I said this would be an occasional series. Here's installment number 2. What's new for me in: Eating: Dark chocolate with chili, courtesy of The Ragazzo. Lindt makes a good one, but I know there are others out there. It's not what you think. The chili flavor combines with the chocolate the way hazelnut does to make a different taste that accentuates certain pleasures of the chocolate. This adds a very...
Tributes to easy listening icons are a risky business. At best they can sound nostalgic and second rate, at worst like a cheap shot at selling sack-loads of contemporary CDs on the back of someone else’s pony. In her new Edith Piaf show, however, singer songwriter Martha Wainwright has dodged such predicaments, interpreting France’s most [...]
As with her brother Rufus's tribute to Judy Garland, Martha Wainwright's tribute to Edith Piaf is the kind of album project one can admire, but without ever wanting to hear it again.
Tomorrow night kicks off Seattle’s first annual Cabaret Festival, presented by the Can Can and hosted all over the place: shows will be at the Moore, the Triple Door, and at ACT Theatre [Can Can]. As far as I can tell, everyone even sort of cabaret-y is going to be involved–The Tiger Lillies, The Circus Contraption [...]
Pender Island: Expect plenty of holiday cheer, laced with overtones of Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell, The Beatles, jazz and Broadway, as exciting musician Allison Crowe unwraps "Tidings" on Pender.
Miltos presented his SS20101 collection at AXDW last Sunday. It was a virtual time-travel to 1940's Paris and we loved it! Τhe music of Édith Piaf was masking our gasps, as we admired the luxurious coats, classic blazers, fitted pencil skirts and amazing evening dresses made with velvet, silk and feathers. The press release reads: Born in Athens, Miltos' first contact with fashion was as...
Voice your opinion for NPR's "50 Great Voices" Series Vote Today; Top vocalists to be included in year-long series beginning 2010. Whitney Houston. Bob Marley. Edith Piaf. Placido Domingo. Busta Rhymes. Joni Mitchell. Whether influencing a genre or providing the soundtrack that defined a generation, each of these artists has established a firm place in music history.
Review: Acoustic Fingerpickers- Clive Carroll, Martin Taylor and Martin Simpson. Kings Place, Saturday October 31st, 2009, by Rod Fogg This series of three short concerts on the same evening was the climax to the London Guitar Festival in the Fall at King's Place . Kings Place Hall One has a sumptuous acoustic, perfect for small-scale concerts. It's intimate, with wooden panelling and soft blue lighting...
I couldn't find another version of Blow the Wind Southerly I really liked, but I kept coming across references to this singer and the English folk tune. I finally found a sample clip at Amazon, and I liked what I could hear of it, very, very much. See what you think. I hadn't heard of her, or if I had, the knowledge hadn't remained with me, but this is my fault. She's a highly acclaimed singer who...
In nine weeks time I shall along with lots of people in the UK being seeing in 2010 with Jools Holland, his Rhythm and Blues orchestra, and many friends, albeit it on the goggle box. However last night I saw him and his R & B Orchestra live. What a treat it was. After a bit [...]
Melody Gardot The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts Philadelphia, PA October 17, 2009 "A Star is Born" is the only adequate way to characterize singer-composer Melody Gardot's appearance on the stage of the Perelman Theater of the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia on October 17. While the recent buzz surrounding her debut recordings are all about her fine jazz and blues vocalizing with a...
Live album out November 9th Martha Wainwright is bringing her well received Edith Piaf performance to the Barbican in London on November 11th following an intimate two-night run at New York’s Dixon Palace Theater back in June, and tickets are selling out fast. The occasion? To mark the release of the Hal Willner-produced live recordings of [...]
I was working on what I might write up today, and looking through the songs that have gotten a lot of hits on my iTunes this year, and noticed something: I had a number of songs in there twice. This isn't because I have an untidy library (though I do), it's because the songs in question had been translated from another language, and the experience in English and the original language are two very,...