Nikka Costa – World Café Live – Philadelphia PA – October 21, 2008 At Nikka Costa’s new tour they were selling t-shirts with a lightning bolt and 70s-styled fat fonts which read “The return of the funky white bitch.” After watching Costa stalk the boards for nearly two hours all I can say is “Hallelujah! … Continue reading
Frankie Valli Romancing the 00s by Jay S. Jacobs Frankie Valli has been such an in-your-face presence in music and pop culture for so many decades that it is kind of shocking when you realize that his CD Romancing the 60s is his first album of new material in 28 years. After all, this is a guy … Continue reading
mutlu LIVIN’ ON PHILLY SOUL by Jay S. Jacobs On a recent afternoon in the up-and-coming Philadelphia neighborhood of Northern Liberties, Mutlu Onoral and I are sitting in a little sandwich shop. We’d originally planned on hitting a trendily seedy local Spanish joint called Bar Ferdinand, but it was too late for lunch and too … Continue reading
Stevie Wonder – The Hollywood Bowl – Hollywood, CA – July 7, 2008 SIMPLY WONDER-FUL… It’s a simple mathematical equation. Stevie Wonder + Hollywood Bowl = one special night of music. After the passing of his beloved mother, Lula Hardaway, in June of 2006, Wonder, long absent from the touring circuit, has returned to live performance. … Continue reading
Jesse McCartney Comin’ Back Again by Deborah Wagner At the age of 21, this kid has done a lot. From TV to Broadway, the silver screen, and now the release of his third solo album Departure, Jesse McCartney is flying high with a hit single “Leavin’” and an exciting new page in the book of his … Continue reading
Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis, Jr. The Many Faces of Love by Mark Mussari For Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis, Jr., the music never ends. The charismatic duo, whose instantly recognizable voices helped to make the 5th Dimension one of the pop era’s most revered vocal groups, has been married for almost 40 years. In … Continue reading
Jerry Wexler The Man Behind Rhythm and Blues by Ronald Sklar The bookends of Jerry Wexler’s life are predictable and ordinary – it’s the middle that is practically unbelievable. He was born in 1917, to a poor Jewish family in the Bronx, and is currently battling poor health in Sarasota, Florida. That’s probably where he and … Continue reading
Phoebe Snow Make Things All Right by Ronald Sklar The way Phoebe Snow can manipulate her vocal chords to achieve intense highs and duck-for-cover lows matches only the highs and lows of her own personal wild ride. Her voice, most well known for her 1974 hit, “Poetry Man,” is nothing short of a gift; however, … Continue reading
Mary Wilson Supreme Talent By Mark Mussari Mary Wilson is standing on stage in the amber glow of a spotlight and singing “Here’s to Life,” a jazzy autumnal number about embracing the passage of time. Could any voice be better suited to this wistful tune? Wilson reaches deep into her warm alto for the … Continue reading
Emmy Rossum Can’t Slow Her Down by Jay S. Jacobs When you’ve spent most of your life working to make a name in one field, it takes a certain leap of faith to put it on hold to try something different, just when your career has taken off. Emmy Rossum has taken that leap. At … Continue reading
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