For many Brooklynites, the best parts of
summer are Marty Markowitz’s two concert series.
This year’s schedule – with acts like Earth, Wind and Fire and
The Spinners at the 25th Annual Seaside Summer Concert Series,
and Donnie McClurkin and Boys II Men at the 21st Annual Martin
Luther King Jr. Concert Series – will certainly not disappoint
the borough president’s fans.
Markowitz talked with GO Brooklyn about the concerts – their
past and their future. He recalled how, as a junior state senator
representing Flatbush, Midwood, Crown Heights and Ocean Parkway,
he initiated the concerts.
"I was coming home from Albany, and I passed Midwood Field,
right opposite Murrow High School, and I thought, ’That’s a perfect
spot for a concert,’" said Markowitz. "That first summer
in 1979, I started four shows at Midwood Field, where we stayed
until 1990."
The first entertainers at these summer events were "underpaid
musicians," he said – locals who were part of a program
under the auspices of the Comprehensive Education and Training
Act (CETA).
Markowitz worked with the Brooklyn Arts and Cultural Association,
then headed by Charlene Victor. He borrowed a speaker system
and bought, with his own money, plywood for a makeshift stage.
Then he borrowed a night lamp from "someone on East 17th
Street," got an extension cord hooked up to a power source
down by the locker rooms – and voila! – the stage was set.
Markowitz’s first performers were the Waldo Brass Quintet. Unfortunately,
it rained that night, but Markowitz and his intrepid band moved
the concert to Murrow High School – and the show went on.
In 1980, Markowitz started wearing his signature white tux and
tails.
"We didn’t have enough lighting so I could be seen by the
techies," explained Markowitz. "So I decided to wear
white. It became a shtick. Seniors would say; ’Marty, are you
going to wear your white tuxedo?’ What started as a shtick became
a tradition."
But it wasn’t until 1981 that Markowitz really "broke into
show business" when he booked legendary big band leader
Cab Callaway. (Because there were no dressing rooms for stars,
Callaway was sent to the nearby home of Markowitz’s friends to
nap, shower, dress and have a home-cooked meal before the show!)
It’s all very well and good that he is bringing free music to
the people of Brooklyn, but one can’t help but suspect that Markowitz
has a bit of greasepaint in his blood. "I had dreams of
being an Elvis Presley," he said of his teenage years. "Then
it became clear that I had neither the looks nor the talent for
it."
At any rate, these days Markowitz forgoes the tails and just
wears a white dinner jacket – and the audience doesn’t seem to
mind at all.
In 1982, Markowitz raised money from corporations, the state
and the city, and he started doing not four, but eight summer
shows. That year, Maxene Andrews of the Andrews Sisters, singer
Anna Maria Alberghetti, comedians Myron Cohen and Jackie Mason,
and the Peter Duchin Orchestra were among the entertainers who
appeared at Midwood Field.
The following year had an equally stellar lineup with people
like Keely Smith, Jay and the Americans, Rosemary Clooney, Eddie
Fisher, Teresa Brewer, Jerry Seinfeld, Little Anthony & The
Imperials and Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.
Then in 1991, the city would no longer allow the concerts to
take place at Midwood Field because Astroturf had been placed
on the field and it was feared that the big crowds would ruin
it. So Markowitz moved the concerts to Asser Levy Park in Brighton
Beach and opened with Wayne Newton. The concerts have been there
ever since.
Markowitz is particularly sensitive to the ethnic makeup of his
Brooklyn communities. He always does a show for the religious
Jewish community and his salsa and merengue concert is the biggest
in Brooklyn. For a while he also did a show for the Russian community.
But "now they do their own show," said the borough
president. "They don’t need Marty Markowitz."
Seaside Concert Series
Over the years, the performers who have appeared at the Seaside
concerts form a veritable Hall of Fame of the entertainment world:
Andy Williams, Art Garfunkel, The Commodores, Connie Francis,
Connie Stevens, Dinah Shore, Debbie Reynolds, Eddie Palmieri,
Gladys Knight & The Pips, The Mamas and the Papas, the Righteous
Brothers and Brooklyn’s own Neil Sedaka (many, many times).
Due to contractual agreements made by those who will also be
appearing at nearby venues and charging for tickets, the names
of some of the performers for the free Seaside concerts cannot
be revealed – yet. The performers scheduled for July 17 are a
"classic rock group that defined the music of the ’70s,"
and WAR, a group whose hits include "The World Is a Ghetto,"
"Cisco Kid," "Low Rider" and "Why Can’t
We Be Friends?"
July 24 is the Salsa by the Sea concert starring Elvis Crespo,
Rey Ruiz and the Spanish Harlem Orchestra.
July 31 features a group whose name will be announced on July
14. This group, "coming back by popular demand," will
appear with comedian Stevie Stone, and Markowitz promises that
this will be "a great night for families – people with children
8, 9 and 10 years old."
Aug. 7 will be an evening with Earth, Wind and Fire ("I’ve
been after them for 20 years; this year we got lucky," says
Markowitz) as well as comedian Phil Tag.
Aug. 14 will be a night of a little Spanish, a little pop, and
– so far – a lot of mystery.
"People are gonna love this one. It’s a Brooklyn first.
After trying for many years – we’re thrilled," said Markowitz.
Aug. 21 will present the sounds of Detroit with a mystery artist
(to be announced on July 26), and The Spinners, whom Markowitz
calls "one of my favorite groups." The Spinners’ hits
include "I’ll Be Around," "Working My Way Back
to You" and "Could It Be I’m Falling in Love?"
King concerts
In 1983, Markowitz embarked on a new venture as Brooklyn’s impresario
– the Martin Luther King, Jr. Concert Series in Wingate Field.
"When I started these shows I’d already had four years experience
with concerts. My legislative district had become overwhelmingly
communities of color. I decided it was time for me to create
a series of concerts that would appeal to the musical tastes
of the African-American and Caribbean-American communities,"
Markowitz said.
The King concerts lean more toward jazz, gospel, Caribbean, soul
and funk, but Markowitz said he’s noticed that there is no real
line of demarcation. In fact, he added, people who attend the
Seaside concerts often ask for the entertainers who have appeared
at the King concerts in East Flatbush.
The season kicks off on July 14 with The Carlos Lezama Caribbean
Music Carnival featuring the Mighty Sparrow Show, plus the reigning
soca and calypso monarchs of the Trinidad and Tobago 2003 Carnival,
as well as other stars from the islands.
July 21 is the annual Gospel Night, this year featuring Donnie
McClurkin, best known for "We Fall Down," and Angela
Spivey & Godsons.
July 28 is soul night with a mystery group "back by popular
demand" and The Manhattans, whose hits include "Kiss
and Say Goodbye," "Shining Star" and "Don’t
Say Goodbye."
Aug. 4 stars India.arie, whose debut album, "Acoustic Soul,"
includes "Ready for Love" and "Video."
Aug. 11 is an "old-school" hip-hop mystery night featuring
Kurtis Blow and Big Daddy Kane among others.
Aug. 18 is a Noel Pointer Jazz Tribute, dedicated to the famous
jazz violinist who lived in Fort Greene. It will feature jazz
violinist Regina Carter, with special guests, Pieces of a Dream
and Angela Bofill. Pieces of a Dream emerged from the Philadelphia
music scene in 1976; their hits include "Warm Weather,"
"Mount Airy Groove" and "Fo Fi Fo." Bofill’s
music blends jazz fusion and soul; her albums include "Angie"
and "Angel of the Night."
The series ends on Aug. 25 with Ladies’ Night Out starring the
harmonizing quartet from Philadelphia, Boyz II Men, and the C
& C Music Factory, whose hits include "Here We Go"
and "Things That Go Hmmmm."
Thanks to the man in the white jacket, there’s going to be lots
of humming, singing and playing in Brooklyn this summer.
The 25th Annual Seaside Summer Concert
Series continues every Thursday night, July 10-Aug. 31, at 7:30
pm at Asser Levy Park, West Fifth Street and Surf Avenue in Brighton
Beach. The public can bring their own chairs, or rent them for
$5 a chair in a special designated area ($10 per chair for special
shows on Aug. 7 and Aug. 14). Performers are subject to change
without notice.
The 21st Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Concerts are every Monday,
July 14-Aug. 25, at 7:30 pm at Wingate Field, on Winthrop Street
between Brooklyn and Kingston avenues, opposite Kings County
Hospital. There is a concert every Monday night until Aug. 25,
with a possible rain date of Tuesday night. The public is encouraged
to bring their own chairs because seating is limited.
Performers are subject to change without notice. Call the concert
hotline for updates at (718) 469-1912 or log on to www.brooklynconcerts.com.
