CD Review: "Standards" From Cecily Kate

After listening to "Standards", the first CD from multi-talented Cecily Kate, I still wondered how this could be her first CD.  Why did it take her so long to creat her first CD? Cecily has spent years performing in the trenches and paying her dues. After attending college at Indiana University, she worked with the New York Grand Opera conducted by Vincent La Selva and sang the role of Annina in "La Traviata" in Central Park.  She has also performed as a soloist in a Mozart Festival. She received a rave review in her off Broadway debut as "Belle" in a "G & S Christmas Carol". Cecily's Broadway debut in "A Wonderful Life" starring Brian Stokes Mitchell and Judy Kuhn was a huge success. The show was named one of the top ten best theatre shows of 2005 by Time Magazine. She also currently teaches ballet, tap, musical theatre and voice in New York City and New Jersey, her home state. Cecily's background explains exactly why it has taken so long to produce her first CD. Cecily has dedicated her life to music and never looked for short cuts!

Cecily is a pleasure for all of us who love standards from the "Great American Songbook".  It's great  that we have such a gifted young singer who understands the value that these songs still hold for the current generation. According to Cecily "I began putting this album together in my head over a year ago, while performing cabaret shows for an older generation. Half of the audience would sing along, others would get up and dance, and the rest would simply sit back and smile.  The history behind these classics makes them timeless, and I noticed that they had the ability to transport the audience to wonderful places in their memory."

Thank you Cecily for your voice, your inspiration, your vigor and insights into the world of great American standards!

Cecily has worked hard to place her own unique stamp on each of the standards listed below, molding the songs through years of performing. The results are outstanding giving these "evergreens" new life and making them truly her own. To quote Peter Allen, "Everything Old Is New Again".

The supporting musicians Cecily asked to join her on this CD are all highly talented sidemen.  Brand Ross on Piano, Chris Bonner on Double Bass and Brian Pareschi on Trumpet. Finally, all the songs were produced by Cecily Kate adding to her list of brilliant talents.

Here is a list of the Songs on the "Standards" CD:

1. My Funny Valentine
2. Autumn in New York
3. Stupid Cupid
4. Fever
5. Long Ago and Far Away
6. It's Alright With Me
7. How Are Things In Glocca Morra
8. Where The Boys Are
9. Let's Do It
  

Wynton Marsalis And The Jazz At Lincoln Center Orchestra: Jazzmen Exceptional

Take one part Billy Strayhorn, add one part Duke Ellington, one part Stan Kenton, one part Maynard Ferguson, and one part Arturo Sandoval and what do you get?  "The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra", that's what!  Friday night November 12,  I had the listening pleasure of hearing and seeing Wynton Marsalis and the "Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra" at NJPAC.  This group is comprised
of 15 of the best soloists I have ever heard in one place at any time in my musical life.  With most jazz orchestras of this size, maybe you get to see four or five of the members playing a solo, but not in this orchestra.  Every one of the 15 had their shot at a solo before the one hour and forty-five minute show was over.  The orchestra consisted of five saxes, four trumpets, three Trombones, one bass, drummer and piano player.  The highlight of the evening for me was when the orchestra played the Duke Ellington's arrangement of "The Peanut Vendor".  This song brought me back to the late 50's, a time when I listened to this song over and over again played by the great Stan Kenton band with Maynard Ferguson on trumpet.  Here it is 50 years later and the song, the arrangement and the orchestra never sounded better.  Wynton Marsalis is clearly a musical genius by any measure and one of the good guys of jazz.  His resume is just unbelievable. He began his classical training at the age of 12 and attended the Julliard School at age 17. He made his recording debut in 1982 and has since recorded more than 70 Jazz and Classical albums.  He has won nine Grammy Awards and in 1983 became the first artist to win both a Classical and Jazz Grammy in the same year and he repeated this feat in 1984.  It's clear he is a classic jazz gentleman. He still loves to play and play he did,  preferring to sit with the trumpet section and be one with the band. All and all, a totally enjoyable evening!

Music Man Blog Celebrates it's First Birthday

I wanted to use the first anniversary of the Music Man Blog to review its progress over the past 12 months.  The first posting was  on 9/27/09 and there have been a total of 46 postings to date. It wasn't until May 2, 2010 that I was able to start capturing accurate stats about the number of visits to this blog. So the numbers below are just for the five month period beginning May 2010 and ending September 2010.

Pageviews By Countries
1. United States                  759
2. Russia                               77
3. Canada                              40
4. Brazil                                 32
5. Germany                           27
6. Japan                                23
7. United Kingdom               22
8. Singapore                         22
9. Argentina                          18
10. Ukraine                            17
11. Hong Kong                     15
12. Latvia                                9
13. Malaysia                            5
14. Netherlands                      3
15. United Arab Emirates       2
 
I will admit that there were many times over the last year that I felt that I was writing this blog just for myself. That was not a problem because writing about artists and good music is a lot of fun to me.  But these stats show me that there is an audience out there that love great music and performers as much as I do.  I always knew that the Russian people had a great love for American music especially American Jazz and how great that I attracted a few to my blog!


Highest Month for Pageviews  
I am very excited that last month, September 2010 had the highest month for pageviews at 575.  This means the number of people finding and reading past blogs is growing.  As I said before, these stats have only started to be captured as of May 2010.  The total pageviews from May to September 2010 was 1191 so having 575 pageviews in one month is pretty cool!


National Ranking From Technorati
Technorati is the leading organization that tracks the level of activity for Blogs across the world.  Music Man Blog is ranked number 104,824 out of 1,241,893 blogs they track.  Puts us in the top 10% of all active blogs after one year, not bad!


Original Oil Painting Posted With Blogs
It has given me real pleasure sharing my oil painting with my readers.  To date, I have posted 28 of my painting on this site.  I believe that painting and music fit perfectly together and enhance our enjoyment of both of these arts.

Many thanks to all who have entered the Music Man Blog. I look forward to sharing more music and art with all my readers during the second year of this blog. If you have not yet joined my blog as a "follower", please do, I would love to have you on board.

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.

The "Other" Toni Curtis

 This Toni Curtis is not the movie star most of us remember.  This is the woman named Toni Curtis that shows up at the Desert Sage Restaurant many nights and sings a few songs with Johnny Meza.  Toni loves to sing and even though she has never had any professional instruction, she really does quite well. She sings because she has a love for good melodies and good lyrics and is a great supporter of the "Great American Song Book".   She has a great stage presence and infectious personality.  Keep singing, Toni, "The best is yet to come".
Try to catch her act, she sings whenever she wants to when Johnny Meza is at the keyboard at the Desert Sage Restaurant in LaQuinta.