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“Speakeasy” Selections
Author Archives: dannyashkenasi
Escape from my own personal NEW YORKER CARTOON captions
Cy was a bit of a bore, and Rothko rather withholding, but that Jackson, now he had a mind, he was fascinating, if out of his gourd… The 11th installment in the cartoon caption series (find all the others here). … Continue reading
Posted in Arts-a-Poppin', Beginnings, Literary Lyricism
Tagged abstract art, Bremer Stadtmusikanten, caption, cartoon, Cy Twombly, Fall of Rome, Fiddler on the Roof, fishbowl, goldfish, humor, Internet, Jackson Pollack, Mark Rothko, modern art, New Yorker, rorschach test, security camera, Sunrise Sunset, Town musicians of Bremen, Traffic Violations Bureau, TVB, Visigoths
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BROOKLYN ARTISTS EXHIBIT at the BROOKLYN MUSEUM
The exhibit of contemporary Brooklyn artists currently showing at the Brooklyn Museum is resplendent with imagination and diversity, technically and aesthetically. Here is a sample of the highlights. “Mother Sky” – David Shaw “Game of Crazy Eights” – Rick Secen … Continue reading
Posted in Arts-a-Poppin'
Tagged Aisha Tandiwe Bell, Alison Kuo, An-My Lè, Anthony Goicolea, art, Artists, brooklyn, Cate Pasquarelli, Chitra Ganesh, David Shaw, E. V. Day, exhibition, Garry Grant, Geoffrey Chadsey, Gwyneth Scally, Haoua Habré, Honorroller, Isamar Gonzalez, Janaina Tschäpe, Jennifer Dalton, Johanna Burke, Jon Kessler, Josh Sucher, Josiah McElheny, Katherine Jackson, Kit Warren, Kyung Tae Kim, Lauren Seiden, Loren Munk, Lufti Janania, museum, Naudline Pierre, photography, Richard Haining, Rob Raphael, Scherezade Garcia, Shosh Goller, Soull Ogun, Stanley Greenberg, Steven Montgomery, Swan Series, Tamara Kostianovsky, Timothy Paul Myers, Tinuade Oyelowo, Tracie Dawn Williams, Yaw Owusu
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GORDON PARKS captures INGRID BERGMAN at a fraught time
This Spring I was enjoying a sprawling exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum featuring select works of many African and African-American artists, when I came upon this photo of Ingrid Bergman. A photo that by itself vibrates with meaning and emotion. … Continue reading
Posted in Arts-a-Poppin', Beginnings, Cinema Scope, Notes in the News
Tagged affair, African-American, Brooklyn Museum, Civil Rights, film, Gordon Parks, Hollywood, Ingrid Bergman, Isabella Rossellini, Malcolm X, movies, Muhammed Ali, Petter Lindström, photography, photojournalism, Pia Lindström, scandal, Stromboli
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Paw Paw Harvest
Above is a bowl of paw paws, the only North American tropical fruit. You won’t find it the grocery store, because it so easily bruises it is considered unmarketable. It also only ripens on the tree, and then must be … Continue reading
Posted in Beginnings, Notes in the News, Two-fisted Touristing
Tagged brooklyn, Easter, Easter egg hunt, fruit, gardening, harvest, ice cream, juice, nature, nectar, North America, pate de fruit, paw paw, seeds, smoothie, tropical
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At the Aquarium
An Underwater Exploration with Musical Accompaniment The other day Ed and I went to Coney Island in the south of Brooklyn, and spent many hours enjoying the wonders of the aquarium. Underwater worlds from coral reefs to canyon gorges, multitudes … Continue reading
Posted in Arts-a-Poppin', Melodies Linger On, Two-fisted Touristing
Tagged Aquarium, coral reef, Cowfish, Debussy, fish, garbage, Grunt, jelly fish, La Mer, Octopus, otter, penguin, Phish, photography, Piranha, Saint-Saëns, sculpture, Sea Ray, seals, shark, Tang, The Beatles, The Little Mermaid, Under the Sea
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… in which Ed has to endure Danny getting “artsy” on the escalator.
Posted in Arts-a-Poppin', Cinema Scope
Tagged AMC, AMC 25, back light, Cinema, Danny Ashkenasi, Edward Elder, escalator, movie theater, multiplex, photography, selfie, Times Square, yawning
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Kingdom of my own personal NEW YORKER CARTOON captions
Well, that’s one way to spin the data… This is the 10th installment of my own personal New Yorker Cartoon captions (easiest way to find all the others is to click on the Literary Lyricism category). It’s also the fourth … Continue reading
Posted in Arts-a-Poppin', Cinema Scope, Literary Lyricism
Tagged Angels, apple, Belgium, caption, cartoon, D J, Desert island, devil's interval, Frankenstein, french fries, heaven, humor, magician, mayonnaise, New Yorker, office, Planet of the Apes, tritone
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Montien Boonma’s HOUSE OF HOPE
There is much to discover and delight in at NYC’s Museum of Modern Art, MOMA. I was especially taken by Montien Boonma’s House of Hope. A work of art that invites to be explored from many angles, perspectives and pathways. … Continue reading
Posted in Arts-a-Poppin', Two-fisted Touristing
Tagged art, Bhuddhism, healing, herbs, Hope, House of Hope, Immersive, incense, modern, MOMA, Montien Boonma, prayer beads, spices, Temple, Thailand
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Actor and Cinematography Awards for P&P
In a handsomely arched hall turned screening room in a stately old building filled with history, my Edgar Allan Poe musical adaptation “The Pit and the Pendulum – a musicabre”, was shown last night at the Giove International Film Festival … Continue reading
Another P&P Screening in Italy
This Friday, August 23, my short film musical Edgar Allan Poe adaptation “The Pit and the Pendulum – a musicabre” (click here for trailer and much more) will screen again in Italy, specifically at the Giove International Film Festival in … Continue reading
EVOCATION XXXI for String Orchestra
I recently posted this year’s viola/piano duet birthday present for Ed, Evocation XXXI – you can listen to the computer play it and follow the score here. While I composed it, I already knew that I would also be arranging … Continue reading
Posted in Chamber Works, Notes in the News, Poe Musicabres
Tagged arrangement, composing, Contemporary Integrational Orchestra Project, Edgar Allan Poe, Evocation, Evocation XXXI, musicabre, Orchestra, piano, short film, sound engineer, string orchestra, strings, The Pit and the Pendulum, The Tell-Tale Heart, Todd Maki, Viola
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War of my own personal NEW YORKER CARTOON captions
We’re testing Schrödinger’s Waffles The ninth installment of my ongoing series of New Yorker Cartoon caption hopefuls. The third in which I mine the Planet of the Apes movies for post sequel titles… … and how does THIS make you … Continue reading
Posted in Arts-a-Poppin', Literary Lyricism
Tagged A train, caption, cartoon, diving, garage sale, GOAT, humor, New Yorker, olympic, pelican, pirate, psychotherapy, rats, Schroedinger's Cat, soccer, subway, toaster, Washington Heights
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Layover in Detroit, Touchdown in Madison
Posted in Arts-a-Poppin', Two-fisted Touristing
Tagged airplane, airport, Detroit, Ed Elder, layover, Madison, night, passengers, rays, reflection, runway, selfie, silhouette, sunlight, sunset, tarmac, touchdown
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STELENFELD – Berlin Holocaust Memorial
In Berlin, Germany, just south of the Brandenburg Gate, across the street from the eastern edge of the Tiergarten park, lies the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, A K A the Holocaust Memorial, and also referred to colloquially … Continue reading
Posted in Arts-a-Poppin', LGBTQ Alphabet Soup, Notes in the News, Two-fisted Touristing
Tagged Berlin, Brandenburg Gate, concrete, Ed Elder, Germany, ho, Holocaust, homosexuals, Jews, memorial, Memorial for Persecuted Homosexuals, Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, persecution, photography, stelae, Stelenfeld, Tiergarten
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EVOCATION XXXI
Today is Ed’s birthday. And I have presented him, as I have for the past 31 years, with another viola piano duet for us to play. Below is the score you may follow along while you listen to the computer … Continue reading
Posted in Beginnings, Chamber Works, LGBTQ Alphabet Soup
Tagged birthday, box set, chamber music, duet, Edward Elder, Evocation, grave, musician, piano, Viola
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Notes from a Composer 