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Manny About Town

Mo' Music with Mo Morgen

by Manny Meland on March 30, 2010

Every Thursday and Friday, Mo Morgen makes music at the Miami Shores Country Club. That’s where I caught his act he calls Mojazz. It presents my man Mo Morgen on keyboard and sopranino sax. And for the past ten years, it includes the other half of his act, percussionist Madafo.

Mo was born in New York. His interest in music was stirred by his mother and brother, both amateur classical pianists. He was eleven when his fondness of Benny Goodman steered him to trying the clarinet. He loved Benny Goodman but he never loved the clarinet. At 18, he switched to sax. He tried the alto, tenor, baritone and bass saxes. “Finally, I fell in love with the Eb soprano sax”, he said. He affectionately calls it Nino”. (The E & b flats put Nino in a higher range).

The thing about Morgen is that he is a prolific promoter. In New York in 1975, he founded the world renowned Jazzmania Society which spearheaded the legendary Jazz Loft Movement. He promoted jazz five nights a week at his loft where he rotated prominent guest stars. On weekends, he provided opportunities for bands to showcase themselves. In 1977, he organized the first three day New York Loft Jazz Festival. The same year, he presented a Brazilian Jazz Festival. Morgen’s Jazz Loft’s ten years run made it the most successful in New York.

In 1993, Mo joined a tide of New Yorkers who moved to Miami. Here he opened a Miami Beach jazz club called MoJazz Cafe located on 71st St. at the foot of Miami Beach. It was a great place to hang and catch some good vibes. I especially enjoyed his Sunday jam sessions. However, jazz clubs have a slim survival rate. He could not generate enough traffic.

I later ran into him at a benefit for drummer Howard Moss. Moss had unfortunately contracted lung cancer. Our local musicians close rank when a fellow musician is in need. They filled an art gallery in North Miami where everyone was happy to pay a door charge to hear their contemporaries play.. Mo said gatherings like this are great for networking. This consummate producer then spread the message around the room that he will repeat this every Sunday. That was a good idea but too few showed up the next Sunday. 

Morgen got it right at the Miami Shores Country Club. Check it out. The parking is free and plentiful and so are the hors d’ouvres. The club offers a very affordable menu for your dining pleasure and you can’t beat the price of wine at $5 a glass.

And now with daylight saving time, get there early to see the sunset on the golf course. Of course, the piece de resistance is the musical stylings of Mo and Madafo and the various local musicians that they invite to stand in each week.

Mo and Madafo, Thursdays and Fridays, 7-10 p.m. Miami Shores Country Club, 10000 Biscayne Blvd., Miami

Shawn Snyder

A Guy, a Guitar & His Quest

by Manny Meland on March 16, 2010

Shawn Snyder packed his soul and his acoustic guitar into his silver Hyundai Elantra and set out on a quest to “eavesdrop on the world.” During his travels, he played his songs on streets, in coffee houses, at festivals and clubs. After 40,000 miles, he had performed more than 120 shows in approximately 50 cities and 25 states.

You may call Shawn Snyder a poet or a songwriter. His rich uses of metaphor make his ballads very compelling. Shawn’s original acoustic folk- rock style is lyric driven. He soulfully blends folk, rock, jazz and blues into deeply passionate and expressive performances. Catch his act and you’ll be hooked.

As a child at home in Cooper City, Florida., Shawn grew up listening to his dad’s music which included Simon & Garfunkle, Joni Mitchell and James Taylor. He learned to love the guitar after his grandmother gave him one for his fifth birthday. By the age of thirteen, he was composing songs.

Snyder graduated from Nova University in Davie. While there, he made a documentary about homelessness. His major was religion, and he also studied musical theatre. All these contributed to the depth of his works. He continued his education at Harvard where his musical direction began in earnest. “It was there that I pondered the bigger questions of life,” he declared.

Graduating in 2004, at the age of 24, Shawn headed for the California Bay Area. There, he gigged with great musicians such as mythic drummer Dave Krusen (of Pearl Jam “Ten” fame). Shawn played the most prestigious troubadour spots in San Francisco and Los Angeles. His L.A. gigs included Gary Jules' Hotel Café in the heart of Hollywood.

Snyder has covered the West Coast and the East Coast and in-between playing some of the hottest singer-songwriter spots. The Bitter End in New York and Passim Folk & Cultural Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts are just two examples. In 2006, at the age of 28, he released his debut C.D. “Dog Eared Pages.”

His restless spirit took him down under to Australia where he followed the famous Rufus Wainwright’s performance at Melbourne's renowned Manchester Lane. Snyder is now back in South Florida for a longer than usual stay. During this time, he released his latest album -“Romantic’s Requiem.”

Shawn is a prolific performer playing two or three shows a week. His fans are spread throughout Dade and Broward counties. You might see him at the Skinny Dip @ Kitchens in the Newport Hotel in Sunny Isles Beach or at Books & Books on Lincoln Road in Miami Beach, the Wallflower Gallery or Bardot Cafe, both in Miami. He is also popular in Broward playing the Chocolate Moose Café in Davie, the Labyrinth Café in Fort Lauderdale and the Glades Edge House in Sunrise. And to my friends in Boca, you don’t have to be Irish to catch him at the Dubliner at 435 Plaza Real.

I caught his act a few months ago at Tobacco Road in Miami. He laid a copy of “Romantic’s Requiem” on me. I hope I haven’t worn out the grooves playing it so much.

For schedule of performances: www.shawnsnydermusic.com.

Felipe Lamoglia and his Afro-Cuban Clave Beat

by Manny Meland on March 02, 2010

I caught saxophonist Felipe Lamoglia’s act at the Van Dyke Cafe (on Lincoln Road in South Beach) the other night. You have to check out his clave sound. He is HOT! The Latin-style jazz he plays was developed from the rhythms of African slaves and became a basic beat in Cuban music. New Orleans, an incubator for new sounds, loved these Cuban chords. For over a century, Cuba and the Delta had an ongoing exchange of this clave beat. Felipe is a great ambassador of this music
 
At 18, Felipe won a scholarship at the prestigious Superior Institute of Arts (ISA), the most important University of Music in Latin America where he studied music. Upon graduation, he was hired to play with NG La Banda, one of Cuba’s most acclaimed orchestras. In 1992, he traveled to Brazil for a musical exchange program offered by the University of Sao Paulo. Felipe lived in Brazil for seven years, where he formed his own band called Tumbaoin and recorded his first solo album “Dimensions,” which incorporated his clave sound with strong influences of jazz and Brazilian music.
 
Lamoglia moved to the United States in 1999, scoring top gigs as soon as he arrived with talents like Latin star Celia Cruz.  He met Arturo Sandoval and was able to participate in several of Sandoval’s recordings including “Trumpet Revolution,” “Live at Blue Note NYC,” and “Live at Ann Harbor Summer Festival.”  Lamoglia also got involved in two Grammy nominated album projects which were released by Blue Note Records. In 2004, he joined Gonzalo Rubalcaba in his Grammy nominated recording of “Paseo.” Then in 2006, he played for Ignacio Berroa’s nominated album, “Codes” for which he also worked on arrangements. Soon, his composition and arrangement skills were again put to work by Grammy winning Arturo Sandoval. Felipe helped produce Sandoval’s latest album “Rumba Palace” which won a Grammy Award in 2008.
 

While on tour with the great Sandoval, Lamoglia took extensive master classes and clinics. In the interim, Felipe appeared at various festivals sharing the stage with music greats such as Herbie Hancock, Michael Becker, Wynton Marsalis, Eldar, and Marcus Miller. Consequently, he utilized his excellent teaching skills that he had developed at clinics at the University of Free Music in Sao Paulo, and more recently at the University of Michigan and the University of New Mexico.
 
Kimberly Chmura of KCC Productions in Miami was quick to recognize Felipe’s special qualities. She put him in a line-up last January 9, at the APAP Showcase in the New York Hilton where other Grammy nominated bands were showcasing their music. Several gigs followed including the recent show at the Van Dyke Cafe.
 
A jazz singer from New York who was sitting at the bar next to me was incredulous. “Someone told me there was jazz upstairs at the Van Dyke. I didn’t expect this world-class music.” I told him that he can enjoy Lamoglia again on the last Friday of February in concert at the outdoor stage at the Museum of Contemporary Art or you can see him any Wednesday in March at Casa Panza.

The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) is located 770 N.E.125 St. in North Miami. Call 305.893.6211 or visit www.mocanomi.org. Casa Panza is located at 1620 S.W. 8 S. in Little Havana. Call 305.643.5343 or visit www.casapanza.com.
The Van Dyke Cafe is located at 846 Lincoln Road in South Beach. Call 305.532.1233 or visit www.thevandykecafe.com. For more information on KCC Productions visit www.kccproductions.com.

Miami Beach Cabaret

SoBe Arts resurrects 1930s Berlin, SoBe style

by Manny Meland on February 02, 2010

Carson Kievman, executive director of SoBe Arts Institute, conceived an entirely novel version of the musical Cabaret. He presented it at the reopened 1937–vintage Little Stage on Washington Avenue in Miami Beach. Carson’s drive and determination are responsible for rescuing this city-owned Little Stage from disuse. The scheduled nine-show run, that played the weekends of January, was all sold out. 

Kievman, who I call Mr. SoBe Arts, played in a scene in this program too. Look at his credits. He is a composer, who holds a Ph.D. from Princeton University and an MFA from the California Institute of Arts. He has taught or lectured at top universities here and in Germany. His many artistic residences include Tanglewood Music Festival, the Public Theatre in New York, Shakespeare Festival, the Eugene O’Neill Opera/ Music-Theatre Conference, Florida Philharmonic Orchestra, the Piccolo Spoleto Festival and the National Theatre Manheim. 

If you were at the show, you would have been seated at a table in a room whose atmosphere harkened back to a cabaret circa 1930 Berlin. The space had an intimate and comfortable feel. It allowed a maximum of 60 people to be seated at individual tables. Several small stages placed at various locations around the perimeter of the room facilitated rapid scene changes and perspectives.  Wine, soda and tapas sold at the bar in the room added to the cabaret experience.  

A solid jazz band occupied the main stage which had a movie screen suspended at stage front center. The gentlemen of the orchestra were Carson Kievman, as conductor; Osvaldo Fleites on trumpet; Paul Gordillo, clarinet; James Quinlan, bass; Luis ‘Kiki’ Sanchez, piano; Juan Silvera, saxophone; and Tony Suarez on drums.

The program opened with the antics of Bugs Bunny, the Tasmanian Devil, Porky Pig, Roadrunner and the endearing Loony Tunes projected on the screen. Then, actress/singer Monserrat Franco, a Betty Boop lookalike, appeared on stage to sing with her ‘toon’ double. They did the Betty Boop theme song — “I Want to be Loved by You…. Boop, Boop Be Doo”. And what could be more cool than when the orchestra played with the animated orchestra “Dinner Music for a Pack of Hungry Cannibals.”  

A spot that flashed on the main stage illuminated Ivette Vinas, a ravishing redhead who torched us with that old Johnny Green song “Body and Soul.” Not to be outdone, on a small stage at the opposite side of the room, Philip de la Cal and Andre Lefevre improvised a scene from the Peter Ustinov play "The Love of Four Col onels." The spots and stage changes kept up at an unrelenting pace. The action and fun never stopped.

Later, a quartet of Ivette Vinas, Philip de la Cal, Moserrat Franco and Andre Lefevre sang “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off.”  

Actually, by popular demand, the show’s run was extended for one more sold out weekend. 

Congratulations SoBe Arts Institute.  Bravo! Carson Kievman. 

For future program information, call 305-674-9220 or visit www.sobearts.org

 

Pure Class

Tony Bennett Gigs the Arsht

by Manny Meland on January 29, 2010

Tony Bennett brought his timeless music to Miami’s Knight Concert Hall at the Adrienne Arsht Center on January 8l. Bennett’s string of 1950’s hits for Columbia records sound as good and fresh as they did back then. He emphasizes to the audience his belief about the old songs: “My theory is if it’s good, it’s good, and never gets old.,” he said.

His first million-selling record with Columbia was “Because of You.” His string of hits grew and grew. His enduring career continued to be colored with awards and accolades. He has won an amazing 15 Grammy Awards, including the prestigious Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and two Emmy Awards. The Kennedy Center inducted him as an honoree in 2005. He was named an NEA Jazz Master in 2006. Billboard honored him for his outstanding contributions to music with its elite Century Award. The scope of his accomplishments cast him as an international treasure and earned him a Citizen of the World award by none other than the United Nations.

Bennett was born in 1926 in the Astoria section of Queens, New York. As a teen, he sang as he waited on tables in an Italian restaurant. Bing Crosby and Nat King Cole were his idols. At the start of World War II, he enlisted in the service. During this period, he sang with several different military bands. His repertoire consisted of the popular songs of the day. After the war, his G.I. Bill enabled him to study vocal technique at the American Theatre Wing School. His first professional singing job in 1946 was at the Shangri-La in Queens. Fate courted him. Bob Hope dropped by and liked the singing of this young Anthony Benedetto. Hope advised him to shorten his name—less letters to fit a marquee. He suggested Tony Bennett.

Bennett’s hot jazz quartet came down to Miami ahead of him to check out the hall. They raved about the extraordinarily great acoustics of the Knight Concert Hall. Bennett agreed.

“I enjoy this room very much. I don’t play big stadiums. I don’t like that. I like nice acoustic halls. This has to be one of the best,” he declared.

He then decided to test the acoustics without any electronic enhancement. He asked the sound engineer to turn off the mikes and belted out his hit “Rags to Riches.” Following this, with the sound system reengaged, he continued treating us to some delicious oldies such as “The Best is Yet to Come,” “Smile,” “The Good Life,” “For Once in My Life,” and “For Once in My Life.” And when he sang “I Left My Heart in San Francisco,” he won a thousand more hearts right here in Miami.