Surprising Choices Nov 8, 2008
Broadway played a big supporting role in Moreno's Rrazz debut, but not necessarily in the most familiar songs from shows like "Chicago," from which she offered a comically over-the-top version of "Class," or the celebrated collaboration between Harold Arlen and Truman Capote, "House of Flowers." That show, which featured Ethel Waters and introduced Diahann Carroll, is probably best known for "A Sleepin' Bee," but Moreno reminded her audience of just what a rich musical trove the show was with "I... (San Francisco Chronicle -- Entertainment)
Excerpt: Paul Simon's 'Lyrics 1964-2008' Nov 8, 2008
Simon stands with both the unpretentious masters of his own youth -- the Everly Brothers, Chuck Berry, Smokey Robinson -- and his greatest predecessors: Harold Arlen, Irving Berlin, Rodgers the Gershwins, Johnny Mercer, and Cole Porter. As you browse through this book, the enormous (and unfinished) catalog of Paul Simon's art, you will see just how many songs he's written that rate with "How Deep Is the Ocean" and "Stormy Weather.". (ABC News)
Michaelson stands up for cancer research Oct 24, 2008
One cover on "BE OK" is of Harold Arlen and E. Y. Harnurg's "Over the Rainbow," a classic feel-good song that every listener will recognize. Other tracks, such as "The Chain," "Keep Breathing" and "Oh, What A Day" were written by Michaelson herself and are melodic and effortless sounding; they are the epitome of Michaelson's sound. (The Suffolk Journal, MA)
Blues singers share their lives through song Sep 18, 2008
The great blues and jazz tunes from the likes of Duke Ellington, Bessie Smith, Johnny Mercer and Harold Arlen, songs such as "Taking a Chance on Love," "Am I Blue?," "These Foolish Things Remind Me of You," and "Stompin' at the Savoy" punctuate the steamy night. This demanding show came to director Lee Godburn, a Middletown native, as a bunch of hand-written notes of music from the 1930s and a vocal book and recording from 1978. (New Britain Herald, CT)
Female voices in spotlight Aug 12, 2008
Legit soprano Erin Mosher joined the last musicale celebrating Harold Arlen, after coming off an Asian tour of "Jekyll and Hyde" and a wide array of roles from a nun in "The Sound of Music" to Sheila in "Hair." She covers the subject of man trouble in "Maybe This Time" from "Cabaret" and "I'm Gonna Wash that Man Right Outa My Hair" from "South Pacific.". Once again, Baker has included a couple of outstanding newcomers. (NJ.com -- Times)
Boz Scaggs Revisits Standards This Fall With 'Speak Low' (Decca), His First New Studio Album in Five Years, the Follow Up to His #1 Jazz Album 'But Beautiful' Jul 30, 2008
THIS TIME THE DREAM'S ON ME (Harold Arlen and John H. Mercer). Source: Decca. (Yahoo! Wire -- Entertainment News)
Joseph Fields, pianist, conductor, composer Jul 22, 2008
Dr. Fields provided orchestration and arrangements of the Broadway score by Harold Arlen and other songs, while writing some original music. Dr. Fields also conducted orchestras for the company's tours in the United States, Europe, China, and Australia. (Boston Globe)
Municipal Bands schedule concerts Jun 26, 2008
Over the Rainbow, Harold Arlen ... Over the Rainbow, Harold Arlen. (Mason City Globe-Gazette, IO)
Step into world of blues, love and life in 'Blues in the Night' Jun 18, 2008
Blues in the Night is a musical revue that honors the great blues and jazz standards by Bessie Smith, Duke Ellington, Harold Arlen, Johnny Mercer and others. This entertaining show runs through Saturday, June 28, at the Jacksonville Beach community theater. (Florida Times-Union)
Songs My Mother Taught Me | Lorna Luft Jun 16, 2008
Written and directed by Emmy Award Winners Mitzie and Ken Welch (best known for The Carol Burnet Show), Songs My Mother Taught Me pays homage to composers, performers and pals who were part of Garland s life including Harold Arlen, Ira Gershwin and celebrates the birth of the Rat Pack. Variety called Songs My Mother Taught Me a rousing, dramatically riveting musical event that played eleven weeks at the historic Canon Theatre in Beverly Hills and was awarded two Los Angeles Theatre Alliance... (Australian Stage Online)
Summer band concerts to begin Friday night Jun 4, 2008
Harold Arlen will be honored with a tribute of It s Only a Paper Moon, Come Rain or Come Shine, Stormy Weather and That Old Black Magic. Food items, including hamburgers, hot dogs, chips, drinks and desserts will be on sale from 5 to 7 p.m., sponsored by the Lynn Relayers, Relay for Life team. (Pontiac Daily Leader, IL)
Community news May 11, 2008
Songs will include the music of Arthur Sullivan, George M. Cohan, Irving Berlin, Richard Rodgers and Harold Arlen among others. The Community Pops Singers is supported by Pitt County Community Schools and Recreation and consists of singers of all ages from several counties in Eastern North Carolina. (The Daily Reflector)
NIACC announces line-up for 2008-2009 Performing Arts and Leadership Series Apr 17, 2008
He brings to life the music and lyrics of composers like Cole Porter, Harold Arlen, Sammy Cahn, Jimmy Van Heusen, and Rodgers and Hart. His repertoire includes such standards as: I ve Got You Under My Skin, The Lady is a Tramp, Mack the Knife, Just the Way You Are, and That s Life. (Mason City Globe-Gazette, IO)
Inspiration night Apr 9, 2008
Tell us what you think -- from the judges to the on-stage hopefuls. The entry titled "4/8: Top 8 performance show," and any of the comments about it. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
'Lion King' opens Apr 7, 2008
She introduced her Garland-esque interpretation of Harold Arlen s The Man That Got Away by joking that she was a gay man trapped inside a black woman s body. She re-lived the embarassment of choosing Jerome Kern s Bill for a tribute to Bill Cosby, cringing at the lyrics: He can t play golf or tennis or polo. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
My life in lyrics Apr 1, 2008
Of the countless songs he wrote with Harold Arlen, none beats this one. A couplet like "And they pour champagne/ Just like it was rain" sounds so simple, but nobody ever wrote like that by accident. (Guardian Unlimited)
McCarter Theatre hosts cabaret singer, piano trio Mar 22, 2008
Two-time Tony Award-winner and film star Naughton will present his cabaret act, "Looking for the Heart of Saturday Night." Accompanied by a pop-jazz quartet, the program will include songs by Rodgers and Hart, Harold Arlen, Cy Coleman, Tom Waits and Randy Newman. Naughton earned his Tony awards in 1990 for his cynical, Sam Spade-like detective in Cy Coleman's "City of Angels" and the lawyer Billy Flynn in the current revival of "Chicago.". (NJ.com -- Times)
Reflections on the Oscars Mar 17, 2008
It was 65 years ago, when composer Harold Arlen had the bad fortune to have Happiness is a Thing Called Joe, My Shining Hour and That Old Black Magic, all competing for the Oscar, Harry Warren got to take home the gold for Youll Never Know. And just last year, Henry Krieger suffered a similar fate when three of his songs for Dream Girls were nominated, thus allowing gay activist Melissa Etheridge to snag an Oscar for her contribution to Al Gores An... (Townhall.com)
John Williams tribute during concert in SV Mar 1, 2008
In addition to Williams, scores featured include works by venerable film composer Mikl;s R;zsa, and Elmer Bernstein, along with Scott Joplin and Marvin Hamlisch, as well as Vangelis Papthanassiou, Lalo Schifrin, John Barry, Howard Shore, and the remarkable Harold Arlen. A number of Academy Award-winning film scorers are included in this performance. (Douglas Daily Dispatch, AZ)
Musical stars come out to sing Oscar's praises Jan 16, 2008
It's the swinging Oscar I will always cherish the one who could create mood-elevating miracles with Harold Arlen tunes like "As Long As I Live," "It's Only a Paper Moon" or "Ac-cent-tchu-ate the Positive.". That's his true exit music. (Toronto Star)
What's On: Stage Dec 28, 2007
by L. Frank Baum, with music and lyrics by Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg follows Dorothy and Toto on their travels from Kansas to the Emerald City. For ages 5 & up. (Toronto Star)
Call him irresponsible| Dec 12, 2007
How much better does it get then a chance to sing songs by so many great writers like Leonard Cohen, Eric Clapton, Cy Coleman, Gamble and huff, Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen, Henry Mancini, Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer Im a lucky boy. How did you select the the songs and did you have a specific vision about the music. (iAfrica.com)
This Rat Pack in tune with their role models Nov 24, 2007
With a horn-heavy 15-piece onstage orchestra and a Tin Pan Alley catalog ranging through standards by Cole Porter, George Gershwin, Sammy Cahn, Harold Arlen and more, how could it not at least be listenable. Mostly The Rat Pack Live at the Sands showcases the music with which Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr. and Dean Martin entertained the masses at the once cool, long demolished Las Vegas hotel and casino. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
Pick out a box set for every musical taste Nov 23, 2007
Johnny Mercer, Mosaic SelectMosaic, 3 CDs, $44Foundation: 79 tracks showcasing one of the great American songbook's greatest lyricists, including tunes by Harold Arlen, Hoagy Carmichael and Jerome Kern, to name a few. Frills: Mercer singing a bunch of his songs, from Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive to One for My Baby. (USA Today -- Life)
Big dreams on a munchkin-sized budget Nov 12, 2007
Music and lyrics by Harold Arlen ... It's also wonderful to see a generation raised on Hannah Montana and High School Musical get excited by a score from Harold Arlen. (Globe and Mail -- Entertainment)
Music Review: Feinstein makes up for lost show Sep 10, 2007
The program (originally scheduled for February and was canceled because of snow) featured classic, popular songs by great American composers such as Cole Porter, George and Ira Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Harold Arlen and more. The first half opened with the moving "Birth of the Blues" and allowed Feinstein and the PSO to stretch into some jazzy territory along the way. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA)
The 'Wax Museum' at the Bee Hive in Chicago, circa 1948 Sep 9, 2007
The Famous Silver Slipper on Broadway at 48th Street, called itself "The heart and center of New York's night life." Ben Pollack and His Orchestra, Presenting "Biff - Boom - Bang!" Lyrics by Ted Koehler and Harold Arlen. (I think they, at least Arlen, did The Wizard of Oz.) It continues: 30 - World's Loveliest Girls - 30. (Wilkes Barre Citizen's Voice, PA)
The best movie songs ever Aug 28, 2007
Wizard of Oz -- Over the rainbow Performed by Judy Garland; written by Harold Arlen and E.Y. Harburg Director Victor Fleming, 1939, musical The wonderful Judy Garland lifts us way up high to a magical Technicolor land of dreams where the sun always shines, troubles melt like lemon drops and every story has a happy ending. If the movie industry had a theme tune to aspire to, this would be it. (CNN -- Showbiz)
Singer and ex-addict Ed Reed finds redemption in a CD and gigs Aug 23, 2007
In February, he released his premiere recording, "Ed Reed Sings," an intimate set of familiar and seldom-heard ballads, including Billy Strayhorn's "A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing" and Harold Arlen and Truman Capote's "A Sleepin' Bee," on his and his wife's Blue Shorts label. The CD has been getting play on some two dozen jazz radio stations around the country and has garnered positive reviews from several magazines. (San Francisco Chronicle)
Review: 3 women on the edge in 'Blues in the Night' Aug 18, 2007
The title song, written by Harold Arlen, is also overproduced. Fortunately, these small problems fade to the background, thanks to the energy of the cast. (San Francisco Chronicle)
Review: The House That George Built Jul 21, 2007
" And it was composed by men who tended toward glumness. "Over the Rainbow" was written by the bipolar Harold Arlen - "Arlen's manic side may have been almost as necessary to his compositions as his gloomy one, simply because it gave him the heart to write in the first place. In other words, he had to feel that good to tell you how bad he felt; if he felt any worse, he couldn't have written at all, even sadly. (International Herald Tribune -- Arts)
'The House' hits a historical high note Jul 17, 2007
Starting with Irving Berlin and successors George Gershwin and Harold Arlen, Jews of immigrant stock who soaked up black jazz and blues, the author explores characters ranging from self-made swing icon Duke Ellington to the more high-born Cole Porter. We get a keen sense of the relationships and struggles that informed their lives and art. (USA Today -- Life)
In The House That George Built,'' Wilfrid Sheed provides a fan's guide to the greats of the American songbook Jul 3, 2007
Since childhood, he has been listening to and loving the jazz songs of George Gershwin (the "George" of this book's title), Harold Arlen, Irving Berlin, Duke Ellington, Jerome Kern, Burton Lane, Johnny Mercer, Cole Porter, Richard Rodgers, and some 50 other composers of the 1920s through 1950s ... Of Arlen, Sheed says, "Whatever the essence of this music is, Harold Arlen had the most of it." A reader can just picture Sheed smiling after that one, anticipating a combative comeback. (Boston Globe)
PAINTING A PICTURE OF THE CREATIVE MIND May 29, 2007
" Songwriter Harold Arlen sat prayerfully at his piano in hopes that the "unsought" musical phrase would come to him by some mysterious means. The novelist Edith Wharton took a more practical view. While her characters emerged "in some secret region on the sheer edge of consciousness," as she put it, that process was "always illuminated by the full light of my critical attention. " However fundamental it may be to the creation of great art and the profound connections we feel to it, the... (San Francisco Chronicle)
'Sweet and Hot' May 8, 2007
Sweet and Hot' Music of Harold Arlen comes to Zodiac stage By Staff Writer Last Updated:May 07 ... What: "Sweet and Hot: The Songs of Harold Arlen" presented by the Zodiac Players ... FLORENCE -- A tuneful evening of sophisticated American classics is in store as the Zodiac Players present "Sweet and Hot: The Songs of Harold Arlen.". (Shoals TimesDaily)
Best Bets for April 12 through April 18 Apr 14, 2007
The concert features the music of composers Richard Rogers, Harold Arlen, Hoagy Carmichael and Lerner and Lowe, including "The Sound of Music," "Oklahoma," "Stormy Weather," and "Camelot." Beverly Mauck directs. Tickets are 8 in advance and 10 at the door. (Carroll County Times)
Listen Up: New tunes from Modest Mouse, Joss Stone Mar 20, 2007
By turns earnest and self-consciously clever, this young British group aspires to but never quite achieves the unaffected wit and, well, feeling shown by their eclectic role models, who include The Kinks, Pet Shop Boys and Harold Arlen. Suffice to say theres no Lola or Over the Rainbow in this batch. (USA Today -- Life)
Remembering Betty Hutton Mar 14, 2007
One of the highest-paid stars of her day, she made movies with Cecil B. DeMille and Preston Sturges, and she worked with such composers as Frank Loesser, Johnny Mercer, Harold Arlen and Hoagy Carmichael, who wrote her biggest hit and Capitol's first No. 1 record, Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief. Born Betty June Thornburg in 1921, Hutton got her start in show business at age 5, singing at her mother's speakeasy. (USA Today -- Life)
Orlando Philharmonic 2007-08 Season Mar 11, 2007
Come to the Cabaret: 2 and 8 p.m. April 19, 2008; Andrew Lane, conductor; Sylvia McNair, soprano; in a program of favorites from musical theater and the Great American Songbook, featuring the music of Jerome Kern, Harold Arlen and Irving Berlin. Verdi Requiem: 8 p.m. May 10, 2008; Christopher Wilkins, conductor; Bach Festival Choir, Dr. John V. Sinclair, artistic director and conductor; Giuseppe Verdi: Requiem. (Orlando Sentinel -- Entertainment)
Diahann Carroll: Both Sides Now Mar 8, 2007
After discussing her two Broadway musicals, Harold Arlen n Capote's "House of Flowers" and Richard Rodgers' "No Strings," Carroll slyly inserts what is presumably the first New York perf of "Yankee, Go Home," a Rodgers song that was understandably cut in Detroit. She then atones with "The Sweetest Sounds." She also talks about the groundbreaking sitcom "Julia," which made her the first nonwhite star with her own series. (Variety)
Get your motor running Feb 20, 2007
This CD has incredible versions of popular song by writers as varied as Freddie Mercury, Harold Arlen and Nick Drake. Blue and Sentimental (Blue Note) by Ike Quebec. (Guardian Unlimited)
North San Diego County Times Community News Briefs: Black History Month events set at CSUSM Feb 13, 2007
Lynch will sing jazz and blues vocal renditions of great American songs by Cole Porter, the Gershwins, Harold Arlen, Rodgers and Hart and more. Donations will be accepted. (North County Times)
Keely Smith ~ Spend Valentine's Day with a musical legend Feb 9, 2007
They also recorded many duets together including Johnny Mercer s and Harold Arlen s hat Ol' Black Magic, which was a Top 20 hit in the US in 1958. Her ead-pan act, similar to Virginia O'Brien, was a solid hit with fans. (Desert Entertainer, CA)
Ellis Larkins Feb 5, 2007
He often does medleys at the Tavern, and when I ve Got the World on a String followed, it was plain he was into Harold Arlen. (Some of Larkins admirers have complained lately of his narrowing repertory, which tends to revolve around the best-known songs of composers like Arlen, George Gershwin, and Cole Porter. (New Yorker)
Whitney Balliett Feb 3, 2007
I love Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer, and when they collaborated on the score of St. Louis Woman it was almost too much of a good thing. Johnny Mercer displays a homespun fa;ade in his work, but he s capable of turning out a truly sensational lyric. (New Yorker)
'Cabin' its own reward (Gary Arnold) Jan 25, 2007
"Cabin in the Sky" was nominated for only one Academy Award: It contended for best song with "Happiness Is Just a Thing Called Joe." An enhancement to the original John Latouche-Vernon Duke song score, "Joe" had been commissioned from the team of Harold Arlen and E.Y. "Yip" Harburg, winners of the category a few years earlier with "Over the Rainbow." Some categories were more abundant at that time. There were 10 best-song nominees in 1943, and the Oscar went to Harry Warren and Mack Gordon for... (Washington Times, DC)
Mat Kearney With Special Guests The Feeling and Rocco Deluca & The Burden to Headline VH1's First-Ever 'You Oughta Know' Tour Kicking Off March 17 Jan 23, 2007
The U.K. band The Feeling delivers an amalgam of harmonic melodies and catchy choruses that reaches full fruition on its Cherrytree/Interscope debut, Twelve Stops and Home, which has already produced a pair of Top 10 international hit singles in "Sewn" and "Fill My Little World." The quintet's sonic touchstones range from the classic (the Beatles, the Stones, the Kinks, Queen, The Carpenters and the Beach Boys) to the more esoteric (10cc, Abba, the Human League and the Pet Shop Boys) to the... (Yahoo! Wire -- Entertainment News)
Stamp honors Fitzgerald, First Lady of Song Jan 10, 2007
She recorded the song books of such composers as Cole Porter, Harold Arlen, Irving Berlin, Duke Ellington, George and Ira Gershwin, Jerome Kern, Rogers and Hart and Johnny Mercer. Over the years, Fitzgerald won 13 Grammy Awards and many other honors, including the National Medal of Arts, presented to her in 1987 by President Ronald Reagan. (MSNBC -- Race)
Spears, Hilton tie for top spot on 'Worst Dressed' list Jan 10, 2007
"Fitzgerald was a baseball fan and the guests included her favorite player, Yankees slugger Mickey Mantle. They embraced and traded autographs.Fitzgerald's appearance on a stamp comes less than a year after Mantle was featured among baseball sluggers.Fitzgerald was never one to stand on formality, Jacobs said. Once the two pulled on raincoats over their pajamas, piled into Fitzgerald's Rolls Royce and went to breakfast at a McDonalds.In addition to a passion for baseball, Fitzgerald loved... (North County Times)
Curtain still up/ A look at what's on tap for the rest of the theater season Jan 6, 2007
April 18 to May 20, "A Rainbow Journey: The Harold Arlen Story": Conceived by former News writer Anthony Violanti. Randall Kramer directs this new musical about Buffalo-born composer, who penned "Over the Rainbow," "Stormy Weather" and hundreds of other songs. (Buffalo News)
