by Brian Arsenault It’s on one of those Christmas song CDs I can’t find any more in a collection that is more like the bottom of an avalanche. Judy Garland singing “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” Not the version when the song was introduced in the 1944 film Meet Me in St. Louis. Judy… Read More What Judy Garland Gave You for Christmas
By Jane Rosenberg Entering into the gambler’s paradise that is Guys & Dolls, with its beloved songs, is like sinking into a warm bath: comforting and rejuvenating all at once. In a pared down version by the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, directed by Mary Zimmerman and happily ensconced at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing… Read More Live Musical Theatre: “Guys & Dolls” at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts Through December 20
by Don Heckman ‘Twas the night before Christmas and the gig was running late; No sugar plums, no candy canes, just another overtime club date, Holidays are work days in a jazz musician’s life, A chance to make some extra bucks to take home to the wife. Chanukah’s over, Kwaanza starts tomorrow, The Ramadan fast… Read More A Christmas Jazz Tale
By James DeFrances As Janis Siegel sang “the sun is shining, the grass is green, there’s never been quite a day in Beverly Hills LA” (the verse to Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas”) it became apparent that the Manhattan Transfer singers are just as comfortable in LA as they are back home in New York. Walt… Read More Live Music for the Holidays: The Manhattan Transfer at Walt Disney Concert Hall
By Devon Wendell A truly daunting task for any jazz musician is to create a Christmas album that both swings for the jazz lovers and appeals to a mainstream audience. If anyone can pull off this feat with ease, intelligence, and originality, it’s Jennifer Leitham and her dynamic trio, consisting of Andy Langham on piano,… Read More Christmas CD Review: Jennifer Leitham’s “Future Christmas”
By Brian Arsenault The most surrealistic experience imaginable was available to all on the evening three weeks before Christmas Eve. You simply had to switch back between your local NBC affiliate and CNN from about 8 p.m. on. There was Mariah Carey, she of mixed racial heritage, singing “All I Want for Christmas is You”… Read More Brian Arsenault Takes on Christmas
A Christmas Jazz Tale by Don Heckman ‘Twas the night before Christmas and the gig was running late; No sugar plums, no candy canes, just another overtime club date, Holidays are work days in a jazz musician’s life, A chance to make some extra bucks to take home to the wife. Chanukah’s over, Kwaanza starts… Read More A Christmas Jazz Tale
Of Spirits Bright By Brian Arsenault The feast of Holiday music this year is as abundant as Tiny Tim’s Christmas table. After Scrooge woke up and saw the light, of course. Here are four shining stars to guide us home to Christmas. Tim Warfield Tim Warfield’s Jazzy Christmas (Undaunted Music) Tim and a whole bunch… Read More Christmas CDs: Tim Warfield, New York Voices, Jonathan Butler, Karrin Allyson
TriBeCaStan New Songs From the Old Country (Evergreene Music) By Brian Arsenault I’m a bit late getting to this gem and it is one. A rare gem that perhaps could only come out of New York — especially the “TriangleBelowCanalSt.” — where there is as much diversity as just about anywhere in the world. Diversity… Read More CD Review: TriBeCaStan’s “New Songs From the Old Country”
A Christmas Jazz Tale by Don Heckman ‘Twas the night before Christmas and the gig was running late; No sugar plums, no candy canes, just another overtime club date, Holidays are work days in a jazz musician’s life, A chance to make some extra bucks to take home to the wife. Chanukah’s over, Kwaanza starts… Read More A Christmas Jazz Tale
The International Review of Music 