Excited to announce ‘Sonnets and The Self’ @ FLY NYC
A POETIC FUSION OF BEBOP AND THE BARD.
Sonnets are for Big Feelings,
Kites let us fly without Ceilings!
FREE FOR ALL AGES!
SATURDAY AUGUST 15th, 2026; 2:15 - 3pm
Pier i, W70th st, Riverside Conservancy
Details: https://riversideparknyc.org/event/fly-nyc/
Starring
Carlotta-B-from-1593 aka Carla Kissane
Music composition & arrangements by Isaac Raz on piano
Ben Wolstein on bass
Isaac LaVigne on drum
Presented by Riverside Conservancy & Shakespearean Cabaret as part of Summer on the Hudson 2026.
Hold on to your Derry-Down, there ain't no lack-a-day here!
Images from ‘Sonnets and The Self’ at the 2026 SPEAK UP! Festival at Riverside Conservancy. Produced by Summer on the Hudson, Riverside Conservancy, Opera on Tap, Shakes Slay Fest and Shakespearean Cabaret. Photos by Robin Michals.
ARTISTS
Isaac raz
Isaac is a graduate of Berklee College Of Music in jazz composition and music synthesis under the tutelage of Herb Pomeroy, where he received the Duke Ellington award.
He holds a Master of Arts in Teaching degree from Lehman College, City University of New York.
Isaac has received further mentoring with the great Barry Harris for over a decade, and as a colleague of Bob Mover, and is co-author of “The Bob Mover Jazz Lexicon” recently released on Sher Music.
Isaac is the orchestrator and arranger for Bob Mover’s upcoming orchestral album.
Isaac has also arranged and produced tracks for Teo Macero’s “Impressions of Miles Davis“ album, and composed the score for the Emmy award-winning television documentary “Pioneer Women“.
His latest orchestration project “Retreat to Beauty“ (Antoine Drye) was just released on Cellar Music, and His string orchestration for Vanessa Williams’s “La Costa” was released under her own record label Mellian Music.
Isaac is the founder and president of Whole Music LLC teaching all over the world, and continues composing, producing and arranging for media.
Isaac LaVigne
Isaac LaVigne is a New York City based drummer and multi-percussionist of great finesse whose versatile, multicultural style influences the soundscape of any genre within the umbrella of jazz.
Frequently seen performing across the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, he often travels internationally to accompany the most up and coming young jazz artists.
Maintaining his status as a scholar, he plays various styles of music including, jazz, funk, hip-hop, Brazilian styles, and Caribbean (Afro-Puerto Rican, Afro-Cuban, and Dominican) styles.
Three-time Downbeat Student music award winner, Isaac LaVigne plays with the intention of masterfully balancing and blending the often contradictory poles of tradition and innovation. Isaac has performed with the likes of Miguel Zenón, Aaron Goldberg, Kenny Banks Jr., and Conrad Herwig.
Ben Wolstein
Ben Wolstein is an upright bassist originally from Bethesda, Maryland, and currently based in New York City.
Ben attended Columbia University and studied the bass with Ron Carter, David Wong, and Buster Williams.
He has played with Samara Joy, Johnny O'Neal, Bertha Hope, and Philip Harper, among many others.
Carla Kissane
Carla Kissane is a creator of Shakespearean Cabaret.
Grantee of a NYSCA Award for Solo Performance for PETTY TYRANT in 2024, Carla was awarded a Mabel Mercer Foundation development grant for 'Sonnets and the Self'.
NYC acting highlights include solo shows ‘Unbecoming’ and 'Whores & Weeping Women’ as well as the title role in Euripides ‘Medea’.
Notable Australian productions include Celeste in Sondheim's ‘Saturday Night’ (Australian Premiere) and six productions with the Australian Shakespeare Company.
Carla was the swing in the Australian premiere of 'Motherhood The Musical' (National Tour).
Carla is also the producing Director of the SPEAK UP! Festival & Shakespeare Slay Fest
You can view her work at shakespeareancabaret.com and https://www.carlakissane.com/.
AEA / SAG-AFTRA
Zach Malian
Providence, Rhode Island native Zach Malian is an emerging drummer on the New York City jazz scene.
A graduate of SUNY Purchase College, where he studied with Kenny Washington, Zach has performed alongside acclaimed artists including Michael Weiss, Pete Malinverni, Richard Cortez, and Samara Joy.
Zach also leads his own group, the Zach Malian Trifecta, and is dedicated to music education, serving as Director of Education for the BackCountry Jazz Organization.