Liz Callaway Shines At NJPAC

Last Saturday, I had the pleasure of seeing and hearing Liz Callaway in person for the first time.  What a voice, what stage presence, what great songs she sang.  I have been a fan of her sister Ann Hampton Callaway for a while, and now I am a fan of both sisters. It never ceases to amaze me how much greater enjoyment there is in experiencing a live performance. Liz's stage credits can only be described as outstanding.  She made her Broadway debut in Sondheim's "Merrily We Roll Along".  She also received a Tony Award nomination for her performance in "Baby" and appeared as "Grizabella" in "Cats" just to name a few of her credits.

Her NJPAC show was entitled "An Evening With Liz Callaway" and her program included many songs from her new CD "Passage of Time".  I loved every song she sang.  I loved her pure voice and most of all I loved her original interpretation of every song she selected.  What a difference it makes when a singer understands the meaning of the lyrics of a song and then has the talent to musically present the meaning to the audience.

Liz was so impressive singing "Memory" from the role she played in "Cats" that I really felt she stunned the audience.  I have never heard it sung better!  She sang a great combination of "Raindrops Keep Falling and Singing In the Rain".  This was followed by "Make Someone Happy" combined with "Something Wonderful" from the "King and I".  This was the first of a series of a Cabaret series at NJPAC.  The next performer in this series is the legendary Marilyn Maye on December 4.  There are tickets still available, and you should make the effort to hear one of the great cabaret singers of our time.

Miles Davis, Simply The Best!

There are a lot of talented trumpet players we know and love but there is only one Miles Davis.
His projection of a song's emotions is raised to a point where the listener can almost touch, as well as, hear the lyrics coming from his trumpet. Miles Davis has always been an exceptional instrumentalist who had the musical sense to bring some of the best players in the US to his recording sessions. The results of these sessions produced some of the best sounds ever recorded. Picking just one favorite from the vast list of superb songs is almost impossible. What makes this effort a little easier for me is that I have always been drawn to the great love songs Miles Davis recorded. These songs reach their top emotional level when listened to with someone you love. The best CD I found that demonstrates this is "Miles Davis Plays For Lovers". Released in 1966 and remastered in 2003. This CD is the best of the best. My favorite song that no instrumentalist has ever done better, even to this day, is the Rodgers & Hart classic,"It Never Entered My Mind". The great piano playing on this song and many of the songs on this CD is done by Red Garland with Philly Joe Jones on drums and Paul Chambers on Bass. I would like to add that Chris Botti has done an excellent job in covering several of the Miles Davis love song classics. I recently heard Chris say that Miles Davis was one of his first musical heroes and the Miles Davis influence can clearly be felt in Chris Botti's recent work. I love the sound of Chris Botti's trumpet but, for me, Miles Davis still remains in a class of his own. One last footnote, there is a trumpet player in the California desert, Rancho Mirage to be exact that has this wonderful ability when playing his trumpet to transfer all the emotion of the music and lyric directly to the listener. I am talking about my friend, Steve Madaio. Steve has the same ability that Miles Davis has when it comes to playing a great love song. I really love two songs Steve does that our from the "20 Greatest Songs Ever Written" list, "Here's That Rainy Day" and "What's New". I have never heard any instrumentalist perform these two great songs with more skill and emotion than Steve Madaio. If you are ever in the Rancho Mirage area, you can find Steve playing at "The Rancho Las Palmas Resort & Spa" in the Blue Ember Restaurant. If you can get there, it will be well worth the trip. Mention either of these two songs to Steve and there is a good chance he will play them for you.

I would love some feedback about your favorite Miles Davis recordings. Also, tell me about any other trumpet players you think have reached a similar level as Miles Davis, Chris Botti and Steve Madaio.

Buddy Guy Live, The blues Guitar Legend Plays on!

This posting on the Music Man Blog was written by  guest writer Timothy Marchio.  Tim has been a reader of this blog from the beginning and his area of interest is R & B especially blues guitar players. Tim will be posting other articles in the future for our new section:
                   THE R & B REVIEW

On Saturday, 10/23 I went to see Buddy Guy in concert at the Patriots Theater at the War Memorial in Trenton, NJ.  I have been a blues fan for a few years and I have heard other current rock/blues players like Clapton and the late, great Stevie Ray Vaughn sing the praises of Buddy and the influence he has had on them and the current crop of blues players.  In fact, Clapton once said in an interview that Buddy Guy was the best guitar player alive!  Well, I have to say now I understand.  Aside from the fact that Mr. Guy is 74 years young, he put on a great show for 90 minutes.  He bridges the gap from Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters to today.  In one section, he did songs from Hammond, Clapton and Hendrix and sounded great in all styles.  He also spoke often to the audience and it seemed like a more intimate show than the size of the venue would seem to allow.   It was really great to see a true legend who just still wants to play.  His voice was off with a bit of a cold (as per him) and he told us that the promoter suggested he cancel.  Buddy's response was "I don't know how to cancel".  Good for me.  He played some standards like Hoochie Coochie Man and some of his own music. I picked up a CD of his several years ago called Sweet Tea which was a fusion of hard rock and blues.  Great sound.  He is still a pretty theatrical player and showed off a bit.  On one song, he walked through the audience with his guitar singing and playing.  It was as if we were all in a huge living room.  If you ever get a chance to see Mr. Guy, don't pass it up. 

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.

Music Man Blog Recongizes Epernay Restaurant's Support of Young Music Students

I want to share with my readers the wonderful experience I had over the last couple of months putting the public spotlight on some great young student singers from the Northern New Jersey area.  I am  involved in a French Restaurant in Montclair called Epernay.  I wanted to find a way to give young students the opportunity to get some experience performing in a small, intimate, public setting. At the same time, give our customers something special and exciting to listen to that would add to their dining experience. So we established the Tuesday night "Epernay Supper Club Series".

It took a long time to find the right students and put together a plan to have the students sing a song every 5 to 10 minutes during the (3 hour) prime dining hours.  The purpose was to spotlight the student singers while the customers enjoyed their dinner.  The experiment has proven to be an outstanding success for all involved. Epernay was very lucky to have two wonderful students star in the opening of the "Epernay Supper Club Series".

Our first student singer was Joe Longthorne who lives in Essex Fells, NJ and is currently a student at "The Boston Conservatory Of Music".  Joe did 4 performances at Epernay and each one got rave reviews from our customers. We hope to have Joe again when he is back home on school vacations.

 

Joe Longthorne

Our second student is a music major Freshman at Montclair State University in Montclair, NJ.  His name is Michael Robinson and it was thrilling to listen to this young man sing not only songs from the Great American Songbook but also do several great Broadway show songs.  Michael performed for 4 Tuesdays and did an outstanding job.  We intend to bring Michael back whenever his busy school schedule allows.

Michael Robinson

The management at Epernay is fully committed to providing an opportunity for young music students to get experience performing before a real live audience and are planning to continue our Supper Club Series in the future.  It is exciting to find talented young people who have learned to love and sing songs from the "Great American Songbook".  

I know all my readers love to listen to all kinds of music as I do.  We listen to great sounds on our ipods, our radios and our CDs.  But as good as these sources are, there is nothing that will ever replace the emotional thrill of listening to live music.  Let's all do what we can to support live performances so they will continue to be an important part of our lives.  Epernay is looking for other talented students who would like the opportunity to perform for a very appreciative live audience.  If you know anyone please let me know.

John Pizzarelli & Jessica Molaskey, A Dynamic Duo

On Tuesday, October 12, my wife and I had the pleasure of attending  the John Pizzarelli & Jessica Molaskey show, "The Heart of a Saturday Night" at the Cafe Carlyle in New York City. First, if there is a more intimate or romantic cafe setting in the US, I have yet to discover it. Each time I get to hear John Pizzarelli he just keeps getting better. He is never  satisfied with his past performances and keeps pushing the envelope with his playing, singing and song selection skills. But the skill I like the most is his ability to take a "standard" that we all know well and perform it in a new arrangement that makes the song new again. This was the first time that I had the pleasure of hearing John's wife, Jessica Molaskey perform live and I really enjoyed her selection of songs and wonderful voice.  I heard her sing on CDs and radio shows but actually seeing her sing in person was a real treat.  She presents herself as a seasoned professional. Prior to the show I wondered how the voices of John and Jessica and their different approach to songs would sound once they sang together. After the first few songs, I had no further questions. While both performers have a very different approach to the songs they love, the warmth and  mutual respect they generate provides the bridge between their styles. I know a lot about John's background and family, and I can only guess that Jessica has been fully assimilated into the new Pizzarelli extended family. It really works for both of them and lifts them to a higher level of performance. I am not going to review all of the great songs they performed as the "New York Times" has an excellent review you can look up on line.  However, there was one song that I must mention. It started with John singing a soft and lush version of Irving Berlin's "Count Your Blessings" and then a seamless entrance of Jessica's voice singing parts of the wonderful Jonathan Larson song "Seasons of Love" from the musical "Rent".  The show runs through Nov 6th.  If you can get to see this show, it is really worth the effort.  John and Jessica, thank you for the wonderful evening, and please plan to do more shows together in the near future!        

Montclair State University's Kaleidoscope 2010 Is An Explosion of Music

I thought the circus was the "Greatest Show On Earth" but I just found out there are now two "Greatest Shows".  Friday night I attended "Kaleidoscope 2010" at the Alexander Kasser Theater on the Montclair State University Campus that featured both students and faculty of the John J. Cali School of Music.  This performance, that was "Sold Out", was part of the "Peak Performances @ Montclair" series that presents performances of dance, theater and music throughout the year. The audience was treated with over 300 performers, playing, singing and dancing a rainbow of wonderful music from Puccini's Tosca sung beautifully by faculty member Stephen Oosting to "Symphonic Dances from West Side Story" performed by the MSU Wind Symphony and the BFA Musical Theater Dancers. There were also performances by various Ensembles from Brass to Percussion that were finely done.  For me, the highlight of the evening was the performance of "Samba" by "The Shanghai Quartet" that featured faculty member David Singer on clarinet. This suburb piece of music was written by Robert L. Aldridge, the Chairperson of the School of Music at MSU. I loved the music that was a perfect marriage of Classical and a Jazz-like arrangement fitting together like a glove. The level of dexterity performed by faculty clarinetist David Singer can only be described as breathtaking.  Montclair State University is definitely fortunate to have the gifted composer Robert L. Aldridge chairing its School of Music.  I believe this piece of music has just been recorded by "The Shanghai Quartet" and when I get more information I will share it on my blog.

Overall, I totally enjoyed the 90 minutes of non-stop music and loved the fact that the audience not only got to experience the level of musical skills of the current students of the School of Music but also  the exceptionally talented faculty.  My congratulations to the students and faculty for putting on such a professional performance.  "Peak Performance @ montclair" continues with programs all through the academic year, and you can get additional information @www.peakperfs.org.