Tedd Firth News

This September and October 54 BELOW presents a lineup of the brightest talent from Broadway and beyond. Located just below the legendary Studio 54 at 254 West 54thStreet. For a detailed schedule of upcoming performances at 54 Below and to purchase tickets, visit www.54Below.com.

The Actors Fund and the Geffen Playhouse continue their partnership with a special one-night benefit concert featuring Brian Stokes Mitchell on Monday, October 6 in the Gil Cates Theater at the Geffen Playhouse.

Michael Feinstein, the multi-platinum-selling, two-time Emmy and five time Grammy Award-nominated entertainer brought "A Summer Evening with Michael Feinstein" to the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center in Great Barrington MA. last night and Broadwayworld was there for the concert. The sold out performance featured Michael on piano, as well as music director/pianist and arranger Tedd Firth.

Julian Fleisher, New York City's favorite multi-hyphenate, will return to Joe's Pub this fall in support of his recently released album, Finally. The 10-track album was written and produced by Julian and follows his critically acclaimed Rather Bigalbum. Julian will be mixing material from both of his releases when he hits the stage, once again, at Joe's Pub on September 17. Julian was also asked to host a conversation series with his father, the legendary pianist and Kennedy Center honoree Leon Fleisher at the 92nd St Y this fall. The series includes three intimate conversations with the master, the first taking place on October 26, the second on December 14 and the final conversation will take place on February 8, 2015. The series will explore the elder Fleisher's life and career throug the lens of the music he loves.

TOM WOPAT - the celebrated actor and vocalist - will perform at Iridium Jazz Club (1650 Broadway at 51st Street in Manhattan) with a new show 'Tom Wopat Swings the Rat Pack' for four performances only tonight and tomorrow, July 11 and 12.

Broadway's favorite leading man, Brian Stokes Mitchell, opens Segerstrom Center's 2014 - 2015 Cabaret Season with his one-man-show Simply Broadway on Friday, October 10 at 8 p.m. in the Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall. For his return visit to the Center, the dashing Tony Award-winning artist with the captivating baritone voice will perform some of his favorite Broadway songs from Camelot, Porgy and Bess, Company, Sunday in the Park with George, Les Miserables and many more. He will be joined by pianist Tedd Firth. Broadway's favorite leading man, Brian Stokes Mitchell, opens Segerstrom Center's 2014 - 2015 Cabaret Season with his one-man-show Simply Broadway on Friday, October 10 at 8 p.m. in the Renee and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall. For his return visit to the Center, the dashing Tony Award-winning artist with the captivating baritone voice will perform some of his favorite Broadway songs from Camelot, Porgy and Bess, Company, Sunday in the Park with George, Les Miserables and many more. He will be joined by pianist Tedd Firth.

TOM WOPAT - the celebrated actor and vocalist - will perform at Iridium Jazz Club (1650 Broadway at 51st Street in Manhattan) with a new show 'Tom Wopat Swings the Rat Pack' for four performances only on July 11 and 12.

In the vein of Michael Buble, Nick Ziobro recently released his pop/jazz album A LOT OF LIVIN' TO DO. Produced by Michael Feinstein, this collection features a charming mix of Broadway, Jazz, and Pop favorites all arranged by Tedd Firth to showcase Ziobro's attractive vocal instrument. As a cohesive jazz album, Ziobro's A LOT OF LIVIN' TO DO is the perfect companion for a romantic date night or a relaxing, quiet night at home with your favorite spirits.

Tonight, June 5th at 7pm Marissa Miller (Wicked) will make her solo cabaret debut at the Laurie Beechman Theatre with her new show 'Castles in the Air.' Tedd Firth serves as musical director and pianist alongside Dave Berger on drums, Steve Doyle on bass, and Sean Harkness on guitar. Direction is by Benjamin Simpson (Mother Jones).

On Thursday, June 5th at 7pm Marissa Miller (Wicked) will make her solo cabaret debut at the Laurie Beechman Theatre with her new show "Castles in the Air." Tedd Firth serves as musical director and pianist alongside Dave Berger on drums, Steve Doyle on bass, and Sean Harkness on guitar. Direction is by Benjamin Simpson (Mother Jones). Heres how the show is billed:

Michael Feinstein joined Nick Ziobro, the 17 year-old pop/jazz vocal sensation, as a special guest for his CD release concert at Birdland Jazz Club (315 West 44th Street in Manhattan) last night, May 22 at 6:00 PM. The CD's all-star band - led by Tedd Firth and featuring music Jay Leonhart on bass, Ray Marchica on drums, Brian Pareschi on trumpet and flugelhorn, and Marc Phaneuf on saxophone and clarinet - also joined the concert. Nick's debut album A Lot of Livin' to Do is produced by Michael Feinstein, the two-time Emmy and five-time Grammy Award-nominated vocalist, pianist and musicologist. Tickets - which include a complimentary CD - are $20 with an additional $10 minimum. VisitBirdlandJazz.com for more information.

A sterling new debut album from up-and-coming vocalist Nick Ziobro featuring a slew of musical theatre showstoppers titled A LOT OF LIVIN' TO DO is now available to order.

Birdland Jazz Club has announced its great line-up of amazing talent for the month of June 2014, featuring Freddy Cole, Stacey Kent, Ravi Coltrane Quartet, Tierney Sutton Quartet, Native Soul, Lorna Luft, Jane Monheit, Jim Caruso's Cast Party Celebrates the Tony Awards, and more!

Artists in Partnership (AIP), a non-profit cultural arts organization, will host its 12th Annual Cabaret Festival today, May 15-18 at the Long Beach Public Library, 111 West Park Avenue, Long Beach, NY. All performances are FREE to the public. The festival will be a celebration of the cabaret genre honoring the Great American Songbook with performances by renowned local and New York City-based artists.

Artists in Partnership (AIP), a non-profit cultural arts organization, will host its 12th Annual Cabaret Festival today, May 15-18 at the Long Beach Public Library, 111 West Park Avenue, Long Beach, NY. All performances are FREE to the public. The festival will be a celebration of the cabaret genre honoring the Great American Songbook with performances by renowned local and New York City-based artists.

New York City's favorite multi-hypenate, Julian Fleisher, will be performing at Joe's Pub in New York tonight, May 14 at 7:00pm, to celebrate the release of his sophomore album, Finally.

If you are even a semi-regular reader of this column of reviews, you know that about every three or four months, I post a compilation of observations of shows from the previous quarter of the year. This cabaret critiquing mash up happens for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that I admittedly see too many cabaret shows for the amount of time I have to promptly review them (and then, of course, the usual writer's procrastination sets in). So I have to prioritize the timeliness of the reviews based on the prestige of the performer, the length of a show run, the strength (or lack thereof) of the performance, etc. The quality of the shows in these compilations—which can range from a half dozen to a dozen reviews in one shot—are usually a mixed bag of outright raves, qualified positives, and constructive pans (I'm not a fan of the word “negative” in the reviewer lexicon). With that in mind here are a collection of cabaret show reviews going back to the start of a very harsh winter.

New York City's favorite multi-hypenate, Julian Fleisher, is Finally done with his new album and he's ready for the world to hear it. Today, May 13, 2014 Julian will release Finally on Modern Records and he's partnered up with Out Magazine to premiere his first single, the album's title track and also the song that means the most to Julian. Of the song, he says, 'I think I wrote 'Finally' when a friend was over for lunch when I was sick. While we chatted, I had the guitar under my arm and I was absentmindedly picking away as we talked.' He goes on, 'I couldn't begin to tell you what we discussed, but by the time lunch was over, the song was halfway done. Written while flying on Robitussin, espresso, chicken soup and Advil.' Julian will be celebrating the release of Finally with an album release show at Joe's Pub on May 14, 2014.

Julian Fleisher, New York City's favorite multi-hyphenate, has partnered with Guitar World's Acoustic Nation to premiere his new album, Finally. The album will be released tomorrow on Modern Records and Julian will be celebrating the release with a show at Joe's Pub in New York on May 14.

Artists in Partnership (AIP), a non-profit cultural arts organization, will host its 12th Annual Cabaret Festival May 15-18 at the Long Beach Public Library, 111 West Park Avenue, Long Beach, NY. All performances are FREE to the public. The festival will be a celebration of the cabaret genre honoring the Great American Songbook with performances by renowned local and New York City-based artists.