CCH Free Event Picks for Thursday, April 29!

Hi there Columbus Circle Hostel Visitors! Take advantage of today’s FREE events in the Upper West Side! They’re all highly recommended and worth experiencing and will surely add some beautiful memories to your New York adventure! Don’t snooze or you’ll lose. Here’s what we’ve picked out for you for tonight, April 29, 2010:

1. David Grubin: The Buddha [DVD] – Discussion with the Director at Borders

Two and a half millennia ago, a new religion was born in northern India, generated from the ideas of a single man, the Buddha, a mysterious Indian sage who famously gained enlightenment while he sat under a large, shapely fig tree. The Buddha never claimed to be God or his emissary on earth. He said only that he was a human being who, in a world of unavoidable pain and suffering, had found a kind of serenity that others could find, too.

This documentary for PBS by award-winning filmmaker David Grubin and narrated by Richard Gere, tells the story of the Buddha’s life, a journey especially relevant to our own bewildering times of violent change and spiritual confusion. It features the work of some of the world’s greatest artists and sculptors, who across two millennia, have depicted the Buddha’s life in art rich in beauty and complexity. Hear insights into the ancient narrative by contemporary Buddhists, including Pulitzer Prize winning poet W.S. Merwin and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Join the conversation and learn more about meditation, the history of Buddhism, and how to incorporate the Buddha’s teachings on compassion and mindfulness into daily life.

April 29, 2010
7:00 PM
Borders (AOL Time Warner Center) 10 Columbus Circle New York, NY 10019

2. Sam Cutler: You Can’t Always Get What You Want – Author Reading at Barnes & Noble

Sam Cutler’s memoir of how the illegitimate son of an Irish Gypsy and a Jewish mathematician became the personal tour manager for two of the greatest bands of all time: the Rolling Stones and the Grateful Dead.

It’s 39 years since Altamont redefined the shaky, violent end of the 1960s. Sam Cutler was in the thick of it and lived to tell the tale – and many more besides – in his new book, You Can’t Always Get You Want.

It’s Cutler’s voice that we hear introducing the Rolling Stones at the beginning of the Maysles brothers’ brilliant rockumentary Gimme Shelter. Cutler’s 12-month tour of duty in the service of the greatest rock’n'roll band in the world took him on a strange trip, through riot police, people of questionable morals, groupies, dealers, hangers-on, the FBI and the CIA, film makers and aggressive management – all on about three hours sleep a night. “I’ve read so many books about the 1960s and the Stones,” says Cutler with discernible weariness. “So many of them were shit. So I just tried to write something that people would understand how it really was – a real, genuine, no bullshit feeling.” (…)

(…) “That era – the 60s – is now contemporary history; it’s being studied at universities, you know. Everyone has their own perspective, so I wanted to add my voice to it, to build the picture of my generation so that when it comes down to future generations, the picture has been tweaked a bit. A more realistic picture of the time, as it were.

Cutler is in a unique position to write of these events. Unlike the endless stringers for Rolling Stone, the photographers and documentary film crews or Truman Capote, Sam was really there, and he’s eager to tell something more than the usual tales of debauchery. “We can’t have yet another book that says, ‘Ooh, Keith got smashed on heroin’, you know’. Big fucking deal.”

7:30 PM
Barnes & Noble (Lincoln Triangle)
1972 Broadway
New York, NY 10023
212-595-6859

3. JALC Ellington Alumni Concert

Duke Ellington Tribute Concert at Lincoln Center

An all-star ensemble of Essentially Ellington alumni plays the music of Duke Ellington and celebrates the 15th anniversary of the annual jazz education event that invites select high school jazz bands from across North America to spend three days immersed in workshops, rehearsals, jam sessions, and performances at Jazz at Lincoln Center. The Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Program is unique among educational resources for high school jazz bands in the U.S., Canada, and American schools abroad. Jazz at Lincoln Center created Essentially Ellington in 1995 to make Ellington’s music accessible to as many high school musicians as possible and to support the development of their schools’ music programs. Alumni of the program include Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra bassist Carlos Henriquez, saxophonist Erika von Kleist, and bassist David Wong. Join us for this special precursor performance to the final concert on May 10th.

Jazz at Lincoln Center’s mission is to engage listeners, performers, and educators of every age with a continuum of experiences that reflect the virtuosity, creativity, and inclusive spirit of jazz. In keeping with this mission, the annual high school jazz band competition Essentially Ellington (EE), which this year celebrates its 15th anniversary, continues to inspire, move, and educate.

This year, EE is holding a national search with an objective of reconnecting with its community and adding new program initiatives. You can join in the festivities at the final concert on May 10 at Avery Fisher Hall, with tickets starting at $20.

8:30 PM
Target Free Thursdays
David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center
61 West 62nd Street
New York, NY 10023
(212) 875-5350