The Music Man's "Coachella Valley Live Music Hall Of Fame"

Desert Dreams

It's May and as I got ready to make the trip back to New Jersey, I began thinking about all the great musicians I enjoyed this winter in the desert.  I thought the Music Man Blog should have a "Cochella Valley Live Music Hall Of Fame". Here is the class of 2011", "listed in no particular order" to enter the Hall. I know there are a lot of other musicians I missed but I started with the marvelous performers that I have seen. If you have other personal favorites, please let me know so I can make sure to hear them next winter.

                                                                  The Class of 2011


   Trumpet: Steve Madaio
                
   Bass: Bill Saitta, Jeff Stover, Brian Nova
              
   Male Singers-First Chair: Jack Jones, Mike Costley, Frank DiSalvo,
Johnny Meza, Frankie Randall, Pat Rizzo, Derrik Lewis, Christopher Gore, Slim Man, Larry Capeloto
                
   Male Singers-Second Chair: Erich Stratmann, Ken Steele, Tom McMorris, Marc Koltun, Denny Seidenfeld, Jim Salestrom
              
   Piano/keyboard: Marty Steele, Yarak Urant, Frankie Randall, Johnny Meza, Gino Antonacci, Derrik Lewis
              
   Sax: Pat Rizzo, Mindi Abair, Euge Groove, George Young, Al Diaz, Ron Coco, Reggie Alexander, Mikole Kaar, Gary Bias, Steve Alaniz, Ted Herman
              
   Female Singers-First Chair: Ann Hampton Callaway, Liz Callaway, Lola Rossi, Beverly Jensen, Laura Hagen, Poupee Boccaccio, Carolyn Martinez,  Kristi King, Lee Hartley
    
   Female Singers-Second Chair: Missoni Lanza, Jeanie Stanhope, Carole Hampton, Anita Gardner
            
   Drums: Andy Fraga, Steve Neilen, Jay Lewis, Julio Cesare, Jack Pina, Sal Frisura

   Flute: Tom Kennlyside, Pat Rizzo, Al Lopex, Steve Alaniz
            
   Trombone: John Leys
              
   Guitar: Brian Nova, Dan Papaila, Jeff Golub, Frank DiSalvo, John Pagels
            
   Vibs: Gino Antonacci

   Bandleaders: Ted Herman, Guy Lake
            

                            The Great Restaurants Supporting Live Music

       Arnold Palmers, Desert Sage, The Sandbar, Backstreet Bistro, Cafe des Beaux-Arts,  Le Paon, Cafe' Italia,  Indian Wells Resort Hotel, The Nest, Vicky's of Santa Fe, Tormes', Trinidads, Blue Ember, IW Club, Tropicale, Escena Lounge & Grill,  Miramonte Resort & Spa

                                      Businesses Supporting Live Music


      Pete Carlson's Golf & Tennis

Smokey Robinson's "Timeless Love" CD

I have been a Smokey Robinson fan for years especially when he was pouring out all his Motown hits. But today I want to talk about a CD that Smokey released on June 20, 2006 that I think didn't get enough attention in the music world. The CD is "Timeless Love" and it contains some great songs from the "Great American Songbook". The recent efforts of superstars to recording "Standards" like the ones from Rod Stewart and Barry Manilow, while great commercial successes,  don't do much for me musically. On the other hand,  I do credit these great artists for providing exposure to some great songs to their fans.  Smokey Robinson's "Timeless Love" is different because rather than singing these "Evergreens" in the style of Sinatra or Bennett,  in this CD Smokey interprets each song to perfectly fit his own unique style and voice. When Smokey creates an arrangement, the listener has no doubt that the unique sound he will hear is Smokey Robinson and not an imitation of another popular singer.  The voice and the arrangements are totally Smokey Robinson. Each time you hear the songs on this CD you will increase your appreciation for his talent.  That's what I experience and it's been one of my favorite CDs for the past couple of years.  Some of my personal favorites are:
            1. "Our Love Is Here To Stay" written by George & Ira Gershwin
            2. "I've Got You Under My Skin" written by Cole Porter
I think he interprets these great chestnuts beautifully.  I also liked:
            3. "You Go To My Head" written by John F. Coots
            4. "Our Love Is Here To Stay" written by George & Ira Gershwin
            5. "Time After Time" written by Jule Styne
            6. "I'm In The Mood For Love" written by Jimmy McHugh
If you want to hear some of these songs before you buy, click on the iTunes link on the top right of my blog. You can hear a little of all 13 songs on this great CD.  If any reader already has the CD or has heard it or are just purchasing it, I would love to get your comments.

Brian Wilson Does Gershwin

I just finished listening to the new Brian Wilson CD, "Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin".  Let me cut to the quick, if you like the Brian Wilson sound, you will like this CD.  If you like Gershwin you will like this CD. If you like the Brian Wilson sound and Gershwin songs, you will love this CD.  It turns out that the only Gershwin song that Brian knew before he made this CD was "Rhapsody in Blue" because he said his family played the record all the time at home and the melody really got into his head and has never left.  I find it hard to believe that in all the years Brian has been a major player in the music industry, he never got to know any other Gershwin songs. But that's exactly what he said when he was interviewed on XM radio's Nancy Sinatra show last week. This fact makes Brian's approach to many of these Gershwin gems very interesting.  He sang each song with an open mind and without any restraints caused by hearing the many classic recordings.  One other comment from Brian was that he was musically influenced at an early age by the music of the Four Freshmen. I had never heard this before and in thinking back about the "Beach Boys" sound, you can pick up some of the voice harmonies that the Four Freshman made famous.  Personally I really liked the CD.  I enjoyed the "Pop" approach to these "Super Star Songs" from the "Great American Songbook".   In particular, I really liked Brian's arrangement of the Gershwin song "The Like in I Love You".  I was not familiar with this Gershwin song but loved the melody and lyric. There are also four songs that sounded very much like the "Beach Boys": "They Can't Take That Away From Me", "I Got Rhythm", I've Got A Crush On You and "Nothing But Love". I loved them all.  And last but not least, there were five songs that Brian did as a solo that showed me a new side of his great talent.  His approach and sound was just great on: "I Loves you Porgy", "Love Is Here To Stay", "It Ain't Necessarily So", "S'Wonderful" and "Summertime".  At times Brian sounded the way I think "Sting" would sound singing these songs.  I hope this CD is very successful for Brian and encourages him to do another CD from songs listed on my "Top 20 Greatest Songs Ever Written in the Great American Songbook". I would be honored to work on the development of the playlist with Brian. Brian, have your people call my people!
Get the CD, you won't be disappointed!

Rdio VS iTunes, Will It Just Be No Contest?

I have never subscribed to a monthly online music service because I am a big fan of iTunes.  However I wanted to alert you that there is a new monthly online music service, Rdio, that wants you to pay a monthly fee of $9.99 to access their music catalogue.  I read about this new music service in an article that was written by Allen Hoffman in the business section of THE STAR LEDGER on August 13, 2010.  According to the article, Rdio believes that it can succeed because of the ease of using their catalogue that contains over 7 million songs from major labels. It appears that Rdio is a mix of a music site and a social site.  Rdio allows you to create your own playlists just like iTunes but also will encourage  interaction and sharing of playlists with other Rdio subscribers.  An interesting concept, but at this point I can't see this business taking off.   If the music public continues to turn away from stealing music from online sites, then this would help Rdio get subscribers.  The major problem I would have with Rdio is that they will be controlling all of your favorites and play lists that we have spend many hours collecting and developing.  If you had this subscription for a couple of years and then decided to drop it, you would lose access to all your musical creations. But this is just my feeling, the younger generation does not seem to put a value on owning their favorite songs as long as they have access to them.  I also have to admit that I never thought I would enjoy sharing comments about music on a public blog with unknown people, but here I am.  So I will watch the progress of Rdio with an open mind and wish them the best. If any readers have any comments about this topic, please share them with me.    

Summertime and Live Music, Perfect Together

 

One of the many great pleasures of summer is  we all get to   hear great "live" music.  Most performers use the summer to do tours.   Resort areas like the Jersey Shore have local talent performing all week.  It makes for a wonderful time for those that can get away for a week or two.  But no matter where you get to spend some time this summer, I am sure that "live" music is pretty easy to locate.  Some of you might know that I am one of the owners of Epernay Restaurant in Montclair, NJ.  Epernay is a French Bistro that only plays the best music from the "Great American Songbook".  This summer Epernay has started a new Tuesday "Supper Club Series" to enable local young music students an opportunity to perform in a live and intimate public setting.  The series started on Tuesday August 3 spotlighting the singing of Joe Longthorne. Joe resides in Essex Fells and graduated from "Newark Academy" in Livingston.  Joe is currently a junior at "The Boston Conservatory of Music".  If you are in the area, come by for some wonderful French food from our new menu and   support Joe.  Epernay is a BYOB so take a bottle or two of your favorite wine to make your evening even more special.

ANN HAMPTON CALLAWAY DOES IT ALL

As I have mentioned before in these blogs, one of the cool things I like to do is listen to CDs that have been released in the past by artists that I have missed along the way.  One artist that only recently caught my interest is Ann Hampton Callaway.  I can't believe that I had not been exposed to such a creative genius until recently.  This again confirms for me that there is real value in looking back and searching for gems that have been missed.  I first came across a CD Ann released in 2002 entitled, "Signature".  This title was perfect because the tunes Ann recorded in it do represent her signature sound and approach to the lyrics of some great songs. I particularly loved "You Turned The Tables On Me", "Tenderly, "Good Morning Heartache" and "For All We Know" recorded with help from the wonderful voice of Freddy Cole.  The second CD I found, "Slow" was released in 2005 and it is also a winner.  The tracks I liked the most were "Slow", "Never Let Me Go" the Carole King chestnut, "Will You Love Me Tomorrow?"and "You Belong To Me".  Ann's latest release is "At Last" and it's on my "To Do" list to review. I can't end this posting about Ann without commenting about her voice.  Ann's voice is rich, dark, warm and comfortable and has so inspired me that I am going to dedicate my recent oil painting posted at the top of this article to Ann Hampton Callaway.  It will now be entitled my "Ann Hampton Callaway" Still Life.  I believe the painting reflects the richness and warmth of Ann's wonderful voice, looks and personality.  You can catch several of Ann's performances on "YouTube".

By the way, Ann's talented sister, Liz Callaway will be appearing in NJ at NJPAC on November 6, 2010 and it is worth making the effect to get to see her act. 

Smooth Jazz In New York

Hi again, sorry it's been so long since I posted a new blog.  My schedule has been over the top for the last couple of months, and I have been working on a few other projects.

I heard some great live music over the past few months and wanted to share with you my experience on the "Smooth Jazz Cruises 2010". This is a jazz cruise that leaves from Pier 61 at the Chelsea Piers every week.  They have a different artist playing each week, all with the smooth Jazz sound.  We saw Spyro Gyra and they are still playing great sounds.  These cruises are really cool! You can have dinner on board or you can just have a drink and listen to the sounds.  As you might know, our area no longer has a smooth jazz radio station, and I still don't understand why the New York area can't support a smooth jazz station because both the 6:30 and the 9:30 shows were sold out the night we attended.  Being an old sax guy, hearing the Spyro Gyra sounds was a real treat for me.  It was a perfect night to be sailing on the Hudson admiring the skyline of the "Big Apple", sailing really close to the Statue of Liberty and admiring the water views  to die for!  They have cruises scheduled every week through the summer.  My advice is to check it out.  You can google "Smooth Jazz Cruises 2010" to get all the info.

Linda Eder Revisited Again For The First Time!

It's been a while since I put a post up.  I'm back in NJ now but I have had lots on my "To Do" list since I got back from the desert.  Being in the desert this winter gave me time to do some research of a few older CDs that I had missed, and I thought my blog readers might be interested in some of the gems I found. At the top of the list is a CD that was recorded by Linda Eder and released in January of 2008, "Greatest Hits".  If you love great singing and great Broadway standards you must, and I mean must hear this CD.  Linda's interpretations of some outstanding show-stopper Broadway tunes is nothing less than sensational!  In particular, I just can't stop listening to these four songs:

1. I Am What I Am, from La Cage Aux Follies

2. Someone Like You, from Jekyll & Hyde

3. What Kind Of Fool Am I?, from Stop The World

4. Over The Rainbow

Even if you heard these outstanding performances a while ago, they have lost nothing with age.  They are great performances by an outstanding artist.  Linda performs all over the country, and when she gets in your neighborhood, don't miss a chance to see her in person.

Sharon Sills Excites The Regulars At Desert Sage Restaurant

We were at Desert Sage again this past Tuesday to hear more from Johnny Meza, and it was great fun for everyone who was there.  There was a small group of people celebrating the birthday of a women who was a very young 91 years of age.  She was all dressed up and still drinking and dancing the night away. I have to say again, one of the joys of living in the California desert is that no matter where you go, you see people of all ages living their lives to the fullest.  I think it all has to do with the "attitude".   Just because you are getting older doesn't mean you can't continue to have fun and open as many new doors as you desire.  And speaking about opening new doors, one musical door opened for me and a lot of others when a women in the audience named Sharon Sills stepped up to the microphone and sang three or four great songs, including "Over The Rainbow", "Wind Beneath My Wings" and the old time favorite, "Crazy".   It turns out that Sharon Sills has been performing in the Newport Beach area for over 25 years. I am so happy that I got to hear her and hope I get to hear more of her in the future. Sharon is another example of a great talent just not getting the public exposure she deserves.  She should be a major recording star.  She is the total package,  funny, confident, attractive and has a great voice. I understand that Sharon has a new CD called  "At Last" but I was unable to find it on iTunes. If I get any information on it, I will post it.  In the meantime, if you are in the Newport Beach area at VIlla Nova, or the Balboa Bay Club, make an effort to see if Sharon is performing, I can guarantee it will be worth the effort. You can get more information about Sharon from her site: www.ssills.com.  Sharon, the picture above is of one of my favorite roses, it's especially for you!