New York City Articles

As has been observed before, the ironic thing about Steve Tyrell is that even though he’s easily one of the most successful living masters of the art of making records - both as a producer and a vocalist - he is even better when experienced live, especially in the warm, intimate setting of the Carlyle. This is more true than ever during the holiday season, when the sweet sensations of nostalgia for home and family and the good times of years gone by become even more palpable, as lovingly rendered by Mr. Tyrell with his mellow, delightfully raspy baritone.

By: Kevin Yazell

I recently enjoyed the privilege of attending Springsteen on Broadway at the Walter Kerr Theater in NYC. I waffled a bit about actually going as the ticket was quite valuable and, as a veteran of more than 150 shows, over far too many years to admit to, I assumed that I had already seen everything he might do at one show or another. WRONG! Any dedicated fan’s Springsteen experience is incomplete without seeing this performance.

By Kevin Yazell

As anticipated, Jazzmeia Horn put on a spectacular show last night at the Harlem Stage Gatehouse. There was quite a buzz prior the show in front of the theater as fans had lined up early for a shot at the best seats in the small house.

The San Francisco-based singer, who, alas, hasn’t played Jazz at Lincoln Center since 2013, herewith makes a triumphant return in New York. Miss West, who headlined at the Oak Room of the Algonquin for much of the previous decade, was at the time celebrated for bringing a touch of jazz to what was then New York’s most venerated cabaret room; now, she’s doing the opposite, bringing the lyric-driven spirit and humor of the best cabaret artists to the most visible jazz club in the country. Ms. West’s strengths are still the same, only stronger, not least of which is the ability to switch gears between such traditional jazz-and-cabaret fare as Rodgers and Hart (“Lover”) and more contemporary songsters, like John Lennon (“Gimme Some Truth”), while stopping at such iconclasts as Oscar Brown Jr. (“The Snake,” “Hum-Drum Blues”) along the way. A formidable swinger as well as a storyteller, she still delivers the most compelling interpretation of “Like a Rolling Stone” that I’ve ever heard, as well as of Antonio Carlos Jobim’s “The Waters of March” - which, in her hands, is so soulful and personal that it could be titled “The Ethel Waters of March.”

How very fitting that the major brother act in contemporary swing music, the saxophone-playing Anderson Twins (Peter and Will) should celebrate the greatest brotherly team in the history of the big band era, the fabulous trombonist Tommy Dorsey and clarinetist-saxophonist Jimmy Dorsey. Like the Dorseys, the Andersons possess a unique combination of off-the-charts technical skills - all four brothers, both historic and current, are genuine, classical-level virtuosi - coupled with an equally immeasurable ability to swing and to entertain an audience. And, like the Dorseys before them, the Andersons know well the value of putting together a great band: in addition to the brothers themselves on all the reed instruments, there will be trumpeter Bruce Harris, pianist Jeb Patton, bassist Clovis Nicolas, drummer Aaron Kimmel, and two guest stars of Dorsey-esque proportions, trombonist Wycliffe Gordon and vocalist Brianna Thomas. Expect to hear such Dorsey classics as “Marie,” “Song of India,” “So Rare,” and “Tangerine,” while I, for one, will refuse to leave the Appel Room until I hear Mr. Gordon and Ms. Thomas sing together on such classic boy-girl duets as “Yes Indeed” and “Green Eyes.”

The good news is that the JALC will give two more performances and it will hopefully be live streamed as well, details here: