Joe Taino & Blueflames
Arthur's Tavern57 Grove Street, New York 10014
Joe Taino & Blueflames play an afternoon set at Arthur’s Tavern. The listing bills the group by that name, while offering no individual lineup or further detail on the band’s formation. It is a chance to hear a musician whose career has moved from early rock bands at house parties and school dances to a long run on New York and New Jersey blues-club stages.
Taino began his musical career around 1966, at age 11, playing rock. After high school he joined the American Federation of Musicians in Puerto Rico, working clubs and Navy bases around the island. By the late 1970s, the venue says, he was already a seasoned musician sharing stages with artists including Tito Puente, Carlos Santana, Eddie Palmieri, the Fania All-Stars, Peter Frampton, Rick Derringer, Pat Travers, Judas Priest, Johnny Winter, Greg Allman, Etta James and Koko Taylor. His work also took him on repeated tours of Europe, Japan and South America, and he played many of the leading blues clubs in New York and New Jersey. Taino was inducted into the New York Blues Hall of Fame in 2013.
Arthur's Tavern is a basement club in the West Village where jazz, Latin, and blues are played with deep roots and modern energy. The stage is small, the room intimate, and the audience sits close to the musicians, often with a few people standing near the back. Shows start around 5 PM and go late, with some sets extending into the early hours. The club has a history of hosting top-tier performers since 2001, including regular appearances by Yuichi Hirakawa Jazz Group. It's a place where music is the center, and conversation flows naturally between the audience and the performers.