Alaska’s fiddlin’ poet, Ken Waldman, opens club Jalopy’s August performance schedule on August 8 at 9 p.m. He combines old-time Appalachian-style fiddling, original poetry and mostly Alaska-set storytelling. He will be joined by Eli Smith playing old-time, folk, blues, pre-blues and country music. Smith performs every Wednesday at the Jalopy Theater as part of the Roots ‘n’ Ruckus music collective.
Four artists share the stage August 9 at 9 p.m. for a night of swing jazz: Sweet Soubrette, Les Chauds Lapins, Agent 99 and Craig Chesler.
Sweet Soubrette is New York native Ellia Bisker, whose musical influences range from early popular song, musical theater and blues to contemporary artists like PJ Harvey and the Dresden Dolls. Les Chauds Lapins play banjo ukuleles, that curious half breed which combines the impetuous snap of early jazz with the light charm of the ukulele.
Kurt Hoffman and Meg Reichardt make up Les Chauds Lapins, which presents French songs of the twenties through forties. Their repertoire includes numbers popularized by the likes of Mistinguett, Lucienne Boyer, Edith Piaf, and the great, late Charles Trenet.
By day, the members of Agent 99 are mild-mannered teachers, artists and writers. But at night, they don their cover as a uke-infused pop and jazz band to expose the ultimate evil conspiracy: the music business. Craig Chesler is the rhythm guitarist for Tom Clark & the High Action Boys. Chesler ventures into a wide variety of sounds that make up the world called pop: sleigh bells and cool Victrola, circus organ and ukulele, electric piano and pedal steel, and the old reliable bass, drums and guitars.
The Mandingo Ambassadors with World Music take the stage at 9 p.m., August 15. This legendary band was originally formed in Guinea, West Africa in the late 1960s by guitarist Mamady “Djelike” Kouyate and singer Emile Soumah. Their music became some of the most beloved and influential of their generation and their songs were widely imitated.
All shows have a cover charge of $8-$10 and are performed at Jalopy, 315 Columbia Street in Red Hook, between Hamilton and Woodhull avenues. For more, call 718-395-3214 or visit www.jalopy.biz.
