This feature fits very succinctly into our recent conversations about the Great American Songbook, and how we use it as a Ground Zero for our cabaret sets and stories. As we debate about TCCAN on how to frame who and what we are, we have been focusing on how to retain whatever cabaret heritage there is, but also embrace a new and younger generation. It involves Billy Porter, who is certainly both an old soul as well as a rising force in the world of New York theater and cabaret work. I first recollected him as a protege of the former Rosie O'Donnell show. She was notable for shining a light on the Broadway stage and always supporting raw talent there. Billy was a frequent guest and started showing up on holiday albums and such. But even with that - it was a long road to steady roles and acclaim. With his star turn in Kinky Boots a few years back, it seemed his time to bloom finally arrived. Right place, right time after years of sweat, labor and talent. Now he is collaborating with his huge network of New York talent; this includes recording musicians, stage stars AND cabaret artists. Leslie Odom Jr., Cynthia Erivo, Ledisi, Pentatonix. His new CD project is the Soul of Richard Rodgers. This "making of" video totally hits the point that we have all been struggling to articulate. He talks about how these classic tunes were indeed the pop songs of those decades. And then uses the word "treatment" for his reinvention of the songs. Now, they will certainly not meet approval with all our members or audiences; they are definitely R&B/ Soul arrangements - sometimes to the point of being barely recognizable. BUT, and importantly BUT, they are unique, personal and authentic versions of those songs that you can easily see resonate with the performers. Is this not indeed the cabaret we are seeking to participate in ourselves? Interesting revelation. Profound - He Gets It.
I decided that I will seek out similar videos or articles that speak to the educational side of our craft. I can't promise how often; but if you see something that sparks an interest - forward it on to me and I am glad to share it via the blog to a wider audience.
This one is a video from film composer Williams. And by this, it is Patrick who is lesser known than John. But I am still very familiar with his work and I am guessing you will know it as well. He notes over 65 film scores from Swing Shift, to Cry-Baby, and an Oscar for Breaking Away. Also TV theme songs for the Mary Tyler Moore show, Columbo and the Bob Newhart show to name a few more. He has a brand new collaboration out called Home Suite Home with great vocalists like Patti Austin, Tierney Sutton and Dave Grusin. He is apparently taking his background as an educator at the University of Utah and Colorado and sharing it as a regular feature on Facebook. So if you like what you see here, bookmark it for future episodes.
He talks about the process he uses in detailed terms. He uses holiday tunes as a template since they are familiar to us all in terms of which direction you can take them. It starts with finding the right song that resonates and then making sure it is in the right key. If your lead sheet is in the wrong key, it makes the entire process more difficult. He talks with broad brush strokes about both direction, intent and then finding just the right tempo which sets a ground plan. Then he talks about find the correct or substitute chord changes that brighten it without re-writing it. He references the concept of "harmonizing the melody vs. melodizing the harmony." Then move on to the bass line which anchors the chart. And finally coloring the arrangement with accents or embellishment. Lastly deciding on to an intro or outro that makes the entire song cohesive. All good things to know. Since the platform originates on Facebook, the only link available is the link to his page. So here it is. And again throw things my way if you have an angle on a feature. Patrick Williams: Thoughts On Arranging
I think many of our members have their own connections with Maud, certainly via Arne. I myself don't know her but have seen her work around town several times. Although she is not a TCCAN member, she got some incredible accolades in the Chicago Tribune.
Recently she appeared at the Chicago Cabaret Festival, which is an off shoot of the Mabel Mercer Foundation in NY. The Festival is not an annual event, but this marked the fourth time it was held since 2002 where it was hosted at the Palmer House. We often think that our genre has lost its luster, but at events like this, it showcases the royalty that we have singing classics from what we still refer to as the Great American Songbook. I have no idea how Maud was fortunate enough to have secured a slot on that roster, but boy did she get some rave reviews from Howard Reich. "The biggest revelation of the
night had to be Maud Hixson, a Minnesota-based singer making her Chicago
debut ... leaving at least one listener wanting much
more." There were takes on "the alacrity of her approach to rhythm", "her slightly gauzy
tone and breezy phrasing", "her inherent swing
sensibility driving the music unstoppably forward." Quite the glowing praise. This serves us all well in terms of putting us on the map as cabaret artists here in the Twin Cities.
Sometimes a cabaret singer just needs to make a living! Our TCCAN roster has those who do Senior gigs, Musical Theater or sets in dive bars just so we can also do the music we love. There was a time in the recent past where corporate America also appreciated our talents and had the money to invest in the music industry.
I just caught a news tidbit about both Kristen Wiig & Will Ferrell collaborating on a new film musical about this bygone era that is a cross between the Broadway stage and a Buick commercial. I was lucky enough to do a handful in the early 90's before this sort of thing evaporated; Maurice's, Lifetouch, Alpine spices and of course Target. These events were not cheap talent shows, they were really extravaganzas with big bucks. The biggest I did was a trade show for Dr. Pepper in Dallas TX, where they flew us down, hired a full orchestra and even live circus animals on stage. I also was lucky enough to land one at a resort in Puerto Rico where costumes and sound equipment were held hostage at customs.
I was directed to a fabulous website that shares this forgotten era of industrial musicals. Writers like Kander & Ebb, Cy Coleman and Lerner & Loewe were not above lending their talents to original scores. Headliners like Florence Henderson, Peggy Lee & Mitzi Gaynor thought nothing less of themselves for taking the gig either. There is now a reader's version coffee table book called Everything's Coming Up Profits by Steve Young & Sport Murphy. There are companion discs for 3 decades of 50's, 60's & 70's tracks. It has been a revelation as I piece together a Cy Coleman set with loose trails of his material scattered along the route here. The list of products is mind boggling: J.C. Penney, Coca Cola, Ford Motors, Seagram's, Xerox, General Electric..... Fascinating nostalgia.
Looks we are doing something right and somewhat of a role model for other markets across the country. I subscribe to a few mailings related to cabaret calendars. One of them is the Chicago Cabaret Professionals - which would be a "sister" organization to ours. Where we have for years debated the semantics of a "showcase", they are offering that up the beginning of April. We now call this offering a Cabaret Salon where it offers a monthly chance to sample our members sort of ala carte. They are highlighting 5 of their members and just as we do, they have a host or an emcee for the evening. Each performer gets a short 15 minutes to craft their set into an arc of material. It also looks as if they play a bit with themed evenings, with upcoming sets in May that showcase Chicago composers, Irving Berlin and Ella & Lena for their female members. Good to know there is a common thread in what we are doing for both our members and audiences.
For our monthly Cabaret Salon, TCCAN is lucky to feature a slate of 4 grand divas this weekend! Our monthly gigs are always a grab bag of our fabulous talents. But the way this one played out - it is strictly a female affair that spans 2 generations. So I decided to give a shout to them with an angle of their strong icons & influences. I asked each of them to name a specific song that resonates with them. And the responses sort of chose sides in the telling.
Dorothy and Connie who have strong roots in Jazz and American standards both chose the same piece with Carole King and her defining (You Make Me Feel Like A) Natural Woman. They both had their musical upbringing in those early 70's where women singer-songwriters were coming into their own with the likes of Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon and Carole King to name a few. For Connie it was about an uninhibited woman asserting herself as exactly who she is. Katia and Trish have spent many of their evenings doing gigs with cover bands, so they have plenty of exposure to pop ballads and anthems. Both of them chose Gloria Gaynor's disco blockbuster I Will Survive. Katia is drawn to not only the strength of the lyrics but its infectious groove. Trish speaks about the the aspect of finding yourself and breaking free of the "chains of regret." So please come and hear the collective stories that these 4 TCCAN Divas bring to the room. This Saturday @ Town House in St Paul. The usual $10 suggested donation and reminding you that we are now starting our sets at 7:30 instead of the usual 8:00.
I'm assuming each of you has your own story of scouring for that one song that is a needle in a haystack. We heard a music track, it came up in a playlist, it is on some archived cast album from decades back... As cabaret artists, we are often trying to find material that is uniquely "us."
On line music is a great asset, with possibilities on MusicNotes and others sites to not only purchase individual charts, but have them transposed to a key that fits our range. Our connection in TCCAN allows us to also exchange pieces or share obscure tabs from old vintage books in our collections. Even our public library has a reserve shelf that can provide us an occasional treasure if we are willing to dig a bit through an archaic card catalogue. But I am here to praise a new find in Hollywood Sheet Music. Enough so, that I am adding it as a resource in our links here. Their by line is "if you can't find it here, you won't find it anywhere." I am currently work shopping a new set of Cy Coleman material and choosing to really delve into some of his lost trunk songs. Through an adventure chase that began with his own publishing company, I was lucky enough to get a lead to them. Somewhere along the way, some of Cy's songs are still owned by his estate, others went over to the Hal Leonard company. And yet there is a third option of those straggling songs that were never deemed important enough to be published, but merely copyrighted. Somehow Hollywood Sheet Music has assembled many of those stray ducks in a massive strip mall warehouse in Burbank CA. So if anything you are seeking may have come from a musical score or a film soundtrack, chances are that you might have some luck here. Their website is hardly high tech. And the search engine there is deceiving and not always at face value. I was told to send a personal inquiry to Stephanie, the librarian there. And that is where I struck gold. Within a day, she responded back and had both rare tunes I was looking for; one from the original theater score and the other chart in Coleman's own notation. They were a bit more expensive than other on line sites - but far less than having someone arrange them by hand. Another great resource to remember!
