On a rainy Friday, December 1, I made my second trip to the Big Apple in just under two months. My main purpose was to see Bria Skonberg’s quartet at Birdland, where she was in the midst of a four-night residency. To make the most of the trip, I explored two other music-related options.
One was a 90-minute historical tour of the Bowery led by TST correspondent Ramona Baker, who recently moved to Brooklyn from her native California. I got the lowdown about the tour from Ramona at the West Coast Ragtime Festival about ten days prior to this trip, and had it not been raining, I would have gone. Check out takeawalk.com and click on “Bowery Historic District Tour.” You may need to dig a little deeper to be sure of getting Ramona as your guide.
The backup option was the Louis Armstrong Center in Corona, Queens, which had opened this past July. Given the weather, I chose that one and will save the Bowery tour for another trip.
The full Armstrong visit includes the museum and Louis’s house across the street. I had been to the house about ten years ago, and as it turned out, I arrived too late for the last tour, which are led by docents only. The senior admission for just the museum was a very modest $8. I spent the better part of an hour there. The museum space is not large—perhaps 1,000 square feet, all in one room. There is a small souvenir shop next to the admissions desk, and behind the exhibits is a 75-seat theater that is used periodically. Nothing was going on that day so I did not see that space. Louis’s archives are on the second floor, open by appointment only; appointments can be made through the website. My friend Ricky Riccardi is the Director of Research Collection; he works there or from home on days when he’s not needed on-site.
The exhibits are arranged by topic. If you view them sequentially, which is how they’re set up, you start with “Roots.” Next is “Tools,” then “On Film,” and finally “Ambassador.” Each of these contains photographs and artifacts, such as the gold-plated trumpet King George V of England gave Louis in 1934, his Corona typewriter (the name matching that of the neighborhood is coincidental; it was made by Smith-Corona in Groton, NY), and the large suitcase with the “Satchmo” monogram with which he always traveled. The fifth is “Armstrong the Artist” that contains tape recordings he made (or had made) of many of his concerts, and probably conversations with notable musicians and/or news reporters who interviewed him, as well as books from his home library. There are videos playing at each station, and you can read the narrative as it rolls by or listen on headphones. Louis’s six-page handwritten letter, an homage to the neighborhood where he lived his last 28 years, is displayed. Examples of the photos are King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band, Louis’s parents, Fate Marable’s Jazz Time Orchestra, and playbills of the Broadway shows in which he appeared.
In the center of the exhibits is a round tableau with about seven stations where you can tap on a variety of Armstrong-related topics and listen to the story behind each. You’d probably spend an hour or so if you tapped into each image. For the topical exhibits alone, an hour should be sufficient to see them thoroughly.
The museum is at 3456 107th Street in the Corona section of Queens, with Louis’s house directly across the street. The best way to get there is via the #7 subway from midtown Manhattan to either 103rd or 111th Street and walking about half a mile northeast or northwest, respectively, to the site. On-street parking in this densely populated neighborhood is at a premium, and I did not notice any public lots or garages walking to and from both subway stations. The museum stands out architecturally from its surroundings, and not too favorably, I must say; at first look you might wonder what is inside the mostly glass front, as there is no prominent identification.
Corona is a predominantly working-class Hispanic area. I did not feel unsafe walking there. The museum is open Wednesday through Sunday from 11 to 4. So even if you go in December when sunset is at its earliest (around 4:30 PM in NYC), you won’t be on the street after dark.
After returning to Manhattan where I had dinner with a college roommate, I made my way to Birdland at 315 West 44th Street, just west of 8th Avenue. There is an access to the 8th Avenue/42nd Street subway station at that corner, from which an underground walkway leads also to the Times Square station at 7th Avenue, so between those two stations you can reach virtually everywhere in the system.
It was coincidental that I was going to see Bria Skonberg, who has a very deep connection to Louis Armstrong. Not only is he perhaps her primary musical inspiration, she has been a volunteer at Armstrong’s house, performed at the museum, and is often in the trumpet chair with the Louis Armstrong Eternity Band led by David Ostwald, which has performed weekly at Birdland for 23 years (now on Wednesdays at 5:30 PM).
What Bria’s quartet played this night was quite a bit different than the fare with the LAEB, as one should expect. After all, this is her own band that plays her own compositions and arrangements with musicians of her choice. The trad jazz repertoire was not ignored, however, as Bria is fluent in multiple facets of jazz and showed it on this occasion. There was even a jazz version of one of Erik Satie’s Gymnopedies. Her accompanists were Chris Pattishall on piano, her regular drummer Darrian Douglas, and, up from New Orleans, Grayson Brockcamp on bass. Trumpeter Benny Benack happened to be in the house and sat in for two numbers near the end of the show. He will be joining Bria on a multi-week tour starting around the time you read this. Check briaskonberg.com to see if they’re playing somewhere near you.
(Photo by Christine Vaindirlis)
I’ve known Bria for a dozen years and have seen her perform in many locations, including my living room. There is a formidable talent behind the beautiful visage and engaging personality. She had a milestone birthday just prior to the Birdland stay, so I viewed this trip as my present to her.
