In its ongoing effort to build a new audience for American roots music, the producers of the Good Coffeehouse Music Parlor have initiated the pre-concert “Meet the Musician” series. This January 9, 7 p.m. at 53 Prospect Park West and Second Street, meet Ernie Hawkins.
“Hawkins is a master of Piedmont and Texas style acoustic blues and ragtime guitar,” explains James Reams, producer of the Good Coffeehouse Music Parlor. “He will talk about the history of both traditions and share his experiences with legendary players.”
Aimed at introducing new and intermediate musicians to the intimacy of the listening room experience, the Good Coffeehouse is reaching out to students at music colleges, and in the music departments at the pubic and private schools.
From Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Hawkins studied extensively with legendary bluesman Rev. Gary Davis and is one of the few people in the world who can play Davis’s complex compositions.
Legendary guitarist and founder of Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna, Jorma Kaukonen, says “Ernie Hawkins is an important link in the unbroken chain of blues and gospel artists. His guitaristry and love of the style is incomparable. From the Rev. Gary Davis into the future with his own style Ernie is one of the special ones.”
The Good Coffeehouse Music Parlor is hosted by the Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture and held in the landmark building across from Prospect Park. The café is organized by a youth group who sell Fair Trade coffee, tea and assorted snacks.
The Good Coffeehouse is a child/teen/youth-friendly venue: think “LIVE music for the whole family.”
Doors open at 7:30 p.m. Concerts start at 8 p.m. and run until around 10:15 p.m., with a 20-minute intermission.
For more, go to www.bsec.org or www.gchmusic.org.
