Jazz isn’t exactly the genre best-known for producing superstars, but a chosen few will appear in South Florida this season. The most notable is likely legendary crooner Tony Bennett, who plays both the Knight Concert Hall in Miami and the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach (the latter on Valentine’s Day). The gifted pianist and silky singer Diana Krall, who had been scheduled, … [Read more...]
For Pink Martini, masters of retro elegance, the beautiful comes first
Thomas Lauderdale, founder, pianist, composer and arranger for genre-defiant big band Pink Martini, was preparing for the second of a two-night run in Oklahoma City on the afternoon of March 24. And while he may have been focusing on that evening’s concert, he had more immediate concerns when he answered his cell phone. “I’m walking over to get my dry cleaning,” he said. “I … [Read more...]
Lippman’s latest busts through genre to literature
I doubt Laura Lippman would want me to say this out loud, but she’s not a mystery writer anymore. Oh, sure, the talented Ms. Lippman, a former reporter for the Baltimore Sun, is a mystery writer when she’s producing the popular, award-winning series featuring private eye Tess Monahan. But her stand-alones – there are five of them now – are something else again. Her latest, … [Read more...]
‘Angel’s Game’ a fresh, spellbinding take on genre novel
Carlos Ruiz Zafon, author of the international bestseller The Shadow of the Wind, poses an affront to those serious readers who believe they know what makes for literary quality. What to do with a novelist, clearly motivated by a popular rather than artistic impulse, who nonetheless writes with wit, skill and creative energy? Zafon’s new novel, The Angel’s Game, is the … [Read more...]