We walked back

MUSEUM

Museum of Modern Art
5th Floor

Today is any easy day with little to do.  The weather is clear and not so cold.  We are going to the 5th floor of MoMA.  That's where "The Biggies" are.

It is an easy walk up 5th Avenue from 32nd Street to 53rd Street.  That'll take us past Bryant Park and Rockefeller Center.  Lots of Christmas Spirit!

Well, the walk wasn't so easy since the sidewalks are full of people.  The Museum of Modern Art was full of people.  New York City is full of people.

Regarding the lines and "wait time", membership has its privileges.  We go straight to the member's desk and are in.

We walked back to 33rd Street and ate at our "default", always good, predictable restaurant, Petit Poulet.  Across 33rd was this long line to go up to the top of the Em;fire State Building.

LINCOLN CENTER

Koch Theater
New York City Ballet

The Nutcracker

Choreography by: George Balanchine

Music by: Peter Ilyitch Tschaikovsky

"During the holiday period, the entire Company is immersed in activities surrounding George Balanchine's The Nutcracker™. All 90 dancers, 62 musicians, 32 stagehands and two casts of 50 young students each from the School of American Ballet join forces to make each performance as magical as possible. Children of all ages from New York City and the nation fill the David H. Koch Theater to be captivated by the lure of Tschaikovsky's music, Balanchine's choreography, Karinska's sumptuous costumes, and Rouben Ter-Arutunian's magical sets. George Balanchine's The Nutcracker™, based on the Alexandre Dumas pere version of E.T.A. Hoffmann's tale, The Nutcracker and the Mouse King (1816), demands a full-scale production.

The elaborate stage elements and intricate lighting unleash the viewers' imagination by providing visual effects that are extraordinarily grand. The most famous example is the one-ton Christmas tree that grows from a height of 12 feet to 40 feet, evoking audible gasps of disbelief from the audience at each performance. Other notable feats include the comic figure of Mother Ginger — 85 pounds and nine feet wide, the costume requires handling by three people once it is lowered by pulley over the dancer's head — as well as the continuous flutter of the purest, crystal-shaped snowflakes (which are swept up and conserved after each performance for reuse).

While these technical achievements are wonderful fun, it is Balanchine's choreography that sustains the ballet through two acts. Act I introduces the characters — the Stahlbaum children, Marie and Fritz, Herr Drosselmeier and his Nephew — and also begins the transition from reality into fantasy with the concluding Snowflake Waltz. Act II offers the complete transformation. We have entered the "Kingdom of the Sugarplum Fairy" and there is no turning back.

George Balanchine's The Nutcracker™ is one of the most complex theatrical, staged ballets in the Company's active repertory. The popularity of the ballet is immense and it provides an unforgettable spark to everyone's holiday season."

SERENDIPIDOUS STROLLING

Today I had a medical appointment on the far Upper East Side at Weill Cornell Medical Center.  For us that's a bus ride Eastward down 32nd Street to Madison and then northward to 69th.  From there we walked further Eastward just under a mile to Weill Cornell.  It was pleasant.

For several reasons we decided to walk home and the trip turned into an unexpected adventure.  The goal was to see St. Peter's Evangelical Lutheran Church which was designed by Massimo and Lella Vignelli.  The Vignellis have done many things that you would recognize in many different areas.  They designed the NYC and other cities' subway maps, the guest literature for the National Parks Service, Helvetica Font, and much, much more.

To see Vignelli's designs, go here.

And here.

On the way from Weill Cornell at 70th and York Avenue we walked past Bloomingdale's and saw this...

Then we got to St. Peter's at Lexington and 54th.

When we arrived at St. Peter's we were told they were having a performance in the sanctuary.  There was a jazz combo consisting of a drummer, a bass, and a singer playing the piano.  As we were entering the space a woman singer was playing the piano and singing, "What's a Jew to do during Christmas?"

We then spent some time singing Christmas Carols and songs with those present.

From 54th and Lexington we walked to St. Patrick's Cathedral on 5th Avenue on our way to Rockefeller Center and The Tree.

Going through Rockefeller Center took us past Radio City Music Hall on 6th and 50th.  From there it was a straight walk southward down 6th Avenue to 32nd Street where we live.

We were out for 6 hours and walked 5 miles.

LINCOLN CENTER

Alice Tully Hall
Chamber Music Society

Brandenburg Concertos - Bach

"Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos stand at the pinnacle of Baroque musical art. These festive annual performances, called a “New York holiday staple” by The New York Times, are not to be missed."

From 2013's Performance of the Brandenburg Concertos

PROTESTERS & SANTACONS

Today was "Santacon Day" in New York City.  Thousands of people come into the city in Santa Claus   costumes and go from bar to bar in packs.  As that was going on, a massive street demonstration against the police occurred with, I'm told that thirty thousand demonstrators marched the streets.  The police closed the streets down to the Santacon people and I suppose they stayed in the bars where they had little to do but wear their costumes and drink.

Article and pictures of the Santacon People.

I watched the street demonstration from the front of our building.  It was very impressive; no violence and no destruction of property.  All were very courteous.  It was powerful.

LINCOLN CENTER

Avery Fisher Hall
New York Philharmonic

Christoph von Dohnanyi - Conductor
Martin Helmchen - Piano

Dvorak - Piano Concerto
Dvorak - Symphony No. 9, From the New World

The 1st movement of No. 9

Slow movement with melody we all know.

The joy of the New York Philharmonic is the sound it is able to produce.  In a perverse way, the music and the composers are merely the facilitators to enable the musicians to produce the sound.  The musicians have to have something to play!  Yes, we enjoy the beauty and creativity of the music.  But, we love the sound of the orchestra.

It's like having a beautifully built thoroughbred horse.  You can put any rider and any saddle you wish on it, but watching the horse move is the treat.  Of course, the better the rider, the more fun to watch.

With that point made, when the orchestra plays a particularly interesting and beautiful piece, it all comes together for a wonderful experience of hearing the best perform at their best.  Beautiful music, beautiful sound, wonderful evening.

MUSIC | MUSIC REVIEW

A Steady Hand at the Helm as Heat Turns Into Sparks

Dohnanyi Conducts New York Philharmonic in Dvorak Works

By ZACHARY WOOLFEDEC. 14, 2014

Call it “Demi-Dohnanyi/Dvorak.” After missing the first week of the New York Philharmonic mini-festival named for him, the eminent conductor Christoph von Dohnanyi, evidently recovered from the flu, made it to Avery Fisher Hall on Thursday for the series’s second and final program.

What was supposed to have been an immersion in a single maestro was instead a study in contrasts. The stand-in last week, Krzysztof Urbanski, music director of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, is 32 and athletic on the podium. Mr. Dohnanyi is 85, his presence calm and collected, his gestures (seen on Saturday evening) restrained.

His interpretation of Dvorak’s Ninth Symphony, “From the New World,” was calm and collected, too. Full of individual marks, from the daringly drawn-out pause that followed the subdued opening statement to the wistful elongation of a note in a violin melody, this was steady, secure, sometimes stolid playing. Brass fanfares were emphasized in a way that made the work seem more stentorian than the norm.

Atmosphere was conjured, nowhere more so than at the start of the Largo, when the strings made a hazy, vibrating halo around the classic English horn melody. But details were highlighted at the expense of structural logic, and this ruthlessly forward-moving work meandered.

Programmed by the New York Philharmonic for the third time in three seasons, the Ninth (1893) still clearly packs them in, but the novelty here was Dvorak’s Piano Concerto in G minor (1876), redolent of Beethoven, Brahms, Chopin and Liszt. While it was done in Avery Fisher Hall as recently as June, with Garrick Ohlsson and the Budapest Festival Orchestra, the Philharmonic hadn’t performed it since 1986.

Beyond attracting an audience, it makes sense to play this concerto — with its premonitions of the Ninth’s declarative rhythms and its aching slow melody, like a germinal “New World” Largo — opposite this evergreen symphony. Mr. Dohnanyi’s control was such that in the first movement, the orchestra executed a sudden diminuendo more unified and yet also more subtle than its usual.

He led a performance so streamlined and lithe that it exposed some wiry strings and thin brasses. But this conception was perfectly tailored to the lucid heat of the rising pianist Martin Helmchen, making an impressive Philharmonic debut with these performances.

Mr. Helmchen has a noble bearing and a noble sound, shaping lines as elegant and clean as a Greek temple’s. While Dvorak’s concerto is notorious for the discomfort it induces in its soloists, he never seemed to break a sweat, unleashing chromatic runs and laying down octaves with a style that was technically assured but also sly and nuanced, passing in and out of the orchestral textures. If Mr. Dohnanyi kept the emotional temperature rather cool throughout the concert, Mr. Helmchen provided ample sparks.

I HAVE JUST POSTED THE NYT'S REVIEW OF DANIIL TRIFONOV.

I suggest you go back a few days for his recital at Carnegie Hall.

LINCOLN CENTER

Jazz at Lincoln Center, Appel Room
Basie & The Blues

On December 12-13, pianist Eric Reed leads a stellar group of musicians and vocalists to perform in Basie & The Blues in Jazz at Lincoln Center’s The Appel Room. Sets are at 7pm and 9:30pm. The Appel Room, in Jazz at Lincoln Center’s home, Frederick P. Rose Hall, is located at Broadway at 60th Street in New York, New York.

Basie & The Blues features music director and pianist Reed, vocalists Brianna Thomas and Kenny Washington, saxophonists Eric Alexander, and Tivon Pennicott, bass player Yasushi Nakamura and drummer McClenty Hunter performing a selection of tunes made famous by Count Basie, one of the leading figures in the Swing Era.

William James “Count” Basie established 4/4 swing as one of jazz’s predominant styles and solidified the link between jazz and the blues. An architect of the music with an original sound straight out of Kansas City, Count Basie led one of the greatest big bands of all time, featuring an enviable, hard-swinging rhythm section, premiere soloists, and a myriad of hit songs. 

Reed and this group of today’s finest jazz musicians will be “Swinging the Blues” as they honor Basie, the nine-time GRAMMY® award winner and NEA Jazz Master, by highlighting the blues elements that set his orchestra apart. A soulful talent, Brianna Thomas made her Jazz at Lincoln Center debut in 2006. New Orleans native Kenny Washington sings with his own unique Crescent City sound, blending his roots in gospel and jazz virtuosity with modern soul.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnIlc79Ngn8

Above is a video of Briana Thomas.

And below, Count Basie doing "easy work."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tP1nYX6SITI

RECITAL

Carnegie Hall
Daniil Trifonov - Piano

Bach - Fantasy and Fugue for Organ in G Minor, BWV 542 (trans. for piano by Franz Liszt, S. 463)
Beethoven - Piano Sonata No. 32 in C Minor, Op. 111
Liszt - Transcendental Etudes, S. 139

A sensation before he was 20, Daniil Trifonov has proven that he is more than just a young phenomenon. This program includes works by Bach, Beethoven, and Liszt, about which the Financial Times (London) said, “It was in the Liszt … that he came into his own—a titanic performance, projected with a confidence and relish that masked the music’s ferocious technical challenges beneath a mastery of its tempestuous surges and swings of mood; and without a whiff of exaggeration."

New York Times Review

MUSIC

Two Piano Superstars: One Safe, One Daring

Daniil Trifonov and Yuja Wang Play at Carnegie Hall

DEC. 12, 2014

Even at Carnegie Hall, a coincidence like this is rare. Superstar pianists are usually spaced at decent intervals throughout the season, but this week, in a quirk of the calendar, perhaps today’s two most prominent young pianists — Daniil Trifonov, 23, and Yuja Wang, 27 — gave their annual recitals in the space of three nights.

As it turns out, they share the impetuosity of youth and frankly unfathomable abilities, but that’s about all. Mr. Trifonov is all angles at the keyboard, his neck at times horizontal over the keys, his nose inches from his hands, his wrists arched high, then bent low. Inelegance escapes Ms. Wang, despite a tigerish attack, her body shaping rhythms as keenly as her fingers seek them out. Moreover, these two are taking quite different approaches to building a career.

Take the repertoire. Ms. Wang plays it safe. In her previous recitals, she’s stuck mostly with the pyrotechnic fringes of Romanticism. There was more of that to be heard on Thursday, in a program bookended by a brazen assault on Balakirev’s “Islamey” and three daintily but indistinctly conceived Liszt transcriptions of Schubert songs (“Liebesbotschaft,” “Aufenthalt” and “Der Müller und der Bach”).

Admirably, she’s waiting to tackle pieces that she thinks require more maturity, and her rare foray into the Austro-Germanic heartland here showed why. Delicate voicings and sublime colorations could not hide fussiness of detail and structural uncertainty in Schubert’s A major Sonata (D. 959). But those same qualities, along with her innate ear for rhythm, make her Scriabin so satisfying. In a dreamy progression through six of his works, the Fantasy in B minor (Op. 28) had a giddy, oracular haziness; three preludes, a poised regret; and the Ninth Sonata — the “Black Mass” — an enigmatic brutality.

By contrast, Mr. Trifonov is going all in, with a high-stakes bid for greatness. Both pianists may have played the Liszt Sonata at their Carnegie recital debuts, but for Mr. Trifonov, it was merely a warm-up for Chopin’s 24 Preludes. Tuesday’s recital was still braver, as his program of transformations and transfigurations — filmed by medici.tv and available online — took in Liszt’s transcription of Bach’s Fantasia and Fugue in G minor (S. 463), Beethoven’s Opus 111 Sonata, and finally Liszt’s “Transcendental Études” (S. 139).

All of them.

Let’s put that in perspective, shall we? “Islamey” is renowned as one of the most difficult pieces in the repertoire, one so challenging that Scriabin hurt himself trying to play it. Countless pianists play a few of Liszt’s études in concert, perhaps “Harmonies du Soir” or “Feux Follets.” But the entire set is an hour of grueling double octaves, defiant leaps and punishing runs as one ferociously challenging tone poem leads into another. There is nothing like it.

So Mr. Trifonov’s flabbergasting, exhausting achievement was not merely ambitious for a prodigy. According to Carnegie’s archives, Mr. Trifonov is just the fourth pianist to have dared to play the complete dozen in the main hall. José Iturbi attempted the feat in 1930 — the critic Olin Downes called it “a deed of derring-do” — and the hypervirtuosos Jorge Bolet (1967) and Lazar Berman (1976) both managed it in their primes.

A case of talent gone mad, then? A simple show? Absolutely not; this was technical facility used for higher ends. Sure, Mr. Trifonov might have evoked a more distinct atmosphere for each of the poems, especially in “Paysage,” or even reined in the speed for a more visionary grandeur in “Eroica.” But among all of its octaves and precise, almost anatomical detailing of hooves and muscles, the nearly unplayable “Mazeppa” had a remarkable nobility and a demonic, almost tragic valor. “Ricordanza,” an isolated moment of peace, possessed a quiet radiance, its dappled rolls glowing with the faintest of dwindling light.

Yet perhaps the Beethoven best showed Mr. Trifonov’s true potential. Here was an intellectual task, the kind of thing Ms. Wang sensibly avoids. It’s an extreme work, and Mr. Trifonov gave it an extreme reading, (too) full of ideas, from the rolling thunder and fanfares of the introduction to a daringly unwise, somehow effective immoderacy of tempo relationships. Not for him the analytical revelation of structure — rather a feeling of active discovery, the sense of creating, conjuring Beethoven’s structures on the fly. Imagine what he might achieve in years to come.

After mixed start, Trifonov’s Liszt proves trancendental at Carnegie Hall

December 10, 2014 at 12:15 pm

By Eric C. Simpson

Daniil Trifonov performed a recital Tuesday night at Carnegie Hall. Photo: Dario Acosta

It should come as no surprise that Carnegie Hall was packed on Tuesday for Daniil Trifonov’s solo recital. Just twenty-three years old, the Russian pianist already commands as much star appeal as anyone on the concert scene.

Trifonov’s opening selection, Liszt’s transcription of Bach’s great Fantasia and Fuga for Organ in G minor, was anything but “historically informed.” His touch was elephantine, his rubato unrestrained. The late Christopher Hodgwood would likely have given him a good whack for this.

And that’s fine—this is Liszt-Bach, not Bach-Bach. But this piece just doesn’t work on the piano, or at least Trifonov’s interpretation did not persuade. The opening of the fantasia on organ has a beaming crispness that was lacking in this performance, and the expansive chords in the left hand were muddy. His treatment of the fuga was clear and straighter, but his hands were out of sync by just a hair, which in a complex Bach fuga is liable to drive a listener to distraction.

The pianist appeared to be more at home in Beethoven’s Op. 111 Sonata, even though the piano itself did not sound quite muscular enough to give the work its full, imposing effect. That complaint aside, the first movement was both intelligent and adventurous. In the Maestoso section Trifonov’s playing was smoky, stewing, and while his tempo was deliberate, it was never plodding or methodical. The allegro was certainly con brio, but beyond that it was almost ad libitum—at times, he was in danger of losing the music’s train of thought, but the manic, obsessive temperament in his playing kept it on track.

The Arietta, though, was off. Trifonov’s playing was simple and tender, but his tempo was slower than most, and too slow, frankly, to be cantabile, as Beethoven’s songlike indication instructs.

And then, more Liszt. To say that the second half played to Trifonov’s strengths would be an understatement. Here, at last, was the passionate virtuoso who dazzled a packed house in his first Carnegie Hall recital a year and a half ago. Beginning the Transcendental Études, his “Preludio” was swirling and suave, almost nonchalant in its showmanship, a wonderful teaser of things to come.

This was thrilling, jaw-dropping playing, and the highlights were many. He showed off stunning dexterity in “Mazeppa,” and his interpretation had a certain “cavalry dash” about it (odd, given that its subject is a young man tied to a horse as punishment, but convincing nonetheless).

There was an ethereal glow to “Feux follets,” as well as sparkling, impish wit. And the sheer power he was able to summon in some of these movements was astounding—forget the “Mannheim Rocket,” a few of Trifonov’s roaring crescendi had the thrust of a Boeing engine. But this was not all just bombastic, flashy Liszt—this was also sensitive and intelligent Liszt. The floating, blooming haze of “Ricordanza” was gorgeous to hear, almost making one believe there were a cello somewhere playing obbligato.

After teasing the audience by bowing tantalizingly close to the bench a few times, Trifonov finally acquiesced and played an encore. It was a rarity, “Alla reminiscenza” from Nikolai Medtner’s Forgotten Melodies I, gleaming and thoughtful, so soft you could hear the clicking of the keys. Nobody but nobody can make a keyboard whisper like Daniil Trifonov.

- See more at: http://newyorkclassicalreview.com/2014/12/after-mixed-start-trifonovs-liszt-proves-trancendental-at-carnegie/#sthash.BRarzcNW.dpuf

LINCOLN CENTER

Metropolitan Opera
Il Barbiere di Siviglia

"In Bartlett Sher’s effervescent production of Rossini’s most popular opera, Isabel Leonard is the beautiful and feisty Rosina, who won’t be kept under lock and key. Lawrence Brownlee is her conspiring flame, Almaviva, and Christopher Maltman is the omnipotent barber, Figaro. Michele Mariotti conducts.

"Lawrence Brownlee makes a dashing Almaviva, singing with a focused, ardent tenor. Isabel Leonard is a pitch-perfect Rosina, cute but sharp clawed, dispatching Rossini's dizzying runs and ornaments with stenciled precision. Maurizio Muraro owns the role of Bartolo, his diction flawless in the rapid-fire patter arias... [Conductor Michele Mariotti] led an attentive, febrile performance from the orchestra that showed meticulous attention to small details." (New York Times)

This year marks the first time The Barber of Seville has been performed at the Metropolitan Opera. Of course, the Rossini favorite has been a part of the Met’s repertoire since the opera house opened in 1883, but it has always been performed in its original Italian. Well, that’s not quite true. Within ten years of the opera’s premiere here, the great diva Adelina Patti was interpolating renditions of "Home, Sweet Home" and "The Last Rose of Summer" into her Act II lesson scene. (When the opera ended, she would re-appear and offer "Comin’ Thro’ the Rye" as an encore.) But this season is the first time the opera itself has been given in English.

Bartlett Sher’s riotous new production premiered in 2006, and two years later the idea was born to transform it into a holiday presentation. With Rossini’s score so instantly recognizable, and Sher’s production so colorful and genuinely funny, it seemed like a logical progression from the company’s previous holiday offerings, The Magic Flute and Hansel and Gretel.

The Met has certainly presented other operas in English versions over the years—from Mozart to Johann Strauss—but the practice of using a country’s native language for performances is still far more common in European houses. And in any case, the advent of supertitles deflated the momentum toward operas in translation.

But these performances of Barber have been specifically designed for families. Many, especially younger audience members, will be attending their first opera. Unused to reading supertitles and unable to understand Italian, they will, we hope, be brought closer to the intrigues and upsets, the bluster and romance of Rossini’s sublime comedy. Comic operas work better in translation. In tragic operas, the music carries the drama and creates its emotional force. Comedy is more dependent on wordplay and sight gags, on surprise arrivals and hilarious exits. Listening to things as they happen allows the audience to be a part of the fun.

In the opera world, ideas take time to gestate—productions are planned and contracts are signed years in advance. And this one was no different. It wasn’t until a year after Peter Gelb first had the idea that the Met asked if I would both adapt and translate the opera for a family audience at holiday time. Another year passed before a team was assembled and work actually began.

Two people from the Met were essential in this project—the house’s dramaturg, Paul Cremo, with his keen dramatic instincts and intelligent ear, and Dennis Giauque, a veteran member of the Met’s music staff, who guided the musical setting of the new English text every note of the way. The three of us worked for another year to prepare a score to show the singers.

We had been asked to shorten the opera to 90 minutes—about the length of just Act I in the opera’s original version. But there is a difference between a "cut" opera, where whole sections are simply lopped off, and a "condensed" version, where the twists and turns of the plot and the emotional nuances of the characters are kept but poured into smaller containers. We did have to sacrifice some familiar moments—from pages of the overture to all of Don Basilio’s celebrated aria "La calunnia." We carefully studied the videotapes of Sher’s production to make sure that, with cuts, there was still enough time to move scenery around, enough time for characters to get on and off stage.

The process of making this English Barber involved countless second thoughts and further revisions. The director signed off on it a year ago, then the singers checked to make sure the new words suited their voices. More revisions. Considering that in 1816 it took Cesare Sterbini just 12 days to write the libretto and Rossini another 13 days to set it, our version was certainly slow in coming. But that was because we wanted to be sure to capture all the brilliance of the original in language that Met audiences will understand, laugh with, and cherish. —J. D. McClatchy

PERFORMANCE

Merkin Hall
What Makes it Great? - Beethoven

Beethoven's Appassionata piano sonata - Igal Kesselman - Piano

"In Beethoven’s time, the Appassionata Sonata was an incredibly radical, cutting-edge, avant-garde work that left most listeners baffled, dazed and confused, yet today the piece has become completely acceptable, mainstream concert fare. How did this happen? How did this wildly radical music get domesticated, and can we rehear this piece as the wildly revolutionary work it was for Beethoven’s contemporaries? Join Rob Kapilow as he explores this iconic masterpiece to see what makes it tick, and what makes it great." 

http://www.kaufmanmusiccenter.org/mch/event/what-makes-it-great-beethovens-appassionata-sonata#sthash.kTo0wAMC.dpuf

We have attended only one previous performance of this series.  The venue is packed and the presentation is really fun, interesting, and enlightening.  It is a wonderful hour of breaking the composition into its parts and then hearing it performed by a world class pianists.

Here is a performance by another artist with the score to follow.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QImFm4Y_QPM

PERFORMANCE

Long Island Ballet Theater
The Nutcracker

Tonight we had an adventure.  The ballet student living in our building that we've grown quite close to was performing in The Nutcracker in Port Washington.  It was a one hour train ride on the Long Island Railroad to the theater in Port Washington.  It was a community presentation that was really good and fun.  Young children were welcomed in the audience and the presentation was a great deal of fun.

http://www.liballettheatre.com

We went with a small group of friends and the train ride was a great way to get around the metropolitan area.

CABARET

The Metropolitan Room
Ken Slavin - Singer

Ken Slavin is a dear, longterm friend of ours from San Antonio.  He's played several times at The Metropolitan Room and we're getting to hear and see him perform this evening.

When: Saturday, Nov 29, 2014 9:30 PM (Doors open at 9:00 PM)

Ticket Price: $25.00 - $115.00

Door Time: 9:00 PM

Show Type: Jazz

Restrictions: 2 Beverage Minimum

Ken Slavin: I've Got a Crush on New York Town

Texas-based jazz crooner Ken Slavin returns for his third engagement at the Metropolitan Room on Thanksgiving Weekend.  Come see and hear why Ken is creating excitement on New York area radio stations and across the country with his new CD recorded right here: "You Gotta Have Heart: Ken Slavin LIVE at The Metropolitan Room in New York City."

As always, you can expect an intimate and highly enjoyable show of great standards and jazz classics that will leave you tapping your feet, snapping your fingers and shouting for more!  There will even be some swingin' Holiday

classics thrown in for good measure!

His sound has been compared to Tony Bennett, Johnny Hartman, Mel Torme and other greats. One reviewer dubbed him “Mr. Tuxedo Voice.” Texas Monthly says he’s one of the “Swing Set.” In reality, Ken's voice, persona and performance style put him in a category all his own. But no matter how you describe him, there isn’t anybody on today’s music scene quite like jazz crooner KEN SLAVIN.

Long before the current crop of young interpreters of classic jazz and the Great American Songbook embarked on their careers, Ken was singing the classics while working the microphone and building a fan base deep in the heart of Texas - in the culturally diverse and vibrant city of San Antonio, which is now the seventh largest metro area in the country.  He performs regularly in San Antonio and in Austin - the musical capital of the Lone Star State.  He also has sung as far north as Alaska and as far south as Mexico City!

A late bloomer who had his first professional gig at age 29, he has racked up numerous awards and glowing reviews across the country and overseas.  His CDs are programmed on many traditional and internet radio stations in the USA and Europe.  His critically acclaimed "I'll Take Romance" has been spotlighted on programs from Alaska to New York and as far away as the United Kingdom, Italy, Poland, New Zealand, Portugal, France and Mexico - and is currently programmed on the "Singers and Swing" channel of cable TV's Music Choice network, headquartered in New York City.  It is also a Spotify and Apple iTunes favorite.

Ken has opened for such jazz legends as The Four Freshmen, Eddie Palmieri, Dee Dee Bridgewater, David Sanborn and Chico Hamilton.  He also has performed in concert with the internationally acclaimed Jim Cullum Jazz Band (famous for its National Public Radio program, “Riverwalk, Live From The Landing”), and has given private performances for Grammy Award winners Helen Reddy and Vikki Carr. His unique interpretations of jazz, pop, blues and Spanish language classics and his charismatic stage presence have made him the top male jazz vocalist in South Texas - popular everywhere from the "country club set" and sophisticated nightspots to jazz festivals and college campuses.

SAMPLE REVIEWS:

"I looked you up on YouTube and really like the way you sing, with feeling and emotion, especially the New York medley.  I have never heard the 'I've Got a Crush on New York' tune....thank you for drawing my attention to your singing, and I hope to see and hear you soon in person." - REX REED, NEW YORK OBSERVER

"When jazz singer Ken Slavin went to New York City for a Halloween night gig, he didn't mess around. Not only did Slavin land a return engagement . . . he ended up with a live CD, “You Gotta Have Heart: Ken Slavin Live at The Metropolitan Room in New York” . . . The disc sounds great. Working with Ehud Asherie (piano), Joel Forbes (bass) and Phil Stewart (drums), Slavin turned in a night of classics including “I Love Being Here With You,” “The Way You Look Tonight” and a first-class New York medley. Slavin was in fine voice, the band cooked and Brake Brake (recording engineer) captured it beautifully. When live shows go well, they're tough to beat. New York City agrees with the man." - JIM BEAL, SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

"It is obvious, listening to 'You Gotta Have Heart' and his previous recording, 'I’ll Take Romance,' that Ken Slavin loves to sing. His enthusiasm is infectious, he has a real understanding for the lyrics that he interprets and he

swings. His voice is excellent, he has a fine range and he is always in-tune . . . 'You Gotta Have Heart' was recorded at the Metropolitan Room in New York and it is apparent throughout this set that he is thrilled to be singing in the Big

Apple.  With tasteful and sympathetic support supplied by pianist Ehud Asherie, bassist Joel Forbes and drummer Phil Stewart (all of whom also have occasional short solos), Ken Slavin is heard at his best . . . Whether one considers Ken Slavin to be a jazz singer or a cabaret performer (he fits into both areas), it is indisputable that he is a very good singer, one well worth discovering." -- SCOTT YANOW, LOS ANGELES JAZZ SCENE, NOTED JAZZ HISTORIAN AND AUTHOR (The Jazz Singers, Swing, Jazz On Film and Jazz On Record 1917-76, among many others.)

"Jazz and cabaret singer Ken Slavin has what it takes to make hearts melt: a deep baritone voice that fills the room and a sincere approach to lyrics that reach out tenderly with genuine passion. . . Slavin feels as comfortable with

Brazilian romance as he does with Duke Ellington, Cole Porter, Jimmy Van Heusen, and Harold Arlen: honoring a timeless songbook that will never be forgotten." – JIM SANTELLA, CADENCE MAGAZINE

"I heard Ken stop the room...literally one of the most difficult rooms to stop in New York City and perhaps the entire world. This crowd never asks for encores, but they asked for two from Ken that night. I'll never forget it.” – CLINT BROWNFIELD, travel writer for THE NEW YORK POST and other major publications (After watching Ken sit in at a packed open-mic night at The Townhouse in Manhattan

"Like a comedian careening through a familiar joke, Slavin has incredible control over the pacing and melodic intricacies of the best pages of the [Great American Songbook]. But, Slavin and company don’t stick exclusively to

standards—towards the end of the evening, he and the trio bring out a great lounge rendition of Robert Johnson’s “Everyday I Have the Blues. . . Recorded on Halloween night ["You Gotta Have Heart"] features pianist Ehud Asherie, bassist Joel Forbes and drummer Phil Stewart—all NY players. . . Before his closing number “Mack the Knife,” Slavin gives a little personal history of his bond with the Kurt Weill tune . . Cool without sounding corny, Slavin burns up-tempo through the violence of [that song] far away from the San Antonio River Walk tourist crowd in time, space and recognition" - MATT STIEB, SAN ANTONIO CURRENT.

 "Stunning . . . and his appearance matches his voice - it's quality . . . Wonderful! . . . the perfect punctuation point to an enjoyable evening."  - JOANNE GOOD, HOST OF "LATE NIGHT WITH JOANNE GOOD" ON BBC LONDON 94.9 FM  (Ken was invited to appear on her radio program while on a promotional trip to London in 2011.)

"When it comes to crooning in the classic jazz/pop tradition, Ken Slavin has no peers." – SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

"Ken's 'I'll Take Romance' is simply stunning. . . I haven't heard "But Beautiful" done so well since Billie Holiday." - JIMMY R. SMITH, 'FRESH BEATS,' THIS WEEK IN TEXAS

"Slavin is making inroads in the worldwide music scene...a remarkable talent -- a voice that has been variously described as 'velvety,' 'sultry,' 'clear,' and 'rich' -- combined with his showmanship, have gained notice as far away as

France and Portugal. Slavin says he is a Texas performer looking to break out. The way he's going, it won't be too long before his wish comes true." - SCENE IN SA MONTHLY

"Ken Slavin’s got some pipes and he knows how to use them. Attend a show and you are likely to fall in love – not only with his sultry voice, but also with that mile-wide, boyish grin and those handsome good looks. Slavin is funny, charming and works hard to ensure the entire audience has a great time.” – MISI WOOLARD, “ART & SOUL,” NORTH SAN ANTONIO TIMES

“A sultry, late-night ode to love, ‘I’ll Take Romance’ is a seductive 16-song collection that features both the lushest texture (particularly with the string-laden bookends “Thoughts of Your Smile” and “I’ll Take Romance”) and the

most intimate, casual vibe ever heard on a Slavin album...More than most contemporary interpreters of the Great American Songbook, Slavin delights in turning his material sideways, making even the most familiar tunes sound like new discoveries...” - GILBERT GARCIA, MUSIC EDITOR, SAN ANTONIO CURRENT

THEATER

The Blackbox Theater
The Seagull - Anton Chekhov

A week ago we saw "Sense and Sensibilities" by Jane Austen performed by the Bedlam Theater Group.  For that I included a review by the noted critic, Ben Brantley.  Today we are going to see "The Seagull" by Anton Chekhov by the same Bedlam Theater Group.  I include another review by a different critic.

The Bedlam Theater Group is one of the most creative, entertaining performance we've enjoyed since coming to New York.  I encourage you to visit our 2/22/14 and 3/1/14 posts to see about St. Joan by George Bernard Shaw and Hamlet by Shakespeare.

This is way off Broadway.  In fact, it's down near SOHO and the West Village.

Bedlam Overtakes Jane Austen

Posted: 11/21/2014 2:17 pm EST Updated: 11/21/2014 2:59 pm EST

New York theatergoers with an adventurous spirit -- or mainstream theatergoers unafraid to venture off off Broadway when recommendations warrant -- are being rewarded this month with special treats of high quality and relatively low price.

The Bedlam Theatre Company raised eyebrows and earned huzzahs last season with its four-actor productions of George Bernard Shaw's Saint Joan and Shakespeare's Hamlet. I didn't see Hamlet, as I only discovered Bedlam the final weekend of its run. Saint Joan, though, was smashingly good; stripped of its trappings and the two-dozen actors normally needed to present it, Shaw's central ideas were searingly presented in a direct, immediate and exciting manner.

Bedlam is back, in a basement space on Bleecker Street near the Bowery, for a second season. To the considerable number of theatergoers who heard great things about Bedlam last year but didn't get there, I can only say: go! This time, the brave young company is presenting Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility, in a translation by Kate Hamill; and Anton Chekhov's The Seagull, in a translation by Anya Reiss. Both are performed by ten accomplished actors who seem delighted to be spending the evening with you.

Working in a bare space with minimal scenery and props, Bedlam purposely brings their intimate audience -- they are happy with eighty bodies in the seats -- into direct contact with the actors and thus the characters. Both plays are presented in a rectangle of a space in what seems to be a church basement. (Technically, this is the Black Box Theatre of The Sheen Center.) Sense and Sensibility begins as the cast, in rehearsal clothes, mingle with patrons seated on chairs surrounding the playing area. Rock music is heard, and the actors fall into a contemporary dance. Within moments, they move into somewhat more formalized lines, and haphazardly start dropping articles of clothing to reveal nineteenth century underdressing; within moments, they are magically dancing a Pump Room gavotte and we are fully in Austen-time.

Sense and Sensibility -- Austen's first published novel -- is the comedy of manners about the Dashwood sisters of Norland Park, Elinor (with a full store of common sense) and Marianne (filled with sensibility, or emotion). Cheated out of their inheritance and forced from the family home by a rapacious sister-in-law, they pull through and form happy alliances while novelist Austen entertains us with her sharply-drawn character studies. One of the pleasures of Austen's novels is her ability to dissect characters with a mere sentence or two. Part of the sparkle of this adaptation is that Author Hamill (who also plays Marianne) and director Eric Tucker (who plays the larger-than-life neighbor, Mrs. Jennings) are able to translate Austen's sharp pencil to the stage.

Bedlam's Sense and Sensibility is unalloyed joy altogether, with Andrus Nichols -- co-founder of Bedlam with Tucker, and the actress who was so memorable as Shaw's Joan -- at the play's center as Elinor. Delectable portrayals abound, including those from Jason O'Connell (as the earnest suitor Edward Ferrars and in a grand comic turn as his bluff brother, Robert); Samantha Steinmetz, in her guise as Anne Steele; Stephan Wolpert, who as Sir John Middleton seems to be channeling Joseph Jefferson as Rip Van Winkle; and Laura Baranik as nasty sister-in-law Fanny. But all of the actors contribute droll characterizations.

As for The Seagull, this will be covered more fully by my Huffington Post colleague but playgoers can feel confident in rushing to see either or both before the Bedlam season ends on December 21. Let me add that the Chekhov -- which retains the characters and names, but places them in contemporary times -- takes the play out of the realm of what Konstantin rails at as museum theatre ("three walls, some artificial light and seat a few hundred people down to watch people like them pretend to be people like them") and puts it in our laps. The actors are equally stellar here, with a special nod to Ms. Baranik as Nina and Mr. O'Connell as Trigorin.

At intermission of both Bedlam plays, I noticed a considerable portion of the audience quiz the house staff ("is the other play just as good!") and enthusiastically consult the schedule on the wall to see when they could return for more Bedlam. With tickets at $30 ($15 for students), you might want to pay a visit to Bleecker Street.

THANKSGIVING