Michael Feinstein asks what-if of Ol' Blue Eyes

My review for The Kansas City Star of Michael Feinstein doing a wonderful tribute to Frank Sinatra. http://www.kansascity.com/2011/02/13/2653361/concert-review-michael-feinstein.html

Pinchas Zukerman and Yefim Bronfman at the Folly Theater

Pianist Yefim Bronfman disobeyed doctor's orders to play a duo recital with Pinchas Zukerman Nov. 19. Cynthia Siebert, director of the Friends of Chamber Music, which presented the concert, announced that there was a private plane waiting for Mr. Bronfman to fly him to New York after the concert so that he would make his doctor's appointment the next morning. Siebert also said the duo's Kansas City stop was one of five concerts on its itinerary. We should all be so lucky.
And now a link to my review for The Kansas City Star: Violinist Zukerman, pianist Bronfman in perfect harmony at Folly

Imagination underscores NewEar season opener

Kansas City contemporary chamber ensemble NewEar opens it 18th season with a diverse program

Eldar plays NYC's Highline Ballroom tonight

Eldar Djangirov, 23-year-old Sony Masterworks artist, Grammy nominee and critically acclaimed pianist, is appearing in a special solo piano performance at the Highline Ballroom at 8 tonight as part of the Highline Piano Series. Eldar -- he prefers the one name -- has just finished recording his new Sony Masterworks album, Three Stories. It's Eldar’s fifth album for Sony, but it's his long-anticipated first solo piano album covering jazz, classical and his own works.

Michael Bublé gives a 21-song salute to pop music

KANSAS CITY | MICHAEL BUBLÉ AT SPRINT CENTER

Ani DiFranco at the Beaumont Club

KANSAS CITY — A career-spanning set lacked the attitude her lyrics suggest: Ani DiFranco at the Beaumont Club.

Sly Dog label releases six albums by late Kenny Rankin

Street date: February 16

Six albums by the late singer-songwriter Kenny Rankin were released today by Mack Avenue Records' imprint Sly Dog. The albums:

Mind-Dusters
Family
Like a Seed
Silver Morning
Inside
The Kenny Rankin Album

Rankin's easy tenor voice over his nylon-stringed guitar was such a soothing sound that it endeared him to folk and pop music enthusiasts. Besides penning such hits as "Haven't We Met" (recorded by Mel Tormé) and "Peaceful" (a Helen Reddy hit that made it to the top 10 in 1973), Rankin was also a sublime interpreter of others' songs. The Beatles' "Blackbird" is a prime example. Paul McCartney so enjoyed Rankin's version that he invited Kenny to perform it when John Lennon and McCartney were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
On a production note, Chris Rankin, Kenny's son and a longtime music industry professional, oversaw the remastering of Like a Seed, Silver Morning, Inside and The Kenny Rankin Album. Because these albums were recorded in the '70s, they were recorded using the Dolby noise reduction system of the time. That meant finding reconditioned '70s vintage Dolby machines to play back the master tapes. Talk about a labor of love.
But it's all worth it to Rankin's fans.
Available on iTunes and from the Kenny Rankin artist page at Mack Avenue Records.
Kenny Rankin died from complications of lung cancer at Cedars Sinai in Los Angeles on June 7, 2009. He was 69.