The Salon Wrap-Up for April 9, 2017 - "Still Happy"

It's beginning to look more and more like Swing...I mean, Spring...in New York City, and we were thrilled to have vocalist-saxophonist Danny Bacher to Co-Host the evening with Mark Janas on Sunday. Danny is a true Renaissance Man: as a writer, saxophonist, singer, comedian, and puppeteer, he has been seen touring nationally and internationally, Off-Broadway, and at the Rose Hall and Carnegie Hall. His debut album, "Swing That Music" has been on the Grammy Ballot! He started the evening with his upbeat and bluesy original tune "In Spite of This, I'm Still Happy," which featured a saxophone solo in the bridge and one of my favorite lyrics of the evening, "'Woe is me' is just a point of view." This song will be the featured track on his upcoming album, "Still Happy." For the Second Act set, Danny started with Leonard Bernstein's soulful "Lucky to Be Me" from On The Town, and utilized his saxophone to bounce the melody around with Mark Janas on the piano. This song will be on his new upcoming CD. Then he sang two songs from his past CD, "Swing That Music," which honors "Three Louis's" - Prima, Armstrong, and Jordan. He sang a song originally sung by Louis Jordan, "If It's Love You Want Baby, That's Me"; it included a saucy "rap" break that showed off Danny's standup comedy chops.  Then he picked up his saxophone (it's a soprano) and honored Louis Armstrong by performing the sweet "Dream a Little Dream of Me." He capped the evening off with an awesome rendition of Gershwin's "I Got Rhythm," which started with a fast-walking bass line from Mark on piano and then melded into the classic lyrics we all know and love. Then, Danny threw in some amazing vocal scatting that brought it to a uniquely sparkling Finale!

Danny Bacher

Danny's CD "Swing That Music" can be purchased online. You can find Danny on Facebook as well.

Quick Wrap - Classical Corner

Mark Janas introduced the era of Impressionism to the audience, which artistically is full of pastel colors and fuzzy lines; the idea was to give an idea of an object, concept, or image, but to keep it in soft focus. Musically, this was applied by the use of "planing," in which the melodies run in parallel with each other with sudden key changes interspersed. The Impressionists loved the same music that inspired early American Jazz: thick harmonies and chord progressions as well as themes from African music.  One of the most famous musical impressionists of the late 19th Century was Claude Debussy, a French composer who, alongside Maurice Ravel, epitomized the composition style. In fact, Ravel once said he wished he had the opportunity to study with George Gershwin! However, the two Impressionistic composers had distinct differences when it came to work ethic: while Ravel worked in an organized manner with "office" composing hours from 9am to 5pm, Debussy often worked all hours of the evening, and often called on friends at 4am to hear a new piece he may have just finished. One of those pieces he might have debuted at 4am was "Clair de Lune," a suite in 3 movements that is a famous example of the Impressionistic musical period. Mark then started playing this famous piece as written, exemplifying the flowing and undulating motions of the melody line. Then, Danny picked his soprano saxophone up and began to do a jazz improvisation on top of the pre-composed music, showing off just how the beautiful styles of both Impressionism and Jazz complemented each other. It was gorgeous!

Roster of performers for the evening (in order of appearance):
Click link to visit the performer’s website or other links, when available.
All piano accompaniment by Mark Janas unless otherwise noted.

Co-Host: Danny Bacher
Becca Kidwell
Robin Kradles
Alexis Blaire Brown
Zach Wobensmith
Marcia Roney (with Matthew Martin Ward at piano)
Barb Malley (with Matthew Martin Ward at piano)
Sally Darling (with Matthew Martin Ward at piano)
Wendy Scherl (with Matthew Martin Ward at piano)
Janice Hall (with Matthew Martin Ward at piano)
Matthew Martin Ward (self at piano)
Julie Reyburn
Nancy McGraw
David Ballard
Sierra Rein
Classical Corner: Danny Bacher (on saxophone), and Mark Janas (on piano)
BREAK
Co-Host: Danny Bacher
Tanya Moberly
Daniel Sean Kremer (self on guitar)
Louisa Lee Poster
Josiah (self on guitar)
Co-Host: Danny Bacher
Encores:
Becca Kidwell
Julie Reyburn
Alexis Blaire Brown
Zach Wobensmith
David Ballard
Sierra Rein
Robin Kradles
Barb Malley (with Matthew Martin Ward at piano)
Sally Darling and Matthew Martin Ward (with Matthew Martin Ward at piano)
Janice Hall (with Matthew Martin Ward at piano)
Matthew Martin Ward (self at piano)

Special thanks to tonight’s musicians: Mark Janas, Danny Bacher, Daniel Sean Kremer, Josiah, and Matthew Martin Ward!

And thank you to Gill Alexandre on lights and sound, and David Ballard and our amazing waitstaff who make sure all the sweets are sweet and all the whisky sours are super sour!

Ongoing Shows: 

Monday nights (7pm): Opera Open Mic at Shanghai Mong with Mark Janas and Matthew Martin Ward, 30 West 32nd Street, NYC. www.shanghaimongnyc.com

Saturday nights: Louisa Lee Poster and the Rick Bogart Quartet will be at the Empire Steak House East, 151 East 50th Street, NYC.

Upcoming Shows:

Tuesday, April 11, 2017 (9pm): Josiah and the Bonnevilles perform at The Bitter End, 147 Bleecker Street, NYC.

Saturday, April 15th, 2017 (7pm): Frances O'Flynn in "Lovely Day Tomorrow" with Matthew Martin Ward at Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC.

Tuesday, April 18, 2017 (7pm): Robin Kradles in "Gambling on Love" with Director Lennie Watts and MD Rick Jensen at Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC.

Friday, April 21, 2017 (7pm): Barb Malley is bringing back her show, "OMG - Am I A Diva?" to Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC.

Saturday, April 22, 2017 (7pm): Julie Reyburn with Mark Janas at piano brings back "Fate is Kind" to Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC.

Saturday, April 22, 2017 (7:30pm): Janice Hall brings back her award-winning "Grand Illusions: The Music of Marlene Deitrich" at Union Temple of Brooklyn, 17 Eastern Pkwy, NYC.

Sunday, April 23 2017 (4:30pm): Marcia Rooney with Matthew Martin Ward in "Letting Go," directed by Peter Napolitano, at Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC.

Tuesday, April 25, 2017 (7pm): Tanya Moberly directs Dan Ruth in "A Life Behind Bars" at The Laurie Beechman Theatre, 407 W 42nd St, NYC. Use discount code "Behindbars" for $5 off!

Friday, April 28, 2017 (7pm): Wendy Scherl in "New Scherl in Town" with Director Barry Kleinbort and Matthew Martin Ward at The Metropolitan Room, 34 W 22nd St, NYC.

Sunday, April 30, 2017 (7pm): Sierra Rein (as part of Marquee Five) at "Sondheim Unplugged" at Feinstein's 54 Below, and will be performing a showcase for the NYU Graduate Musical Theater writing program.

Tuesday, May 9, 2017 (7pm): Tanya Moberly directs Dan Ruth in "A Life Behind Bars" at The Laurie Beechman Theatre, 407 W 42nd St, NYC. Use discount code "Behindbars" for $5 off!

Wednesday, May 10, 2017 (7pm): Sally Darling in "Love Lust and Longing" with music director Matthew Martin Ward, at Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC.

Thursday, May 11, 2017 (7pm): Wendy Scherl in "New Scherl in Town" with Director Barry Kleinbort and Matthew Martin Ward at The Metropolitan Room, 34 W 22nd St, NYC.

Sunday, May 14, 2017 (2:30pm): Julie Reyburn and Layla Fields will be a part of "A Very Broadway Mother's Day" at Feinstein's 54 Below, 254 West 54th Street, Cellar, NYC.

Wednesday, May 17, 2017 (9:30pm): Tanya Moberly directs Dan Ruth in "A Life Behind Bars" at The Laurie Beechman Theatre, 407 W 42nd St, NYC. Use discount code "Behindbars" for $5 off!

Tuesday, May 23, 2017 (7pm): Wendy Scherl in "New Scherl in Town" with Director Barry Kleinbort and Matthew Martin Ward at The Metropolitan Room, 34 W 22nd St, NYC.

Wednesday, May 31, 2017 (7pm): Tanya Moberly directs Amy Beth Williams in "Carried Away," with Daryl Kojak (piano), Ritt Henn (bass), Will Holshouser (accordion), and John Henry Williams (violin) at Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC.

Wednesday, June 14, 2017 (7pm): Tanya Moberly directs Amy Beth Williams in "Carried Away," with Daryl Kojak (piano), Ritt Henn (bass), Will Holshouser (accordion), and John Henry Williams (violin) at Don't Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC.

Thursday, June 15, 2017 (7pm): Wendy Scherl in "New Scherl in Town" with Director Barry Kleinbort and Matthew Martin Ward at The Metropolitan Room, 34 W 22nd St, NYC.

THERE WILL BE NO SALON THIS SUNDAY - HAPPY EASTER! NEXT SALON will be April 23rd with the theme "Comes Love - Nothing Can Be Done." The Co-Hosts will be Mark Janas' student group from The Manhattan School of Music!

Sierra Rein
Blogette for The Salon
Updates and kitten pictures can be emailed to me!