucet’s spellbinding fiddle playing and soulful vocals, BeauSoleil is notorious for bringing even the most staid audience to its feet. BeauSoleil’s distinctive sound derives from the distilled spirits of New Orleands jazz, blues rock, folk, swamp pop, Zydeco, country and bluegrass, captivating listeners from the Jazz and Heritage Festival in New Orleans, to Carnegie Hall, then all the way across the pond to Richard Thompson’s Meltdown Festival in England.

For their first studio release in four years, and the 25th in their 37-year career, BeauSoleil teamed up with Nashville- based roots music label Compass Records. The band named the new album From Bamako to Carencro, a title that alludes to the cultural and migratory connection between Bamako, in Mali, West Africa, and Louisiana (symbolized in name by the Lafayette, LA. suburb of Carencro), a connection that draws a sonic bloodline back to BeauSoleil’s roots. On the album’s 11 tracks, the band performs with a resounding authenticity all the while bringing a refreshed playfulness to the genre—the fiddle, flat-picked guitar and accordion carry driving melodies over the two-step and waltz dance beats characteristic of their Cajun and Zydeco music, but not without the country, jazz and blues leanings that informed the genre in the 1920s. They channel the godfathers of other music as well by including a Cajun/La La- style reimagining of James Brown’s classic 1962 Live at the Apollo version of “I’ll Go Crazy” and a swing version of John Coltrane’s tune-de-force “Bessie’s Blues.” Guitarist David Doucet even tucks an occasional Lester Flatt-style bluegrass G-run into his highly melodic guitar solos.

Since becoming the first Cajun band to win a GRAMMY with L’amour Ou La Folie (Traditional Folk Album – 1998) and then a second Grammy in 2010, Live at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, BeauSoleil has garnered many accolades, including twelve GRAMMY nominations, the latest being their 2009 release Alligator Purse. They are regular guests on Garrison Keillor’s National Public Radio show A Prairie Home Companion, where Keillor has dubbed them as “the best Cajun band in the world,” and their music is so integral to the Cajun culture that they have been featured on the New Orleans–based hit HBO program Treme. (Look for an on-camera performance from the band this year during the final season of the show). Critics unanimously agree that it is “bon temps, every time they play,” (New York Times).

Amir ElSaffar, trumpet, santur, voice
Ole Mathisen, saxophone
George Ziadeh, oud
Zafer Tawil, violin, oud and percussion

Deeply rooted in the musical traditions of Iraq, Two Rivers blends time-honored Arabic music with advanced jazz harmonies, polyphonic melodies and simmering grooves. Jazz and Middle Eastern music beautifully intertwine in this dynamic ensemble led by celebrated trumpeter, santur player, and vocalist and “one of the most promising figures in jazz today” (Chicago Tribute), Amir ElSaffar.