Indie Rock Invades Bar East Ale House
January 28, 2010
Last year, music promoter Lee Sobel defied neighborhood stereotypes by bringing indie rock—something more associated with the downtown and Brooklyn scene—to the Upper East Side. This year, with more than triple the number of bands, Sobel will do it again at the second annual Upper East Side Music Festival, presented by Sobel’s LoFi Entertainment. More than 100 bands will play throughout February at Bar East Ale House, culminating in a final round in March and an ultimate winner, though Sobel stresses the festival atmosphere more than the competition. Each of the relatively unknown bands will take a cut of the $10-a-head ticket sales for the night they perform. [Read more]
Al Fresco Opera
July 22, 2009
As the summer festival closest to Manhattan—it’s 45 minutes by car (traffic willing), train or bus—Caramoor is the place to go to hear wonderful music in an idyllic outdoor setting of gorgeously landscaped gardens. For the past dozen years, musicologist turned conductor Will Crutchfield has been leading the acclaimed Bel Canto at Caramoor series there, presenting revivals of 19th-century Italian operas by Donizetti, Rossini and Bellini, all sung by artists at home in this repertoire. [Read more]
Voigt Preps for a ‘Vocal Challenge’
May 21, 2009
Soprano Deborah Voigt has risen to the top of the opera world by singing the parts of the demanding, dramatic heroines in the operas of Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss.
So is taking on the title role in Alceste, a baroque work by Christoph Willibald Gluck that will be performed by The Collegiate Chorale on May 26, a true departure for her?
“That would be absolutely correct!” the Upper West Side resident laughs in response. “I learned this role nearly 20 years ago when I understudied for Jessye Norman at The Lyric Opera of Chicago. She seemed to be sick every day, but she never got quite ill enough to cancel, so I never sang the part.” [Read more]
IT’S STILL HER PARTY
April 30, 2009
Back in 1963, 16-year-old pop sensation Lesley Gore topped the charts with “It’s My Party.” So whatever happened to the chirpy strawberry blonde with the beehive hairdo?
How about this storyline: the nice, multi-tasking Jewish girl from affluent Tenafly, N.J., went on to graduate from Sarah Lawrence College (major: English and American Literature) and rack up another two dozen or so hits. When that gig waned, she turned to acting in summer stock, singing on the club circuit and discovering that she’s gay. [Read more]
MUMFORD SIGNS HER FAVORITES
March 19, 2009
Although mezzo-soprano Tamara Mumford has been associated with the Metropolitan Opera since graduating from its Young Artist Program, it’s another Met that she’ll be calling home this weekend. The 27-year-old Utah native makes her first solo concert appearance at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Saturday, March 21. [Read more]
ROCK’S EASTERN PROMISE
February 19, 2009
Not many New Yorkers associate the Upper East Side with a live music scene, but Lee Sobel is doing his best to change that. The music promoter launches the Upper East Side Music Festival this week, which showcases 30 unsigned local rock groups. And these days, rock means diversity.
“It’s all some sort of rock-based music,” Sobel said. “But you won’t find any bands that are just one type of thing. You’ll find funk, blues and rock mixed together; folk, psychedelic and hard rock mixed together—a mélange of rock styles.” [Read more]
THE PIRATE’S RETURN
November 24, 2008
European cabaret legend Ute Lemper is making Joe’s Pub her second home for the last two weeks of November, headlining in her new show “Pirate Jenny Comes Back.” The chanteuse will be singing a pastiche of Kurt Weill’s works, Berlin Cabaret Songs, French chanson, contemporary American classics and a few selections from her self-penned album Between Yesterday and Tomorrow.
The German-born singer, who lives on the Upper West Side, has played at countless venues in New York, including the Carlyle Hotel, Carnegie Hall and the Delacorte Theater. [Read more]
GIOVANNI’S ‘TRUTH’ COMES TO THE IRIDIUM
August 12, 2008
By Christopher Moore
The hamburger is not good, the overflow crowd of tourists from Ellen’s Stardust Diner upstairs creates precisely the wrong vibe and the amplification seems excessive. But there’s a fantastic time to be had with the sweet combination of Capathia Jenkins and Louis Rosen, now playing at the Iridium Jazz Club.
She’s a blow-’em-away Broadway musical star who turns out to be a sophisticated and subtle musical artist. He’s a well-regarded songwriter with a charming, understated stage style. Together, they’re simultaneously adorable and smart. They delve bravely into challenging material. [Read more]
