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Composer/Singer/Songwriter Randy Edelman Performed Heartfelt Compositions at City Winery Offering a Preview of His Shows to Come in December

Details: Parent Category: Film and the Arts; Category: Reviews; Published on Thursday, 10 November 2022 14:36; Written by Brad Balfour

Along with Randy Newman, Paul Williams and Van Dyke Parks, among others, pop singer/songwriter Randy Edelman has established himself as a member of the snarky, eccentric songster sub-genre. The 75-year-old tells tales of failed love, unresolved relationships and unfulfilled dreams. Yet through it all, he sings of hope for the future.

Edelman recently scored the upcoming film “Skelly” with Brian Cox (“Succession”) and the demonic thriller “The Beast Inside.” For the first time, Sony Classical has issued Pink Slime vinyl, digi- and CD versions of his classic score to “Ghostbusters II.” New Edelman songs for the musical "Shortcut" are now available. And Post-covid, the single "Comin' Out The Other Side" is out on Tribeca Records.

Along the way, Edelman has made visits to this town, gracing audiences with his uniquely crafted song stylizations and performances. Thanks to a surprise invite last August, I experienced his most recent NYC excursion. Gigging at the relaunched City Winery, relocated at Pier 57 on the city’s far westside, this fabulous space provided the ideal environment for getting close and personal to such a musical talent.

I had seen him before and every time I did, his performance just deepened the experience. Thankfully, there won’t be such a gap between Edelman's last session and his next shows here. They’ve been booked in December, right before Christmas, at two other fine venues – Don’t Tell Mama (10 pm, Dec. 22) and Chelsea Table + Stage (9 pm, Dec. 23) where I had first seen him maybe a year ago.

Tickling the keys throughout the Pier 57 show, Edelman displayed a low-keyed pride in his achievements while rattling off historic details. The Teaneck, New Jersey native is a fine-honed songwriter/vocalist whose quirky tunes have a commercial tinge while being fatalistically romantic.

As a young boy, Edelman transcribed sounds into piano pieces. As he aged into college, he turned from pre-med to studying piano and composition at the Cincinnati Music Conservatory. He then jump-started his career with an arranging assignment at James Brown’s Cincinnati-based King Records.

By 1970, Edelman had relocated to NYC becoming a CBS Records staff writer while playing piano in Broadway orchestras. Randy also began writing and recording his own LPs granting him an audience and a spot on “Top of the Pops.”

Then a move to L.A. led him to make several albums. A myriad of artists started covering his originals. Examples: “Weekend in New England” (Barry Manilow), “I Can't Make Music” (The Carpenters), and “My Place” (Nelly) which reached Number 1 on the Billboard Hip Hop charts.

Other tracks that have been covered include “Down in the Everglades” (Willie Nelson), “Isn’t it a Shame” (Patti LaBelle), “If Love is Real” (Olivia Newton John), “Blue Street” (Blood, Sweat & Tears) and Royal Philharmonic’s “Grey.” Additionally, Edelman has opened live in huge arenas for such icons as Frank Zappa and The Carpenters.

Which brings us back to that recent performance. Alternating his patter between self-effacing humor and snarkiness, Edelman sat at the piano as if there were no other place he’d rather be. He opened the show with his forceful yet plaintive tune, “Don’t Forsake Me Now” which tells a story of travel and time. Nice descriptions driven by the pulse of the piano and capturing grit in just a phrase.

Next, Edelman followed that one with “The Farmer,” the opening cut from his first album of 50 years ago. A fine composition which encapsulates a feeling of loss, its rich cascade of piano chords drives his point home.

Edelman then related a story about two kids who heard his album and took him on tour. That brother/sister duo, The Carpenters, loved a song of his, “You,” so much that they recorded it, becoming a hit for them. Edelman’s version is singularly touching, thanks to his emotive piano playing.

IMG 9918-copy-2 med After beginning with songs that convey such an air of innocence, his next tune more cynically tells of a downtown guy who finds his uptown woman. It turns into a story of a doomed relationship, flawed but hard to let go of. As Randy sings, he leaves his “Uptown, uptempo woman” because he’s just a “Downtown, downbeat guy.”

Then Edelman told of going back in the day to the offices of song publishers on West 56th Street. While schlepping his songs around, he met a guy who had worked with Joan Rivers and had a close relationship with Clive Davis. As Edelman noted, although the song was in 3/4 waltz time (which no one seemed to think would work), it got sent over to that guy, Barry Manilow, and was perfect for him. His hit, “Weekend in New England,” was a tune of yearning, about the pain of love and the need that goes along with it.

Surprisingly, Edelman next performed a cover — Unit 4+2’s 1965 hit, “Concrete and Clay.” A classic ‘60s pop tune not often heard, it’s likely been an influence on Edelman’s composing style. With a sweet-as-roses feeling, it’s romantic and tender but with an edge.

From this set of tunes Edelman turned to performing, strictly on piano, his comedy movie medley which demonstrated another striking element of his career. Besides song-smithing, he’s a remarkably successful composer of symphonic soundtracks and other cinematic compositions.

Edelman has been creating many of the world’s best known soundtracks such as “Ghostbusters II”, “27 Dresses,” “While You Were Sleeping,” “The Last of the Mohicans,” “Kindergarten Cop,” “XXX,” “Twins,” “My Cousin Vinny” “The Mask” “Beethoven,” “Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story,” “Anaconda,” “Mummy 3,” “Billy Madison,” “Leap Year,” “EdTV” and an array of others.

In addition, he’s scored numerous TV shows and series including “MacGyver,” “Mr. Sunshine,” Netflix’s “Backdraft 2” and HBO’s “Citizen X.” He’s also written music for HBO’s NASA’s final shuttle launch “Dare Mighty Things,” ESPN’s “Wimbledon, Grand Slam Tennis Series,” “ESPN Sports Century” and even NBC’s on-air Olympic theme.

After a few more songs, the busy-haired pianist performed another instrumental medley — this time, of his adventure films scores. Again, they demonstrated his composing power. Tight and driven by a broad melodic range, he illustrated why he’s been so successful at getting on-going scores.

Aside from Edelman’s skill at crafting and orchestrating cinematic compositions, his song set demonstrated a sweep that displays a cinematic narrative. As he wound down his show with a few other tunes, he did another cover — of the classic “Mack The Knife” — that further illustrated his unique flair. Despite having presented a show loaded with a range of moods and styles, the entire playlist fell under the distinct banner of “An Evening with Randy Edelman.”

For a discography and other details, check out:
randyedelman.com

For details on his up-coming shows go to:
www.donttellmamanyc.com
 www.chelseatableandstage.com

The Mastery of Mozart at David Geffen Hall

Details: Parent Category: Film and the Arts; Category: Reviews; Published on Monday, 07 November 2022 14:12; Written by Jack Angstreich

Yefim Bronfman conducts the New York Philharmonic. Photo by Fadi Kheir.

At David Geffen Hall, on the evening of Wednesday, November 2nd, I had the privilege to attend a wonderful subscription concert—the second I’ve heard in an already strong season—presented by the New York Philharmonic.

The program began marvelously with the extraordinary Piano Concerto No. 22 of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, played by the superb virtuoso Yefim Bronfman in a sterling performance of exceptional lucidity. After a stately introduction, the beautiful, opening Allegro is melodious with some weighty passages, while the fabulous Andante is more serious, although also including very charming, more sprightly music. The delightful finale was the most ebullient of all the movements, but it has its more introspective moments. Bronfman and the ensemble deservedly received an enthusiastic ovation.

Even more impressive was the second half of the evening, which consisted of an accomplished account of Anton Bruckner’s magnificent, titanic Symphony No. 7. After a magisterial beginning, the awesome Allegro moderato acquires a more devotional character—with some dramatic passages—but concludes rousingly and triumphantly. The exquisite, celebrated Adagio is elegiac—although with impassioned moments—and Wagnerian—indeed it was written as a tribute to that composer—as is much of the work as a whole. The brilliant Scherzo is more exuberant and exciting, and features a graceful Trio section that has a more pastoral ethos. The glorious Finale—probably the most eccentric of the movements—was stirring, indeed amazing, powerfully closing a memorable evening. The orchestra and its conductor were acclaimed with great applause.

I look forward to further pleasurable adventures this season with these admirable artists.

Off-Broadway Play Review—Revival of “A Raisin in the Sun”

Details: Parent Category: Film and the Arts; Category: Reviews; Published on Friday, 04 November 2022 21:51; Written by Kevin Filipski

A Raisin in the Sun

Written by Lorraine Hansberry

Directed by Robert O’Hara

Through November 20, 2022

Public Theater

425 Lafayette Street, New York, NY

Publictheater.org

Mandi Masden, Tonya Pinkins and Toussaint Battiste in A Raisin in the Sun
(photo: Joan Marcus)

Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun is one of those touchstone plays, like Death of a Salesman or Long Day’s Journey Into Night, that feels familiar even to those who haven’t seen it. Every decade or so, New York sees another revival—the last two were on Broadway, the ill-fated 2004 staging with Sean “P. Diddy” Combs and the 2014 one with the megastar power of Denzel Washington—and now we have a new production at downtown’s Public Theater.

It’s a good thing too, for Hansberry’s invigorating 1959 play about the Youngers, a struggling Black family on Chicago’s south side, intelligently blends comedy and tragedy in a pinpoint study of social, economic and political injustice that’s still sadly relevant. At the Public, director Robert O’Hara catches some of those qualities, and even though his three-plus-hour production often drags, there’s always another potent or prophetic Hansberry line of dialogue to propel it forward.

There’s also a formidable cast. As Lena, the matriarch of the Younger family, Tonya Pinkins has a powerful presence that’s imposing whether she’s browbeating or being tender. As Lena’s daughter, the wonderfully named Beneatha, Paige Gilbert gives an amusing but pungent portrait of a young woman dealing with a crushingly anti-female and anti-minority culture, studying to be a doctor until she discovers her African heritage.

As Lena’s beloved older son, Walter Lee, Francois Battiste arrestingly embodies the accumulating desperation of a man who feels like he’s always failing his family, no matter what he does. In a canny bit of casting, Francois’ actual son, Toussaint Battiste, plays Walter Lee’s son Travis, with a shrewdness that belies the young actor’s years. (Battiste shares the role with another youngster, Camden McKinnon.)

Finally, there's Mandi Masden’s lovely, subtle performance as Walter Lee’s harried wife Ruth, who has a melancholic quality beneath her steely exterior. Masden’s sensitive Ruth serves as the heart of Lorraine Hansberry’s timely tale, which survives O’Hara’s more leaden touches, such as making the ghost of Lena’s dead husband a speaking character and making literal what the Younger family will face when they finally move into the white neighborhood of Clybourne Park.

November '22 Digital Week I

Details: Parent Category: Film and the Arts; Category: Reviews; Published on Wednesday, 02 November 2022 16:46; Written by Kevin Filipski

4K/UHD Release of the Week

Top Gun—Maverick

(Paramount)

This incredibly belated sequel does the bare minimum—rah-rah jingoism, exciting fighter-pilot sequences—but director Joseph Kosinski doesn’t bother to go any further, as the interchangeable scenes in flight school among Maverick’s students show.

The original movie was nothing special but at least had an interesting rivalry between Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer (who appears briefly here). And poor Jennifer Connolly, nearly always a refreshing presence in any movie, can do little with her contrived romance with Cruise, who cruises by only on movie-star wattage. There’s a first-rate UHD transfer; the Blu-ray disc includes 80 minutes of on-set featurettes and interviews.

Blu-ray Releases of the Week

Fuoco Sacro

(Naxos)

Jan Schmidt-Garre’s riveting documentary looks at three intense classical/opera singers: Albania’s Ermonela Jaho, Canada’s Barbara Hannigan and Lithuania’s Asmik Grigorian.

With access to these remarkable women for rehearsals and warmup exercises before singing, respectively, Tchaikovsky, Satie and Puccini, Schmidt-Garre has made an insightful portrait of committed artistry (“Fuoco Sacro” means “sacred fire”). Hi-def video and audio are first-rate; extras are extended scenes of their warmups, along with musicmaking.

The Good Boss

(Cohen Media)

In Fernando Leon de Aránoa’s aggressively second-rate satire, Javier Bardem skillfully portrays of the head of a company manufacturing scales who will do anything to ensure he wins another award for his wall, whether shaming and firing longtime loyal employees or screwing the new intern who happens to be the daughter of longtime friends.

As Aránoa’s script moves along its predictable trajectory, Bardem anchors the movie as a three-dimensional character and not simply the cardboard villain he’s written as. There’s a superior hi-def transfer; extras are two interviews with Bardem and Aránoa.

The Last Romantic Lover

(Cult Epics)

Softcore purveyor Just Jaeckin made elegant features like this 1978 entry about the editor-in-chief of a women’s magazine hosting a “last romantic lover” contest who falls for the winner, the lion tamer of a rural circus company. Of course, Jaeckin is greatly helped by his lead actress, the breathtaking Dayle Haddon, who speaks French and English fluently and makes the editor a tantalizing bundle of independence, professionalism and charm.

Some of it’s risible, like the circus vs. sophisticated subject, while suave actor Fernando Rey is wasted as the lion tamer’s father, but it’s still highly watchable. There’s a good hi-def transfer; extras are an audio commentary, new interviews with Jaeckin and Haddon and footage from a Jaeckin tribute.

Titans—Complete 3rd Season

(Warner Bros/HBO)

In the latest season of this HBO Max series about young superheroes, Robin returns to Gotham as a dangerous adversary after a particularly nasty end, and the other titans must regroup to stop him—he’s now known as Red Hood.

The capable and energetic young cast helps put this over despite its inherent silliness. All 13 episodes of the third season—the fourth is on the way—are included on three discs; extras comprise several featurettes and interviews.

La Traviata

(Dynamic)

American soprano Nadine Sierra dazzlingly demonstrates why lustrous singing, accomplished acting and winning charm make her one of this generation’s few triple-threat opera performers as Violetta, the consumptive tragic heroine in Giuseppe Verdi’s classic romance, here seen in Florence, Italy, in fall 2021.

Davide Livermore directs a stylish modern-dress version of the opera, but it’s the musicmaking (Zubin Mehta leads the orchestra and chorus) and performances, with Sierra’s overwhelming dramatic and sonic presence, that makes this a satisfying production.

Two Films by Patrice Leconte

(Cohen Film Collection)

French director Patrice Leconte has made stylish studies of strangely compelling and unbalanced relationships for decades, and while the films in this set—2001’s Felix and Lola and 2002’s Love Street—are not up to his best, like Monsieur Hire or The Hairdresser’s Husband, they are as elegantly made as ever.

Philippe Torreton and Charlotte Gainsbourg as Felix and Lola and Laetitia Casta, Patrick Timsit and Vincent Elbaz in Love Street make Leconte’s assiduously oddish characters palatable even through the overall weirdness. Both films look great on Blu-ray; each has a commentary by reviewer Wade Major.

DVD Release of the Week

Ray Donovan—Complete Series/Ray Donovan: The Movie

(Paramount/CBS)

For seven seasons, Liev Schreiber passionately played Ray Donovan, the fixer who can save any politician or celebrity, but whose family life’s a mess that he’s not able to handle. This set collects all 82 episodes of the Showtime drama series, along with the superfluous two-hour Ray Donovan: The Movie, which premiered earlier this year.

Along with Schreiber’s best performance, there’s fine acting by Jon Voigt along with an array of guest stars throughout the show’s run. The comprehensive 29-disc set also includes more than two hours’ worth of special features.

CD Releases of the Week

Sehnsucht—Berg and Mahler

(Alpha-Classics)

The German term “Sehnsucht,” referring to longing and nostalgia, informs this 2020 lockdown recording, performed in an empty Rotterdam concert hall. The music, unsurprisingly, follows suit: melancholy songs by Austrian Alban Berg, tenderly sung by the exciting Canadian soprano Barbara Hannigan (see review of Fuoco sacro, above) and up-and-coming Dutch baritone Raoul Steffani.

Hannigan returns to sing the angelic child’s song in the final movement of Gustav Mahler’s lovely Symphony No. 4, a musical linchpin of the Viennese fin de siècle era. Conductor Rolf Verbeek leads the Camerata RCO ensemble on this affecting disc.

Valentin Silvestrov—Maidan

(ECM New Series)

Ukrainian composer Vaklentin Silvestrov wrote Maidan 2014 as, he says, “a musical response to the events on the Maidan in 2014 in Kyiv.” Those events—wave after wave of demonstrations throughout Ukraine—were the source for the haunting a cappella four-part cycle with texts from both liturgical passages and Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchencko’s relevant verses.

This poignant musical statement is complemented by a trio of other unaccompanied choral works, all arrestingly sung by the Kyiv Chamber Choir, under the guidance of conductor Mykola Hobdych.

Subcategories

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