Big Leather Couch

If you LOVE Dancing, then head over to TRAVIS'
for a complete look at last night's program.

Thanks to everyone who left comments and voted yesterday.

I did hear from Josh Charles via email and he was thrilled to see the votes and read the feedback. As I have said before, the artists are made aware of these posts and do come and 'lurk'.

Let's get on with today's featured artists...

Our first featured artist is a bit different than anyone we have presented so far. Sylvia Bennett is 'old-school' in the best sense. She could be described as a 'Songstress Extraordinaire'. Bringing back the classics of the jazz and swing era. None other than Lionel Hampton has said, “Man, the lady can sing! Her magic gets to the ears and the hearts of the audience.”

These songs come from her newest venture entitled SONGS FROM THE HEART, and includes three of the most celebrated tenor saxophone players to ever perform, Boots Randolph, Ed Calle and Kirk Whalum.

From her bio, we learn so much more:
The Italian born and American raised Bennett is a singer’s singer, having sung on TV, in community theater, club dates, conventions and even the inaugurations of presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush. Walking in the footsteps of her idols such as Barbra Streisand, Ella Fitzgerald, Barry Manilow and Bette Midler, Sylvia has opened for artists as diverse as Bob Hope, Phyllis Diller, Jackie Mason, Dizzy Gillespie, Barry Gibb and David Brenner.

Her big break came in the 1980’s, when legendary vibraphonist (and National Arts Award Winner) Lionel Hampton took Sylvia under his wing and made her the first female singer to record with him in thirty years. She recounts, “Lionel validated me as a performer and inspired me to be the best singer I can be. He made me realize that the audience was the most important thing and that all I needed to do was to sing from the heart and be honest.” Sylvia worked with Hampton for ten years, touring and recording two albums together. The first, Sentimental Journey, was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1987. The second project, There Will Never Be Another You, was a CD/DVD tribute to “Hamp” from Sylvia, and she furthered the honor to her mentor with the show, “The Lady and the Legend,” premiering in Miami in 2007.

Songs From The Heart featuring the Three Tenors emerged in the wake of Sylvia’s tribute to Hampton, when her producer, two-time Grammy nominee and two-time ASCAP Award winner, Hal Batt, suggested that she record timeless love songs and standards, backed by a small band to convey the desired intimacy. Sylvia was enamored of the idea immediately. “I’m a hopeless romantic,” she says unhesitatingly, “I think that love is what life is all about – wanting it, having it, losing it and having it again.” The songs, classics from the great American songbook, were chosen for how they related to the experience of love, making it a concept album, akin in spirit to Frank Sinatra’s great concept albums of the mid-1950’s.

Sylvia’s exquisite taste shines in the selection and performance of the material. From “My Funny Valentine,” (“It sums up everything about love to me”) to “They Can’t Take That Away From Me,” (“Nothing and no one can take away the time you have with someone”) to “How Long Has This Been Going On,” (“I first sang that song in junior high – but now I really know what that song is about”), Sylvia utilizes her phenomenal ability to get inside these classic songs and have them reveal emotional dimensions previously unfamiliar.

You can learn more about Ms. Bennett at her website HERE, or her myspace page HERE.

Personally, I have truly enjoyed the silky tones of her voice and the arrangements of these classics.

Dates to see Ms. Bennett are:
November 22, 2008 - 9:30 p.m. at Bertofino's at The Towers of Key Biscayne, Key Biscayne, FL

December 7, 2008 - 4:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Key Biscayne Village Green, Key Biscayne, FL

December 13, 2008 - 9:30 p.m. at Bertofino's at The Towers of Key Biscayne, Key Biscayne, FL

Two from her album...which is available to one of you if requested..."Someone To Watch Over Me" with Ed Calle the featured soloist and "As Time Goes By" with Boots Randolph.