As promised, here are the latest videos from SpoJo Don D. Lewis. He’ll have more over at his site…

First up, Gradual Lean:

Gradual Lean at Holy City Homecomin’ from Don D. Lewis on Vimeo.

Next: Clay Ross’ Matuto…

Clay Ross’ Matuto at Holy City Homecomin’ from Don D. Lewis on Vimeo.

Chuck Boyd, better known as SpoJo Chucker, and jazz man Jack McCray are in the studio with Janet for a great podcast about music around town, monkey shenanigans and more.

Hear today’s podcast direct by following this link, or why not subscribe permanently here throughout the duration of the festival and get it fed to your MP3 player automatically. There’s also our guide to podcasting here.

I had never visited the Village Playhouse before tonight, but upon entering was pleasantly surprised to find it was perfect for a show based on the life and music of jazz/scat artist, Louis Prima. Crushed velvet flowed over walls of purple, red, and sea-foam green. Tables were topped with vases filled with peacock feathers which surrounded the main area filled with lush pleather seats and metal fold-out chairs alike…nice.

The stage was backed by brick walls and in its center a screen. The show itself consisted of a montage of historical monologue, film clips and sound bytes, and enthusiastic performances by four female and two male singers. The best part? The show was accompanied, well rather…based on, a live jazz band.

All in all, I was very pleased with the whole production. At first I felt the acoustics were off, but as soon as the singers began to use hand held microphones it was easier to get into the acts as the lyrics were no longer drowned out by the amazing band. Things really started to get “swinging” after the intermission. The performers came out into the audience and danced and things really livened up.

It was a show that left the audience singing on their way out with smiles on their faces.

The best part for me, were my “table mates”; two couples who were in the midst reminiscing about their younger years when EVERYONE lived downtown (West Ashley was the country), and Louis Prima was still on TV. Rick, Marleen, Louis (who says he’s “King Louis” at the house), and Rosemary all tapped their feet and clapped their hands the entire time. They thought it was great that a young person like myself enjoyed Prima’s work so much. My simple answer was, how could I not when he did a voice over for one of my all time favorite Disney character’s? Almost immediately after I explained my interest, it was brought up in the production. Apparently being “King Louis” in Disney’s The Jungle Book, was one of the last things Prima did before he died of a brain tumor. I feel blessed to have had an opportunity to get to know him through his music…and think it’s amazing that he was able to reach so many generations.

Oh yes, before I forget…Rick asks, “Give a shout out to my peeps.”

How can you not love that? Hooray Spoleto.

Perhaps the nearly overlooked and best deals for your money of the offerings of the Piccolo Spoleto Festival this season are the Piccolo Harbor Cruises. You are out on the ocean with a terrific view of leaping dolphins taking a spin around Fort Sumter and then admiring the lights on The Battery, which alone would cost you at least $25 a person for a two-hour cruise.

But that would be without the fantastic jazz offered by some of the areas best musicians. Not only that, you can dance on the top deck. And all for $15. I was on the first of the four Piccolo cruises Wednesday night which had people at the dock wanting to buy tickets. However, boat officials said the place was totally filled with 255 passengers. For full disclosure, I will say the Franklin Ashley Quintet was churning out the tunes that night, and I happen to be married to the piano player, whose name headlines the group. But I was not the only one who was amazed to hear clarinetist Jack Dressler produce a sound like Benny Goodman on “Moonglow.” And more than one person said, “Does that fellow play in New York?”

When Dressler and Bryan Reed swung like crazy with a jazz duet of “Honeysuckle Rose,’ the crowd went ballistic, as the wine flowed. As I mingled in the crowd, I estimated about 50 percent were from “off,” like playwright Carmilla Carr and her son Kali O’Dwyer who are from L.A., and about half were Lowcountry residents. “Los Angeles doesn’t have anything like this,” said Dwyer.

We also hear that John Tecklenburg & Friends’ mellow jazz on the cruise last night was well-attended in spite of the lousy weather. You can still catch Rolling on the River with Oscar Rivers on June 4 and singer Rob Keiter’s trio on June 5. And for all of this, tickets are just $15. Only in Charleston.

Spoleto gossip
Although the Boston Ballet has come and gone, as a dance critic I would like to point out that no matter how terrific, that dancers like writers, need to be edited. Certainly, technically, the Boston Ballet was to this dance critic of 30 years, on the level with the Bolshoi, the American Ballet Theatre and the New York City Ballet. However, the first number “Brake the Eyes,” beautifully executed en pointe, consisted of the same combination of eight to 10 steps performed over and over again, despite the fact the audience kept applauding at various intervals, thinking it was over. This went on for nearly 30 minutes, but seemed like several hours. Choreographer Jorma Elo simply took the easy way out by having something that was superb go stale.

The excerpts in the next piece from”Swan Lake” were the best I’ve ever seen and 27 years ago I saw Russian prima ballerina Maya Pletsetskaya dance the “Dying Swan” divertissement. Unfortunately, we were left disappointed when Twyla Tharp in her modern piece “In the Upper Room” took the same path as Elo. She had her superb dancers perform the same combination over and over for about 25 minutes. At firstn we delighted in the “with it” costumes or black and white stripes with women in mini-skirts with matching briefs (often seen) and red socks. But after awhile, the frenetic trademark Glass music started to seem like bees buzzing in our brain and I began to feel imprisoned, as if I couldn’t bear the repetition and the unrelenting music anymore. Afterward, at the gala, which WAS gorgeous, a prominent local artist was walking around inquiring as to whether anyone had an asprin as the dance had given him a terrific headache.
I knew exactly how he felt. What a shame some of the most astute dance in the world had to be partly spoiled by choreographers.

“Monkey: Journey to the West,” this year’s Spoleto talker, is a visual feast. It gets the kitchen sink treatment in the numbers and kinds of Chinese performance arts thrown in. I saw Friday night’s performance. A few thoughts …

Supertitle translations show that Monkey is quite funny. The 500-year old folk story of a spiritual quest is full of natural and supernatural people and beasts.

It’s 2 hours with no intermission, the anime is great, costuming outrageous (and sometimes scary … plus, Monkey looked like he’d just played basketball), painted sets interesting, and physical performances … martial arts, sword fighting, gymnastic aerials, high wire flying, plate-spinning, silk panel aerials, bamboo pole acrobatics, body contortion, fire stick twirling, umbrella spinning … amazing. Your eye doesn’t know where to go, and if you drink any alchohol before the show you might get dizzy. For me, it was a preview of some of the things we will see in opening ceremonies for this summer’s Beijing Olympics … on a smaller scale of course. For the Olympics, there will be hundreds of acrobats, scores of plate-spinners, thousands of singers …

The orchestra is amplified and so are the singers, so if you have a sensitive ear, take earplugs. The performance is not that loud but Chinese music’s forms and some of the rock repetition of rhythms, plus the squeals the monkey makes (I wanted to wring his neck) and the whanging of sticks on the stage floor (amplified by the wireless mics) can be jarring to a Western ear. (My ear is so sensitive that those things made me feel like I was losing my mind.) Mandarin itself, in fact, can be jarring to a Western ear.

Sometimes you just have to let art wash over you.

(See Alan Hawes’ photo gallery here.)

PICCOLO SPOLETO JAZZ SERIES KICK-OFF CELEBRATION

Sunday, May 18, Footlight Players Theatre, 5 p.m.

jazzartistsofcharleston.org
Featuring the “who’s who” of jazz in Charleston to kick-off this year’s Piccolo Spoleto Jazz Series:

Music in the alley by The Pulse Trio. Main stage concert by virtually all of the headliners for this year’s Jazz Series starts at 6 p.m. and continues through the evening. Tickets are available now through etix.com. $25/general admission and $50/VIP. VIP tickets include a JAC gift bag with this year’s Commemorative Jazz Series poster, CDs and more. Performances by Ann Caldwell, Lee Barbour, Leah Suárez, Kevin Hackler, Duda Lucena, Havanason, Garage Cuban Band, Robert Lewis & Fearless Jones, The Gradual Lean, Mark Sterbank, Bobbie Storm, Tommy Gill and more.  The Piccolo Spoleto Box Office will also be on-site to sell tickets.

Here’s the Jazz Series:
MAY 24 - JUNE 6:
UPSTAIRS AT MISTRAL

Jazz Artists of Charleston, in partnership with the City of Charleston Office of Cultural Affairs, presents UPSTAIRS AT MISTRAL - A twelve night series featuring Charleston’s Finest Jazz Artists during the 2008 Piccolo Spoleto Festival , SATURDAY, MAY 24 through FRIDAY, JUNE 6 at Mistral Restaurant located at 99 S. Market Street. The shows will take place in the cozy setting of the upstairs banquet room of Mistral, a favorite French bistro that has been featuring live jazz in the heart of the historic district for many years. Participating bands will perform 2 shows per night - 7:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. Each show lasts 90 minutes with no intermission. Tickets are $15 general admission per show and are available now through the Piccolo Spoleto Box Office or online at ticketmaster.com. Food and beverages will be available for purchase. Complete schedule and details at jazzartistsofcharleston.org.

MAY 31:
CUBAN BLOCK PARTY

City of Charleston Office of Cultural Affairs and Jazz Artists of Charleston present Cuban Block Party, Saturday, May 31 in Marion Square Park. The festivities begin at 7 p.m. with dance lessons by Cristina Reyes Smith and music by Garage Cuban Band and DJ Luigi. Headlining the event is Charleston’s only salsa band, Havanason, as a 12-piece ensemble, featuring musicians Victor del Castillo, Gerardo Aguillon and Jose “Pepe” Veras from Miami and award winning musical director, Fernando Rivas. Silvana Bravo will serve as a bilingual Master of Ceremonies for the evening and Suárez Soccer School and Socci will offer activities for all ages. The sounds and flavor of Cuba add spice and zest to this admission-free block party in historic downtown Charleston.
CABARET KIKI - MAY 14 - 17

Kiki est retourné! In it’s third year of existence, Charleston’s one-of-a-kind multi-media, multi-disciplinary art collective, influenced by both the turn of the 20th century cabaret houses of Berlin and Paris and the glam and punk movements of the 70s and 80s, presents a run of shows that guarantee to get you in the mood for Spoleto. Join emcee Jonny Panick, chanteuse Caramella Guillotine, and a cast of brightly (and scantily) costumed characters in an evening of song, dance, improvisation, and satire. This time Kiki brings new songs, new skits, and new faces to Theatre 99, and all shows start at 10 p.m., so leave the kids at home.

cabaretkiki.com
myspace.com/cabaretkiki

The Piccolo Spoleto Finale on Saturday will start two hours early to accommodate New Orleans and Charleston jazz musicians who didn’t get to play last Saturday night (because of that frog-strangling rain!) for the Sister City Jazz Picnic scheduled at the Customhouse.

The finale will start at 2 p.m. Saturday (instead of 4) with the Sister City Jazz Picnic. It will be an All Star Jam featuring musicians from Charleston (The Holy City) and New Orleans (The City That Care Forgot). They’ll play from 2 to 4 p.m. Don’t miss it.

(Photo: Quiana Parler, jazz singer, whose band will anchor the All Star Jam)

Here’s the rest of the schedule:

PICCOLO SPOLETO FINALE: A BIG FAT MIDDLE EASTERN WEDDING CELEBRATION

The afternoon begins with a Sister City Jazz Picnic, 2- 4 p.m. At 4 p.m,. an African village wedding celebration will be performed by Charleston’s favorite Adande African Drummers and Dancers, followed by a unique blending of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern culture including Greek line dancing, Middle Eastern bellydancing, Klezmer music, Israeli jazz, ethnic food and craft vendors, plus rides in a hot air balloon! The finale concludes with a dazzling display of fireworks over the lagoon.

Saturday 2 - 10 p.m. Hampton Park, 30 Mary Murray Blvd. Admission: FREE

2 pm - 4 p.m. Sister City Jazz All Star Jam
4pm - 5pm Adande African Drummers present an African village wedding celebration
5pm - 6:15pm Hellas Dance Troupe performing Greek line dancing
6:15pm - 7:15pm Palmetto Oasis bellydancers
7:30pm - 8:45pm Avishai Cohen (Israeli jazz trio)
8:45pm -10:00pm Avram Pengas (Israeli wedding music)
10:00pm Fireworks



The jazz boat was rocking on Monday night when the Piccolo Spoleto Festival’s Harbor Cruise launched from the Fountain Walk Dock, and it wasn’t just the lively winds, which eventually died down.

Former Broadway pit band pianist Maida Libkin (musical director of “Urinetown” at the Village Playhouse) showed up with her husband, singer Bill Schlitt, who is one of the city’s premiere show singers and directs “The Good Time Variety Hours” at at the Village Playhouse. Read the rest of this entry »

Planning is going on now to reschedule the Charleston Jazz Initiative’s Sister Cities Initiative Jazz Block Party that was rained out last Saturday, June 2. Here it … WAS.

And maybe it will be this weekend. Stay tuned for announcement of the rain date and venue.

“Piccolo joins forces with the Charleston Jazz Initiative and Fotos for Humanity to bring you a tale of two cities’ jazz traditions: Charleston and New Orleans. The high-energy block party will shine the spotlight on some of the finest jazz musicians from both cities, each showing off their musical skills individually and then together in an unforgettable combined performance. The Custom House area will be filled with the sounds and smells of the New Orleans French Quarter combined with the spirit of the Holy City as we present this event in a tribute to the rebirth of New Orleans Jazz since Hurricane Katrina. Sponsored by: Planters Inn and Peninsula Grill. Additional Support Provided by: Pearlstine Distributors, Wild Wing Cafe, Charleston.com”

If you are planning to attend Enrico Pieranunzi’s duo performance in Wachovia Jazz tonight at The Cistern, you will have to go to Gaillard Auditorium Exhibition Hall instead, thanks to tropical storm Barry.

Instead, it’s at 77 Calhoun Street, with parking in the garage, so take some dollars. Spoleto Festival USA officials will be on hand at The Cistern to redirect audience members who show up there to the new location.

There are no refunds because it is a rain or shine event. Anyone with questions can call the Spoleto Festival USA box office at 579-3100.