If there were an Olympic event testing not just lungs but tongues, fingers and eardrums, the musicians of Space Coast Orchestra might have a shot at a medal, especially given the theme of their upcoming concert.
“Faster, Higher, Stronger: Music of the Olympics” is a great way to escape the announcers’ drone for a few hours and come see some real exertion in the flesh. Selections range from John Williams’ “Olympic Fanfare and Theme” (along with four other Williams pieces), to Saint-Saens’ “The Swan” from Carnival of the Animals, an apparent tribute to the stirring beauty of staggering losers.
The Vero Beach High School Performing Arts Center hosts the Sunday 3 p.m. concert. And, as always, the orchestra lives up to founder/conductor Aaron Collins’ commitment to provide “Symphony for Everyone” – free or reduced-price tickets are available to anyone who needs them. The group’s website has contact information. Students 18 and under are always free as are college kids with student ID.
People say the saxophone is the instrument closest to the human voice. Maybe that’s why its music has such easy access to the soul.
If you’ve ever found it soothing on a lonely Saturday night, imagine hearing it with a thousand other souls, delivered by a top contemporary player. Next Saturday, Aug. 20, Boney James delivers his funk- and soul-inspired jazz on the stage of the Plaza Live in Orlando.
James has been around for a while – he turns 55 next month. He was named No. 3 Contemporary Jazz Artist of the Decade in 2009, and he’s been nominated for four Grammys. But for those who haven’t heard him before, his style is significantly more textural than Kenny G’s, even though they both get parked on the same radio stations – smooth jazz.
Don’t groan, though: If you watch “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” you may have caught James a year ago sitting in with the Roots. It was soon after the release of his latest album “Futuresoul” parked at No. 1 on Billboard’s Contemporary Jazz Albums chart, where it remained for 11 weeks.
Critics associates James’ sound more readily with Grover Washington Jr., the Isley Brothers and David Sanborn – a mix of soul, funk and bluesy jazz that’s been described as gritty and muscular.
And it’s not impossible that you could bring along your summer-vacationing kids. Here’s a comment by one young online poster on the subject of “Futuresoul”: “Thank you Dad for your continuous playing of this album and for embedding Boney Jones into my musical tastes for years to come.”
Speaking of the late shows, if you remember comedian Rita Rudner from David Letterman or even Johnny Carson, you might be happy to hear she’s playing the Lyric Theatre in Stuart next Friday night, Aug. 19. Rudner’s show is billed as the longest-running solo show in Las Vegas, with 1.5 million tickets sold to more than 2,000 shows. Her shtick is known for pleasing the nebbish-loving fans of Woody Allen or Georgia Engel, who played the ditsy Georgette on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.”
What is less known is that Rudner is also an accomplished writer. She has written two novels and several comedic memoirs, as well as a film and several sitcom pilots with her English husband, writer and producer Martin Bergman.
Born in Miami and a serious student of ballet, she moved to New York at 15 to pursue a career dancing on Broadway. Instead she turned to comedy. After getting her big break on Carson in 1988, she did an HBO comedy special, “Born to be Mild.” Her run in Vegas is in its 14th year; for nine years straight she was named Vegas Comedian of the Year.
Closer to home, Riverside Theatre’s Comedy Zone offers us Melbourne’s own Frankie Paul and South Floridian Lenny Travis this weekend. Both perform in two shows each night, Friday and Saturday.
