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Paul Pines
Born(1941-05-23)May 23, 1941
Brooklyn, New York, United States
DiedJune 28, 2018(2018-06-28) (aged 77)
Glens Falls, NY
Occupation
  • Poet
  • writer
  • psychotherapist
  • jazz festival artistic director
LanguageEnglish, Spanish
EducationBard College (BA)
University at Albany (MSW)
Notable awardsFounder Paul Pines' The Tin Palace night club was commemorated with a placard by the Bowery Alliance of Neighbor's Windows on the Bowery exhibition, 2016; honored by the Lost Jazz Shrines series at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center for The Tin Palace; two-time Pushcart Prize nominee; numerous Adirondack Literary Awards
SpouseCarol Pines
ChildrenCharlotte Pines
Website
paulpines.com

Paul Pines was a poet, writer and psychotherapist. Also known for founding and programming Jazz at the Lake: the Lake George Jazz Weekend, Pines started the acclaimed The Tin Palace jazz nightclub[1] on New York's Bowery in the East Village.

Early life

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Paul Pines was born in Brooklyn, New York. His father, Dr. Bernard Pines, immigrated from Stanislau, Poland at the age of 12. His mother, Charlotte Rachlin, of Russian Jewish descent, worked her way through law school playing gigs with her all-woman trio. Pines grew up near Ebbet's Field and passed the early 1960s on the Lower East Side of New York.

Career

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After graduating from Bard College, he shipped out as a Merchant Seaman, spending August 1965 to February 1966 in Vietnam. An aspiring writer and poet as well as a jazz fan, Pines traveled to San Francisco to meet the Beats, then returned to New York to take up residence in the East Village.

In 1973 he opened the Tin Palace, a jazz club on the corner of 2nd Street and Bowery, which provided the setting for his novel, The Tin Angel (W. Morrow, 1983) and many of his subsequent poetry collections which capture the diverse culture and music scene of the Lower East Side of that time. Pines' travels in Mexico and Central America in the 1980s shaped his second novel, Redemption (Editions du Rocher, 1997), set against the Guatemalan Mayan genocide. His memoir, My Brother's Madness (Curbstone Press, 2007),[2][3] explores the unfolding of his relationship with his late brother, Claude, and the nature of delusion.

Paul Pines received an MSW from University at Albany, SUNY and taught literature and creative writing at SUNY Adirondack until 2007. Since that time he remains a Jungian oriented psychotherapist.

He founded, programs and hosts Jazz at the Lake: Lake George Jazz Weekend, considered "One of the best-kept secrets on the Eastern jazz festival circuit, the Lake George Jazz Festival is a gem worth discovering."[4]

Poetry

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Pines has published thirteen poetry collections including Onion (Mulch, 1971), Hotel Madden Poems (Contact II, 1991), Pines Songs (IKON chapbook), Last Call at the Tin Palace (Marsh Hawk, 2009), Fishing on the Pole Star (Dos Madres Press, 2014), Divine Madness,[5] (The Notre Dame Review]) (Marsh Hawk Press 21012) and Charlotte Songs, (Marsh Hawk, 2015).

Jazz

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In 1973, on the Bowery in New York's East Village, "poet Paul Pines opened another crucial jazz club at 310, a haven for loft musicians called the Tin Palace night club,"[6] in a former speakeasy at 325 Bowery. Just up the block from Hilly Kristal's C.B.G.B., "jazz made a heady brew,"[7] giving much needed exposure to avant-garde jazz artists and poets. Pines booked the acts, presenting jazz from the classics and standards to cutting edge avant-garde,[8][9] spoken word and Afro-Brazilian artists. Sunday afternoons became known as "prime time for jazz listening."[10] The Tin Palace offered a step up from the small jazz loft scene. "Under the cloak of loft jazz some excellent young musicians and new jazz in general received a great deal of badly needed attention. But the musicians were always quick to point out that they did not play something called loft jazz, they played jazz and, since most night clubs and concert halls then were not receptive to their music, they played in lofts."[11]

Pines has been called the "poet of jazz."[12] The club was an inspiration for Pines' poetry, a novel, The Tin Angel and an opera with composer Daniel Asia. The Tin Palace was commemorated[13] with a placard by the Bowery Alliance of Neighbor's "Windows on the Bowery" exhibition in July 2016, marking 400 years of history on the Bowery.

Jazz at the Lake: Lake George Jazz Weekend, was founded by Pines, the artistic director and host, in 1984. Presented by The Lake George Arts Project, this free festival weekend of contemporary jazz features nationally acclaimed performers in upstate New York every September at Lake George Village's Shepard Park. "Credit Brooklyn-born jazz impresario Paul Pines—curator for all 33 of those festivals—with maintaining a consistently high level of artistry throughout those years. Former proprietor of Tin Palace, the renowned East Village jazz club he ran from 1970 to 1976, Pines is deeply invested in the music and is blessed with good ears and an open mind."[14]

Prose and essays

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Based on his night club The Tin Angel (Wm. Morrow, 1983; Berkeley Books, 1995)[15] was published in the US and UK, in France as the L'Ange du Jazz[16] (Editions de Rocher) and in Germany as Der Blechengel[17] (Ullstein Krimi). Redemption was translated by Paul Couturiau & Emmanuel Scavee and published in France (Editions du Rocher, 1997). My Brother's Madness is Pines' memoir of his brother's psychotic breakdown (Curbstone Press, Northwestern University Press, 2007).

His essays have appeared in journals such as The Notre Dame Review,[18] Golden Handcuffs Review,[19] Numero Cinq,[20] American Book Review, and Exquisite Corpse; and anthologized in The Future of (High) Culture in America,[21] (Cambridge Scholars, 2015)], The Body of This Life: Reading William Bronk (Talisman, 2001) and Why We're Here, (Colgate University Press, 2010).

Other work

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Editor of Dark Times Full of Light,[22] the Juan Gelman tribute issue of The Cafe Review (summer, 2009), and Dark Times Full of Light, The Selected Poetry of Juan Gelman by Open Letters Press; he has also worked as a translator including contributions to Small Hours of the Night, Selected Poems of Roque Dalton (Curbstone, 1996);[23] Pyramids of Glass, (Corona 95); Nicanor Parra, and Antipoems: New and Selected, (New Directions,1986). His poetry has been set by composer Daniel Asia on five CD's, Songs From The Page of Swords, Pines Songs I & II, Breath In A Ram's Horn and, Purer Than Purest Pure (BBC Singers) on the Summit label. Asia's 5th Symphony, premiered by the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, 2008, and recorded by the Pilsen Symphony Orchestra as Of Songs & Psalms, 2011, features poems by Pines and Israeli poet Yehuda Amichai. Asia also scored Pines' libretto for the Tin Angel Opera.

Pines has conducted workshops for the National Writers Voice program; lectured on writing and culture,[24][25] and his lectures have been anthologized.[26] He has been a fellow at the MacDowell Colony, Ossabaw Foundation, and Virginia Center, as well as a recipient of an Artists' Fellowship, N.Y.S. Foundation for the Arts, 1984 and a CAPS Fellow, Poetry, 1976.

Awards and honors

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The Tin Palace, which Pines founded and operated, was commemorated with a placard by the Bowery Alliance of Neighbor's Windows on the Bowery,[27] in July 2016 to celebrate 400 years of Bowery history to mark its listing on the National Register of Historic Places. The annual Lost Jazz Shrines series at the BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center[28] honored the "Tin Palace, bringing yet another legendary NYC venue temporarily back into the consciousness of the jazz world with a thorough remembrance and examination." in 2007.[29]

Pines is a two time Pushcart Prize nominee for Pines Songs in 1993 and Hotel Madden Poems in 1991. He is the recipient of the Adirondack Center for Writing Award for Fishing on the Pole Star, Best Book of Poetry in 2014;[30] New Orleans Variations & Paris Ouroboros, Best Book of Poetry in 2013;[31] Reflections in a Smoking Mirror, Best Book of Poetry in 2012;[32] My Brother's Madness, Best Memoir 2007 and the Best Poetry Book of an Artists' Fellowship, New York State Foundation for the Arts, 1984. Last Call at the Tin Palace was cited by Bob Holman in "Poetry Picks — The Best Books of 2009." He was also honored by the Friends of the Albany Public Library,[33] November 2014

References

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  1. ^ Hall, Anthony F. (July 15, 2016). "Lake George Jazz Weekend Founder's New York City Club is Honored". The Lake George Mirror.
  2. ^ Geller, Jeffrey L., ed. (August 2010). "All Points of View: Personal Accounts, 2007–2009". Psychiatric Services. 61 (8): 847–850. doi:10.1176/ps.2010.61.8.847.
  3. ^ "Nonfiction Book Review: My Brother's Madness: A Memoir". Publishers Weekly. July 23, 2007. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
  4. ^ Milkowski, Bill (September 26, 2016). "Lake George Jazz Fest Celebrates Women of Jazz in Idyllic Locale". Downbeat Magazine. Archived from the original on 2 October 2016. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
  5. ^ Muratori, Fred. "The Universe in a Hologram" (PDF). Notre Dame Review. Winter/Spring 2016 (41). Retrieved 19 May 2016.
  6. ^ Christgau, Robert (February 22, 2005). "Noise on Music Central". Village Voice. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
  7. ^ Palmer, Robert (April 15, 1977). "A New Life for the Bowery". New York Times. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
  8. ^ Palmer, Robert (July 20, 1976). "CHICAGO JAZZMEN A HIT IN NEW YORK; Abrams, Pianist, Joins His Proteges at Tin Palace". The New York Times. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  9. ^ Palmer, Robert (January 16, 1977). "Revolutionary Ensemble at a Club". New York Times. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  10. ^ Palmer, Robert (November 1, 1976). "Jazzmania and Tin Palace Offer Avant-Garde Chicago Ensembles". The New York Times. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  11. ^ Palmer, Robert (January 26, 1979). "Loft Jazz Shifts to a Different Scene". The New York Times. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  12. ^ Miller, James H. (September 15, 2011). "Poet of Jazz: Paul Pines". Lake George Mirror Magazine. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
  13. ^ S.D., TRAV (July 6, 2016). "Placards ballyhoo Bowery as birthplace, nexus". The Villager. NYC Community Media. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
  14. ^ Milkowski, Bill (26 September 2016). "Lake George Jazz Fest Celebrates Women of Jazz in Idyllic Locale". Downbeat Magazine. Archived from the original on 2 October 2016. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  15. ^ "NEW & NOTEWORTHY". The New York Times. 26 May 1985. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
  16. ^ Garcia, Bob. "TSF : Bob Garcia» Travelogue Entry » L'ange du jazz, de Paul Pines". www.tsfjazz.com. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
  17. ^ "Der Blechengel. Übers. von Jürgen Behrens, Ullstein... - 9783548103433 - Buch". diebuchsuche.de. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
  18. ^ Pines, Paul. "What The Shadow Knows" (PDF). Notre Dame Review. Winter/Spring 2016 (Passages, Issue 41). Retrieved 19 May 2016.
  19. ^ "The Death of Posterity, Reflections in a Nutshell". Paul Pines. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
  20. ^ Pines, Paul (February 2, 2016). "Constellating The Net: A Quantum Fairytale—Paul Pines". Numéro Cinq. VII (2). Retrieved 19 May 2016.
  21. ^ "Cambridge Scholars Publishing. The Future of (High) Culture in America". www.cambridgescholars.com. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
  22. ^ "Tribute to Juan Gelman". www.thecafereview.com (Summer 2009). July 14, 2009. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
  23. ^ "Fiction Book Review: Small Hours of the Night: Selected Poems of Roque Dalton by Roque Dalton". PublishersWeekly.com. September 2, 1996. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
  24. ^ "U Arizona Center for American Culture and Ideas to Hold First Arts and Culture Conference | National Association of Scholars". www.nas.org. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
  25. ^ "Paul Pines to Give Lecture on Aztec and Mayan Cultures". Fulton-Montgomery Community College. 20 November 2012. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
  26. ^ "Cambridge Scholars Publishing. The Future of (High) Culture in America". www.cambridgescholars.com. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
  27. ^ S.D., Trav (2016-07-07). "Placards ballyhoo Bowery as birthplace, nexus". The Villager. NYC Community Media LLC. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
  28. ^ "Tribeca Performing Arts Center". tribecapac.org. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  29. ^ "Jazz news: The Tribeca Performing Arts Center's Lost Jazz Shrines Celebrates Tin Palace". All About Jazz. May 5, 2007. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
  30. ^ Editorial Staff (2 June 2015). "Best Adirondack Books of 2014 Honored -". The Adirondack Almanack. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
  31. ^ Editorial Staff (8 June 2014). "Best Adirondack Books of 2013 Honored -". The Adirondack Almanack. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
  32. ^ Editorial Staff (12 June 2012). "Adirondack Literary Award Winners Announced -". The Adirondack Almanack. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
  33. ^ "Writer Paul Pines at Albany Public Library, November 8". Information Without The Bun. 5 October 2014. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
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