Riveting Riffs Magazine

Melanie Stace performs in Rotterdam

Newsies Opening on Broadway

Bob Tzudiker and Noni White are highly respected screenwriters who at different times during their careers have worked for Disney, Warner Bros., Universal Pictures, Sony Pictures, Dreamworks and Fox. A small sampling of their work as writers includes, the animated features, Tarzan (1999), Tarzan 2 (2005), 102 Dalmatians (2000), Anastasia (1997) and the Hunchback of Nortre Dame (1996). Bob Tzudiker and Noni White began their careers as actors, with Bob appearing on television shows such as, Walker, LA Law, Moonlighting, Murder She Wrote, Simon & Simon, Mike Hammer and TJ Hooker, as well as the movie Ruthless People. Noni White’s career as an actress includes appearances in 7^th Heaven. Little House on the Prairie, Falcon Crest and Parker Lewis Can’t Lose, plus the made for television movies, Scandal In A Small Town, Not My Kid, Malice In Wonderland, From The Dead of the Night and Not My Kid, to name but a few. With such significant accomplishments in film and television it may seem to some people somewhat surprising that the husband and wife writing duo of Bob Tzudiker and Noni White are about to make what may become their biggest splash yet and it will take place on Broadway, when their screenplay for the hit film Newsies is adapted to the stage for the second time in less than a year, as it graduates from New Jersey's Paper Mill Playhouse to Broadway.

Noni and Bob give credit to what they refer to as “a hugely successful run” at the Paper Mill Playhouse, for making it possible for Newsies to play Broadway.

For those who are not familiar with the Disney film Newsies, the screenplay and now the stage version are based on historical events that took place in New York City in 1899 when the newspapers of the day were distributed by “newsies” or children who would travel the streets of the city on foot and bark out the headlines trying to entice Read More

Late For Breakfast

Michael Oliphant is the very gifted co-songwriter, lead singer and keyboardist for the eclectic band Late For Breakfast, which is comprised of Oliphant, saxophonist Greg Clarkson, bass guitarist Roger McLachlan and drummer Gerry Pantazis. The breathtaking music of Late For Breakfast mixes elements of Rock, Jazz and Funk with a musical vibe that seduces the listener and with lyrics that are intelligent and that often weave a story, as does the delicious song “Michelle.” The Melbourne, Australia based band boasts some of the country’s top musicians. McLachlan was one of the founding members of the Little River Band, while the Mike Oliphant Band toured in support of artists such as Tina Turner and worked with Tina Arena and The Seekers. Clarkson’s highlight reel includes working with, Shirley Bassey, John Farnham, Louis Bellson and he was featured in the stage production of Jersey Boys. Drummer Pantazis has been featured on numerous high profile televised events and he was part of The Seekers Farewell tour, as well as touring with iconic Australian musician Tommy Emmanuel.

One only needs to listen to songs such as “Michelle,” and “Teller of Things To Come,” from the current album The Art of Falling to get a feel for both the excellence and diversity of Late For Breakfast.

“The song, “Teller of Things to Come,” is a prophetic song. It is a song that talks about things that could be, but only in your own mind. It talks about the idea that everybody can be their own leader and dictate their own future and that you are the teller in so many words. It is really about you taking control of things,” says Oliphant.

“Teller of Things to Come,” opens with funky keyboards, backed by Greg Clarkson’s soulful saxophone, before Michael Oliphant’s smooth vocals tease the listener’s palette. The synergy between Gerry Pantazis’ drumming and percussion and Roger McLachlan’s bass is magical, as they establish a strong foundation for a spellbinding song. Read More

Mercedez-Benz Fashion Week Berlin, Germany

All Photos by Dan and Corina Lecca / Getty Images for Mercedez-Benz Fashion Week,
protected by copyright © , all rights reserved

The View From Here

Canadian singer – songwriter Kirsten Nash’s new album The View From Here opens with a killer tune, “100 Mile House,” recorded at The Factory Studios in Vancouver, Canada. The song which features the clear, smooth vocals of Nash, backed by excellent guitar playing courtesy of John Ellis and Jay Buettner, takes its name from a small town in Northern British Columbia, the province that Kirsten Nash calls home.

Kirsten Nash who has toured with Long John Baldry, Alfie Zappacosta and worked in the studio and / or shared the stage with Tom Jones, Bill Medley, Jeff Healey, Stephen Stills, John Waite, Boz Scaggs, Rita MacNeil, Cher and Amos Garrett, weaves a beautiful, yet tragic ballad “Abigail,” a young woman who spends her life trying to fit in. Abigail lives her life alone, often in pain, but disguises the pain, “when she says there’s nothing wrong, that’s the time she hurts the most.” The poignant line that jumps out from the lyrics is “She’s so used to being Abigail alone.” Ms. Nash accompanies herself beautifully on acoustic guitar and is joined on guitar by John Ellis and Jay Buettner.

“You Were Mine,” opens with Kirsten Nash playing saxophone and this is another exquisite ballad that talks about the mistake of taking love for granted. There is a stark metaphor for love that has died, “the coffee gets cold and so did my heart.” It is a song about the choices that we make in life and how sometimes we look back and wonder if we would make the same choices again. The song is more reflective than it is one about heartbreak or sorrow, although there is a lament in Ms. Nash’s saxophone. If anything perhaps the tone of this song is remembering the cherished moments and realizing that if we had those moments back we might not be so reckless or hasty in the words spoken to one another.Read More

In Conversation: Tony Braunagel

At this stage of his career it is difficult to tell if drummer, producer and songwriter Tony Braunagel has a preference in terms of the various aspects of his career, as he appears to get equally juiced, whether he is talking about his current gig, playing with the Robert Cray band or he is relating his experience producing an album for the Kansas based Blues band Trampled Under Foot. Braunagel whose drumming and producing career also includes working with Eric Burdon both in the studio and for live performances, as well as several years spent touring with Bonnie Raitt, tours with Rickie Lee Jones, Bette Midler, Etta James and many other notable artists, got his start in the music business in Houston, Texas where he grew up and took his first paying gig as a drummer at the age of fifteen. During his career, he has called New York City, London, England and now Los Angeles his home.

We caught up with Tony Braunagel after he had finished recording and mixing his third record with Eric Burdon and in between performances with Robert Cray. “The other two (records) got great critical acclaim, but I don’t think that we were with a very good label and they could not get out and promote them, yet we still got great international reviews for (the records). (This one) is autobiographical and it is about where Eric is at right now and what he thinks about what is going on. He has always been very politically and socially conscious. The record has a lot of that in there. He has never been able to be an artist and not have a voice. He always had a voice from the beginning, even when he sang, “House of the Rising Sun,” and I think soon after that the world noticed that Eric has a pretty strong voice. He is a very bright Read More

Kimme Rhodes - New Album

Austin, Texas based artist Kimmie Rhodes has carved out a spot for herself as one of the best songwriters on the music scene with songs that have gone platinum. Her songs have been recorded by performers such as Willie Nelson, Wynonna Judd, Amy Grant, Trish Yearwood, Mark Knopfler, Emmylou Harris, Joe Ely, Peter Frampton and Waylon Jennings. Ms. Rhodes’ current album Dreams Of Flying, featuring ten of her own songs (plus one cover) and singing is beautiful in its simplicity. One gets the sense that this record was a labor of love with her late husband Joe Gracey who mixed and mastered the album and their son Gabriel Rhodes who engineered and produced the album.

The album opens with the title track, “Dreams of Flying,” an easygoing acoustic guitar driven tune during which Ms. Rhodes talks about dreams and schemes and dreaming of flying away. Rather than being fanciful the song is inspirational.

For those of you wondering why we have not attached a genre label to this album it is because it does not fit snugly into a genre and that is a good thing, because it means more people will have an opportunity to enjoy this beautiful music, by one of the most gifted and nicest people in music.

“I hear a band of angels / I hear a symphony / When you are near I don’t trust my ears / because you say things I can’t believe / and it sure sounds like love to me,” words from Kimmie Rhodes song “Like Love To Me,” one of the prettiest love letters you will ever hear. Gabriel Rhodes guitar is elegant and drummer John Gardner’s accompaniment is subtle. Read More

Film Review: Troupers

They were beautiful and handsome and fun and they entertained us. Sometimes they were overshadowed by actors and actresses whose stars shone more brightly and at other times they found themselves all alone and in the spotlight. Troupers, a splendid one hour and twenty-four minute documentary film, produced by actresses Dea Lawrence and Sara Ballantine, focuses on the lives of performers such as Jane Kean (The Honeymooners), Carl Ballantine, Allan Rich, Ivy Bethune, Marvin Kaplin (film: Adam's Rib, TV: Mel's Diner, Meet Millie) Pat Carroll, Kaye Ballard (Mothers In Law), Larry Parks, Betty Garrett and Connie Sawyer. The producers deliberately steered away from more famous people who appeared in film and on stage. This film is one of the most inspirational films to come our way in a very long time and it comes at a time when an aging America needs to hear that you still have a lot to give and the rest of America needs to listen and realize that lives do not end when you turn fifty years old. All of these actors and actresses had careers that spanned decades and extended well into their senior years when they were in their eighties and in some cases their nineties.

Emmy and Grammy Award winning actress Pat Caroll, who was a regular on the television show Laverne and Shirley and the sitcom Make Room For Daddy, serves up this poignant thought, “Age has nothing to do with anything. If you have a talent and you have done it all of your life, why stop.”

Dea Lawrence and Sara Ballantine, who had never before produced a film of any type, have produced a film that not only chronicles the lives of these performers, but it is highly entertaining and insightful. Read More

Interview: Producer Pat Addiss

Even though Pad Addiss is only in her seventh year as a theater producer, she already has several high profile productions to her credit, including Spring Awakening which garnered eleven Tony Award nominations and won eight including Best Musical. The show also won four Drama Desk Awards. Pat Addiss’ Broadway credits as a producer also include, Little Women, Passing Strange, The 39 Steps and the revivals of Promises, Promises (2010) and the revival of The Fantasticks, starring Aaron Carter, which is currently enjoying a run at New York City’s The Snapple Theater Center. She also produced Chita Rivera: The Dancer’s Life. In 2010, Ms. Addiss was honored by Works By Women, which has a mandate to honor women in theater and to elevate the number of plays and musicals that appear on American stages and are written and directed by women. The organization says that number now stands at less than 20%. Pat Addiss received the Tru Spirit of Theater Award. We caught up with Ms. Addiss in Hershey, Pennsylvania where her newest production, A Christmas Story, based on the stories of legendary radio personality Jean Shepherd, was being staged.

When asked what she was doing in Hershey Pennsylvania, Pat Addiss, as she did throughout our conversation, punctuated her words with laughter and replied, “I am eating a lot of chocolate and getting fat. The whole town smells of candy. They have a museum and they have Chocolate World, which I have already been to and I am staying away from. The show (A Christmas Story) is glorious. There is a convention (in town) and some women stopped me in the lobby (of the hotel) and said to me, ‘Thank you so much for giving us the flyer about A Christmas Story, because we saw it last night and it was great.’ Another lady stopped me in the elevator and said the same things and that put a smile on my face. It is a wonderful show. Families love it. I call it the Rocky Horror Show for grown men. Every performance gets a little bit better, as we only had three weeks to rehearse and we could have used another week for sure. It is still marvelous. Read More

Jessy J Dishes Hot Sauce

Jazz saxophonist – songwriter and singer Jessy J was in the third grade and she was signing up for the elementary school band when she started to play the saxophone and she laughs at this writer’s suggestion that the instrument must have been bigger than she was at the time.

“It was. It was huge and it still is huge for me, but I love it. I played the alto sax and I really enjoyed the sound that it made. For me it was a fun hobby and I never thought that I would be a musician until I was 15 years old. It was a fun way to have time with friends. It was kind of like fate. It was my destiny,” she says.

“I originally wanted to play the flute as my primary instrument in elementary school. There were too many people playing the flute, so my band director asked me to play the saxophone. At the same time, my best friend was playing the flute and my sister was playing the clarinet. I learned how to play the flute from just being in band. It was the same with the clarinet, I learned how to play it, by listening to my sister play it. Music to me is one big element and as soon as you can figure it out, you can basically learn any instrument.”

Hot Sauce, Jessy J’s new album from Heads Up International, a division of the Concord Music Group demonstrates her singing and songwriting ability in addition to her playing and she collaborated once again with Grammy Award winning producer Paul Brown. This is the third album that Jessy J has released under the Concord Music Group banner, her first being Tequila Moon, which was released through Peak Records and her second album, True Love, both of which also had Paul Brown’s fingerprints on them as the producer. Read More

Interview with U.K.'s Maxi Dunn

After spending almost nine years away from the music scene so she could devote her attention to her son and daughter, singer – songwriter Maxi Dunn returned in 2010 with her debut solo album Welcome To Soonville, a deeply personal collection of songs that reflect the Liverpool, U.K. native’s eclectic musical influences. She fronted a number of bands during the 1990’s including the Trip-Hop band CS Drift. Prior to spending time fronting CS Drift, she also served as the lead singer for groups that ranged from what she describes as Jangly Guitar Pop to possessing a heavier Rock / Pop sound.

Alluding to her eclectic influences, Maxi Dunn says, “I think that it now comes out in my writing. I often get told that all of the songs are very different, but there is also the added Maxi Dunn sound. I like to keep the songs fresh and different. I like a wide range of music and while I can be diverse, I am making the most of it.”

There is also the influence of the city in which she has lived all of her life, “From an early age we were aware that Liverpool had a musical history, because our parents were into The Beatles, so we were always listening to Beatles’ songs and my dad was always playing them on his guitar. You couldn’t get away from it, because they were always on TV. As a young girl growing up during the early eighties in Liverpool, it was again exploding. We had a big club where all the bands used to hang out, like Pete Burns from Dead Or Alive (New Wave – “You Spin Me Round (Like A Record) - # 1 on U.K. charts). He was such a big influence and Read More

Acoustic Alchemy

Reviewed by Chris Mchale

When original band member Nick Webb passed away in 1998, I figured the days of Acoustic Alchemy as a viable band were over. It also appeared the days of smooth jazz, the prevailing label at the time constantly slapped on Acoustic Alchemy’s brand of music, had seen its best days and was slowly fading away with the end of the century. Now in 2011, I find myself listening to a new release by the band, a band obviously set on enduring through personal changes, music reformations or any other cultural turmoil that might come their way.

Perhaps the clue to their staying power is in the name. They constantly seek new chemical interactions, drop all sorts of influence into their mortar and pound away; alchemists in practice as well as name.

Roseland, their latest release, was not just a spur of the moment jam session released on a whim. Four years in the making, the band cooked up a nice musical stew, spiced with flavors of contemporary jazz, rock, reggie and even a helping of country music.

Greg Carmichael, features his nylon string acoustic guitar on the opening tune, "Marrakesh." This is familiar territory, a riff and approach well-worn, but welcome nonetheless and laid out in the arrangement Read More

Photos of the Greater Hartford Festival of Jazz

All photos courtesy of David B. Newman protected by copyright ©, all rights reserved

Sarah Slean In Concert

It is always a love affair between Sarah Slean and her fans whenever the dark haired singer – composer, pianist (keyboardist) and genuinely funny lady performs. That was the case once again when the Canadian artist took to the Myer Horowitz stage on the University of Alberta’s campus in Edmonton, Canada recently, as she performed several songs from her new album Land & Sea and satisfied at least some in the audience by digging into the vault for old favorites such as “Get Home,” from The Baroness album (2009) and “Wake Up,” from her 2004 CD Day One. Ms. Slean who often performs solo with a grand piano, was backed on this evening by drummer Lyle Molzan, electric bassist Paul Matthew, guitarist Derek Downham and the multi-talented Karen Kosowski on keys, acoustic guitar and background vocals.

Sarah Slean is the consummate storyteller and perhaps the most underappreciated artistic genius that Canada has produced in the past quarter century. Her ability to weave tales, some based from personal experience, is only rivaled on the Canadian music scene by Neil Young and Gordon Lightfoot. The rich vocals were showcased wonderfully with her meandering ballad “Attention Archers,” from Land & Sea. The poignant “Get Home,” is soul searching with lines like “Mr. Masquerade, you are getting good at charade,” a song about falling in love and then discovering that you are in love with someone who is married. It is about calling it for what it is and cutting the ties, yet the heartbreak is no less. Read More

A Go-Go Girl in a Modern World

Laurie Biagini’s album A Go-Go Girl in a Modern World can best be described as a collection of songs that swing somewhere between Beach Boys music with songs such as “My Little SUV,” sending up reminders of “Little Deuce Coupe,” and the all-girl group of the ‘90s The Bangles with vibes like the title track. The strengths of this album lay within Biagini’s vocals and her ability to accompany herself well on the keys and competently on electric guitar. For the most part Ms. Biagini is accompanied on guitar by Fabrizio Serrecchia.

“A Ride On The Train,” is a fun song to which no doubt you will want to sing along with your friends, while you have the car windows down and the breeze is blowing through your hair.

When reviewing an album, one learns to listen for the gems, those songs that sound different from the rest, the ones that stand out, because the listener can identify with them and where the musicianship, the songwriting, vocals or all three give you something extra special and "In The Eyes of a Little Girl," a songwriting and vocal collaboration between Vancouver, Canada's Laurie Biagini and Liverpool, U.K.'s Maxi Dunn is that song on Laurie's current album. Peter Hackett delivers well on guitar. Ms. Biagini takes the first verse, Ms. Dunn sings on the second and they harmonize on the third verse of a song Read More

Concert Review at Jazz Standard

Reviewed by Chris Mchale

There’s only one way to listen to the original release from 1966 of John Coltrane’s soul scorching recording, Ascension, with pure, utter abandonment. You have to let go and sink into the intense wash of colors and riffs. It is crazy music. It demands an emotional response. In a single word, it’s extraordinary. Coltrane called it big band music, but this was unlike any other big band that ever blew a bent note of soli perfection. This was an intergalactic big band on wild juice heading full tilt into an out of control star gone nova. It was the first intensely personal expression of abstract free jazz ever committed to vinyl, which brings us to the central question of last Wednesday downstairs at the Jazz Standard in New York City.

Is a Jackson Pollack a Jackson Pollack without Jackson Pollack? Can a conception and execution, a gigantic improvisation of vibe and soul, sounding to us from 45 years ago, still play, move and create emotion in a meaningful way in 2011? And without the archetypal titans of jazz as anchors in a harmonic universe set free from ancient bounds of expectation, is this music going to work?

Producer Milan Simich decided to give it a try. Bringing together an all-star ensemble of power and grace, the idea was to recreate, to an extent, Coltrane’s iconic release, Ascension. The music on that original disc blows your head right through the back wall. It’s that good. How can you compete with the original congress of jazz gods?

With some doubts, I descend the stairs into the . Read More

Thievery Corporation at the Sugar Mill - New Orleans

Jacqui Naylor Is A Lucky Girl

Singer – Songwriter Jacqui Naylor’s new album may be titled Lucky Girl, but we are the lucky men and women who have the opportunity to enjoy another very good recording from Jacqui Naylor, as she collaborates again with multi-instrumentalist and co-writer - husband Art Khu. The duo became known a few years ago for their smash-ups and as Ms. Naylor explained during a previous interview with Riveting Riffs Magazine, “The band plays the groove of one tune, while I am singing a whole other song.” This album features six smash-ups, “”The Surrey With The Fringe On Top,” Neil Young’s “Only Love Can Break Your Heart,” the Johnny Mercer and Henry Mancini song classic “Moon River,” Earl Brent and Matt Dennis’ “Angel Eyes,” “Close The Door,” penned by Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff and “I Can’t Make You Love Me,” (Mike Reid and Allen Shamblin). It is however Jacqui Naylor and Art Khu’s original songs that will create a buzz among music fans.

Recently, Riveting Riffs Magazine, caught up with Jacqui Naylor in her west coast home, as she talked about her fabulous new album, one that opens with the title track “Lucky Girl,” which sets the tone for the rest of this musical journey.

Ms. Naylor acknowledges that Lucky Girl may be her most personal album to date, “I think that the album Shelter was very personal at that time in my life and it was the first album that I did when I wrote songs and I wrote them with Art (Khu) and that started that whole process. I think that Lucky Girl is another personal leap.”

“This album has taken our songwriting to Read More

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