LISTEN: THE HARLEM JAZZ SHRINE FESTIVAL 2014

May 4th-10th, The Harlem Jazz Shrine Festival 2014 at various venues including Ginny's Supper Club, The Apollo and The Gatehouse. Cel­e­brat­ing Harlem’s His­toric Jazz Venues: Apollo The­ater, Showman’s, Minton’s Play­house, The Baby Grand, Cot­ton Club, The Alham­bra Ball­room, Sugar Cane Club, Clark Monroe’s Uptown House.  The 6-day fes­ti­val cel­e­brat­es the clas­sic clubs and venues that made Harlem the jazz Mecca begin­ning in the 1920’s. While it’s a nos­tal­gic look back at the great­ness of the past, this festival’s pulse is the present, show­cas­ing an array of today’s top and emerg­ing tal­ent.  FESTIVAL TICKETS $10 Some shows admission-free: LINK

SHOP: CAFE FOR 142 EDGEGCOMBE

A tip came in from a Bespoke reader who mentioned that he talked to the construction worker at the newly finished storefront at 142 Edgecombe.  This building was actually abandoned for quite some time and has recently been converted into condos:

I spoke with a workman at the site you initially pegged as the future home of the Hogshead, at 142nd and Edgecombe. He told me it's going to be an indie coffee shop. The outlines of the counter and the exterior are already built, so it shouldn't be too long before they're ready for business.

EAT: DIVERSITY IN HARLEM'S DINING SCENE

Notable critic Gael Greene visited The Cecil again and amongst her nuanced review, a keen observation is made that Harlem is one of the only parts of city that black and white folks dine together.    Ms. Greene mentions that the new uptown scene might be a little "too white and too pricey" for some of the older residents and then states that her guests were fine with the current level of diversity in the crowd.  The Insatiable Critic gives an overall approval stating that some of the food at The Cecil is remarkably good and the odd cocktails quite endearing: LINK

DWELL: 16 WEST 130TH STREET TOWNHOUSE

A rare Astor Row townhouse has just been placed on the market at 16 West 130th Street for the asking price of $1.4 million.  This landmark home apparently needs a lot of work and those putting in a bid might consider that the record for a renovated home on the block was set at $2.4 million last year.  We do like this historic micro-nabe in Central Harlem which is right around the corner from Lenox Avenue but there are still a handful of buildings in pretty sad shape within the immediate vicinity: LINK

ARCHITECTURE: A DECORATIVE STAR OF DAVID

We were checking out some of the carved townhouse elements in the Hamilton Heights Historic District and noticed one very decorative Star of David just around the corner from Convent Avenue.  This might be a Christian reference or another possibility could be that one of the builders had been Jewish during this time period when brownstones started to appear all over the former countryside of Harlem.  Regardless of the reason, this star with a spring floral motif was a lovely discovery and is rarely found outside of church or temple architecture uptown.