Dionne Warwick | Feels So Good (Bright Music Records)
by Brent Faulkner
Once a musician has become a music icon and has veteran music status, that respective musician’s legacy has been cemented forever. For Dionne Warwick, her stature as a preeminent pop/soul icon has long been secured and her latest album Feels So Good does little to alter that.
Jazz Great Andy Bey Kicked Off First Season for New Nostalgically Intimate Manhattan Performance Space Café Noctambulo
by A. Scott Galloway
The atmosphere is quaint and hushed as revered jazz vocal veteran Andy Bey slides in behind the ivories to premier music from his brand new CD, Pages From an Imaginary Life. In a space as cozy as a living room, the master is comfortable enough to speak candidly about his music by way of introducing songs – sometimes reflecting, other times joking. Amid his loving tributes to Billie Holiday which he rendered floating from his warm natural baritone to his high plaintive falsetto, Bey penetrates deepest with his more recent original compositions that offer keen insight into his mind’s inner workings at that more important life juncture – today. Songs like “Bad Luck May Be Good Luck,” “Worried Life Blues” and “Humor Keeps Us Alive.” These are songs so new that even though Andy wrote them, he stumbles occasionally in performing them perfectly. What master would ever allow this to happen in front of an audience in a New York City nightspot? It is only because of THIS particular nightspot that Andy feels free enough to “try” things as opposed to sticking to his tried and true.
(Photo: James Gavin)