THERE WILL BE NO SALON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 6TH.
SALON, that unique, Bistro & MAC Award winning Weekly Open Mic Event created and hosted by Mark Janas will return to Etcetera, Etcetera - 352 West 44th Street, NYC 10036 - on Sunday, February 13th from 7-10:30PM.
February 13th:
Theme: Love & Desire
Co-Hosts: Manhattan School of Music Students - Adam Behlen, Juliana Curcio, Abbey Harr, Andy Kilma, Anna Lawerence, Rachel Policar, Mitch Roe, Chris Sierra, Sarah Smith, Irene Snyder & Costas Tsourakis
Salon continues every Sunday!
(except February 27th)
February 20th:
Theme: That's Historical!
Co-Host: Miles Phillips
February 27th: NO SALON
March 6th:
Theme: Rock On!
Co-Hosts: Hey Guy
March 13th:
Theme: Blues in the Night
Co-Host: Joan Crowe
March 20th:
Theme: It's In The Stars
Co-Host: Maureen Taylor
Visit our website at www.markjanasthesalon.com and look for us on Facebook!
-Sierra Rein
The Blogette for The Salon
Spelling mistakes? URL's I missed? Did I mess up? Please email me.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Friday, January 28, 2011
The Salon Wrap-Up for January 23, 2011 "The Best Of Off-Broadway"
Last Sunday night we were delighted and charmed by the talents of host Mark Janas and his co-host, good friend Jimmy Roberts. The theme was “The Best of Off-Broadway” and the Salon was filled with lovers of musical theater who were excited about sharing material not often sung at our esteemed event. Not even the NFL playoffs and bad weather could keep this group away!
Before the event actually got started, Mark was outside the building taking a little break when he heard 4 voices singing in perfect harmony with one another on the city street. In perfect Salon spirit, he grabbed the four gentlemen and asked them to come upstairs to sing that little ditty for just for us. Turns out, these men had just formed their brand new quartet called, "The Flatiron 4" and thus, we were their first private audience! It was a lively and exciting kick off to our evening.
And now, for the official recap. Co-host Jimmy Roberts is perhaps best known for penning the 2nd longest running Off-Broadway musical, I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change but his roots go back to classical piano, including his education at The Manhattan School of Music with our very own Mark Janas. He began our evening with the song, “The Joint is Really Jumping at Carnegie Hall” which is a Judy Garland/Jose Iturbi hit from the movie Thousands Cheer.
Following Jimmy’s amazing start to our event, Salon regulars Edd Clark and yours truly (Erin Cronican) came to the stage and sang the duet, “Duo Thoughts/I’ve Held a Hope” from Michael Colby & Jim Fradrich’s musical, North Atlantic - spoof of South Pacific set in “tundra territory.” Next up was Will Wixon, an Angelino by way of France who accompanied himself with his tunes, “When I’m With You” and “Thinking With Your Heart.” Following Will was Salon Board Member (and Broadway alum) Raissa Katona Bennett, who sang the hilarious song, “That’s Good News.” One of our non-Salon guests got very excited to see Raissa in the flesh (so to speak) and Raissa had a bit of fun bantering back and forth before she left the stage.
Following Raissa was Ross Lacy, who sang the heartfelt William Finn classic, “I’d Rather Be Sailing.” Next up was Michael Colby, singing his own song (accompanied by Mark Janas) called, “It Could Only Happen in the Theater” from his show, Charlotte Sweet. This show was nominated for 3 Drama Desk Awards, including Outstanding Lyrics for Michael. Following Mr. Colby was our hard working and lovely Etceterette Janice Hall, who sang the luscious “When the World Was Young” as well as your blogger, Erin Cronican, who sang, “Times Like This” from the Flaherty/Ahrens musical, Lucky Stiff.
Closing out the first act was Salon tradition “Classical Corner” which was guest hosted by Jimmy Roberts. Jimmy regaled us with 3 mashups, which is when two (or more) songs are combined together seamlessly. He joined Schubert’s “Impromptu” with Elvis’ “Can’t Help Falling in Love”, Vivaldi’s “Seasons (Summer)” was mashed with The Beatles’ “With A Little Help From My Friends” (both in E major!) and finally Bach’s “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Destiny” was blended with Sondheim’s, “Send In The Clowns.” And with that, the lights came up on the room for intermission, and revealed the beaming faces of the Salon guests (which made of had something to do with the great service from the Etc Etc staff.)
Jimmy kicked off the second set by singing the song, “Free, Easy Guy” from his 2003 musical, The Thing About Men. He followed that with the touching & simple “Shouldn’t I Be Less I Love With You” from, I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change (lyrics by Joe DiPietro.) He closed this set with “I Walk The Dogs” from his musical revue, Pets! (lyrics by June Siegel) in which he affected a Romanian accent and had our room in giggles.
Next up, Producer Tanya Moberly (in a fitting follow up to Jimmy’s last song) sang, “Poor Baby” from Snoopy. Tanya’s next appearance outside of the Salon will be a special event Called “People You Should Know” at Don’t Tell Mama, February 26 at 6pm, hosted by Salon Board Member, Sue Matsuki. After Tanya came Raissa to the stage again, singing the gorgeous ballad, “Gifts of Love” from Stephen Schwartz’s musical, The Baker’s Wife.
Then, as if we hadn’t been treated well enough by our previous performers, Salon visitors were graced with the talents of Jim Brochu & Steve Schachlin in our Salon Spotlight. They sang several songs from their collaboration together, including the cult musical comedy The Last Session which was nominated for Best Musical by the New York Drama League and the New York Outer Critics Circle. My personal favorite of their set was their gorgeous duet, “How Do You Fall Back In Love.” Special congratulations to Jim, who has been honored with a Drama Desk Award for Best Solo Performer for his work in Zero Hour.
Next up to the mic was Salon Board Member Julie Reyburn, who sang a stunning mashup created by Mark Janas of Offenbach/Chopin and “I’d Rather Be Sailing,” In keeping with the William Finn theme, Julie then sang “Holding To The Ground” from his musical, Falsettos (which first debuted Off-Broadway in 3 acts: “In Trousers,” “Falsettoland” and “March of the Falsettos.”) Joining us next was another Salon Board Members, Bill Zeffiro, who sang the tune, “Twice As Much” and then charmed us with a song he wrote called, “La Comedia Et Finita.”
Will Wixon then came back to the stage with the songs, “If You Believe” and “It’s As Good as Loving Gets.” Michael Colby was invited back to sing one of his personal favorites, “Stars In My Eyes” and Janice joined us again by singing, “Gentle Fade” which is from the 1980 London musical, “The Biograph Girl.” The evening was punctuated by Jimmy Robert’s last song, “Hey Time” with lyrics by June Siegel.
Special thanks to Salon sound & lighting genius, Tommy Shull, who kept the performers sounding luscious throughout the evening.
NEXT WEEK: The optional theme is “Mental Health or Lack Thereof!” Our Co-Host will be the Marvelous Multiple MAC & Bistro Award-Winning Entertainer and Drama Desk Nominee Jay Rogers! Jay has mostly been behind the scenes lately directing shows like Philip Fortenberry's Broadway My Way at the Metrropolitan Room and Faye Lane's Beauty Shop Stories which won Best Solo Show in the New York Fringe Festival! He is planning to present a show he premiered at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center last summer about his crazy, Southern up-bringing sometime soon!
Before the event actually got started, Mark was outside the building taking a little break when he heard 4 voices singing in perfect harmony with one another on the city street. In perfect Salon spirit, he grabbed the four gentlemen and asked them to come upstairs to sing that little ditty for just for us. Turns out, these men had just formed their brand new quartet called, "The Flatiron 4" and thus, we were their first private audience! It was a lively and exciting kick off to our evening.
 |
| New Salon Friends, The Flatiron 4 |
 |
| Salon Co-Host, Jimmy Roberts |
Following Raissa was Ross Lacy, who sang the heartfelt William Finn classic, “I’d Rather Be Sailing.” Next up was Michael Colby, singing his own song (accompanied by Mark Janas) called, “It Could Only Happen in the Theater” from his show, Charlotte Sweet. This show was nominated for 3 Drama Desk Awards, including Outstanding Lyrics for Michael. Following Mr. Colby was our hard working and lovely Etceterette Janice Hall, who sang the luscious “When the World Was Young” as well as your blogger, Erin Cronican, who sang, “Times Like This” from the Flaherty/Ahrens musical, Lucky Stiff.
Closing out the first act was Salon tradition “Classical Corner” which was guest hosted by Jimmy Roberts. Jimmy regaled us with 3 mashups, which is when two (or more) songs are combined together seamlessly. He joined Schubert’s “Impromptu” with Elvis’ “Can’t Help Falling in Love”, Vivaldi’s “Seasons (Summer)” was mashed with The Beatles’ “With A Little Help From My Friends” (both in E major!) and finally Bach’s “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Destiny” was blended with Sondheim’s, “Send In The Clowns.” And with that, the lights came up on the room for intermission, and revealed the beaming faces of the Salon guests (which made of had something to do with the great service from the Etc Etc staff.)
Jimmy kicked off the second set by singing the song, “Free, Easy Guy” from his 2003 musical, The Thing About Men. He followed that with the touching & simple “Shouldn’t I Be Less I Love With You” from, I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change (lyrics by Joe DiPietro.) He closed this set with “I Walk The Dogs” from his musical revue, Pets! (lyrics by June Siegel) in which he affected a Romanian accent and had our room in giggles.
Next up, Producer Tanya Moberly (in a fitting follow up to Jimmy’s last song) sang, “Poor Baby” from Snoopy. Tanya’s next appearance outside of the Salon will be a special event Called “People You Should Know” at Don’t Tell Mama, February 26 at 6pm, hosted by Salon Board Member, Sue Matsuki. After Tanya came Raissa to the stage again, singing the gorgeous ballad, “Gifts of Love” from Stephen Schwartz’s musical, The Baker’s Wife.
Then, as if we hadn’t been treated well enough by our previous performers, Salon visitors were graced with the talents of Jim Brochu & Steve Schachlin in our Salon Spotlight. They sang several songs from their collaboration together, including the cult musical comedy The Last Session which was nominated for Best Musical by the New York Drama League and the New York Outer Critics Circle. My personal favorite of their set was their gorgeous duet, “How Do You Fall Back In Love.” Special congratulations to Jim, who has been honored with a Drama Desk Award for Best Solo Performer for his work in Zero Hour.
 |
| Salon Spotlight, Jim Brochu |
 |
| Salon Spotlight, Steve Schachlin |
Will Wixon then came back to the stage with the songs, “If You Believe” and “It’s As Good as Loving Gets.” Michael Colby was invited back to sing one of his personal favorites, “Stars In My Eyes” and Janice joined us again by singing, “Gentle Fade” which is from the 1980 London musical, “The Biograph Girl.” The evening was punctuated by Jimmy Robert’s last song, “Hey Time” with lyrics by June Siegel.
Special thanks to Salon sound & lighting genius, Tommy Shull, who kept the performers sounding luscious throughout the evening.
NEXT WEEK: The optional theme is “Mental Health or Lack Thereof!” Our Co-Host will be the Marvelous Multiple MAC & Bistro Award-Winning Entertainer and Drama Desk Nominee Jay Rogers! Jay has mostly been behind the scenes lately directing shows like Philip Fortenberry's Broadway My Way at the Metrropolitan Room and Faye Lane's Beauty Shop Stories which won Best Solo Show in the New York Fringe Festival! He is planning to present a show he premiered at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center last summer about his crazy, Southern up-bringing sometime soon!
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Update from Producer Tanya Moberly - “Mental Health or Lack Thereof”
SALON, that unique, Bistro & MAC Award winning Weekly Open Mic Event created and hosted by Mark Janas returns to Etcetera, Etcetera - 352 West 44th Street, NYC 10036 – on Sunday, January 30th from 7-10:30PM.
The optional theme for the evening is “Mental Health or Lack Thereof”!
Remember, any material, on or off theme, is always welcome at Salon.
Our Co-Host will be the Marvelous Multiple MAC & Bistro Award-Winning Entertainer and Drama Desk Nominee Jay Rogers! Jay has mostly been behind the scenes lately directing shows like Philip Fortenberry's Broadway My Way at the Metrropolitan Room and Faye Lane's Beauty Shop Stories which won Best Solo Show in the New York Fringe Festival! He is planning to present a show he premiered at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center last summer about his crazy, Southern up-bringing sometime soon!
There will be a $10 cash cover collected at the door by Blogette, Sierra Rein, and a $15 food/drink minimum (cash or credit) per person. (For further information visit www.etcrestaurant.com or call 212-399-4141). There are no reservations; seating is on a first come/ first served basis, with one intermission. Doors open and sign up begins at 6:15pm with 'Etceterette', Liz Ulmer.
Salon continues every Sunday!
(except February 6th & February 27th)
February 6th: NO SALON
February 13th:
Theme: Love & Desire
Co-Hosts: MSM Students
February 20th:
Theme: That's Historical!
Co-Host: Miles Phillips
February 27th: NO SALON
March 6th:
Theme: Rock On!
Co-Hosts: Hey Guy
March 13th:
Theme: Blues in the Night
Co-Host: Joan Crowe
March 20th:
Theme: It's In The Stars
Co-Host: Maureen Taylor
Visit our website at www.markjanasthesalon.com and look for us on Face Book!
Here's some important information about the Salon you should know. The Salon is an ongoing open entertainment event in which singers, writers and musicians share their talent with each other and audience members. We are currently enjoying our new venue, Etcetera, Etcetera where there is a $10 COVER (cash) AND a $15 FOOD/BEVERAGE MINIMUM (cash or credit). You may sign up to perform starting at 6:15 by seeing one the evening's 'Etceterettes' to fill out a card with your name, the name of your song, whether it's a ballad or an up tempo,(up tempos and comic songs are greatly encouraged!) and any upcoming events you'd like the co-host to announce. Please remember that we do not present performers in order of sign-up and, due to our time restraints and other variables, filling out a card does not guarantee you will perform, but we do our very best to get you up! It is usually a good idea to bring a few different song choices to avoid duplication. All types of material including spoken word are welcome at the Salon but please limit your selections to three or four minutes in length and please bring clear, complete charts for Mark to read. Sitting on the piano is not allowed, nor is flash photography. If you would like to add a (or remove your) name from our list, e-mail me at tanya@tanyamoberly.com.
Looking forward to seeing you all Sunday, January 30th!
Thanks,
Tanya Moberly
Producer
(posted by Erin Cronican, Co-Blogette for The Salon)
The optional theme for the evening is “Mental Health or Lack Thereof”!
Remember, any material, on or off theme, is always welcome at Salon.
Our Co-Host will be the Marvelous Multiple MAC & Bistro Award-Winning Entertainer and Drama Desk Nominee Jay Rogers! Jay has mostly been behind the scenes lately directing shows like Philip Fortenberry's Broadway My Way at the Metrropolitan Room and Faye Lane's Beauty Shop Stories which won Best Solo Show in the New York Fringe Festival! He is planning to present a show he premiered at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center last summer about his crazy, Southern up-bringing sometime soon!
There will be a $10 cash cover collected at the door by Blogette, Sierra Rein, and a $15 food/drink minimum (cash or credit) per person. (For further information visit www.etcrestaurant.com or call 212-399-4141). There are no reservations; seating is on a first come/ first served basis, with one intermission. Doors open and sign up begins at 6:15pm with 'Etceterette', Liz Ulmer.
Salon continues every Sunday!
(except February 6th & February 27th)
February 6th: NO SALON
February 13th:
Theme: Love & Desire
Co-Hosts: MSM Students
February 20th:
Theme: That's Historical!
Co-Host: Miles Phillips
February 27th: NO SALON
March 6th:
Theme: Rock On!
Co-Hosts: Hey Guy
March 13th:
Theme: Blues in the Night
Co-Host: Joan Crowe
March 20th:
Theme: It's In The Stars
Co-Host: Maureen Taylor
Visit our website at www.markjanasthesalon.com and look for us on Face Book!
Here's some important information about the Salon you should know. The Salon is an ongoing open entertainment event in which singers, writers and musicians share their talent with each other and audience members. We are currently enjoying our new venue, Etcetera, Etcetera where there is a $10 COVER (cash) AND a $15 FOOD/BEVERAGE MINIMUM (cash or credit). You may sign up to perform starting at 6:15 by seeing one the evening's 'Etceterettes' to fill out a card with your name, the name of your song, whether it's a ballad or an up tempo,(up tempos and comic songs are greatly encouraged!) and any upcoming events you'd like the co-host to announce. Please remember that we do not present performers in order of sign-up and, due to our time restraints and other variables, filling out a card does not guarantee you will perform, but we do our very best to get you up! It is usually a good idea to bring a few different song choices to avoid duplication. All types of material including spoken word are welcome at the Salon but please limit your selections to three or four minutes in length and please bring clear, complete charts for Mark to read. Sitting on the piano is not allowed, nor is flash photography. If you would like to add a (or remove your) name from our list, e-mail me at tanya@tanyamoberly.com.
Looking forward to seeing you all Sunday, January 30th!
Thanks,
Tanya Moberly
Producer
(posted by Erin Cronican, Co-Blogette for The Salon)
Monday, January 17, 2011
The Salon Wrap-Up for January 16, 2011 "January Jazzathon"
The first post-holiday Salon brought us the January Jazzathon hosted by the multi talented Rosemary Loar. In addition to Mark Janas, we had jazz pianists Dan Furman and Frank Ponzio, and the incomparable Ritt Henn on bass.
Mark Janas, ever dedicated, came to tonight’s Salon straight from JFK after spending the weekend in San Francisco to help a college friend in the recording studio with “two technicians and a piano tuner” at – get this, folks – Skywalker Ranch! He will be headed back out that way soon as after 2 seven hour days in the studio, only 9 of the 12 pieces from the Iberia Suite were completed.
Rosemary Loar, accompanied by Frank Ponzio, opened the evening with the Kander and Ebb’s “Shine it On.” She showed us what it means to sing jazz when, upon forgetting the lyrics, she sang “I’m going to make up the words because I’m a jazz singer!” and then gave some excellent scatting. You can catch Rosemary at the Metropolitan Room with her show Sting, Stang, Stung! On January 28th, February 5th, and 26th.
Elaine St George was up next with Mark “I’m not a jazz pianist” Janas accompanying her on a swinging rendition of “I Get a Kick Out of You.” Elaine will be at the Metropolitan room in her show “InspiRAYtion: The Musical Legacy of Ray Charles” at 9:30pm on January 19th.
Stephanie Zagoren brought us the very pretty “A Flower is a Lovesome Thing.”
Tony Imgrund gave us a mellow and smooth jazz rendition of Frank Loesser’s “I’ve Never Been in Love Before.”
Bobbie Horowitz presented “the only Jazz Horowitz and Spector tune,” the fun and amusing “Monkey Round the Park.” Bobbie has a new book coming out – “Find Your Mini-Q’s (?)*”, and a Dress to Get Yes Workshop coming up on Feb 5th “at a secret location.” Check out www.BobbieHorowitz.com for information on Bobbie’s upcoming classes.
Our guest jazz pianist, Dan Furman, was up next giving us hi jazz adaptation of Pete Seeger’s “If I had a Hammer,” a song he found in his father’s record collection.
Richie Eisenberg showed us some of his acting ability as he was joined by Rosemary Loar for a duet of his original tune “Smile on My Face.” The chemistry between these two was adorable.
Nick Levin played his original song “The Olives of Regret.”
Former Etc. Etc. waiter David Ballard made his first Salon appearance as just a “regular” guest as he is no longer working at Etc. Etc. but focusing on his performing career! He sang his original song “I’ve Never Liked Christmas,” about the things we dislike becoming things we love because our significant other loves it. It was his first effort at writing lyrics, music, and arranging the piano score, and came out brilliantly on all sides.
Melissa Heche made her Salon debut with “Unwritten,” and rocked it out. She will be appearing at the Triad on January 28th at 8pm in The Show Must Go On, a benefit for the New York Association of Audiology and the American Academy of Audiology Foundation. Visit www.TriadNYC.com for more information and to order tickets.
Next up, Arianna (me!) took a departure from her usual classical sound to give a jazzy “’Til You Come Back to Me.”
Etcetterette Danielle Grabianowski sang “Hallelujah, I Just Love Him So.” She is double booked for January 17th performing at both the National Arts Club and the Laurie Beechman Theatre for the Friends with Benefits Benefit Concert.
The Henn Family Singers (Ritt and his hysterical mother, Bets) made their first public performance of 2011 with a little ditty Bets learned in 4th grade music class. There was much ad-libbing and much laughter.
Mark Janas closed out the first set with Classical Corner, giving us his theory that Chopin was actually the first true Jazz pianist. What most of us don’t realize is that classical music was originally played in an improvisational style. Of course, now, we are used to classical pieces being played in very set and specific ways. Mark asked for a series of notes from the audience, and then improvised a melody based on those notes – Mozart would do the same when he performed in concert. Mark then played part of Beethoven’s "7th Concerto" to illustrate themes and variations and how it relates to the workings of modern jazz.
Mark then moved on to Chopin’s "F Minor Ballade." He played it as written to get us familiar with the piece, and then had Dan come to the piano. Mark wrote out the Ballade in chord chart form so Dan and Frank could give us their Jazz take on the piece. It was really neat to hear Chopin go from the familiar classical piece most of us are used to to a very distinctly Jazz arrangement. It was still recognizable, and yet completely different. Dan began the piece again, this time with a more uptempo swing feel – truly brilliant playing.
Frank Ponzio then “tagged in” to give us yet another jazz take on Chopin. Frank’s version was a more quiet jazz bar rendition – sounding like something you might here in a smoky coffeehouse somewhere – while still being recognizable as Chopin’s "F Minor Ballade."
The second half of the Salon opened up with Rosemary Loar (accompanied by Frank Ponzio) giving a very sultry rendition of Sting’s “Roxanne” which then morphed into a swing tempo "Tomorrow We’ll See." She followed that up with "Mad About You," and ended her set with the brilliant “Quando Swing,” which takes Puccini’s “Quando Men Vo” and morphs it into “It Don’t Mean a Thing if it Ain’t Got That Swing.”
Richie Eisenberg came up for an encore with another great original piece.
Our lovely producer, Tanya Moberly, gave us the very wordy “Dat Dere” accompanied by Dan Furman. Tanya will be appearing February 26th at Don’t Tell Mama’s as part of Sue Matsuki’s “People You Should Know” concert. Tanya is also available at reasonable rates for coaching and directing work.
Etcetterette Danielle returned to the stage bringing out a song she sang in the 9th grade – a fun, jazzy rendition of Frank Loesser’s “Wouldn’t it be Loverly.”
In response to recent changes in the Zodiac, Steve Schalchlin gave us his “Hymn to Ophiuchus” (pronounced, for the purpose of this piece, as “Oh F*@k Us”). It was truly brilliant and had us all in hysterics.
Bobbie Horowitz returned to the stage giving us another of her original songs, explaining that she shops, not for the joy of shopping, but for love of country!
Elaine St George brought her smooth and lovely voice back to the stage for an encore.
Tony Imgrund encored with a lovely rendition of “Embraceable You.”
Etcetterette Arianna was having a “Frank Wildhorn kind of night” and gave an emotional rendition of “I’ll Forget You” from the Scarlet Pimpernel.
Rosemary Loar closed out the evening by asking the audience for chords – which were thrown out with increasing obscurity! Rosemary then sang all of the evenings “Thank You’s.” Ritt joined in with his own list of “Thank You’s,” singing his own random chord progression. The evening came to a close with a plethora of scatting.
The Salon continues next week, January 23rd with co-host Jimmy Roberts, Salon Spotlight Jim Brochu and Steve Schachlin. The theme for the evening is "The Best of Off Broadway."
-Arianna
Mark Janas, ever dedicated, came to tonight’s Salon straight from JFK after spending the weekend in San Francisco to help a college friend in the recording studio with “two technicians and a piano tuner” at – get this, folks – Skywalker Ranch! He will be headed back out that way soon as after 2 seven hour days in the studio, only 9 of the 12 pieces from the Iberia Suite were completed.
Rosemary Loar, accompanied by Frank Ponzio, opened the evening with the Kander and Ebb’s “Shine it On.” She showed us what it means to sing jazz when, upon forgetting the lyrics, she sang “I’m going to make up the words because I’m a jazz singer!” and then gave some excellent scatting. You can catch Rosemary at the Metropolitan Room with her show Sting, Stang, Stung! On January 28th, February 5th, and 26th.
Elaine St George was up next with Mark “I’m not a jazz pianist” Janas accompanying her on a swinging rendition of “I Get a Kick Out of You.” Elaine will be at the Metropolitan room in her show “InspiRAYtion: The Musical Legacy of Ray Charles” at 9:30pm on January 19th.
Stephanie Zagoren brought us the very pretty “A Flower is a Lovesome Thing.”
Tony Imgrund gave us a mellow and smooth jazz rendition of Frank Loesser’s “I’ve Never Been in Love Before.”
Bobbie Horowitz presented “the only Jazz Horowitz and Spector tune,” the fun and amusing “Monkey Round the Park.” Bobbie has a new book coming out – “Find Your Mini-Q’s (?)*”, and a Dress to Get Yes Workshop coming up on Feb 5th “at a secret location.” Check out www.BobbieHorowitz.com for information on Bobbie’s upcoming classes.
Our guest jazz pianist, Dan Furman, was up next giving us hi jazz adaptation of Pete Seeger’s “If I had a Hammer,” a song he found in his father’s record collection.
Richie Eisenberg showed us some of his acting ability as he was joined by Rosemary Loar for a duet of his original tune “Smile on My Face.” The chemistry between these two was adorable.
Nick Levin played his original song “The Olives of Regret.”
Former Etc. Etc. waiter David Ballard made his first Salon appearance as just a “regular” guest as he is no longer working at Etc. Etc. but focusing on his performing career! He sang his original song “I’ve Never Liked Christmas,” about the things we dislike becoming things we love because our significant other loves it. It was his first effort at writing lyrics, music, and arranging the piano score, and came out brilliantly on all sides.
Melissa Heche made her Salon debut with “Unwritten,” and rocked it out. She will be appearing at the Triad on January 28th at 8pm in The Show Must Go On, a benefit for the New York Association of Audiology and the American Academy of Audiology Foundation. Visit www.TriadNYC.com for more information and to order tickets.
Next up, Arianna (me!) took a departure from her usual classical sound to give a jazzy “’Til You Come Back to Me.”
Etcetterette Danielle Grabianowski sang “Hallelujah, I Just Love Him So.” She is double booked for January 17th performing at both the National Arts Club and the Laurie Beechman Theatre for the Friends with Benefits Benefit Concert.
The Henn Family Singers (Ritt and his hysterical mother, Bets) made their first public performance of 2011 with a little ditty Bets learned in 4th grade music class. There was much ad-libbing and much laughter.
Mark Janas closed out the first set with Classical Corner, giving us his theory that Chopin was actually the first true Jazz pianist. What most of us don’t realize is that classical music was originally played in an improvisational style. Of course, now, we are used to classical pieces being played in very set and specific ways. Mark asked for a series of notes from the audience, and then improvised a melody based on those notes – Mozart would do the same when he performed in concert. Mark then played part of Beethoven’s "7th Concerto" to illustrate themes and variations and how it relates to the workings of modern jazz.
Mark then moved on to Chopin’s "F Minor Ballade." He played it as written to get us familiar with the piece, and then had Dan come to the piano. Mark wrote out the Ballade in chord chart form so Dan and Frank could give us their Jazz take on the piece. It was really neat to hear Chopin go from the familiar classical piece most of us are used to to a very distinctly Jazz arrangement. It was still recognizable, and yet completely different. Dan began the piece again, this time with a more uptempo swing feel – truly brilliant playing.
Frank Ponzio then “tagged in” to give us yet another jazz take on Chopin. Frank’s version was a more quiet jazz bar rendition – sounding like something you might here in a smoky coffeehouse somewhere – while still being recognizable as Chopin’s "F Minor Ballade."
The second half of the Salon opened up with Rosemary Loar (accompanied by Frank Ponzio) giving a very sultry rendition of Sting’s “Roxanne” which then morphed into a swing tempo "Tomorrow We’ll See." She followed that up with "Mad About You," and ended her set with the brilliant “Quando Swing,” which takes Puccini’s “Quando Men Vo” and morphs it into “It Don’t Mean a Thing if it Ain’t Got That Swing.”
Richie Eisenberg came up for an encore with another great original piece.
Our lovely producer, Tanya Moberly, gave us the very wordy “Dat Dere” accompanied by Dan Furman. Tanya will be appearing February 26th at Don’t Tell Mama’s as part of Sue Matsuki’s “People You Should Know” concert. Tanya is also available at reasonable rates for coaching and directing work.
Etcetterette Danielle returned to the stage bringing out a song she sang in the 9th grade – a fun, jazzy rendition of Frank Loesser’s “Wouldn’t it be Loverly.”
In response to recent changes in the Zodiac, Steve Schalchlin gave us his “Hymn to Ophiuchus” (pronounced, for the purpose of this piece, as “Oh F*@k Us”). It was truly brilliant and had us all in hysterics.
Bobbie Horowitz returned to the stage giving us another of her original songs, explaining that she shops, not for the joy of shopping, but for love of country!
Elaine St George brought her smooth and lovely voice back to the stage for an encore.
Tony Imgrund encored with a lovely rendition of “Embraceable You.”
Etcetterette Arianna was having a “Frank Wildhorn kind of night” and gave an emotional rendition of “I’ll Forget You” from the Scarlet Pimpernel.
Rosemary Loar closed out the evening by asking the audience for chords – which were thrown out with increasing obscurity! Rosemary then sang all of the evenings “Thank You’s.” Ritt joined in with his own list of “Thank You’s,” singing his own random chord progression. The evening came to a close with a plethora of scatting.
The Salon continues next week, January 23rd with co-host Jimmy Roberts, Salon Spotlight Jim Brochu and Steve Schachlin. The theme for the evening is "The Best of Off Broadway."
-Arianna
The Blogette for The Salon
Spelling mistakes? URL's I missed? Did I mess up? Please email me.
Update from Producer Tanya Moberly - "The Best of Off-Broadway!"
SALON, that unique, Bistro & MAC Award winning Weekly Open Mic Event created and hosted by Mark Janas returns to Etcetera, Etcetera - 352 West 44th Street, NYC 10036 – on Sunday, January 23rd from 7-10:30PM.
The optional theme for the evening is “The Best of Off-Broadway”! A ...My Name is Alice, A New Brain, After the Fair, Altar Boyz, And the World Goes 'Round, Annie Warbucks, Assassins, Bat Boy, Beautiful Dreamer,The Big,Bad Musical, Birds of Paradise, Boobs!, Boy Meets Boy, Charlotte Sweet, Closer Than Ever, Clue, Dames at Sea, Diamond Studs!, Dream True, Eating Raoul, Ernest in Love, Falsettoland, The Fantasticks, Floyd Collins, Forbidden Broadway, Godspell, The Golden Apple, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change, In Trousers, Jacques Brel Is Alive and Living in Paris, The Last Five Years, Little Mary Sunshine, Little Shop of Horrors, Love, Janis, The Mad Show, March of the Falsettos, Musical Chairs, Newsical, Nunsense, O Pioneers!, Oil City Symphony, Olympus on My Mind, Once on This Island, Reefer Madness, Snoopy!!!, The Thing About Men, Three Postcards, The Threepenny Opera, Urinetown, Walmartopia, The Wild Party, You're a Good Man Charlie Brown, Your Own Thing...to name a few dozen.
Remember, any material, on or off theme, is always welcome at Salon.
Our Co-Host will be Musical Theatre Composer & Entertainer Jimmy Roberts! Jimmy's musical scores include: I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change (1996) and The Thing About Men (2003), both with book and lyrics by Joe DiPietro. I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change was nominated for Best Musical by both the Outer Critics Circle and the Drama Desk and became the second-longest running Off-Broadway musical in theater history (6,000 performances). It has also been translated into Chinese, Korean, Spanish, German, French, Catalan, Hebrew, Czech and Hungarian. The Thing About Men was voted Best Musical of the 2003/2004 season, by the New York Outer Critics Circle. His children's musical, The Velveteen Rabbit (1986, book and lyrics by James Still), toured the United States for a decade, and he contributed individual songs to two other Off Broadway revues, A . . . My Name is Still Alice and Pets! (lyrics by June Siegel).
Our Salon Spotlight will feature the Very Talented Jim Brochu & Steve Schachlin! Jim & Steve have won multiple awards (Drama Desk, Helen Hayes, Carbonell, L.A. Drama Critics, Ovation) for writing and performing The Last Session, The Big Voice: God or Merman? and Zero Hour. For more information: www.jimbrochu.com / www.bonusround.com.
There will be a $10 cash cover collected at the door by Blogette, Sierra Rein, and a $15 food/drink minimum (cash or credit) per person. (For further information visit www.etcrestaurant.com or call 212-399-4141). There are no reservations; seating is on a first come/ first served basis, with one intermission. Doors open and sign up begins at 6:15pm with 'Etceterette', Janice Hall.
Salon continues every Sunday! (except February 6th & February 27th)
January 30th:
Theme: Crazy for You - Mental Health or Lack Thereof
Co-Host: Jay Rogers
February 6th: NO SALON
February 13th:
Theme: Love & Desire
Co-Hosts: MSM Students
February 20th:
Theme: That's Historical!
Co-Host: Miles Phillips
February 27th: NO SALON
March 6th:
Theme: Rock On!
Co-Hosts: Hey Guy
March 13th:
Theme: Blues in the Night
Co-Host: Joan Crowe
March 20th:
Theme: It's In The Stars
Co-Host: Maureen Taylor
Visit our website at www.markjanasthesalon.com and look for us on Facebook!
-Arianna
The optional theme for the evening is “The Best of Off-Broadway”! A ...My Name is Alice, A New Brain, After the Fair, Altar Boyz, And the World Goes 'Round, Annie Warbucks, Assassins, Bat Boy, Beautiful Dreamer,The Big,Bad Musical, Birds of Paradise, Boobs!, Boy Meets Boy, Charlotte Sweet, Closer Than Ever, Clue, Dames at Sea, Diamond Studs!, Dream True, Eating Raoul, Ernest in Love, Falsettoland, The Fantasticks, Floyd Collins, Forbidden Broadway, Godspell, The Golden Apple, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change, In Trousers, Jacques Brel Is Alive and Living in Paris, The Last Five Years, Little Mary Sunshine, Little Shop of Horrors, Love, Janis, The Mad Show, March of the Falsettos, Musical Chairs, Newsical, Nunsense, O Pioneers!, Oil City Symphony, Olympus on My Mind, Once on This Island, Reefer Madness, Snoopy!!!, The Thing About Men, Three Postcards, The Threepenny Opera, Urinetown, Walmartopia, The Wild Party, You're a Good Man Charlie Brown, Your Own Thing...to name a few dozen.
Remember, any material, on or off theme, is always welcome at Salon.
Our Co-Host will be Musical Theatre Composer & Entertainer Jimmy Roberts! Jimmy's musical scores include: I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change (1996) and The Thing About Men (2003), both with book and lyrics by Joe DiPietro. I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change was nominated for Best Musical by both the Outer Critics Circle and the Drama Desk and became the second-longest running Off-Broadway musical in theater history (6,000 performances). It has also been translated into Chinese, Korean, Spanish, German, French, Catalan, Hebrew, Czech and Hungarian. The Thing About Men was voted Best Musical of the 2003/2004 season, by the New York Outer Critics Circle. His children's musical, The Velveteen Rabbit (1986, book and lyrics by James Still), toured the United States for a decade, and he contributed individual songs to two other Off Broadway revues, A . . . My Name is Still Alice and Pets! (lyrics by June Siegel).
Our Salon Spotlight will feature the Very Talented Jim Brochu & Steve Schachlin! Jim & Steve have won multiple awards (Drama Desk, Helen Hayes, Carbonell, L.A. Drama Critics, Ovation) for writing and performing The Last Session, The Big Voice: God or Merman? and Zero Hour. For more information: www.jimbrochu.com / www.bonusround.com.
There will be a $10 cash cover collected at the door by Blogette, Sierra Rein, and a $15 food/drink minimum (cash or credit) per person. (For further information visit www.etcrestaurant.com or call 212-399-4141). There are no reservations; seating is on a first come/ first served basis, with one intermission. Doors open and sign up begins at 6:15pm with 'Etceterette', Janice Hall.
Salon continues every Sunday! (except February 6th & February 27th)
January 30th:
Theme: Crazy for You - Mental Health or Lack Thereof
Co-Host: Jay Rogers
February 6th: NO SALON
February 13th:
Theme: Love & Desire
Co-Hosts: MSM Students
February 20th:
Theme: That's Historical!
Co-Host: Miles Phillips
February 27th: NO SALON
March 6th:
Theme: Rock On!
Co-Hosts: Hey Guy
March 13th:
Theme: Blues in the Night
Co-Host: Joan Crowe
March 20th:
Theme: It's In The Stars
Co-Host: Maureen Taylor
Visit our website at www.markjanasthesalon.com and look for us on Facebook!
-Arianna
The Blogette for The Salon
Spelling mistakes? URL's I missed? Did I mess up? Please email me.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Everyone welcome new Blogette Arianna!
As I heal from some back injuries, and as Erin Cronican is a busy bee some weekends, we thought it best to bring in another Blogette to keep the blog entries flowing for The Salon. Arianna has been a Salon regular and is a welcome addition to the blogline. Actress and international singer in musical theater, operetta and cabaret, Arianna maintains her own blog "A Soprano On The Web," which is dedicated to her opinions about musical theater (amongst other topics). For those social network-savvy people, you can find Arianna on Facebook and on Twitter as @OperaKitty.
-Sierra Rein
The Blogette for The Salon
Spelling mistakes? URL's I missed? Did I mess up? Please email me.
The Blogette for The Salon
Spelling mistakes? URL's I missed? Did I mess up? Please email me.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
It's a Brand New Year for The Salon! An Update from Producer Tanya Moberly
SALON, that unique, Bistro & MAC Award winning Weekly Open Mic Event created and hosted by Mark Janas returns to Etcetera, Etcetera - 352 West 44th Street, NYC 10036 – on Sunday, January 16th from 7-10:30PM.
The optional theme for the evening is “January Jazzathon”!
Remember, any material, on or off theme, is always welcome at Salon.
Our Co-Host will be the Incomparable Rosemary Loar! Rosie will be bringing her critically acclaimed show “Sting, Stang, Stung!” back to The Metropolitan Room, 34 West 22nd St, NYC 10010, 212-206-0440, on January 10th, January 28th, February 5th & February 26th. For More information: www.metropolitanroom.com / www.rosemaryloar.com.
Sitting in on Bass will be the Amazing Ritt Henn. For more information about Ritt's busy schedule: www.ritthenn.com.
There will be a $10 cash cover collected at the door by Blogette, Sierra Rein, and a $15 food/drink minimum (cash or credit) per person. (For further information visit www.etcrestaurant.com or call 212-399-4141). There are no reservations; seating is on a first come/ first served basis, with one intermission. Doors open and sign up begins at 6:15pm with 'Etceterette', Danielle Grabianowski.
Salon continues every Sunday!
(except February 6th & February 27th)
January 23rd:
Theme: The Best of Off-Broadway
Co-Host: Jimmy Roberts
Salon Spotlight: Jim Brochu & Steve Schachlin
January 30th:
Theme: Crazy for You - Mental Health or Lack Thereof
Co-Host: Jay Rogers
February 6th: NO SALON
February 13th:
Theme: Love & Desire
Co-Hosts: MSM Students
February 20th:
Theme: That's Historical!
Co-Host: Miles Phillips
February 27th: NO SALON
March 6th:
Theme: Rock On!
Co-Hosts: Hey Guy
Visit our website at www.markjanasthesalon.com and look for us on Facebook!
Here's some important information about the Salon you should know. The Salon is an ongoing open entertainment event in which singers, writers and musicians share their talent with each other and audience members. We are currently enjoying our new venue, Etcetera, Etcetera where there is a $10 COVER (cash) AND a $15 FOOD/BEVERAGE MINIMUM (cash or credit). You may sign up to perform starting at 6:15 by seeing one the evening's 'Etceterettes' to fill out a card with your name, the name of your song, whether it's a ballad or an up tempo,(up tempos and comic songs are greatly encouraged!) and any upcoming events you'd like the co-host to announce. Please remember that we do not present performers in order of sign-up and, due to our time restraints and other variables, filling out a card does not guarantee you will perform, but we do our very best to get you up! It is usually a good idea to bring a few different song choices to avoid duplication. All types of material including spoken word are welcome at the Salon but please limit your selections to three or four minutes in length and please bring clear, complete charts for Mark to read. Sitting on the piano is not allowed, nor is flash photography. If you would like to add a (or remove your) name from our email list, e-mail me at tanya@tanyamoberly.com.
Looking forward to seeing you all Sunday, January 16th!
Thanks,
Tanya Moberly
Producer-Sierra Rein
The Blogette for The Salon
Spelling mistakes? URL's I missed? Did I mess up? Please email me.
The optional theme for the evening is “January Jazzathon”!
Remember, any material, on or off theme, is always welcome at Salon.
Our Co-Host will be the Incomparable Rosemary Loar! Rosie will be bringing her critically acclaimed show “Sting, Stang, Stung!” back to The Metropolitan Room, 34 West 22nd St, NYC 10010, 212-206-0440, on January 10th, January 28th, February 5th & February 26th. For More information: www.metropolitanroom.com / www.rosemaryloar.com.
Sitting in on Bass will be the Amazing Ritt Henn. For more information about Ritt's busy schedule: www.ritthenn.com.
There will be a $10 cash cover collected at the door by Blogette, Sierra Rein, and a $15 food/drink minimum (cash or credit) per person. (For further information visit www.etcrestaurant.com or call 212-399-4141). There are no reservations; seating is on a first come/ first served basis, with one intermission. Doors open and sign up begins at 6:15pm with 'Etceterette', Danielle Grabianowski.
Salon continues every Sunday!
(except February 6th & February 27th)
January 23rd:
Theme: The Best of Off-Broadway
Co-Host: Jimmy Roberts
Salon Spotlight: Jim Brochu & Steve Schachlin
January 30th:
Theme: Crazy for You - Mental Health or Lack Thereof
Co-Host: Jay Rogers
February 6th: NO SALON
February 13th:
Theme: Love & Desire
Co-Hosts: MSM Students
February 20th:
Theme: That's Historical!
Co-Host: Miles Phillips
February 27th: NO SALON
March 6th:
Theme: Rock On!
Co-Hosts: Hey Guy
Visit our website at www.markjanasthesalon.com and look for us on Facebook!
Here's some important information about the Salon you should know. The Salon is an ongoing open entertainment event in which singers, writers and musicians share their talent with each other and audience members. We are currently enjoying our new venue, Etcetera, Etcetera where there is a $10 COVER (cash) AND a $15 FOOD/BEVERAGE MINIMUM (cash or credit). You may sign up to perform starting at 6:15 by seeing one the evening's 'Etceterettes' to fill out a card with your name, the name of your song, whether it's a ballad or an up tempo,(up tempos and comic songs are greatly encouraged!) and any upcoming events you'd like the co-host to announce. Please remember that we do not present performers in order of sign-up and, due to our time restraints and other variables, filling out a card does not guarantee you will perform, but we do our very best to get you up! It is usually a good idea to bring a few different song choices to avoid duplication. All types of material including spoken word are welcome at the Salon but please limit your selections to three or four minutes in length and please bring clear, complete charts for Mark to read. Sitting on the piano is not allowed, nor is flash photography. If you would like to add a (or remove your) name from our email list, e-mail me at tanya@tanyamoberly.com.
Looking forward to seeing you all Sunday, January 16th!
Thanks,
Tanya Moberly
Producer-Sierra Rein
The Blogette for The Salon
Spelling mistakes? URL's I missed? Did I mess up? Please email me.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)