St. Augustine-raised, St. Augustine-based jazz keyboard master Doug Carn kicked off the nine-concert Jazz Project and Garage Blues series at the Arts Garage in Delray Beach on Saturday night. And the Florida resident’s quartet delivered an understated performance that combined jazz and blues to raise the venue’s temperature a few degrees on a humid June evening. Yet any of … [Read more...]
Case of jailed handyman exposes many failings of justice system
Thirty years ago, a 76-year-old white widow was brutally murdered in her South Carolina home. Police arrested a 23-year-old African-American handyman who had recently cleaned the woman’s windows and gutters. He was quickly tried and sentenced to death. Appellate courts twice overturned the conviction. Each time, Edward Lee Elmore was reconvicted and sentenced to death again. … [Read more...]
Handsome, well-sung ‘Lucia’ ends PBO’s 50th on solid note
With its final production of the season, Palm Beach Opera showcases a number of fine voices in a handsome, traditional presentation that drags somewhat but ultimately comes off in dramatic and satisfying style. Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, which the company last performed in 2003, requires a strong central soprano, and in the Mexican singer Maria Alejandres, Palm Beach … [Read more...]
Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra shows why jazz matters
When you think about it, the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra is essentially the only ensemble in the entire country quite like it, a group whose purpose is to keep a flame for the benefit of the American people and occasionally stoke it with fresh wood. There are many hundreds of university-based jazz bands, and most of the major symphonic orchestras do plenty of outreach at … [Read more...]
Despite new blindness, jazz guitarist Golub remains thankful
When New York City-based guitarist Jeff Golub takes the stage Saturday to close out the International Polo Club's two-day Saddle Up for JazzFest Wellington event, much about the experience will be familiar to him. As he has for more than 35 years, the 56-year-old guitarist will hear the ebbs and flows within the music, feel the power surge from his electric instrument through … [Read more...]
Theater roundup: Splendid ‘Next to Normal,’ promising ‘Brooklyn Boy’
With so many musicals these days based on popular movies, it is hardly normal to encounter a show based on an original story, let alone the dramatic tale of a family mired in the grip of a member’s bipolar mental disorder. Call it instead Next to Normal, the 2010 Pulitzer Prize-winning musical from the talented new songwriting team of Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey. While they are … [Read more...]
Logic goes out the window, but ‘Ledge’ still thrills
Like Snakes on a Plane, Man on a Ledge is a bluntly up-front title: a subject and a predicate, reducing the picture to the essence of its poster art. I’m all for enigmatic titles, but this approach has its allure. Why are there snakes on a plane? And why is that man on that ledge? In Asger Leth’s debut feature, the man is Nick Cassidy (Sam Worthington), a former cop, apparent … [Read more...]
Music roundup: Weiss offers rare, worthy toccatas; Zukerman leads splendid RPO
It isn’t every pianist who’s going to encore with a Keith Jarrett improv from the early 1980s, but Orion Weiss has the kind of omnivorous approach to music that makes such things possible, and enjoyable to boot. In his recital appearance Wednesday afternoon at the Duncan Theatre’s Stage West, the 30-year-old pianist from suburban Cleveland gave his appreciative audience not … [Read more...]
Singer Holmes celebrates inspirations, PB Pops celebrates 20th
The last time Clint Holmes appeared with the Palm Beach Pops, he sang Broadway show tunes and songs associated with Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. “The audience went crazy. We got a high volume of letters requesting him back,” says David Quilleon, executive director of the Pops. This season, the Pops celebrates its 20th anniversary, having given its first concert in 1992 … [Read more...]
New media proves strong draw at Art Miami
By Elaine Meier Special to Palm Beach ArtsPaper There was a completely different vibe to Art Miami, as compared to Art Basel. Even on the second day of Miami’s longest-running contemporary art fair, there was an energy, excitement and element of surprise not felt at Art Basel. When visitors thought they had seen it all, all they had to do was turn another corner to find … [Read more...]