In collaboration with Hamptons JazzFest, The Church will host a performance by the Brian Charette Quartet, including Joel Frahm and Sheryl Bailey, on Friday at 6 p.m.
A Grammy-nominated organist, Mr. Charette is considered one of the most versatile and inventive Hammond B-3 players of his generation. Fusing a deep knowledge of jazz history with a taste for modern sonic experimentation, his music bridges the classic soul traditions with cutting-edge influences from electronica and funk, according to the Sag Harbor cultural center.
Mr. Charette has performed with such notable artists as Joni Mitchell, Chaka Khan, Paul Simon, Cyndi Lauper, Oz Noy, Vinnie Colaiuta, and John Patitucci. He is also an active author and educator, writing for Keyboard magazine, The New York City Jazz Record, DownBeat, and Electronic Musician.
Mr. Frahm, a tenor saxophonist, has earned a reputation for his improvisation and melodic clarity. As for Ms. Bailey, Frank Forte of Just Jazz Guitar ranks her “among the best bop guitar players with a fresh approach and something new.
Tickets are $30, $25 for members, $15 for ages 8 to 18.
Thomas Deininger, whose sculpture “Pigeon on the Giacometti” is included in the venue’s current exhibition, “The Ark,” will be there for a conversation with Eric Fischl, the show’s curator, on Saturday at 4 p.m.
Mr. Deininger’s piece is made from found objects and non-biodegradable materials — discarded plastics, toys, a duck, a bicycle chainring — that have been assembled in an apparently random configuration. Unless it is seen from a very specific angle, in which case it almost magically becomes a Giacometti “Walking Man” with a pigeon on its head.
Mr. Deininger and Mr. Fischl will discuss the artist’s creative process, his use of found objects, and his art as a response to consumer culture and a call to action toward social-spiritual responsibility.
Tickets are $25, $20 for members.
The Church’s Book Talk series will welcome Elyce Arons, the author of “We Might Just Make It After All: My Best Friendship with Kate Spade,” published in June by Gallery Books, on Sunday afternoon at 3. Ms. Arons will be joined by Simon Doonan, a writer and former creative director for Barneys New York.
Will handbags be up for discussion? Ms. Arons and her best friend, Kate (née Katherine Brosnahan), who met on their first day in college at the University of Kansas, traveled to New York and co-founded Kate Spade, along with Kate’s husband, Andy, and Pamela Bell, in 1993. The company sold only handbags at first, but soon expanded to clothing, jewelry, shoes, and more and became an iconic fashion brand. It was sold to Neiman Marcus Group in 2006.
In 2016, Ms. Arons, and Kate and Andy Spade, launched Frances Valentine, an evolution of their style aesthetic, which Ms. Arons has continued to run since Kate’s death in 2018.
The conversation with Mr. Doonan will chronicle how the two best friends and their line of handbags revolutionized the fashion accessories industry in 1990s New York City.
A question-and-answer session will follow the talk, and books will be available for purchase and signing. Tickets are $15, $10 for members.
Tony Valderrama, an internationally recognized environmental artist and educator, will lead a one-hour workshop devoted to the making of Native American zoomorphic pinch pots next Thursday afternoon at 2.
Participants will be guided through the basic techniques of working with clay by hand to create their own unique pinch pots, personalized in the shapes of their favorite animals. Pinch pots were one of the most basic forms of Native American ceramics.
Mr. Valderrama will also discuss Native American culture, incorporating flute music and artwork inspired by his Taino roots. (The Taino are the Indigenous people of the Greater Antilles and surrounding islands.) His work in various mediums — wood, clay, paint, and recycled materials -— celebrates the human-nature connection and is influenced by his heritage.
Tickets are $25, $20 for members.
