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| Yazbek at Lincoln Center After February 9th, Lincoln Center's 'American Songbook' series may never be the same, as esteemed composer/performer David Yazbek delivers his unorthodox mix of rock, pop, blues and theatricality. An atypical evening is virtually assured, with confirmed Special Guests to include Nellie McKay and legendary soprano Lauren Flanigan. Yazbek's long- time band, His Warmest Regards, will also be on hand. At the New York concert, Yazbek will premiere tracks from his upcoming February 26th Ghostlight CD 'Evil Monkey Man'. The darkly brilliant album juxtaposes themes of sadness and personal loss with inventive lyrics and catchy melodies that in many cases disguise the serious nature of the songs. Those seeking an obvious stylistic thread may be confounded upon first listen to the music - but a keen ear will reveal a tormented protagonist, wrestling with anguish and loneliness, despite his overt irreverence. Mortality emerges as a consistent theme, as Yazbek comments: “These songs come out of a tumultuous time in my life when I experienced a personal loss and I touched some real darkness. That said, I can't help but find things funny, so there's a lot of gallows humor and regular old humor in these songs. But they're deadly serious and the place they come from is real." Yazbek is an acclaimed writer, a two-time TONY Award nominee (for The Full Monty and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,) EMMY Award winner (for comedy writing on Late Night with David Letterman,) GRAMMY-nominated record producer, and more. Much in the way that trendsetting artists such as Elvis Costello have managed to simultaneously embrace and defy conventional labels, Yazbek has shifted from rock to more 'theatrical' music, and back again, throughout his storied career. With the release of 'Evil Monkey Man', he adds a level of raw emotion to the mix: “The anger and sadness and hysteria came out naturally. And the humor was revealed for what humor always is at bottom-- a way to survive it all." write your comments about the article :: © 2008 Jazz News :: home page |