We all know very well the aphorisms There’s No Free Lunch and You Get What You Pay For. The real subtext is, of course, that better always costs more and that anything of value at least costs something. Which is not always true. I shop at B&H Photo, e.g., where one gets the best pricing, good service, a knowledgeable staff, and a great return policy.
Of course, there is also the popular adage The Best Things in Life are Free. Much of this comes down to one’s definition of value, better, best, things, payment, and even free, but I digress…

Some of the real secrets of a city are the things that are free, for two reasons: 1) Since people believe that the best costs more and the worthwhile costs something, the free is often dismissed or overlooked. 2) There’s no money in marketing, promoting, or brokering the free. So free, quality activities can slip in under the radar.
Like concerts at music conservatories in NYC.
We have some of the best music schools in the world here in Manhattan, such as Juilliard School, Manhattan School, and Mannes School, and they all offer free concerts – hundreds of them per year in nice theaters and recital rooms. And although they are performed by those who are “only students,” these are TOP students, and many will soon be performing at a theater near you for money.

The photo is of the Manhattan School of Music, founded in 1917, at 122nd St and Claremont Avenue, on the very Upper West Side in Morningside Heights near Columbia University.
If you want a taste of the inner workings of conservatory life, I would suggest you attend a Master Class. These are free and are also scheduled. In a master class, a student works on a piece of music with an instructor (frequently a well-known performer) in front of an audience of peers. Often, the public is allowed. Their playing is critiqued, suggestions and demonstrations are made, and the piece is replayed by the student. I once saw Yo-Yo Ma give a master class in Cello (wonderful) and Josef Gingold give one in violin. Gingold was considered one of the greatest violin teachers in history – it was an honor and amazing to see him work with a student. It was quite a free lunch.

I grew up listening to country music, something that as an young adult was a source of embarrassment and not a fact that I relished talking about. There was been a thread of music snobbery regarding country music, frequently characterized as hillbilly music and the songs stereotyped as simplistic tales of misery, sadness, loss, alcoholism, and infidelity.

Now we have a country renaissance, and it is being embraced by academics and music aficionados of all types. And, like all things American, it is being marketed, packaged, branded, and oversold. Of course, sex sells here too, and good looks are becoming a large component of the current wave, with performers like Faith Hill, Shania Twain, Tim McGraw, Cowboy Junkies, and the Dixie Chicks.

Fortunately, there is a good side to all this. When things get overblown, some fans start digging into the stable of musicians of the past, leading to a resurgence of interest in many of the seminal artists of the genre. This brings us to Hank Williams, my favorite country musician, who is being hailed as an American icon and one of the most influential songwriters of the twentieth century. PBS ran a documentary on Hank as part of their American Masters series. His premature death at age 29 has contributed to his mythic status. Who would have imagined that in 2008 we would have a celebration of Hank’s music at a major concert hall in New York City?

If you can leave any biases or preconceived ideas aside, I think you may find, like many others, that the music of Hank Williams can be quite soulful, with beautiful melodies and powerful lyrics. I leave you with the lyrics of my favorite song of his, I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry, generally considered his number one hit, which has been called the perfect country song. It certainly is one of the saddest:

Hear that lonesome whippoorwill
He sounds too blue to fly.
The midnight train is whining low
I’m so lonesome I could cry.

I’ve never seen a night so long
When time goes crawling by.
The moon just went behind a cloud
To hide its face and cry.

Did you ever see a robin weep
When leaves begin to die.
That means he’s lost the will to live
I’m so lonesome I could cry.

The silence of a falling star
Lights up a purple sky.
And as I wonder where you are
I’m so lonesome I could cry.

About the photo: This concert, held at the Merkin Concert Hall at Kaufman Center, was the first in a series of four (as part of the 2008 New York Guitar Festival) entitled Blue Country Heart. Concert number one featured the music of Hank Williams. A number of guitar heavyweights were on hand, including GE Smith (former Saturday Night Live bandleader), Jorma Kaukonen (founding member of Jefferson Airplane), Chocolate Genius (Marc Anthony Thompson), Toby Walker, and Larry Campbell, with the evening hosted by public radio’s John Schaefer.

I do like country and bluegrass music. The longer I live in New York City, the more I look for the occasional respite from the intensity of living here. The energy and and saturation of all the diverse things the city has to offer is the reason most of us live here. Getting away for weekends, day trips, or vacations certainly provides a needed break, but full immersion in a musical experience like a bluegrass or country concert can transport one to a simpler time and provide a virtual trip to the American countryside. Although country and bluegrass have lived with a stigma of being for the musically unsophisticated, an open-minded, closer examination of masters such as Hank Williams or Flat and Scruggs will show this viewpoint to be unfounded. And fans do find the basic themes and lyrics still relevant.

Bluegrass, however, has never really caught on as mainstream music, but for the seeker, it can still be found. It may come as a surprise that there is a country and bluegrass fan base and performance venues in NYC. In Manhattan, Sheriff Bob (Saidenberg) has been running a Wednesday night bluegrass jam at the Baggot Inn on 3rd Street (free – no cover or minimum) (update: This venue has since closed.). Last night was the annual Sheriff Session – a whole night of Bluegrass and country with a lineup of 4 bands: Vincent Cross & Good Company, Cheatin Hearts (the Sheriff’s new group), Blue Harvest, and Citigrass, with Master of Ceremonies Lindy Loo. There is a high level of musicianship and technical skill in contemporary bluegrass, which was quite evident in last night’s performance. With that badge and leather vest proclaiming “Sheriff of Good Times,” we know the Sheriff means business…