On guitar, a father and son

Music filled the auditorium at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, where Frank and John Ferrara — father and son professional musicians — performed before an enthusiastic crowd on March 5. It was one of what promises to be many Sea Cliff Arts Council offerings for a village much in need of entertainment, after two long years of pandemic-induced solitude.

Frank Ferrara is a Sea Cliff fixture. Although he isn’t a lifelong resident, having moved to the village in 2010, he is known not only for his talent on the guitar, but for his expertise as a teacher of the instrument as well.

At 63, he has had an impressive career. He has performed with the blues band Cadillac Moon, Brazilian artists Vinicius Cantuaria and Bebel Gilberto and the Dan Marshall Band. Sea Cliff residents probably know Ferrara best, if they aren’t taking lessons from him, as the guitarist in the Roger Street Friedman band.

“Frank is one of the greatest artists, teachers and human beings,” said Mark Sobel, who arranges the performances for the Arts Council.

Hosting concerts and poetry readings will help to revive the village, Sobel added. The hope is that people will have dinner in an area restaurant after a performance, and come back during the day to shop. “This will help businesses,” Sobel said. “And we also need to help the artists get back on their feet.”

The Rev. Jesse Lebus, of St. Luke’s, said he was happy to showcase the Ferraras. “Building community is what our church is all about,” Lebus said, “and not an exclusive community.”

The Ferraras played separately and together that evening. In a phone interview, John said that his father is easy to play with, because he wants other musicians to feel comfortable and play their best.

John, 38, lives in Rhode Island, which made it impossible for them to practice together until a few hours before the performance. In the weeks leading up to it, they sent music back and forth electronically and rehearsed on their own.

“Performing together ended up being absolutely wonderful,” Frank said by phone a few days later. It appeared that way for the audience as well. “An audience makes a big difference because it’s a two-way street,” Frank added. “What we feel from the audience affects a performance. We both felt very comfortable.”

The pandemic was a difficult time for musicians, he said, but it also had some unexpected benefits. “It gave me time to appreciate playing and not take it for granted,” Ferrara said. “And many musicians took the time to finish compositions, and I did too.” He added that he treasured performing a month ago at Still Partners, his first gig in Sea Cliff since the pandemic began. “It was very emotional for me and my audience when we started up again recently.”

John Ferrara has visited Sea Cliff many times, and has performed with his father in the village and in Roslyn.

He started playing the bass when he was 13. The family lived in Bayside, Queens, back then, and his father, John said, tried for years to persuade him to play an instrument, without success.

“I always loved music and hearing my dad playing, but I was just doing kid stuff,” John recalled. “I was more interested in art, and used to draw.”

But his father wouldn’t give up, and one day he handed John a bass. “The first time I picked up the bass, I loved it,” John said. “And I learned ‘Hey Joe.’ I loved [Jimi] Hendrix. Dad knew how to rope me in.”

John performed for a live audience for the first time less than a year after he started playing. “My dad got me gigs,” he said. “I didn’t feel like I was quite ready, but he had me playing with heavy-hitting guys who taught me stuff.”

John released his second solo album on March 11, “A Lesson in Impermanence,” which he played in its entirety for the St. Luke’s audience.

One of the techniques he employs on bass is two-handed tapping, which got an enthusiastic reaction from the audience. It’s an opportunity to present the bass as a different instrument, John said, and he uses it to create melodies.

Matthew Schneider said he loved hearing John play. “The musical composition was fantastic,” Schneider said. “The playing was not only incredible but the writing was good, too. He takes the bass and plays it like the harmony of a piano and with the drive of a drum.”

After the performance at St. Luke’s, the Ferraras decided to perform together more often. And they plan to do so in Sea Cliff.