THE EAST END JAZZ PROGRAM HAS BEEN CANCELLED DUE TO THE WILDFIRES
Trailblazing Doc
“Primary,” a 1960 documentary produced, directed, and written by Robert Drew, follows John F. Kennedy in his race against Hubert Humphrey in Wisconsin’s 1960 presidential primary. Recognized as one of the first cinema verite films, it was shot by Richard Leacock, D.A. Pennebaker, Albert Maysles, and Terence Macartney-Filgate.
“Primary” will be shown Thursday at 6 p.m. at the Southampton Arts Center. It will be introduced by Robert Leacock, a director-cinematographer and the son of Richard Leacock, who, along with Pennebaker and Maysles, went on to distinguished careers as pioneers of direct cinema.
Tickets are $15, $10 for members of the center.
Musical Foundations
“The Heart of America: Songs of Our Roots,” an evening of music presented by East End Jazz to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary, will take place on the grounds of the Southampton History Museum’s Rogers Mansion Thursday evening at 6:30 p.m.
The performance will draw from blues, gospel, hymns, and country music to recreate timeless songs with jazz arrangements. The performers are Iris Ornig, bass and arranger; Tomas Majcherski, tenor saxophone, clarinet, and flute; Alex Frondelli, guitar, and Jon Mele, drums.
Lawn chairs and blankets have been suggested.
Jazz at Duck Creek
The music series at the Arts Center at Duck Creek in Springs will resume next Thursday at 6 p.m. with a performance by the Kayvon Gordon Sextet.
A drummer, Gordon has performed in Europe, Africa, South Asia, the United Arab Emirates, and North America, sharing the stage with such jazz luminaries as Marcus Belgrave, Joe Lovano, Johnny O’Neal, Robert Hurst, Rodney Whitaker, Sullivan Fortner, Ravi Coltrane, and Wynton Marsalis.
Gordon will be joined by Joel Ross on vibraphone, David Leon on saxophone, Elias Stemeseder on piano, Dean Torrey on bass, and Shakoor Hakeem on percussion.
Artists for Haiti
Hamptons Artists for Haiti, the annual benefit for Wings Over Haiti, will be held on Saturday from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at the Bridgehampton Museum’s Tractor Barn, an exhibition and event space.
The fund-raiser will feature a silent auction, organized by Coco Myers of Folioeast, of work by approximately 60 East End artists. The evening will also include a performance by Clinton Benoit, a Haitian recording artist; dance music by D.J. Lama, hors d’oeuvres, and an open bar.
While the silent auction will end at 8 on Saturday, the show will remain on view in the barn from Friday, July 24, through July 26, from 11 to 5. Proceeds from the event will directly benefit the Wings Over Haiti school in Ranquitte, which at present educates 126 children.
Tickets are $225, free for children under 12.
Talk and Reading
Shooster Arts and Literature in Sag Harbor will launch a Talks and Readings series on Saturday at 5 p.m. with Norman Scherer, a collector and educator, and David Fishkind, a writer.
Scherer will discuss his relationship with Jean-Michel Basquiat, whom he worked with in the late 1970s at Unique Clothing Warehouse in the East Village, dressing mannequins and creating window displays. At the time, Basquiat gave Scherer 18 of his hand-drawn postcards, which he used to sell on the streets of Manhattan for $1 apiece. They were later estimated to fetch about $12,000 each.
Fishkind will read from “Don’t Step Into My Office,” a debut novel set in East Hampton, which explores marriage, class, and too much time on one’s hands.
For the Parrish
A Night in the Clouds, the Parrish Art Museum’s 2026 benefit, will take place Saturday with three components: cocktails from 5:30 to 7, dinner from 7 to 9, and an Afterglow party from 9 until 11:59. The philanthropist Ellen Katz will be honored. The artist honorees are Enoc Perez, Joan Semmel, Hiroshi Sugimoto, and, in memoriam, Pat Steir.
Tickets for cocktails are $600; for dinner and entertainment, $2,750 and up, and for the after-party, $350 in advance, $400 on the day of the event and at the door.
Saxophone Ensemble
Shelter Island Friends of Music has invited the Sinta Quartet, a saxophone ensemble, to perform at the island’s Presbyterian Church on Sunday at 6 p.m. The free concert will be followed by a three-day residency featuring additional programs at four venues.
At the church, Sinta will perform works by Antonin Dvorak, Marc Mellits, and others, as well as their own arrangements of traditional music.
The quartet, which has appeared at Carnegie Hall, Walt Disney Hall, and the Beijing Center for the Performing Arts, was the first saxophone ensemble to win the Victor Elmaleh First Prize at the Concert Artists Guild Competition.
The other performances, also free, will happen Monday at 5 p.m. at the Presbyterian Church, Tuesday at 5 at the Rams Head Inn, and twice on Wednesday, at noon at CAST in Southold and at 4 at the Mashomack Preserve.
