Seeing live music can be a transcendent mind-body experience, akin to getting a tattoo underwater, or making out during an eclipse. Transcend boredom with today's Groupon: for $36, you get one ticket to a Cindy Blackman show plus a pre-selected dinner at Blues Alley (a $72 value). Choose from four performances:
- Thursday, November 4, at 8 p.m.
- Thursday, November 4, at 10 p.m.
- Sunday, November 7, at 8 p.m.
- Sunday, November 7, at 10 p.m.
Cindy Blackman, famed jazz musician and longtime drummer for Lenny Kravitz, will celebrate the release of her new album, Another Lifetime, at Blues Alley. The album pays tribute to the great Tony Williams, a contemporary of Miles Davis in the Wild West era of jazz fusion. A trio of adroit melody-makers will accompany Ms. Blackman's rolling beats. While the concert satiates hungry ears, a succulent gourmet dinner satisfies rumbling bellies. Choose from a premium filet mignon with a plump baked potato, or a soulful serving of jumbo shrimp stuffed with crab, along with a side of rice. A plate of pasta with basil pesto sauce and roasted red peppers is also available. All meals include freshly baked bread and butter, a house salad, fresh garden vegetables, homemade bread pudding, and a choice of non-alcoholic beverage (excluding bottled water).
Blues Alley has been making music from the heart of Georgetown since 1965 and is now one of America's oldest jazz and supper clubs. The 18th century red brick carriage house gives concertgoers a taste of 1920s and 30s jazz clubs without bothersome rumrunners or gangster parakeets.
Reviews
The Guardian and All About Jazz reviewed Ms. Blackman's Another Lifetime:
- The mad-axeman guitar and boneshaking drumming this style invites is certainly present on Another Lifetime, but Blackman balances it with tonal splashes of abstract colour. – John Fordham, Guardian
Yelpers give Blues Alley an average of 4.5 stars:
- Blues Alley is a special place. It has a very true, intimate "jazz club" ambience, the best I've experienced including the top clubs in New York. I've been many times, and I can say that if you see the right artist and go with someone you enjoy, you will count it as one of the best musical experiences of your life. – Michael D., Yelp