August 9, 2015
Theme: “Chemistry”
It’s so wonderful being back at The Salon! I just finished two shows that took me away from hanging out with my cabaret family, and I missed you all!
Salon host and founder Mark Janas is still in the Poconos, but we counted ourselves lucky that our guest host this week was the immensely talented, Ian Herman. This Bistro Award winner began his musical career studying classical piano and at the age of thirteen he was a guest soloist with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Broadway credits include “Jelly’s Last Jam”, “The Who’s Tommy”, “Song And Dance”, “Grease” & “Swing”, for which he wrote vocal and dance arrangements. His latest CD is DUET with Sean Harkness and is available on iTunes, Amazon and CD Baby. http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/ianhermanseanharkness
Our Co-Host was the always classy and compelling, Sean Harkness. This Bistro & Multiple MAC Award Winner is both a musical artist and guitarist-for-hire. He composes music for solo guitar and small ensembles; supports an exhaustive list of singers, musicians, and theatrical productions and endorses Walden acoustic guitars and DR Strings. He has six commercial releases as an artist, including DUET with Ian Herman. For more information: www.seanharkness.com.
Tonight’s theme was “Chemistry” which inspired all kinds of interpretations of the word! To kick off the evening, Sean played a beautiful song (with Ian on piano) called “Duet” - which also happens to be the name of their album. What’s so fantastic about watching Sean and Ian together is that you see pure joy oozing out of them when they create music together. And you can also hear that joy when they’re playing - many Salon-ers could be found closing their eyes to let their ears take over.
For the first song of his mid-show set, Sean played a gorgeous acoustic tune that had the audience absolutely silent with wonder. The second he played he titled “Sunset” (but, of course, he said that since there are no words you can call the song anything you’d like!) In the intro to his final song, Sean said that it was inspired his cat, Saba, running around his apartment like a crazy animal! After the first verse, Ian jumped onto the keys and the audience started clapping along. It was fantastic!
Sean closed by saying how grateful he was for events like The Salon, “where people celebrate music and make songs.” For the final song of the evening, he invited Ian to join him in a delicate duet which had me wistful and inspired. Their CD is a must-have - be sure to pick up a copy online or at their next show.
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| From Left: Guest Host Ian Herman and Co-Host Sean Harkness |
Quick Wrap: Ian’s Classical Corner
Ian started by talking about his rigorous training and (consequent) disaffection with classical music growing up. He exclaimed, “There were so many notes! And you had to play them all perfectly or else people would get mad at you. So that’s when I started getting into writing.”
Ian announced that he would be playing three classical pieces that he wrote himself. For his first song, he started by saying that he always had a hard time playing Brahms, namely because the chords were too big for his hands. So the first piece he shared was written with “a Brahms flair.” For the second song he invited Sean up to play with him, and the audience was so excited that I didn’t catch who the classical influence was! The last song of Classical Corner was an original piece inspired by Beethoven, and with that Ian’s fingers positively FLEW across the keys. It was breathtaking.
Roster of singers for the evening (in order of appearance):
Click link to visit the performer’s website, when available.
All piano accompaniment by Ian Herman unless otherwise noted.
Richie Eisenberg (with Sean Harkness on guitar and Ian Herman on piano)
Sandra Bargman (with Sean Harkness on guitar and Ian Herman on piano)
Nicci
Sally Darling (with Matthew Martin Ward on piano)
Matthew Martin Ward (on voice and piano)
Ann Dawson
David Auxier
Dawn Derow (with Sean Harkness on guitar)
Steve Bustamante (on guitar, with Sean Harkness on guitar as well)
Jenn B Hudson (with Sean Harkness on guitar and Ian Herman on piano)
Special thanks to tonight’s pianists and guitarists: Ian Herman, Sean Harkness, Matthew Martin Ward, and Steve Bustamante.
And thank you to Gill Alexandre on lights and sound, our amazing waitstaff who always handle the demands of a full house with grace and style, and Steve Bustamante who is providing video footage for people interested in that service!
Upcoming shows:
Ongoing: Matthew Martin Ward plays on Mondays at the West End Lounge, 955 West End Ave, NYC.
Ongoing: Bill Zeffiro plays every Tuesday (8:30-11pm) at Millesime, 92 Madison Ave, NYC and every Wednesday (8-12) at La Rivista, 313 W 46th St, NYC.
Ongoing: Metrostar Competition every Monday night until August 17, 2015. At The Metropolitan Room, 34 West 22nd St., NYC.
Ongoing: Mama's Next Big Act every Tuesday night until August 25th at Don’t Tell Mama, 343 W 46th St, NYC.
Tuesday, August 11, 2015 (evening) - Carole Demas will be appearing in “Pal ‘o Mine” at the Iridium. 1650 Broadway, NYC.
Wednesday, August 12, 2015 (7pm) - David Ballard hosts "Starting Here!" a new composers/new songs showcase at Room 53, 314 W 53rd St, NYC.
Friday, August 14, 2015 (7pm) - Tanya Moberly in “Songs I Feel Like Singing” (with a rotation of musicians - this date has Steven Ray Watkins) at Don’t Tell Mama, 343 W 46th St, NYC.
Friday, August 14, 2015 - David Auxier in “The Engagement” at The Metropolitan Room, 34 West 22nd St., NYC.
Saturday, August 15, 2015 (7pm) - Karen Carpenter tribute (with Natasha Castillo and Adam Shapiro) at The Metropolitan Room, 34 West 22nd St., NYC.
Wednesday, August 19, 2015 - David Auxier in “The Engagement” at The Metropolitan Room, 34 West 22nd St., NYC.
Sunday, August 23, 2015 (7pm & 8:30pm) - Dawn Derow in “Mostly Marcus” at Bar Thalia, 2537 Broadway (at 95th St), NYC.
Wednesday, August 24, 2015 - Dawn Derow will be appearing in Bobbie Horowitz's "It's Only A Number" series at The Metropolitan Room, 34 West 22nd St., NYC.
Wednesday, September 2, 2015 (6:30pm) - Carole Demas in “Music at Tudor City Greens” at Tudor City Park, NYC.
Wednesday, September 9, 2015 - David Auxier in “The Engagement” at The Metropolitan Room, 34 West 22nd St., NYC.
Sunday, September 27, 2015 (4pm) - Sandra Bargman (with music director Ian Herman) in “The Edge of Every Day” at The Metropolitan Room, 34 West 22nd St., NYC.
Sunday, September 27, 2015 (4pm) - Carole Demas in “Sondheim Unplugged” at 54 Below, 244 W 54th St, NYC.
Saturday, October 3, 2015 (4pm) - Ann Dawson in “Traveling Solo: Tales and Tunes” at The Metropolitan Room, 34 West 22nd St., NYC.
Friday, October 23, 2015 (7pm) - Tanya Moberly in “Songs I Feel Like Singing” (with a rotation of musicians - this date has Mark Janas) at Don’t Tell Mama, 343 W 46th St, NYC.
Wednesday, October 28, 2015 (7pm) - Ann Dawson in “Traveling Solo: Tales and Tunes” at The Metropolitan Room, 34 West 22nd St., NYC.
Friday, November 6, 2015 (7pm) - Tanya Moberly in “Songs I Feel Like Singing” (with a rotation of musicians - this date has Sean Harkness) at Don’t Tell Mama, 343 W 46th St, NYC.
Friday, November 13, 2015 (9:30pm) - Tanya Moberly in “Songs I Feel Like Singing” (with a rotation of musicians - this date has Ritt Henn) at Don’t Tell Mama, 343 W 46th St, NYC.
Friday, November 20, 2015 (9:30pm) - Tanya Moberly in “Songs I Feel Like Singing” (with a rotation of musicians - this date has Steven Ray Watkins) at Don’t Tell Mama, 343 W 46th St, NYC.
Tuesday, November 24, 2015 - Dawn Derow will be celebrating her 40th birthday with a show (with Sean Harkness) - stay tuned for details!
Next Week’s Salon
Next week we’re honoring the good ol’ American Songbook with the theme, “Broadway - Tin Pan Alley, and Beyond,” with your co-host, Ann Dawson. We’ll see you then!
Erin Cronican
Blogette for the Salon
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