I just had to bring this concert to your attention, as I think it deserves to be well-supported - in the first place because it will be an evening of great music, and in the second place because we need to encourage The Sage to book more of this kind of straight-ahead jazz, as well as their more avant-garde programming. The concert in question features New York singing and piano star Daryl Sherman in a programme of songs by Cole Porter, rather wittily entitled "Carrying Cole To Newcastle". Daryl has been a mainstay of the New York jazz scene for some time now, in fact she has been appearing at the legendary Waldorf Astoria hotel in Manhattan for some fourteen years, playing Cole Porter's very own Steinway Grand piano. In her early days as a professional musician, she was the pianist and vocalist with the very last version of the Artie Shaw Orchestra, and since then has played and recorded with a host of U.S. jazz stars.
Daryl, who a couple of years back drew standing ovations at both The Saville and Trinity Centre, will be accompanied at The Sage by the outstanding John Hallam (Manchester) on clarinet and sax and Roy Percy (Edinburgh) on bass in the intimate environment of Hall Two, set out as a cabaret room. Here are a few critical appreciations:
Daryl, who a couple of years back drew standing ovations at both The Saville and Trinity Centre, will be accompanied at The Sage by the outstanding John Hallam (Manchester) on clarinet and sax and Roy Percy (Edinburgh) on bass in the intimate environment of Hall Two, set out as a cabaret room. Here are a few critical appreciations:
"A first-rate singer and a fine musician” (Artie Shaw - and he should know!!)
"Poignant, impeccable, voice like honeysuckle, a stylistic compendium of Billie Holiday, Mildred Bailey and Blossom Dearie" (Stephen Holden, New York Times)
“Sherman's creative samplings reveal many sides and moods from naughty, mischevious and clever to unabashedly romantic. What a swell party this was!” (Jack Massarik, London Evening Standard)
"Sherman commands a variety of tones and timbres, from a sympathetic vulnerability in the sweet higher register to a cosmopolitan drawl in the lower..... an appealing repertoire that goes well beyond the timeworn set-lists of all too many vocalists" (George Kanzler, Jazz Times)
"All you could ask for! Right-on-the-nose performance, with impeccable style and intonation plus a repertoire she has mined and made her own." (Dick Hyman, Lincol Centre, New York)
"In Sherman's imaginary world, Rodgers and Hart are still scribbling furiously, Duke Ellington is on the road again and 52nd Street still has plenty of life left in it. A touch of class - irresistible" (Clive Davis, The London Times)
"Daryl Sherman is a sparkling mainstay of Manhattan life" (John S Wilson, New York Times)
"She interprets standards without deconstructing them - she creates moods that turn each song in her vast repertoire into a miniature painting - may this gig go on forever!" (Rex Reed, New York Observer)
Book now - online at www.thesagegateshead.org or by phone on 0191 443 4661 - Tickets are £16, Seniors just £14. See you there.
Mike Durham.
Thanks for that Mike. It's great that Daryl is including the north East in her tour this year. Apart from those fans who heard her a couple of years back, every wannabee jazz singer in the area should be there irrespective of what alternatives they have on - would a Catholic miss seeing the Pope?
ReplyDeleteDigby Fairweather describes her as the "Greatest living jazz singer" - not going to argue with Digby!