It’s the first weekend of fall, punctuated by pumpkin side lattes and the Broadway Care / Equity Fights AIDS Flea Market. But there’s no better way to spend this kind of evening than with the warm and friendly folks at The Salon open mic!
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| Co-host Parker Scott! |
Tonight’s theme was “That Foreign Mystique” - but the co-host was no stranger to us: the talented and affable Bistro Award-winning, Parker Scott! Parker started the evening with a touching, almost music box arrangement of “Around the World” and “Love Makes the World Go Round.” After a rousing ovation, Parker kicked in his hosting duties by introducing each singer, alternating between asking their, Favorite City, Favorite Cocktail, and Favorite Color. I learned a lot about our Salon guests that I never knew before!
To kick off the open mic portion of the evening, Barb Malley sang “Life Is” from Zorba The Greek by Kander & Ebb. Gary Crawford sang “Open Arms” by the theme-appropriate named rock band, Journey. Edie Stokes brought us a sultry “Angel Eyes” after which, she quipped, “A cad is a cad is a cad in any language.” Edie’s show, “Illusions: All The World’s A Stage” is September 30 at 5:30pm at Don’t Tell Mama.
Jim Speake was next with the inspiring, “What a Wonderful World” originally recorded by Louis Armstrong. You can see “Jim Speake Sings ’Til The Cows Come Home” directed by Lennie Watts, musical direction by Steven Ray Watkins, with special guest Sidney Myer at Don’t Tell Mama September 29 at 5pm and October 3 & 10 at 7pm. Andy Gale, sang an incredibly lovely, “Superstar” recorded by The Carpenters. Andy has some exciting news - he and Mark are reviving their popular “Acting The Song” class - Saturday afternoons starting October 20 for 5 weeks, 1-4pm and only $80 per class. See Mark at the next Salon for more details.
Harold Sanditen came to the stage with the mixed language (French/English) song, “I Wish You Love.” Harold told us a story about being asked to sing this song by his parents, who said they fell in love to it. Once Harold studied the lyrics, he realized that the song was about a couple who couldn’t be in love. So, his father made some clever changes to the lyrics, et voila! - Harold brought us this new-fangled love song tonight. It was lovely! Haolr has a show coming up October 4-5 at the Metropolitan Room called, “Shades of Blue” which originated in London and is now in NYC! Brian Fiehler sang the gorgeous, “A Little Bit of Earth” from The Secret Garden. I sure hope I get to hear him bring more material like that to The Salon.
Oliver Donaldson, a previous student of Mark and Andy’s at Manhattan School of Music, brought us the powerful aria, “Apres un Reve” from Trois Melodies by Gabriel Faure. Joann Sicoli was next, with a Italian/English a cappella performance of “Dicitencello Vilie / Just Say I Love Him.” She’ll be in Italy performing in October, so she asks that if anyone is in that neighborhood be sure to look her up! :)
David Jarvis was back at the piano and mic, singing a charming, ragtime inspired song about a pianist who played on a cruise ship - “Oceana Roll.” Cameron Fadjo was next (with David still on keys) with his deep bass tones singing Cole Porter’s, “In The Still The Night.” He’s working on a she which he hopes will premiere at the beginning of 2013. We’re looking forward to it! David stayed at the piano and welcomed Bob Diamond to the stage with, “When I Look At You” from The Scarlet Pimpernel. Bob was excited to announce that he’d be performing with Cabaret Cares at the Laurie Beechman on Monday night at 6:30pm.
Our trusty server, David Ballard, was next with the Lerner & Loewe ballad, “On The Street Where You Live.” David is excited to announce that he has been accepted into the 2nd Year of the BMI Workshop as a lyricist, and promises that he’ll be premiering some of his songs very soon. Your blogette, Erin Cronican (c’est moi!) brought in, “Somebody Somewhere” from The Most Happy Fella, which is about a young woman who is wooed via letter by an anonymous Italian. Erin is doing a reading of “Willow Road” by Wendy Lockman, directed by Peter Napolitano for a free public performance Tuesday, September 25 at 6pm. Janice Hall, tonight’s Etceterette, sang the amazing Edith Piaf song, “L’Accord Eoniste.” Janice is currently in rehearsals for “James Joyce’s The Dead” in Washington DC.
Classical Corner
Salon Founder and Host Mark Janas started off Classical Corner by talking about the foreign mystique that is all over classic music. In fact, different music from different lands have distinct sounds. He played a few examples: French tunes are known for their color & subtlety - like the French language, they drop outside consonents. German tunes are structural and dramatic, also like their language. Eastern / Asian tunes tend to be made up of small, light pieces coming together (not unlike their cuisine!)
Classical music has always crossed over cultures. To demonstrate this crossover, Mark asked Parker Scott sing two songs. First, he sang an aria from Rodelinda by German composer, Handel, which was actually written in Italian. In it, a king cries out to his queen who he believes he has been lost forever. The second song was from “Eugene Onegin”by the Russian composer Tchaichovsky, which takes place in Russia but has a french character. With help from Janice Hall posing hilariously as Tatiana, Parker sang the aria, “Triquets Couplets.”
Second Act
Co-host Parker Scott opened the second act with the inspiring “Taking The Wheel” from the musical, “It’s Only Life” by John Bucchino. This song opens Parker’s show, “No Expectations” which is running at the Metropolitan Room Sunday, October 7 at 4pm. I highly recommend checking it out - click here to see a promo, if you don’t believe me. :) The final song of his co-hosting set was Ricky Ian Gordon’s “A Horse With Wings.”
Salon Producer, Tanya Moberly, was next with the Indigo Girls folk ballad, “Leeds.” We’re thrilled to announce Tanya’s next show at Don’t Tell Mama, opening Sept 28 at 7pm- “Tanya Lorraine Moberly sings Barbra Joan Streisand with Steven Ray Watkins.” There are discounts for Salon members - be sure to make reservations in advance.
Joan Jaffe brought us the side-splitting (and somewhat filthy) Francesca Blumenthal song “On The Streets of Paree.” Joan has a show coming up - “Joan Jaffe’s Manha-ha-ha-ttan” at the Abingdon Theater as a part of their Sunday Series, October 14 at 7pm. Salon newbie, Dathan B Williams, was next with “Kiteflyer’s Hill” by Mark Nevin. He’ll be appearing as Kent in “King Lear” with the American Bard Theater Oct 18-Nov 4. We’re so glad to have you with us, finally, Dathan!
Lou Iacovino came in with “You and Me” a song that’s brand new for him at The Salon. We love that The Salon can be a place for our regulars to try out new material. Great work, Lou! Next up was Katie Stevenson with “Habanera” from Bizet’s Carmen (which was ably backed up by the choral singers in the room!) She is the host of Opera at Ido Susho on Wednesdays with Matthew Martin Ward, and Saturdays (starting October 6) with Mark Janas. Speaking of, Matthew Martin Ward was next with a French-lyriced version of “Embraceable You.” Matthew is doing musical direction & arrangements for a show called, “Hopelessly In Love: The Lyrics of Tom Toce” directed by Peter Napolitano - Oct 10 at 7pm, and Oct 28, Nov 3 & 10 at 4pm at the Metropolitan Room. Be sure to check it out!
We’re thrilled to have Bill Zeffiro back with us with his new tune, “A Voice in The Blue.” You can always here Bill at La Mediterannae on Tuesday nights. He’s also the musical director for Marissa Mulder’s CD release party October 9 at 7pm at the Metropolitan Room. Richie Eisenberg was back with one of my favorite original tunes of his, “On A Night Like This.” We’re proud to announce that Richie will be out next Salon Presents, on October 24 at 7pm and 9:30pm. More details will be posted soon!
For the final number of the evening, co-host Parker Scott sang the ultimate Edith Piaf tune, “Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien.”
Next week features Co-Host Anna Bergman. Our Salon Spotlight will be the always hilarious Joshua Desjardins & Joshua Warr. The optional theme is, “Amour, Amore, Liebe & Love.” Bring any song that celebrates different languages, especially the language of love!
Remember, any material, on or off theme, is always welcome at Salon.
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| Next week's co-host, Anna Bergman! |
HAVE A VIDEO FROM THE SALON? We want to see it!
I’ve created a playlist for Salon performances, and I would love to add yours to it. I’ve taken the liberty to scour YouTube to find what’s already posted. To see what’s currently on the playlist, click this YouTube link (note: if I've added a video of yours that you'd like removed, just let me know!)
To add your video:
Visit the blog and use the search box on the right to find the official “Wrap Up” article from the date that you performed. Leave a comment on that blog article and include the link to your YouTube video - I’ll then get it added to the playlist!
Even better, your link will be viewable by anyone who visits that particular blog post - exciting, huh?
The only rule is that you can only post videos of yourself - please do not post links to videos of other people without their permission.
Thanks, and see you this Sunday!
Blogette for The Salon
Need anything? Please email me.
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