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undergroundagent how did you find NYC?

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PHILLYQ Newbie

PHILLYQ

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He went to, or was going to see Horace Silver on 5/1, so he might not even be home yet, or not yet unpacked and ready to fire up his computer. I very much want to know what he did and how he enjoyed his trip. The weather certainly cooperated with his plans, as it was supposed to rain part of Saturday and almost all day Sunday, but there was actually almost no rain.

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jamn Newbie

jamn

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And here I am wanting to get away for a while...

And right now is when we don't want to get away from Michigan. The weather is warming and green is bustin out all over :g:g:g:g .

The only problem is the damn deer have been eating my newly sprouted Hostas, like forty of them.

Michigan is a beautiful place right now and will be for many months. We have a new high speed catamaran cross lake ferry called the

Lake Express

from Muskegon to Milwaukee beginning in May or June

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and two great music festivals.

Muskegon Summer Celebration

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and

Milwaukee Summerfest

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Edited by jamn
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undergroundagent Newbie

undergroundagent

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**THE REPORT**

First off, let me just say that NYC is a beautiful city. There is so much to see, and do. I think that we could have spent three weeks there and still not have gotten to do everything. Fortunately, we were blessed with good weather (for the most part) and got to take in plenty of great stuff.

We avoided the museums this time around. Simply put, we decided that the sites were more important. Beisdes, it leaves us something to do for the next time.

Here's what we did:

DAY 1:

— Arrived at 6pm on Friday. Took the shuttle bus from Newark to the Port Authority Bus Station (as suggested here at Organissimo). Walked around Times Square a bit, and then decided to take the "Night Tour" on one of the Grayline double deckers. It was fantastic. The weather was beautiful, and riding across the Manhattan bridge to Brooklyn with that light breeze was amazing. The tour took 2.5 hours. When we arrived back in Times Sq., we were both pretty hungry so we went to Virgil's for some southern BBQ. I had the Chicken & Ribs, and Carla had the Kansas City Friend Chicken. Clearly, this meal was MY CHOICE. It was pretty good, but probably the weakest dinner of the trip.

DAY 2:

— Up and out by 9am. We hopped on a Double Decker again for the downtown loop. It took about 2 hours, and luckily we had a great tour guide. We got off downtown and took in a few sites. Most prominent was the WTC site. I almost cried. What really got on my nerves though was the amount of people taking pictures. I don't know why, but it really pissed me off that people would treat the site as a "spot on a tour." The people, and city, deserve more than that. Just my opinion. After that, we went the Century 21 across the road, I bought a nice double-breasted Kenneth Cole spring jacket for $60, and Carla a shirt for $12. Then we went to J & R. Man, is this place impressive or what!?!?! Naturally, I bought a few CDs. By far, this was the best music store in terms of jazz selection that I went in. From there, we went to South Street Seaport. Great view of the East River and Brooklyn there. Also, some nice shops. We bought our theater tickets as well at the much smaller (and MUCH FASTER) tckts booth. In addition, we ate at one of the breweries. It was actually very good.

By this time, it was getting to be late in the afternoon, so we decided to finish our tour through the lower east side and up back to Times Sq. Went back to the hotel ("The Muse" between Broadway and 6th Avenue on 46th Street) where we rested for an hour. Then we got dressed up for dinner and jazz at the Blue Note with Horace Silver. For dinner, we went ot his place called "Noi" on Bleecker st. for some authentic Italian. It was FANTASTIC! I had the Ravioli stuffed with roccata cheese, and it was great. Quite affordable as well. I think the bill with three glasses of wine and an appetizer was no more than $45.

Then, we went to see Horace. The band was in fine form. They played for about an hour and a half, and Horace gave everyone plenty of soloing space. I was skeptical, at first, about seeing an eight piece band, but with the soloing, it seemed as though it was a basic quartet/quintet. Horace definately still has his chops. They started the set with his new composition (I forget the name), and ended with about a twenty minute rendition of "Song for mt Father." It was on point.

DAY 3:

— Up and out by 9 am. We started off by taking the Uptown tour on the double decker. Very nice sites through Central Park, and Harlem. The buildings are fantastic. That took about 2 hours. Then we came back for some lunch. We ate at an organic foods cafe. The stuffed pizza was great. After that, we proceeded for some ice cream. I forget the name of the place, but I've never had anything like it. They actually mix your own "platter." I couldn't even finish it, but it was yummy.

Then we went to an afternoon matinee of "Rent" on Broadway. It was the best musical I've seen, and for those who haven't seen it, I'd definately recommend it. Not much else to tell about that...the music was very new-age, but it was interesting, and the sites in the theater were all terrific.

Once that finished we went for dinner at Stages Deli. The sandwiches there are HUGE!!!! I had the "Katie Couric" which was turkey-ham-swiss on rye. Carla had the hot roast beef sandwich. The meal and service there was awesome. This was pne of the best meals we had.

DAY 4:

— Up and out by 8am. We walked from Times Sq. to the United Nations for a tour with a short stop at Grand Central Station on the way. The UN tour wasn't anything special. It was nice to see the Security Council and General Assembly, but the best part was the old fat guy who interupted the guide by asking, "Was this the place where Khrushcev stamped his fist in anger?" The guide didn't know what the hell to do.

Next up, we made our way down to Canal Street. Carla wanted to buy a few "Prada/Kate Spade/Gucci" purses. Unfortunately, it was raining pretty heavy at that time, and I think somebody got busted by the cops. All the vendors who were selling the phony stuff closed up shop at the same time, and quite rapidly at that. We walked away empty handed, and decided to come back the next day to try again.

From there, we headed to the Village where we ate at John's Pizzeria. SIMPLY MARVELOUS!! We had the pepperoni, meatball, and pepper pie with garlic on top. This was, by far, the best pizza I've ever tasted in my life bar none. After that, we walked around a bit and I bought a few more CDs. The Bleecker Street Record Store had a great selection of jazz, but the prices were way too high for used stuff.

The rest of the day was a battle with the weather, and we kind of lazed around. For dinner, we went to this place on restaurant row called Swing 46. It was a jazz club/eatery. Nice atmosphere, and the wait staff was very friendly. We both had New York Strips, and they were nice and tender.

DAY 5:

— Last day, and we got out at 9:30. Didn't do too much today. Kind of just filled in some holes. Carla bought FOUR purses on Canal St.. She was happy. I bought FOUR cds. I was happy. We took the Staten Island Ferry past Liberty Island. It was okay, but kind of boring. Filled out some time in the village and a quick stop at Macy's. That was it!!!

TRIP RATING:

9/10

Great time with a great gal! I wouldn't have had it any other way.

Edited by undergroundagent
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undergroundagent Newbie

undergroundagent

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CDs that I bought:

Stanley Turrentine "Jubilee Shout" TOCJ

Howard McGhee/Kenny Drew 10" Conn

Frank Foster/George Wallington 10" Conn

Shirley Scott "Blue Flames"

Clifford Jordan "Spellbound"

Blue Mitchell "Blue's Moods"

Blue Mitchell "Cup Bearer"

Oliver Nelson "Blues & The Abstract Truth" Japan Impulse

There could have been more, but I had to keep it within reason.

Edited by undergroundagent
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chuckyd4 Newbie

chuckyd4

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Just out of curiosity, did you happen to check the jazz selection at Tower Records? I don't know how it is these days, but I always used to give it a slight edge over J & R.

Sounds like you had a great time, though! Me and the girlfriend are both going back next week for about 6 days. This thread has got me excited thinking about all the places I want to go!

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7/4 Newbie

7/4

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Just out of curiosity, did you happen to check the jazz selection at Tower Records? I don't know how it is these days, but I always used to give it a slight edge over J & R.

The jazz section at Tower Bdway & E.4th shrunk. The section from the cash register to the stairs isn't jazz anymore.

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Hardbopjazz Collaborator

Hardbopjazz

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Just out of curiosity, did you happen to check the jazz selection at Tower Records? I don't know how it is these days, but I always used to give it a slight edge over J & R.

Tower Records on 66th and Broadway is by far the best place to find jazz. That was as of last December. They used to have a section of TOCJ's. Not sure if they still bring in imports.

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