“Made in America: Jazz" is the mini-festival theme this weekend at the Aspen Music Festival and virtually every performance is touched by the Blue Notes angel. Sunday’s Festival Orchestra is a must hear! The program feature the radiant Sarah Chang in the Mendelssohn and Aspen’s own Misha Dichter in Bernstein’s tip of the hat to hot jazz, his Age of Anxiety Symphony which is a piano concerto exploring among other idioms, jazz!”
Post blogger Michael Conniff likes nothing more than a great night at the theater, and "Ain't Nothin' But The Blues," from Theatre Aspen in Rio Grande Park tonight, delivers from start to finish. "'Smokey Joe's Cafe' was the play three seasons ago," he blogs, "followed by 'Love, Janis' last summer. But 'It Ain't Nothin' But The Blues' is the best one yet, a foot-stomping, hand-clapping, bravura performance by two men, two women, and a band that consistently kicks it all night. The idea is simple enough: a history of the blues from Africa to the Mississipi Delta to Southside Chicago and beyond. The execution is what counts, and on opening night the vibe was so upbeat the cast jumped right past two of the numbers--not that I noticed until the powers that be told me so. Opening night ended in a standing ovation and it was easy to see why."
Aspen Music Festival and School Director of Educational Outreach Debby Barnekow writes about her second day in the Valley schools with guitarist Brad Richter.
At Basalt High School there are 3 guitar classes, part of an every other day schedule like band, choir, math, biology, etc. Principal James Waddick believes this is a necessary avenue of expression for some of his students and indeed it is-a beginner, intermediate and advanced classes. Brad met with all 3 classes today to work on getting some of them ready for performance on Friday's Music and M.O.R.E concert. For nearly all of them of the students, this will be their first time to perform and there were many who are a little uncommitted. Brad's answer is to keep practicing the Led Zepplin song, Kashmir that they are to play.
After school we met with Harris Jackson, a 13-year old guitarist at Glenwood Springs Middle School whom I met during the Stars of Tomorrow competition last week. Harris is self-taught which makes his musical accomplishments all the more amazing-he composes, arranges and plays. He played for Brad who gave him pointers on how to get more efficiency from his hand positions and how to work on speed. At Brad's invitation to play on Friday's concert, Harris was overjoyed. He will be a nice addition to the program.
For part of the day on Wednesday, July 25, The Aspen Times ran a very disturbing story on its online version: Violent crimes mar Glenwood's weekend.
But in a stunning example of editorial irresponsibility, that story did not make the print version of the Times. The story reported on three instances of scary violence and intimidation: a mini riot, a stabbing, and a death threat (felony menacing). The Times reported that Glenwood Police Chief Terry Wilson said, “that ((the riot) was one of the most frightening situations he's ever seen an officer go through in the time he's been with the police department.”
Equally disturbing to the Times’ omission is the glaring complacency shown by the citizens of the Roaring Fork Valley, where the growing kinds and levels of violence is seeming of less concern to a somnambulant public than where to have lunch.
It grows easier for me to like Theatre Aspen every time I go under the replaceable tent at Rio Grande Park, particularly on the opening night of a new summer season. Don't forget it was only moments ago that Theatre Aspen was still "Theatre in the Park," a company that was getting better and better but still had the feel of community theatre. Just a few years ago, before the most recent facelift, the tent could feel more like a prison, blowing both too hot and too cold depending on the evening, with blankets provided by management.
Now a new structure for Rio Grande Park is in the works as part of a major overhaul by the City of Aspen. And "It Ain't Nothin' But The Blues," the new musical revue that opened the 2007 summer season last week--with continuing performances for the next several weeks--continues McClendon's tradition of kicking off the season with upbeat musical numbers that even a Scrooge would like.
After 17 years of hard work, local hospitality and a variety of rock, blues, R&B and even some jazz, Jazz Aspen Snowmass (JAS) is quickly becoming one of the foremost music festivals in the country. This year’s summer lineup will indulge critically acclaimed musicians throughout the country starting today June 21 until the 24th, with a weekend long series at Rio Grande Park.
With half a dozen novelty artists in town to kick-off the summer season including; Herbie Hancock, Madeleine Peyroux, Earth Wind & Fire, Steve Windwood and Angelique Kidjo and The Black Crowes with Marcus Miller, the JAS Festival will surely live up to its hearsay this summer of being one of the most diverse seasons of quality music in Aspen since its inception in 1991.
The Aspen Club & Spa has long been considered the one fitness institution around town with a worldwide reputaton. Now Aspen Club chief executive officer Michael Fox is pumped about getting local members of the community involved in a weekly summer event to benefit good causes in the Roaring Fork Valley.
“Tuesday Evenings at the Club will be designated as ‘Community Nights’ to benefit local charities around town,” Fox said. “We really hope this will be a great way to get locals out and mingle while supporting a good cause.”
From an already legendary performance by Ziggy Marley on Fanny Hill last weekend to the upcoming Jazz Aspen Snowmass festival and a “Summer of Free Music” on the horizon: the talent in Snowmass’ is taking it up a notch and vibrating throughout the rest of the valley.
The Saturday night performance that featured ‘Ziggy’ attracted over 5,000 visitors to Snowmass- a number that far outshined last years Jonny Lang performance during the Brew Fest.
It's after 3 p.m. on Sunday afternoon and I am still recovering from a fantastic night in Aspen. After interviewing the band The Alternate Routes late Saturday afternoon on KSPN I felt compelled to hit the town. The band gave an amazing acoustic performance on-air and I was ready to catch them live at the Belly Up where they would open up for Devon Allman's Honeytribe. Before the concert I headed to the Wheeler Opera House to catch the sold-out comedy show "Laugh Your Aspen Off". The comedians were all locals- and the comedy was all for the local. Alexa Fitzpatrick shined on stage as well as comedian Carbone. Unfortunately I had to cut out after 2 hours of laughter, so I missed the last 2 comediennes-As I wanted to catch the Alternate Route performance at the Belly Up...and gotta tell you I am glad I did. What a high octane performance. After being privvy to their acoustic performance on KSPN I was blown away by their plugged in stage performance.
"I think it's cool we've lasted this long," says The Rev. "People still
come out to see us play after all these years and all the shows and
tours. It's amazing. I mean, I get to sing songs about cars I love,
drinking and chasing girls. Beats the hell out of the alternative."
I don't care if you are Red or Blue. I don't give a flying flip if you are Republican or Democrat. I could care less if you are a Baptist, Methodist, Catholic, Muslim, Jew, Hindu, etc, etc. Why can't we just all agree that we have a very real opportunity here to tap into the scientific options on the table. Via science, we have the opportunity to turn the tide on incurable diseases.
