[78-L] fwd: By George

[David Lennick]

[We promote Vince G..how about someone else who performers music of the 78 era! dl]

BRAD KAY AND THOSE SYNCOPATED SONGBOIDS PRESENT

"BY GEORGE!"

An Afternoon of Early, Rare and Great songs by George Gershwin

A confession: I have always wanted to perform Gershwin, but for years, was
afraid to.  In my corner of the world, George Gershwin is a household deity,
a composer whose music I believed was best left in the capable hands of
such performers as Fred Astaire, Oscar Levant, Leonard Bernstein, Ella
Fitzgerald et cetera, not to mention George himself.  I loved his music so much 
that
I didn't want to mess it up.   To make a long story short, I got over this.


Last year at Ragfest, the Syncopated Songboids and I performed the score of
"Gold Diggers of Broadway," charming songs by Joe Burke and Al Dubin,
including "Tip Toe Thru the Tulips and "Painting the Clouds with Sunshine."
Charming, but not the best songs ever written.  This year, I decided to go for
the gold and do Gershwin.

We are concentrating on some of his earliest and least known songs, from
the late 'teens into the early '20s - mostly pre-"Rhapsody in Blue."   These
include such obscurities as "Dixie Rose," the 1921 sequel to "Swanee";  "The
Sunshine Trail," theme song to a forgotten 1923 movie; "Vodka," a hilarious
Russian romp from 1925; "Drifting Along With The Tide," a totally obscure
1921 ballad that will haunt you forever, and several other gems you may never
have heard, or heard of.

Of course, we are also doing some of his enduring hits like "Do it Again,"
"I'll Build a Stairway to Paradise," "Fascinating Rhythm" and "The Man I
Love," because, well, who can resist them?

This is a convivial, informal two-hour program, featuring fourteen singers
and four musicians:

  DAVID BARLIA
MAREA BOYLAN
SHARON EVANS
CHARLES GARDNER
INDIRA
CAROL McARTHUR
JAMES PARTEN
RICK ROGERS
CLAUDIA ROSE
MIKAL SANDOVAL
NICK SANTA MARIA
MEWS SMALL
KARIN SPRITZLER
SUZY WILLIAMS

DAN WEINSTEIN, trombone & violin
OLIVER STEINBERG, bass
IRV GERSHENZ, drums
BRAD KAY, piano and director

We've spent the summer putting this together, in an attitude of sheer love
and joy.  Hope you can partake!

DATE:           Saturday, October 17, 2009
TIME:           3 - 5 pm
THE EVENT:      The Orange County Ragtime Festival (Ragfest)
THE VENUE:      Boys and Girls Club of Fullerton, in the Gym
ADDRESS:        348 W. Commonwealth Avenue Fullerton, CA 92835
TICKETS:        $20, sold at Steamers Jazz Club, 138 W. Commonwealth,
             (two blocks east of the B&G club)

For further information, see the Festival website:  www.ragfest.com
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