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| Michael Dorf Celebrate 20th Anniversary Of The ’ Old Knit’ March 1, 2007 Michael Dorf, the founder of the Knitting Factory will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the "Old Knit" at Town Hall, NYC. Concert will feature world class musicians: Laurie Anderson, John Zorn, Medeski, Martin & Wood, Joe Lovano, Marc Ribot, Don Byron, Lou Reed and others. With the recent closure of two seminal Downtown clubs--CBGB's and The Bottom Line--the Knitting Factory's survival to reach a 20-year milestone is cause for celebration. Michael Dorf founded the venue on Houston Street, almost equidistant between CBGB and The Bottom Line, in late February 1987. The club quickly emerged as a home for the sounds that did not neatly fit into the categories of jazz or rock, becoming the downtown home for the burgeoning improvisational jazz community, as well as, the preferred venue for the growing alternative rock scene. This eclectic programming combined with Mr. Dorf's ambitious marketing and entrepreneurial skills quickly established the "Knit" brand as one of the important venues in New York, in addition to gaining status as an international symbol of the "downtown" scene. Artists as diverse as Sonic Youth, Cassandra Wilson, Yo La Tengo, Cecil Taylor, and Bill Frisell could be found on the stage in a single week. From 1987 to 1994 the venue lived at 47 E. Houston Street, before the neighborhood became known as "NoLiTa". The New York Times said of Michael Dorf in 1987, "The Knitting Factory has almost singlehandedly revised New York's downtown arts scene in its first six months of operation. Presenting Jazz and improvised music, along with films, poetry, performance art and dance, it's putting on affordable, genre-crossing double bills every night of the week. " Rolling Stone Magazine said of club in 1991, "It's rare for a club to act as a magnet for talent, drawing a new scene around itself. But in New York City, where the Knitting Factory has become synonymous with new music, that's precisely what's happening." From the inception through 1996, Michael Dorf was the sole owner of the Knitting Factory, moving the club to Tribeca and building the recording business festival business. He created KnitMedia, during the dot-com economy, as the umbrella company to the Knitting Factory club in NY and soon to open state-of-the-art club in Los Angeles. By 1999, as the Chairman and CEO, Mr. Dorf grew to over 100 employees and worked with Apple Computer, Intel Computer, Bell Atlantic, and MCI among others, on a number of ground breaking developments helping usher in a wave of music and internet ventures. In 1999, Inc. Magazine named KnitMedia, one of the top 500 fastest growing businesses in America. New York Magazine, named Michael Dorf one of the ten most important New Yorkers that year. Michael Dorf, as one of the premier promoter/producers in city, became very involved in a number of philanthropic activities as well as presenting shows and festivals. Through Michael Dorf Presents, he produces fundraiser concerts at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. The two most recent being the sold-out Tribute to Joni Mitchell at Carnegie Hall and Bob Dylan at Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center which have generated more than a quarter-million dollars for the Music For Youth Foundation. An upcoming benefit tribute to Bruce Springsteen scheduled for April, 2007 at Carnegie Hall. He will be producing in 2007 the 4th annual Oyhoo Festival with over 60 groups celebrating Jewish Culture. In 2004, he founded Tribeca Hebrew, an after school Hebrew School which has grown to over 130 students. In addition, he serves on a number on non-profit boards and is very active in the Lower Manhattan community. He currently lives in Tribeca with his wife and three kids. The Stone is a non-profit performance space in the Lower East Side founded by John Zorn to support the avant-garde musical community. 100% of the box office goes to the performing musician and each month is curated by a different artist. There is no sale of food or drink or merchandise to distract the audience. All operating costs are covered by support generated by income from benefits and the sale of annual benefit CDs. This event is not supported or sponsored or affiliated with the current Knitting Factory and/or the Knitting Factory Management in any way except for the association with the Founder. write your comments about the article :: © 2007 Jazz News :: home page |