News & Press May ’08
Pat Metheny (Jazz House Kids Presents)
Ideas, innovations and collaborations of a jazz icon
A conversation with a guitarist, composer, bandleader and 17-time Grammy winner.
Special guest interviewer, world-renowned bassist, Christian McBride.
Discussion Followed by audience Q&A.
Jazz House Kids is a Montclair-based jazz arts enrichment organization, providing programs that stimulate creativity, develop collaborative skills and invigorate our classrooms through the medium of jazz. |
SOPAC STARS SPRING GALA
BUY TICKETS NOW
Join the SOPAC Board of Governors and the Spring Gala Committee for The SOPAC Stars Spring Gala Featuring
Angie Stone
Singer/songwriter/actress Angie Stone is much in demand for her modern old-soul meets the new groove sound. Just nominated for a Grammy for Best R&B Performance for her new Stax Records CD, The Art of Love & War, she has one of the most powerful voices in R&B and a playful personality that always moves the crowd.
Phoebe Snow
Phoebe Snow’s debut CD in 1974 featured the now iconic “Poetry Man” and landed her on the cover of Rolling Stone. She was a star out of the gate and has remained one of the most distinctive voices in popular music with her rare, perfect blend of folk, blues, rock and soul. Her rare engagements sell out quickly.
Ryan Shaw
Featured at SOPAC last October before his Grammy nomination for Best Traditional R&B Vocal, Ryan Shaw is someone we couldn’t wait to bring back. In Sam Cooke-meets-Ray Charles style, this 27-year-old singer/songwriter is reviving vintage American music and stirring up a soul revival.
Order of the Evening
Saturday, June 7, 2008
6:30pm pre-performance reception Grand Lobby | Sponsored by WaMu
8pm Gala Concert | SOPAC Theater
After-show Dance Party The Loft at SOPAC | Sponsored by restaurant mc of Millburn
Get Moving @ SOPAC with Lydia Johnson Dance!
This spring Lydia Johnson Dance, SOPAC's dance company in residence, will be hosting a full schedule of classes in the SOPAC Loft. Offering a variety of classes for all ages, ability levels and interests, these classes are a fun way to get moving at SOPAC.
CLASSES BEGIN FEBRUARY 11
SIGN UP TODAY @ lydiajohnsondance.org
Class Fees:
Each class meets 12x during the semester plus a 13th day for an evening of students work.
$350 per class for the semester*
$600 for 2 classes*
*Sibling discounts are 10%
Lydia Johnson Dance
MONDAYS AT SOPAC
12:30-1:15 PM: Pre Ballet and Dance for Pre-K (4 and 5 yr olds)
1:30 –2:15 PM: Pre-Ballet and Dance for Kindergarteners (5 and 6 yr olds)
Young children will experience the incredible, joyous physicality of ballet without the usual focus on a recital. Focus is on basic body placement and the creative urge to dance as children explore their own response to music and dance freely for a portion of the class.
Teacher: Rayna Pomper
4:00- 5:00 PM: Intro to Ballet and Choreography (Grades K-2)
This class focuses on the basic structures of early ballet technique while allowing children to experience a joyous exploration of movement. The choreography portion of the class encourages a growing awareness of the use of dance technique as a creative tool. Children will show short pieces of choreography at the end of the semester.
Teachers: Ferrell Alexander, Lydia Johnson
5:00- 6:00 PM: Ballet and Choreography I (Grades 2-4)
This class is broken into two segments with LJD Company member Ferrell Alexander (formerly with Aspen/Santa Fe Ballet) teaching a Royal Academy-based ballet class followed by Lydia Johnson teaching beginning Choreography. Choreographic tools, such as: levels, theme and variation, canons, movement dynamics and spatial design are explored. The class culminates in a student showing of works in progress.
Teachers: Ferrell Alexander, Lydia Johnson
6:00-7:00 PM Ballet and Choreography II (Grades 4-9 including beginners)This class is broken into two segments with LJD Company member Ferrell Alexander (formerly with Aspen/Santa Fe Ballet) teaching a Royal Academy-based ballet class followed by Lydia Johnson teaching beginning choreography. Level II classes incorporate additional skills as students grow in their abilities to compose dances. Partnering and group partnering are introduced. Students begin to use music as a part of their creative process. The class culminates in a student showing of works in progress.
Teachers: Ferrell Alexander, Lydia Johnson
7:30 –8:30 PM: Ballet for Teens and Adults (Including Athletes, Actors, Musicians & CEOs)
This is the perfect ballet class for adult or teen beginners, or for students with some prior training, who wish to experience the joyous physicality of ballet. Finding classes for teens is difficult and this class will allow athletes, actors and others to add a dance class to their week. Ballet alleviates stress and encourages grace and efficiency of movement, which can help in other areas of creative expression.
Teacher: Ferrell Alexander.
For more details or to Register:
visit www.lydiajohnsondance.org
or Call 973.763.6971
Seasoned rocker in South Orange
John Waite.
Where: South Orange Performing Arts Center, 1 SOPAC Way, South Orange. When: 8 p.m. Saturday. How much: $38-$48.
John Waite, a rock singer-songwriter who was born in England, made an unlikely appearance on the country charts this year, after re-recording his signature song, "Missing You," as a tender duet with pop-bluegrass star Alison Krauss.
Waite, who is 52 and now lives in Santa Monica, Calif., recorded the song for his latest album, "Downtown ... Journey of a Heart," which includes new versions of songs from throughout his approximately 30-year career, including material from his days with the bands the Babys ("Isn't It Time") and Bad English ("When I See You Smile"). He'll perform with guitarist Jimmy Leahey and bassist Tim Hogan -- he describes the format as "a fuller version of 'Unplugged'" -- Saturday night at the South Orange Performing Arts Center.
Q. Have you done a lot of semi-unplugged performing?
A. Yeah, I've been doing a lot of that for about five years. We initially went out to promote an album called "The Hard Way," a few years ago, and toured a lot of small clubs and did a lot of Borders book shops. In the end, it became such a great thing that half the dates turn out to be unplugged, and then half the dates are electric. There's this part of me that just loves it more.
Q. Do you do songs very differently from how you do them with a band?
A. Well, you're not trying to get above the volume. But you're still singing flat out. It's fun, because if somebody in the audience screams something, you can always move toward that song. It's pretty liquid.
Q. Or if you have a new musical idea in the middle of a song, you can try it out.
A. Yeah. It's a great form. It's how we all started.
Q. Did you play in coffeehouses or things like that before you were in rock bands?
A. No. But when you start out, you really can only afford the acoustic (guitar). Then if you get serious about it, you get the electric. But all of the great songs were written on acoustic guitars, and obviously it has a strong harkening back to the blues and country, and English folk. A lot of rock 'n' roll singers have electric roots, and that's all they are. But I come from a whole different place, 'cause I have those acoustic roots.
Q. Do you do a lot of blues or folk songs, or other covers, in shows like these?
A. No. Not unless we feel like that. We're probably more likely to do that with a band, because we do some Dylan stuff. But there's no real plan to any of it.
Doing the unplugged thing so consistently, any stage fright you might have had goes out the window, because when you're playing in broad daylight in a book shop, you've really got to be on your game, and have the thing flying. There's nowhere else for anyone to look, and the P.A. is generally like barely passable.
Q. And you can't just use volume ...
A. Well, I've never been about that. I've never been one of those guys that relied on that kind of energy. I adore volume, but I don't write songs using that kind of volume. I write the song first, then I step it up.
Q. How did the "Missing You" duet with Alison Krauss come about?
A. I called her up.
Q. Did you just think she would be good on it?
A. She was my favorite female singer. Still is. I listen to a lot of women singers, 'cause I kind of know how guys do it. It's been a long time since I've learned anything from another male singer. I kind of learned what I learned by the time I was about 14, though there were odd flashes of somebody else having a great record (later). I'd go like, "How did he do that?" But I kind of knew how he did that, because I was listening to the same stuff: Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin, Robert Johnson, Hank Williams. There are just people who are like the pillars of music, and everyone has access to those artists.
Q. What was it about Krauss' singing that you liked?
A. It was honest. It was totally real -- much as she is. She's exactly what her voice says she is. So it was kind of an entrancing experience, really. I met her, and we clicked. It was a great 48 hours.
I had just finished up the album when she said she would do it. I went back to Nashville, because I made the album in Nashville, and we just met up, and did it. Then I looked at the record, and decided it needed some fresh blood. She kind of raised the bar on the record. So I had to throw a few other things on it as well, that were kind of fresh. So I went into a Manhattan studio with a New York band, and cut three more things.
It's a strange album. It was supposed to be a greatest-hits collection. But I got so bored in the middle that I started to make it a psychedelic greatest-hits, and I did an unplugged version of "When I See You Smile," which led me to the duet with "Missing You." It's sort of like, it's not one thing or the other. It was meant to be a crash course in John Waite, for Europe, and midstream, it became my latest release, worldwide.
Jay Lustig may be reached at jlustig@starledger.com or (973) 392-5850
Warwick's world
The Star-Ledger
Thursday, October 18, 2007
BY JAY LUSTIG
Star-Ledger Staff
When Dionne Warwick goes on a world tour, she really goes on a world tour. She will perform in four continents before 2007 ends, with stops everywhere from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Riga, Latvia.
But next week, the 66-year-old singer, who was responsible for some of the most timeless pop hits of the '60s and '70s, will stay close to her South Orange home. On Oct. 25 and 26, she will present evenings of music and conversation titled "My Music and Me" at the South Orange Performing Arts Center. She will also be at the B.B. King Blues Club & Grill in New York on Wednesday, for a more conventional concert.
Her only previous "My Music and Me" shows took place last year, with a 12-show run at London's Shaw Theatre. The London daily The Independent called it "an informal, up-close-and-personal autobiography and greatest-hits show." Another paper, The Guardian, after citing a withering comment Warwick made about her one-time rival Cilla Black, called the show "brilliantly bitchy, knowingly diva-ish and, occasionally, profoundly touching."
Warwick, who will be backed by a six-piece band during the shows, says the idea is simply "to tell my life story, through my music, as opposed to writing an autobiography that's only for publication. Hopefully it's something that could go to Broadway someday."
If it did, it would mark her Broadway debut -- one of the few firsts she has yet to accomplish in her nearly 50-year career.
The show stays more or less the same from night to night, with Warwick looking over her life, chronologically, between songs. "Basically, it's scripted," she says. "But the words are my words."
The supporting cast includes Warwick's sister Dee Dee -- a veteran singer herself -- on backing vocals. Dionne says she can't remember the last time the two worked together.
She says the London run "was absolutely wonderful. The response was really overwhelming -- much more than I ever expected it to be. It really gave me hope."
Hope for what? "That it had the possibility of going to Broadway."
For now, though, it can only be seen at the 415-seat SOPAC. And Ondine Landa Abramson, acting executive director of SOPAC (which opened last year), couldn't be happier.
"It's a big deal, first of all, because it's Dionne Warwick," says Abramson. "She's a household name, a celebrity -- really an iconic person who fortunately for us is also a local townsperson. In addition, it's all the more a big deal for us because she reached out to us, through her agency, to play this room, and we in essence have the privilege of doing the North American premiere of this one-woman show. I think the intimacy of our house, and certainly the location of our house -- being that it's so close to home for her -- all played heavily in our favor."
Abramson says that in the future, "we hope she'll start thinking of SOPAC as the place she likes to work out her new material. That would be quite the honor."
Warwick, who was born into a musical family -- her aunt is Cissy Houston, making Whitney Houston her cousin -- started singing with the gospel groups the Drinkard Singers and the Gospelaires as a teenager. Session work in New York led to her association with composer Burt Bacharach and lyricist Hal David, and her precise, elegant phrasing made her the perfect singer for them. Their songs were complex, with melodies that flowed in unexpected directions and time signatures that are rarely used in pop songs. But Warwick made whatever they threw at her sound completely natural.
From 1963 to 1970, the three worked together steadily and produced a stream of hits that included "Don't Make Me Over," "Anyone Who Had a Heart," "Walk On By," "Alfie," "I Say a Little Prayer," "Do You Know the Way To San José" and "I'll Never Fall In Love Again."
Warwick was never able to match that level of success, though she continued to have occasional Top 40 hits through the late '80s. Most notably, she had No. 1 hits in both 1974 ("Then Came You," which teamed her with the Spinners) and 1985 (her "That's What Friends Are For" AIDS charity single, with Elton John, Gladys Knight and Stevie Wonder).
Recent albums have included 2004's "My Favorite Time of the Year," devoted to Christmas standards, and last year's "My Friends and Me," featuring collaborations with artists such as Knight (on "I'll Never Love This Way Again"), Gloria Estefan (on "Walk On By"), the late Celia Cruz, Wynonna Judd and Reba McEntire.
Warwick was born and raised in East Orange -- where the Dionne Warwick Institute, an elementary school, is named after her -- and has also lived in Maplewood. She moved to South Orange five years ago.
She also maintains a home in Brazil. "I call it my stress-free country," she says. "When I go there, everything drops away."
She has not yet seen a show at SOPAC, but has visited it "to take a look," and says she feels it's important for the town to have a theater of its own.
"South Orange deserves it," she says.
Small, intimate setting helps SOPAC attract some big names
Homey entertainment
STAGE
Dionne Warwick, Madeleine Peyroux and Sweet Honey in the Rock will keep the music playing during the 2007-2008 season announced for the South Orange Performing Arts Center.
The center, chummily named SOPAC, has 31 attractions booked for its second season. Acting executive director Ondine Landa Abramson said yesterday that the center expects to eventually surpass the 54 attractions of the inaugural season.
"We're finding that a number of big names are interested in the in timacy of smaller venues," she said of the 415-seat facility. "Peyroux sold out 2,400 seats in New York just recently, but she wants the experience of playing to an intimate audience."
Warwick's show, "My Music & Me," is a pre-Broadway tryout. If all goes well, it will play New York the following season.
"We like getting artists on the way up," said Landa Abramson, "which prompted the Juilliard at SOPAC series. The school's best talents will be here on Wednesday nights, and at less expensive prices, too."
The South Orange Performing Arts Center is at 1 SOPAC Way, South Orange. Subscription and flexible ticket packages are available. Call (973) 313-2787 or visit www.sopacnow.org.
SOPAC named July Villager of the Month
The South Orange Performing
The Village Community Relations Committee is pleased to name the
In only seven months, SOPAC forged a memorable first year through unique programming, important partnerships and cultural leadership. It won praise from the media and important politicians, including former governor Richard Codey and Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo.
It welcomed national and international stars including Olympia Dukakis, Nancy Wilson, Yo-Yo Ma, Paula Poundstone, Richie Havens, Dan Zanes, Anoushka Shankar, Paquito D’Rivera, John Pizzarelli and the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio.
In collaboration with the community, it sponsored the Double-V cultural awareness program and “Squonk,” the musical tribute to our two towns.
What most impresses the Community Relations Committee is the important role SOPAC plays in bringing Villagers together downtown, creating a vital new Village center. Downtown restaurants and retail stores cite improved customer traffic since the arts center opened.
SOPAC’s partnership with
In a relationship with Cablevision (owner of Clearview Cinemas, which operates the five cinemas inside the arts center), SOPAC brings entertainment close to home and provides jobs for high school and college students.
In addition, a new collaboration has emerged between SOPAC, the Seton Hall Arts Council and The Baird. Together they are developing a cultural plan for the future of our Village. “
SOPAC is governed by and independent 22-person board of governors, chaired by local resident Barbara Stoller. Day to day, the arts center is run by a full-time executive director and professional staff.
“We are so grateful for the support we continue to receive from the community and remain grateful to the Village for its efforts to make SOPAC a reality,” said Stoller.
“This recognition as Villager of the Month is such an honor to us, because it reaffirms that we have become a cornerstone of this community.”
SOPAC looking forward after passing one-year mark
By Lauren DeFilippo – Staff Writer
The South Orange Performing Arts Center officially opened it’s long-awaited doors this fall with ceremony and optimism.
One year in, the theater has grown faster than expected and officials are still looking to expand through its second full season.
“The fist season has been a whirlwind, and I mean that in the best sense,” Ondine Landa Abramson, SOPAC’s acting executive director, said. “It’s not often (you) move in and also launch a first season all in two weeks.”
The history of SOPAC goes back to the mid-1990s, when a study was commissioned to develop a framework for revitalizing
During the next decade, the concept of SOPAC went from idea to physical reality, as an independent board was set up in 2001 to oversee construction of the performing arts center.
“It was very exciting to see the facility com to life, literally come to life,” Vice Chairman of the SOPAC Board of Governors Anthony Leitner said.
“It’s location is both a curse and blessing,” he said, noting that it is conveniently located in the downtown area, but that it is somewhat obscured by the
Barbara Stoller, Chairwoman of the SOPAC Board of Governors, had a similar reaction.
She first joined the board five years ago and dutifully attended meetings, learning of and listening to the plans. Then construction began; something she described as “amazing.”
“It was real,” she said. “To think what I had only seen in my head was coming up in the center of
The key to a successful first season, Abramson said, has been the diversity of the performances SOPAC is able to offer, something it hopes to expand on as scheduling and programming begins for Season Two.
“I think we overcame a lot of the doubts,” Stoller said, noting that SOPAC has taken the feedback from its audience, both the praise and the criticism, and used it to improve. “I think we had an amazing first year. We won over many, many nay-sayers.”
There is also the delicate balance of not only getting legendary artists to appear at SOPAC, but also recruiting talented artists who one day will be, Abramson said.
Leitner, a fan of early music, was even able to underwrite a presentation, “Music of 1492 and the Age of Columbus,” featuring the Waverly Consort in March.
While it didn’t fill the house, Leitner said the program did attract people who might not otherwise have come.
Having a 400-seat theater gives SOPAC the opportunity to takes risks with niche performers that other venues may not.
“Distinctive, I think is the word. Not something you get everywhere. It really is a family, enveloped in the sound of the performance,” Stoller said, noting it’s the acoustics of the theater that set it apart from over venues. “Performers just enjoy performing here. It’s just different then playing anywhere else.”
Abramson said there is room for many different theaters in the area, noting that more venues means more kinetic energy between them and a greater opportunity to schedule niche programming.
“There’s a lot of opportunity for the arts in
“You have to help people make new habits,” Abramson said. “
As of the end of May, SOPAC has almost 500 members, more than twice the number and revenue projected by the
“Our audience is one willing to support our organization,” Abramson said of the numbers, noting that by supporting, individuals are committing to making SOPAC a success for everyone. There are also plans to get feedback from the membership community through a survey to be distributed this summer.
“There are very few people who say, ‘What’s SOPAC?’” she said. Building an audience is just one part of the multi-faceted future plans for the theater.
Abramson said there are plans to launch an education department that would reach out to young people in the area and allow them to discover, learn, grow and imagine.
“To be able to bring that to a community is something to get up very early in the morning and stay late at night for,” she said. “It’s about opening your mind to other concepts and the creative process. (We’re) going full throttle with that in Season Two.”
Educational programming would also serve as a way for SOPAC to anchor itself within the community, she said.
“(We’re) building the foundation of something we can be very proud of in years to come,” Abramson said, noting that through the educational component of SOPAC, she hopes to bring a combination of opportunities to the community that includes not only theater, but also music and dance.
Dance is something Abramson said she keeps close to her heart. “I want to make SOPAC a destination for dance,” she said, pointing to many different forms of dance like ballet, tap, flamenco and modern, as well as innovative pieces that will “push the envelope.”
Other than education, Abramson said Season Two will be the beginning of more partnerships with community groups. SOPAC is in talks with a local theater group to stage its production at the facility exclusively.
“Part of the goal here is to give children and youth the opportunity to perform on a real stage,” she said.
SOPAC’s partnership with
In addition to offering the arts and education to the community, Abramson also said SOPAC has served as a employment center for area residents.
“I think SOPAC has to prove itself as an arts organization with a good artistic and business sense,” Stoller said. “SOPAC will get stronger and stronger and be a magnet.”
A Toast to the Towns
The Star-Ledger
Friday, May 04, 2007
BY PETER FILICHIA
Star-Ledger Staff
NEW
The theatrical troupe known as Squonk Opera did double duty this time around.
While its three staff members often leave their
Or, as the two towns are chummily known, "SOMA."
On Saturday and Sunday at the South Orange Performing Arts Center, they'll present the world premiere of "SOMA: The Opera." The musical tribute to both hamlets includes video interviews with local residents, teachers and stu dents.
Steve O'Hearn, the company's 48-year-old co-artistic director and designer, says Squonk wound up in the
"That wasn't true of everyone," admits Jackie Dempsey, Squonk's 40-year-old co-artistic director and composer. "We only ran a month there."
Still, Finkelberg commissioned Squonk to do a towns-specific show, and chose May 5 and 6 as the dates the troupe would present it.
Now the only thing left was to write it. O'Hearn, Dempsey and their videographer, Buzz Miller, ar rived in
Miller, 40, cites the
"Bill Calabrese, a pharmacist who's also the village president," he says. "He's a personable guy, which is why people come into his pharmacy and talk. It's nice that it happens at his own drug store, too, and not a chain outfit."
O'Hearn agrees. "One of the charming things about both places is that in a time when everything's a franchise, each of these downtowns has preserved the mom-and- pop shops. These are hip, little cosmopolitan towns."
That's a welcome change for Dempsey, too. "We have many movies and TV shows about
Squonk has taken up the mantle. While they call their work "an opera," the three creators note that no one should expect a diva emoting her way through an "Aida"-like aria.
"My influences are Meredith Monk, the Cocteau Twins and Philip Glass," says Dempsey, citing some jazz and avant-garde artists. "We'll have six musicians at SOPAC. I'll be on keyboard and accordion, while Christina Acosta sings the lyrics she wrote."
In addition to electric and acoustic guitars, bass and drums, the audience will hear an unexpected Irish flute, wind synthesizer and Tyrolean trumpet.
Also involved in the presentation will be members from two dance academies: the
O'Hearn also says attendees should not expect much in political discourse.
"There's no blue-state, red-state ideology, or anything about Bush," he says. "It's hard for 300 million different Americans to feel that they share much, but a small town where people go to the same stores seems to bring out the community in people."
LEGENDARY JAZZ SINGER AND 2006 GRAMMY-AWARD WINNER
Upstage
An Arts & Culture Magazine
(excerpt)
(SOUTH ORANGE, NJ) -- The South Orange Performing Arts Center's (SOPAC) spring benefit concert features three-time Grammy-award winning jazz vocalist Nancy Wilson and opens with rising jazz star, singer Rachael Price. Hosting the festive event is on-air radio personality Vaughn Harper of WBLS. The event takes place on April 14th at 8pm. SOPAC is located at One SOPAC Way in South Orange, NJ.
Guest of Honor~ Nancy Wilson. Nancy Wilson is a three-time Grammy-award winning jazz phenomenon, who in 2006 won the Best Jazz Vocal Album category with her album Turned to Blue. Wilson began her professional singing career at the young age of 15 and performed on a variety of TV shows including The Carol Burnett Show and The Flip Wilson Show. She also had her own show on NBC called The Nancy Wilson Show, which won an Emmy in 1975. Wilson even received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. www.missnancywilson.com
Opening Act~ Rachael Price. Starting out this memorable evening is the emerging young jazz vocalist, Rachael Price, who in 2003, was tapped by the Grammy Foundation to perform with the High School Grammy Jazz Choir. The Tennessee native also showed off her talent at the U.S. Jazz festival in 2005. Recently Price released her debut CD, Dedicated to You.
Host~ Vaughn Harper of WBLS. Hosting the event is soulful DJ Vaughn Harper who has entertained audiences for almost twenty years. Harper is the on-air personality of "Quiet Storm" on WBLS, one of the tri-state area's favorite R&B and classic soul stations. His show is the number one night-time program in the tri-state area. www.vaughnharper.com
Come for the music, stay for the champagne and savor the memories of this unforgettable evening of style, sophistication and jazz.
Saluting 'Ol Blue Eyes
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
BY ZAN STEWART
Star-Ledger Staff
John Pizzarelli goes way back with Frank Sinatra. The Hoboken hero is one of the Paterson-born singer and guitarist's primary musical influences. In 1993, he opened for him on 18 dates in Europe and the United States.
Last year, Pizzarelli released a tribute CD, "Dear Mr. Sinatra" (Telarc), in support of which he's touring with the 16-piece New York All-Star Big Band. He stopped Sunday for two shows at the South Orange Performing Arts Center in South Orange.
The matinee was a mix of pure entertainment and high art that made you feel good. Much of the fun came from Pizzarelli's charms as a self-effacing, humorous emcee and raconteur.
At one point, he mocked himself, saying in reference to Sinatra, "Of course, I sound just like 'im," which drew laughs. With his slightly nasal, warm but modest tenor, Pizzarelli is miles from that humongous baritone. Not that it mattered, as he made each number breathe with life.
He also told of the one time he met Sinatra during the 1993 tour, how his eyes were as blue as the flames on a gas stove, and that the great one said just five words to him: "Eat somethin'. You look bad." More laughs.
The program had an appealing range, and was not without its share of surprises. Take Dave Mann-Bob Hilliard's "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning," written at Hilliard's home in Englewood in the mid-1950s. Pizzarelli's appropriately emotive, yet swaggering, version -- arranged by Quincy Jones for Sinatra and Count Basie -- had bite. Joe Magnarelli's Harmon-muted trumpet added color.
Another surprise was "I've Got You Under My Skin," usually a percolator per Sinatra, but here done at a crawl, with the clouds of brass sound, plus clarinets and flutes. The slower tempo drew out the appealing lower register of Pizzarelli's voice. The singer also dug deep on another emotional chiller, Arlen-Mercer's "One for My Baby," done just with pianist Larry Fuller's sublime accompaniment.
"Ring-a-Ding-Ding" was one ace upbeat selection, "Nice and Easy" was another. Here, Pizzarelli sang first with drummer Tony Tedesco on brushes, then bassist Martin Pizzarelli, his brother, stepped in, then the wailing band. On "All of Me" and "How About You?" found the leader following his vocal with an enticing simultaneous guitar solo/scat. Andy Fusco's vibrant alto sax lit up the latter.
The lone non-Sinatra number was the uproarious "I Like Jersey Best," in which Pizzarelli touted such Garden State climes as "Route 22 ... Margate... the Meadowlands," and superbly mimicked singers from Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash to Billie Holiday.
Pizzarelli performs his Sinatra salute with the big band April 24-28 at Birdland in New York. He also appears with his wife, Jessica Molasky, and his quartet, May 1-26 at the Café Carlyle, New York; (212) 744-1600, www.thecarlyle.com.
Reaping the benefits of SOPAC
(The Star Ledger Friday, March 23, 2007)
The sign on the empty lot said: "Coming Soon: South Orange Performing Arts Center." Choreographer Lydia Johnson, who has lived in South Orange for 16 years, used to pass it on her way to the train station. Two or three times a week, the struggling dance maker would schlep through the lot on her way to a rehearsal in New York.
"I would walk past it and think, 'Wouldn't it be cool if there was a theater right there?'" Johnson recalls. "And then they actually broke ground, and started to build it."
Even better, when the theater was completed, Johnson's contemporary dance company, Lydia Johnson Dance, was awarded an artistic residency there. The theater, which opened in November, will present an evening of her work Saturday, including a new and still untitled dance set to songs by blues singer Ray Lamontagne.
The SOPAC residency means a lot to Johnson. In the eight years since she founded her troupe, she tried to establish an artistic presence in her community. Enthusiastic local supporters invited her dancers to perform in their living rooms, clearing out their furniture and clustering the audience in doorways.
Johnson organized shared performances with other New Jersey artists at the South Orange Middle School Auditorium, a venue with limitations of its own (renters had to bring their own theater lights). In the end, however, Johnson resigned herself to giving annual performances at venues in New York, from the Da Capo Opera House to the new Ailey Citigroup Theater.
"Trying to persevere in this field can be hard," says Johnson, who describes herself as "very middle aged." She returned to choreography in 1998, after getting married and taking off several years to start a family.
"There's no money, and things constantly fall apart and rearrange themselves," she says. "It's still a project-to-project company in the sense that we pay the dancers per performance. We don't have health insurance. I don't pay for rehearsals. So they all do have to work other jobs.
" The SOPAC residency promises to open a whole new field of opportunities. Johnson and her dancers not only can perform there but also can offer community outreach classes and workshops.
Saturday's performance will feature a selection of Johnson's recent works, including "The End of the Movie," set to songs by the alternative rock band CAKE. "It's just a totally fun piece," Johnson says. "It's a parody, a commentary on commercial feminine movement."
"Falling Out," set to Philip Glass' third symphony, has a somber atmosphere. A duet that seems by turns antagonistic and restful focuses this piece, framed by a corps of women balanced on chairs. A third soloist regards the action from a distance. Citing Jungian analysis, Johnson compares the action in "Falling Out" to a dream in which "every character in your dream is part of yourself.
"Johnson says her primary inspiration is always music, however, and that concepts come later. Speaking of Lamontagne, she recalls, "I heard that voice, that pain and sorrow and that beauty, and I thought, 'Whoa.' Then I decided I would just do the same thing.
"It's about the flow of life," she says, describing her dance in which the performers circulate without forming permanent attachments.
The performance also includes "Coda," a formal dance with the performers arranged in lines and canons, interrupted by the sudden, natural appearance of children. Johnson choreographed this work to the third movement of Beethoven's string quartet number 15, and she says it reflects her experiences as a mother.
"It's having become who I am, having gone through those eight years where I just was absolutely drenched in motherhood," she says. "The stage almost looks funny to me, after a while, if there are never any children on it."
Robert Johnson may be reached at rjohnson@starledger.com.
Around the Scene, a Whirl of Change
December 31, 2006
By MICHELLE FALKENSTEIN, NY Times
AT the ribbon-cutting ceremony last month for the opening of the
“People kept saying, ‘What’s going on?’ ” said Ondine Landa Abramson, the center’s acting artistic director.
The arts center, which consists of a 415-seat live performance space and a five-screen movie complex, had its genesis 12 years ago when a study commissioned by
The performance space was opened by the comedian Paula Poundstone on Nov. 3, and the cellist Yo-Yo Ma and the jazz clarinetist Paquito D’Rivera performed at the center’s fund-raising gala later that month. Upcoming events include appearances by the jazz pianist Eddie Palmieri on Jan. 25, the sitarist Anoushka Shankar on March 13 and the singer Nancy Wilson on April 14.
The opening of the arts center, known as Sopac, was perhaps the most dramatic development of the year, but only one of many among New Jersey’s arts organizations. Following are some highlights.
The Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn announced in November that its president and chief executive, Michael Gennaro, would be leaving in January of 2007 to become the executive director of Trinity Rep in Providence, R.I. Mr. Gennaro joined Paper Mill in April 2003. The theater’s board of trustees has formed a committee to select new top leadership for the theater.
A new leader on the arts scene was announced in October by the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra in
“I’m a musician who manages,” said Mr. Gremillet, a pianist with an M.B.A. who will join the orchestra at the end of January.
He said he was “very impressed by the people here,” citing “a high collaborative spirit, unlike what I’ve seen in other places.”
Mr. Gremillet, who is French-Canadian, had been president of Casavant Frères, a builder of pipe organs near
Two of the five members appointed to the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in December may be familiar to audiences in the state: Savion Glover, the dancer and choreographer, and Judith Jamison, artistic director of the Alvin Ailey Dance Company. While the two are not the first artists on the NJPAC board (the actress Olympia Dukakis once served), they are the only two currently serving among the 44 members and seven ex-officio members.
“It’s important, in our view, for art centers to have this,” said Lawrence Goldman, president and chief executive of NJPAC. “We’re probably a little slow, but I’m glad we’re doing it, and we’ll probably do more of it.”
NJPAC also unveiled the New Jersey Walk of Fame in May, with 30 performers with ties to the Garden State being honored with cast-bronze reliefs in the inaugural installation in front of the center, including Whitney Houston, Jerry Lewis, Frank Sinatra, Meryl Streep and John Travolta.
Among the collaborations this year, Paper Mill and McCarter Theater in
The Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company of Fort Lee performed in October at a concert presentation of Puccini’s “Turandot” with the Westfield Symphony at the
One of the expansion programs on New Jersey’s arts scene took a step forward earlier this month when the Newark Museum was given permission by the New Jersey Historic Preservation office to demolish one of its five buildings, a former Y.M.C.A. built in 1913. The structure’s facade will be preserved and moved back to line up with the facade of the museum’s main building.
The demolition, which has met with resistance from some preservationists, is part of a planned $135 million expansion that will double the museum’s size to 400,000 square feet.
Expansion is also under way at the Community Theater in
At the
“I had the idea that if I jump-started an endowment, it would help,” Ms. Brodsky said. “Our goal for the endowment is $1 million, and we’re almost at that goal.”
On Jan. 13, the
Bruce Springsteen, who grew up in Freehold, served up the critically acclaimed “We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions” in April, and the singer Jon Bon Jovi, who was raised in Sayreville, and his band’s guitarist Richie Sambora, from Woodbridge, will be immortalized as action figures next July by McFarlane Toys, it was announced in October.
In November, Discover Jersey Arts, a project designed to increase awareness of and participation in the arts, unveiled the Jersey Arts Gift Card, which can be purchased for $5 to $500 and used at 30 locations statewide for admission, tickets to events, tours, classes and in gift shops.
Swinging Start
Monk septet's concert proves new SOPAC to be ideal jazz venue
Monday, November 13, 2006
BY ZAN STEWART, Star-Ledger Staff
Delivering an impressive array of hard-swinging songs, drummer T.S. Monk's septet boisterously kicked off the 2006-2007 jazz season Saturday at the newly opened South Orange Performing Arts Center (SOPAC) in South Orange.
With such ace players as Teaneck-based trumpeter Freddie Hendrix, Maplewood tenor saxophonist Willie Williams and N.Y.C. altoist Bobby Porcelli on board, South Orange resident Monk built his show around bustling numbers like Randy Weston's "Chessman's Delight," and Hank Mobley's "Infra-Rae." The band also included pianist Richard Johnson, bassist Derek Nievergelt, and percussionist Renato Thoms.
The 415-seat hall -- with 15 rows on the main floor, and 7 on the mezzanine -- is an ideal space for jazz. No seat is very far from the stage, allowing for the intimacy in which jazz thrives. Curved wooden baffles on the ceiling, acoustically sensitive wall material and the modest size of the hall all combine for fine acoustics where the very soft to the very loud is heard with clarity and accuracy.
Monk felt right at home, joking at one point that it was "like being in my basement," referring to the fact he resides nearby. In a more serious tone, gesturing at the performance space, he said, "This is marvelous."
The evening was titled "Monk on Coltrane," indicating perhaps a variety of tunes associated with saxophonist John Coltrane, who played with Monk's father, jazz giant Thelonious Monk. The younger Monk eschewed that conceit, playing only one Coltrane opus, the speedy "Impressions," where Thoms' bongo excursion was a treat. Late in the concert, Monk added his father's "Think of One."
Otherwise, his selections came mainly out of the 1950s, driving numbers that reflected the sounds of bands led by, say, Art Blakey, one of his drum heroes. The opening "Chessman's Delight," a medium fast cooker, fit this mode. The theme, part song-like, part riff-based, was given heft by the vibrant sound of the alto-tenor-trumpet frontline.
Porcelli soloed with his Charlie Parker-derived conception, issuing flowing lines and punchy ideas with a juicy sound. Hendrix' tone could be bright, or warm, his ideas intricate, or short and to the point. Williams, he of bold tone, mixed fluid thoughts with chordal explorations and more. Johnson could make his lines dance, or engage in engaging abstractions. Nievergelt dropped in lines of choice notes with a big sound, and Monk issued an assortment of percussive colors, from open drum hits to jangling cymbals. "J.J. Johnson's "Kelo," and Walter Davis' "Gypsy Folk Tales" had a similar feel.
Monk gave his band a break when he brought up 13-year-old Wynton Guess, a Montclair piano prodigy who played a solo interpretation of Jelly Roll Morton's "New Orleans Blues." It ran from early jazz flavors to sounds recalling the idiosyncratic New Orleans pianist, Professor Longhair. Monk followed with Oscar Brown's "Bid 'Em In," a riveting drum and vocal chant piece depicting an auction of a young black woman into slavery around the 1800s.
Later came "Think of One," a characteristic Monk number with potent rhythm and a spare melodic theme. The version included a portion of the master's piano solo orchestrated spiritedly for the horns.
Given that so much of the show was upbeat in tempo, a ballad would have been welcome.
Jazz, mixed with classical sounds, is on tap at SOPAC, 1 SOPAC Way, Thursday, 8 p.m., when saxophonist and clarinetist Paquito D'Rivera, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, the Imani Winds, pianist Alon Yavnai, and soprano Brenda Feliciano play for the hall's Inaugural Gala benefit, "Music of Two Worlds." $250-$750. Call (973) 313- 2787 or visit www.sopacnow.org.
The New South Orange Performing Arts Center (SOPAC)
The Jewel in The Crown of South Orange's Revitalization Showcases Music, Dance, Family Events, Comedy, Theater and Speaker Series
(September 25, South Orange, NJ) The new South Orange Performing Arts Center (SOPAC) is creating quite a stir in its hometown with the excitement of the building nearing completion and the recent announcement that a global world music program featuring Paquito D'Rivera and Yo-Yo Ma will kick off the Center's inaugural 2006-2007 season. Now that the signage is up, the fun is about to begin for those in Essex, Union and Morris counties and beyond!
Located adjacent to the downtown South Orange NJ Transit train station and behind the central business district, SOPAC is made up of one live performance theater with 415 seats and five cinemas with 600 seats that will be operated by Clearview Cinemas. The cinemas are scheduled to preview from October 27-31 with special $1 movies with all proceeds going to the new arts center. On November 1, both entities will officially celebrate their openings with a joint ribbon-cutting ceremony. Each facility will officially open with programming on November 3.
Barbara Stoller (of South Orange), Chair of SOPAC's Board of Governors, comments:
"SOPAC connects to a trend happening nationwide. Communities are creating their own arts centers to anchor cultural corridors, to spur development and to serve as community gathering places. Like BAM in Brooklyn, SOPAC is a unique facility that will offer exciting live performances and quality cinematic experiences and also like BAM did for Brooklyn, SOPAC can serve as a catalyst, further establishing South Orange as a dynamic cultural destination for residents and visitors from near and far alike."
SOPAC Executive Director, Jessica Finkelberg (of Jersey City), not only considered the unique sensibilities of the South Orange/Maplewood (SOMA) area in programming the season but also thought beyond the local community to what would appeal to those from Summit, Orange, Montclair and even from Manhattan and Brooklyn.
Here in SOMA, there is a great awareness of and participation level in the full spectrum of arts - music, dance, theater. That made programming the season invigorating as did thinking of the audiences we hope to attract from beyond our home area. We fully expect that our special events, like the two-person Anton Chekhov play with Olympia Dukakis, will motivate those from Manhattan and Montclair to get on the train or drive the 15-20 minutes it takes to get to our door. It's going to be quite an amazing first season. The thought of hearing Paquito D'Rivera and Yo-Yo Ma in our intimate theater still gives me the chills and is a great kick-off.
After the Center's official joint grand opening, SOPAC will launch its dynamic first season with its fundraiser gala November 16 featuring a global list of great musicians: Latin jazz saxophonist, Paquito D'Rivera, Chinese cellist Yo-Yo Ma, wind ensemble, Imani Winds, Israeli pianist Alon Yavnai and soprano Brenda Feliciano. Tickets: $250/$500/$750. Season tickets can be ordered through the website as of September 15. Phone (973.313.ARTS) and online sales at www.sopacnow.org begin October 3. Box office opens at 1 SOPAC Way November 1.