Saturday, February 1, 2014

The Donnie Doors are open for business - FINALLY

After posting the GFA incident of 2012, I feel a big weight has been lifted off my heart. Somehow I feel ready to resume my life by posting all of the blogs all lined up for me. I would publicly love to thank MAURICE SUMMERFIELD for that great magazine I receive every month CLASSICAL GUITAR and his online "FRETSONLY". This months Issue features the phenomenal virtuoso Guitarist/Composer/Teacher and dear friend DAVID LEISNER. Last month had another dear friend DAVID RUSSELL as main interview. Both of these great artists will be part of my "DONNIE AND series" . I have studied with them both. LUCKY ME!!!
 I will be turning 64 in April. This year marks the 18th year I have been an active member/performer in the "MUSIC UNDER NEW YORK" program sponsored by the New York City TRANSIT Authority and I am proud to spread the word of the Solo Classical/Jazz/Latin guitar to the regular masses of people around the City. I look back at this desire to reach people with the magic of the Guitar even after my quadruple bypass on March 22nd 2011!!! I was out giving a concert in Times Square in June of that year as part of
"The Taste of Times Square" that is how passionate I am about our great instrument!!!
I have been listening to some of my recorded concerts from decades ago and I must pat myself on the back for some outrageously fast playing!! I don't feel like 63 or soon to be 64 because I have improved tremendously over the decades as I am trying to play "CATCH UP" for all the years I have been too passive in the learning process. Because I have been given this talent, I have taken it for granted and not worked hard for several decades. I have been forcing myself to burn that midnight oil since I have no idea how much longer I will be on mother earth. When you get to my age, people start passing away like crazy and I knew PETE SEEGER from even a few years ago when he gave a concert at the GRAYBAR BUILIDING when I had a gig in the walkway. A cook from the CLEARWATER was a friend of mine in high school and we are still friends after all of these decades! Of course Pete led us in the Village folk scene along with Dylan,Paxton,Ochs,Peter Paul and Mary and so many of the 60's folk scene. I just knew I loved to sing Ballads from the BURL IVES FOLK SONG BOOK! Actor Singer Theodor Bikel was one of my favorites. Joan Baez,Judy Collins ( I met her when I was singing at the bedside of my mother at a hospital in the Bronx. One of the members of Judy's group was in for something. I saw from the corner of my eye someone who looked like Judy Collins go over to a bed. About 10 minutes later while I was playing for my mother I got a tap on my shoulder. I turned around, saw her pretty face and exclaimed "JUDY COLLINS". She told me she enjoyed my playing and that I would be a welcome member of her group if I wanted"! How dumb was I.Young and dumb and flustered.) I would love to be transported back to the 60s again and in a way with the celebration of the Beatles upon us right now, that longing is there.With Pete passing away I have been playing Where have all the flowers GONE and We SHALL overcome a my gigs around  the city and will start playing several arrangements and improvisations on the songs I sang and grew up with from the 60's and 70's. Gotta get some Heidi grub before some more posts!

JIM HALL - MY mentor and dear fried-I miss you so much!!

My dear friend and legendary Jazz Guitarist JIM HALL passed away December 10th 2013. I found out late afternoon Friday December 13th and called his wife at 5:25 pm to offer my condolences and cried profusely while I spoke to her. I have been honored to know Jim Hall since I was a teenager in the 60's. I had only one long lesson with him at his apartment in the Village and he loved my playing. Over the decades we have remained in contact by my showing up at his gigs and with phone calls and letters. I was at his last public performance at the Rose Room in Lincoln Center. I phone him and told him I would be there. I had the best seat in the house as I watched and experienced this genius of our instrument work with two generations of his students : JOHN ABERCROMBIE and PETER BERNSTEIN. I have been crying every day I think of JIM! I am even in tears as I write this post. JIM is so deep in my heart because of his great humanity and searching inquisitiveness.I was at the New School when his Documentary "A LIFE IN PROGRESS" was aired. There was a tribute a couple of years ago by an incredible lineup of the great young guitarists based here in New York and I got a standing room position. Jim was too ill to attend and sent his regards. I have so much of JIMS work on cd and video including his wonderful 3 volumes of masterclasses. His trio video with Wayne Shorter and Michel Petruciani is another GEM. You should all get a copy of his wonderful and only book on Jazz Guitar Improvisation coupled with a video of the name:
Jim was also an incredible arranger always attuned to interesting instrumental combinations. There are several great videos of him on you tube that you should watch especially the Library of Congress interview which lasts about an hour!! I believe his LIFE IN PROGRESS video is also on you tube. More on Jim and Me in a series I will be posting entitled " DONNIE AND ......" . This will be a series of all my dear friends in my musical life who are so well known and appreciated by me.At that last public performance, I hugged Jim as he sat in that wheelchair and told him " Told you I would be here". I then kissed him on his right cheek  Something inside told me that this would be our last time together. I needed to let him know how much I loved him and what he meant to me. In my JIM HALL and DONNIE post , I will share how I first met JIM and some beautiful moments I have been privileged to share with him over these decades.

Why I have been absent for so long- HARRIS BECKER

On December 2nd 2012, The GFA held a Regional Guitar Symposium here in New York and as part of the Festivities, Attendees were given the opportunity to audition for a spot on the evening concert. I am a professional Free lance Guitarist who has been on the New York City Concert scene since the early 60s being a member of the original New York City Classical Guitar Society. I played several concerts produced by the Society and other concert series including the series in the 80/s sponsored by the American Institute of the Guitar. My playing now is even more sharp than in my 20's as I have studied with the best in my craft. For the audition I performed a medley of works by LUIZ BONFA whom I studied with in the early 70's when he visited New York at Mannys Music on 48th Street. I have been playing these Bonfa pieces for over 40 years now and needless to say I can play these even if I were not alive!!! THAT IS HOW SOLID THEY ARE!!! On top of this, I perform at least 5 days a week in public venues around the city as part of MUSIC UNDER NEW YORK. This is my 18th year as part of the organization. I have been performing in public since 1955 as a concert pianist. I am my toughest critic and my audition for this concert spot was flawless. The other " judge" was Gerry Saulter. A couple of years ago I was involved with an exceptional Guitarist in trying to get my colleague a couple of concerts here in New York and HARRIS BECKER promised another concert for my colleague as my friend "Floored everyone" with an exceptional performance. That "Promise" was never followed up on. In fact Mr. Becker ignored several phone calls and emails from my friend so I asked Becker myself for him to be respectful of my colleagues' requests for an answer. I believe that my exclusion from the GFA REGIONAL Evening concert was a form of "PAYBACK" for trying to request HARRIS BECKER to do the right thing. Somehow the other judge GERRY SAULTER was persuaded to knock me out of the concert by Becker. When  Martha Masters read the "Final List" of those selected, I was sure my name would be read last and when it was not, I immediately retreated to the men's room and vomited for several minutes. I was so destroyed that I could not attend the rest of the regional. I have spent my life supporting the Guitar Scene here in New York by  attending concerts and lectures and master classes by my colleagues even when I had gigs I came from. I felt as though HARRIS BECKER reached into my chest and and pulled my heart out and stomped on it!!!!! I have not been the same since that December 2nd 2012 incident. I even read an article praising Mr. Becker on the excellence of his Long Island Guitar Festival and how wonderful he is. I have been to several of the Long Island Festivals and have even spoken with praise to his face. That is not in question here. He is a concert artist himself so is aware of all the things that are related  to a concert tour and must know that arrangements have to be made with all sorts of details to insure a successful concert tour. Anyway I thought long and hard about talking about this on this International pulpit but those of you who know me know that I deal with the truth. I still suffer immensely from this incident. It is the reason why I have drastically curtailed my attendance at my usual friends concerts. I have not felt like blogging at all even when I did promise some friends coverage of their concerts. I have spent my whole life here on the Classical/Jazz Guitar scene and FOLK scene in Greenwich Village.I have even held up my renewal to GFA as a form of protest. I am friends with so many great artists around the world that this post may make them a little surprised that I had to expose this incident in this way. HARRIS BECKER and GERRY SAULTER are guilty of injuring one of the great lovers of our craft here on planet earth - ME DON WITTER JR. - and I at 63 soon to be 64 will not let this be ignored. You two have hurt me deeply with your actions on December 2nd 2012. I have suffered long bouts of depression because of you two. I earned that spot and my playing at the audition was flawless. LUIZ BONFA HIMSELF told me in the 70's when I played his compositions for him.I am a part of the fabric of New York City as I introduce people to the world of the Classical and Jazz Solo Guitar at least 5 days a week. That is how much I love this craft . You can't ignore my presence here. I am on the scene for the duration of my life and thanks to my posting this, I can begin to recover from my deep,deep hurt. I hope I can find it in my heart to forgive especially you HARRIS BECKER for the pain you have caused me over these almost two years.

NJCU CONCERTS COMING UP- DR. ANA MARIA ROSADO

I am proud to announce a great series of concerts to be held at the NEW JERSEY CITY UNIVERSITY over the next couple of months. The head of the Guitar Department is Doctor Ana Maria Rosado, an exceptionally gifted Classical Guitar Virtuoso and teacher who I have known since she came from Puerto Rico over 30 years ago! My wife and I were at her 1st Concert in the United States held right here in Brooklyn at the Prospect Park Boat House. More about her in another post. Here are the upcoming concerts:

Sunday  February 9th      3pm BERTA ROJAS
Sunday  February 23rd   3pm  DUO ALTURAS
Wed      February 26th   1pm  FRANCISCO ROLDAN
Sunday  April       27th   3pm  DR. ANA MARIA ROSADO with the NJCU orchestra plays the Concerto                                                 de ARANJUEZ

The Guitar program headed by my dear friend Dr. Ana Maria Rosado is a very strong one. Francisco Roldan is an exceptionally gifted artist whom I appeared on a concert series sponsored by The American Institute of the Guitar in the 80's and I recently attended a beautifully performed solo recital by this great artist ( Review by me upcoming  ). Also recently acquired to the teaching staff is one of the truly young tigers of the Guitar Scene : JOAO LUIZ, one half of the phenomenal Brazil Guitar Duo ( Douglas Lora ). I also recently heard JOAO in a duo concert which I will be reviewing also! JOAO LUIZ is also a gifted composer and arranger!

New  Jersey City University is easy to get to by public transportation as a bus from port authority gets you there right at the gates of the campus. I have been to several events on campus over the last 10 or so years and they have all been outstanding and so should these be. For more on the concert series : AMRGuitar@nyc.rr.com

New Jersey City University       2039 John F Kennedy Blvd.W. Jersey      www.njcu.edu