Hoagy Carmichael News

Berkeley's acclaimed Aurora Theatre Company jazzes up the holidays with NAUGHTY & NICE: A MEG AND BILLY CHRISTMAS. Bay Area husband and wife cabaret duo Meg Mackay and Billy Philadelphia, whose seasonal sensation A Little Cole in Your Stocking was a hit for Aurora in 2005 and 2006, return with a witty, memorable musical showcase that is sure to spice up the holidays for cabaret fans old and new. NAUGHTY & NICE plays for eight performances only December 17-30 at the Aurora Theatre in Berkeley. Tickets ($23 and $25) may be purchased directly from the Aurora Theatre Company box office by calling (510) 843-4822, or online at auroratheatre.org.

Maria Muldaur will play the Acorn Theater on Sunday, October 10 at 4 PM. Tickets are $25 and are available at www.acorntheater.com or by calling 269-756-3879.

The Music Theatre of Connecticut 2010/11 MainStage Season will open with award-winning cabaret performer Klea Blackhurst, direct from New York in 'Everything the Traffic Will Allow: The Songs and Sass of Ethel Merman.' Klea Blackhurst - hailed as an 'improbably terrific young performer' by the New York Times - will bring her critically acclaimed show, 'Everything the Traffic Will Allow: The Songs and Sass of Ethel Merman' to Music Theatre of Connecticut for a limited engagement with performances beginning October 8. Since its original New York debut in 2001, this knock-out show continues to take the country by storm with Klea delivering bright new interpretations of Merman's signature songs such as 'I Got Rhythm, ' 'Everything's Coming Up Roses' and 'There's No Business Like Show Business,' as well as rarely-performed obscurities including 'Just A Moment Ago,' 'I've Still Got My Health,' and 'World Take Me Back.'

Mentored by Michael Feinstein and Andrea Marcovicci (The Queen of Cabaret), and sister to Fiona Apple, Maude Maggart is one of the cabaret circuit's finest interpreters of the Great American Songbook. Maude's bright, warm and ethereal vocals breathe new life into classic composers like Duke Ellington, Richard Rogers, Ira Gershwin and Hoagy Carmichael.

The Music Theatre of Connecticut 2010/11 MainStage Season will open with award-winning cabaret performer Klea Blackhurst, direct from New York in 'Everything the Traffic Will Allow: The Songs and Sass of Ethel Merman.' Klea Blackhurst - hailed as an 'improbably terrific young performer' by the New York Times - will bring her critically acclaimed show, 'Everything the Traffic Will Allow: The Songs and Sass of Ethel Merman' to Music Theatre of Connecticut for a limited engagement with performances beginning October 8. Since its original New York debut in 2001, this knock-out show continues to take the country by storm with Klea delivering bright new interpretations of Merman's signature songs such as 'I Got Rhythm, ' 'Everything's Coming Up Roses' and 'There's No Business Like Show Business,' as well as rarely-performed obscurities including 'Just A Moment Ago,' 'I've Still Got My Health,' and 'World Take Me Back.'

The Indiana University Jacobs School of Music kicks off its general 2010-11 season this week, offering a host of performances by orchestral, choral and wind ensembles, jazz combos and bands, chamber music groups, percussion ensembles, soloists and many others throughout the year.

Mentored by Michael Feinstein and Andrea Marcovicci (The Queen of Cabaret), and sister to Fiona Apple, Maude Maggart is one of the cabaret circuit's finest interpreters of the Great American Songbook. Maude's bright, warm and ethereal vocals breathe new life into classic composers like Duke Ellington, Richard Rogers, Ira Gershwin and Hoagy Carmichael.

The Oak Room Supper Club presents 'Summertime,' a jazz cabaret staring new jazz vocalist Kat Gang every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from July 8th to August 28th at 8:30 pm. The Oak Room Supper Club is located at The Algonquin Hotel, 59 West 44th Street, between 5th and 6th avenues. Food and signature summer cocktails available. Tickets are $30, please call 212-840-6800 x122 for reservations. For more information, please visit www.algonquinhotel.com/performance-schedule or www.katgang.net.

NEW YORK FESTIVAL OF SONG (NYFOS) creates intimate concerts that breathe new life into an art form that's rich and emotionally resonant, yet is too often treated as genteel, intellectual, and predictable. Led by founders Steven Blier and Michael Barrett, armed with just two pianos, gorgeous voices, a sense of humor, and a love of words and music-not to mention a deep knowledge of musical culture savvy enough to find the 18th-century gem that speaks to today's sensibilities-NYFOS plunders music's most remote precincts to create evenings of the deepest pleasure.

Maria Muldaur will play the Acorn Theater on Sunday, October 10 at 4 PM. Tickets are $25 and are available at www.acorntheater.com or by calling 269-756-3879.

Closing Aurora Theatre Company's 18th season is the Bay Area Premiere of Stephen Karam's fiercely funny SPEECH & DEBATE. Robin Stanton (Betrayed, The Busy World is Hushed, and Permanent Collection) directs this distinctive new play Entertainment Weekly called 'One of the top ten plays of the year...Even if you're not fluent in IM, you'll LOL at this subversive comedy.' Featuring Jayne Deely, Jason Frank, Maro Guevara, and Holly Hornlien, SPEECH & DEBATE plays June 11 through July 18 at the Aurora Theatre in Berkeley. For tickets ($34-55) and information the public can call (510) 843-4822 or visit auroratheatre.org. Contains mature themes and subject matters.

The Quintet, a group lead by the pianist Aruán Ortiz, is inspired by eccletic influences such as Afro-Cuban music, jazz, contemporary classical composition and visual arts, etc. as the impetus for generating musical material. The idea of creating an ensemble that pushes boundaries and expands the language of the music from the foundation of jazz has been Aruán's goal since its beginning.

Called the 'the greatest cabaret star of her generation' by the International Herald Tribune, star of screen, stage, concert and recording star Andrea Marcovicci will be making a special return at Chicago's premier venue for music, Davenport's, 1383 N. Milwaukee Avenue, Chicago.

This Week At Cornelia Street Cafe Mon Jul 12 at 9:00PM AKSHARA PERCUSSION ENSEMBLE

The Oak Room Supper Club presents 'Summertime,' a jazz cabaret staring new jazz vocalist Kat Gang every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from July 8th to August 28th at 8:30 pm. The Oak Room Supper Club is located at The Algonquin Hotel, 59 West 44th Street, between 5th and 6th avenues. Food and signature summer cocktails available. Tickets are $30, please call 212-840-6800 x122 for reservations. For more information, please visit www.algonquinhotel.com/performance-schedule or www.katgang.net.

The Oak Room Supper Club presents 'Summertime,' a jazz cabaret staring new jazz vocalist Kat Gang every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from July 8th to August 28th at 8:30 pm. The Oak Room Supper Club is located at The Algonquin Hotel, 59 West 44th Street, between 5th and 6th avenues. Food and signature summer cocktails available. Tickets are $30, please call 212-840-6800 x122 for reservations. For more information, please visit www.algonquinhotel.com/performance-schedule or www.katgang.net.

Today, we are taking a look and a listen to some splendid performances of material written by Frank Loesser, the Broadway composer/lyricist best-known for his musicals GUYS & DOLLS and HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING as well as Hollywood songs like 'Baby, It's Cold Outside' (which won an Oscar) and 'Heart and Soul'. He won 2 Tony Awards for Best Musical and HOW TO SUCCEED won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama - or, as Loesser candidly called it, 'the Putz-ular Prize' - and his work is some of the jazziest and jauntiest ever to grace the boards. With some help from Michael Feinstein, Bette Davis, Bob Hope, Doris Day and Loesser himself we have some fantastic fireworks of melody and merriment to enjoy this July 4th weekend thanks in no small part to Frank!

Today, in honor of centennial of Frank Loesser, we are taking an exclusive First Listen to the Masterworks Broadway release of HEART & SOUL: Celebrating The Unforgettable Songs Of Frank Loesser and taking a look at some memorable clips and cast albums and soundtracks from his illustrious career in Hollywood and on Broadway. Though in the sweaty summer haze it's hard to warm too much to "Baby, It's Cold Outside", nothing could be hotter than "Havana" from GUYS & DOLLS and the more we look at Loesser, it becomes quite crystal clear that sometimes less is truly much, much more…

The 36th Annual Jazz Records Collectors Bash will be held June 25th & 26th, 2010. The event will offer 78s, LPs, CDs, Memorabilia, Rare Films

The 36th Annual Jazz Records Collectors Bash will be held June 25th & 26th, 2010. The event will offer 78s, LPs, CDs, Memorabilia, Rare Films