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| Comstock Puts Jazz Spin on Broadway's Charles Strouse Broadway will swing when Lincoln Center's American Songbook presents Eric Comstock, an all-star quartet and special guests in an innovative jazz spin on the music of composer Charles Strouse at the Allen Room at Jazz At Lincoln Center on Wednesday, February 6th. Joining Comstock will be tenor saxophonist Harry Allen, bassist Peter Washington, drummer Vito Lesczak; plus multiple MAC Award-winning pop-jazz vocalist Barbara Fasano, and Charles Strouse himself. "I first saw Charles Strouse in a televised concert in the '80's, and as well as loving his songs, I could tell that he welcomed different takes on his music", Comstock remembers. "When I met with him to discuss this program, I was thrilled to learn that Charles used to play in jazz rooms on 52nd Street! To have him with us as we celebrate his songbook is an honor and thrill." Strouse's scores include Bye Bye Birdie, Annie, Golden Boy, and Applause, and his songs have been recorded by Ray Charles, Stanley Turrentine, Lee Morgan, Clark Terry, Frank Foster, Sarah Vaughan, Nina Simone, and the Duke Ellington Orchestra. “I feel jazz musicians don't get their due as interpreters of show music, and this concert is an attempt to shine a light on their contributions, as well as Charles'." Pianist, vocalist, arranger, writer, and raconteur, ERIC COMSTOCK is one of the premier performers and preservers of the American songbook, described as “an ideal balance of swinging precision and good-humored warmth ... an ingenious musical wit “ by Stephen Holden of The New York Times and “an icon in the making" by The New Yorker. With an enviable command of both pop and jazz repertoire, Comstock created the long-running revues Our Sinatra, Made For the Movies: A Hollywood Songbook, and Singing Astaire. He has performed at Carnegie Hall, The Oak Room at the Algonquin, the Metropolitan Room and Birdland, and in concert halls and clubs from coast to coast. His most recent CD No One Knows received unanimous praise - “Comstock has a voice that flows as smoothly as rye and sweet vermouth over ice ... jump for joy!" (Christopher Loudon, JazzTimes). As a performer and commentator, he has been featured on CBS's Early Show, CNN's Showbiz Today, and NPR's Morning Edition, Fresh Air and JazzSet. He has been profiled in Newsday, The San Francisco Chronicle, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, The San Francisco Examiner, The Star Ledger and magazines such as Time Out New York, Avenue, Savvy, Gavin, and Cabaret Scenes. Mr. Comstock's work has been referenced in articles in Vanity Fair and The New York Review of Books and the recent books Intimate Nights and The American Songbook. Published essays include appreciations of Cole Porter, Freddy Cole, Bobby Short and E.Y. Harburg. write your comments about the article :: © 2008 Jazz News :: home page |