And all that jazz at Rockwell Hall
By
Eric Syms
Norah Jones may be at the top of the Billboard charts but contemporary vocal jazz is nothing new. People have been successfully, as well as unsuccessfully, trying to create their own niche in the category for years. Two seasoned jazz performers, Steve Tyrell and Karrin Allyson, have found their successful niches and are coming to perform their own brand of crossover jazz at Buffalo State College on April 16. For 40 years Tyrell has found work as a composer, supervisor and producer for movie soundtracks. He produced:
- “Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head,” from the movie “Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid ”
- the pop song “Hooked On A Feeling”
- He was also one of the writers who wrote the Grammy-winning song, “Somewhere Out There,” from “An American Tail.”
- Tyrell appeared in the 1991 film “Father of the Bride,” performing “The Way You Look Tonight.”
- In the 1995 sequel, “Father of the Bride Part II ,” Tyrell appeared on the soundtrack singing “Give Me the Simple Life” and “On the Sunny Side of the Street.”
“A New Standard,” Tyrell's first album, appeared in 1999. Consisting of jazz standards from the likes of Irving Berlin, Duke Ellington and George and Ira Gershwin, “A New Standard” peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard jazz chart and remained there for 84 weeks.
“…(He) delivers Tony Bennett heartiness, Jack Sheldon mashed potatoes wit, Tom Waits gravel and Frank Sinatra phrasing , all with intriguing measure of warmth and expansiveness,” said a review from Downbeat magazine for “A New Standard.”
Tyrell's follow-up to his debut, “Standard Time,” was just as successful, reaching No. 2 on the Billboard jazz chart and stayed on the jazz charts for more than two years. His Christmas album, “This Time of the Year,” a collection of holiday classics, reached No. 5.
“He sings the great songs the way they should be sung,” said writer/actor/director Woody Allen in regards to Tyrell's new album, “This Guy's In Love With You.”
“This Guy's In Love With You” is a continuation of Tyrell's career in performing jazz standards. Along with his usual homage to George Gershwin and Dizzy Gillespe, he manages to salute Burt Bacharach, Hoagy Charmichael and Hal David, who are all seminal writers of jazz and pop music.
Performing with Tyrell at Buffalo State is Grammy-nominated jazz singer and pianist Karrin Allyson. Allyson has been recording her jazz standards since her 1992 debut “I Didn't Know About You.”
“Stunning debut! Irresistible twists of melody and inflection,” wrote veteran jazz critic Neil Tesser in Playboy magazine when the album was released.
Allyson doesn't only perform jazz standards. She mixes in pop songwriters like Bonnie Raitt and Joni Mitchell, as well as bossa-nova from Antonio Carlos Jobim.
“Allyson's slender, sunny voice is dappled with dark shadows of rue …perfect for late-night listening,” said a review in Time Magazine.
Her 2001 album “Ballads: Remembering John Coltrane” was nominated for Best Jazz Album. A year later she received another Grammy nomination for “In Blue,” Allyson's celebration of blues music standards and covers.
Tyrell and Allyson will be performing together at Rockwell Hall from 8 to 10 p.m. April 16.
Tickets are:
- $32.50 for general public
- $27.50 for seniors
- $15 for students
Tickets can be charged by phone at 716-878-3005. Box-office hours are Monday-Friday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information see: http://www.buffalostate.edu/
pac/season/tyrellallyson.asp www.stevetyrell.com or www.karrinallyson.com
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