Displaying items by tag: Buzz Chicago

Frank Sinatra Jr. opened his wonderful tribute show at Ravinia Festival in Highland Park by explaining what he hoped to convey, as he had been writing and collecting the photographs and videos for the last two years.

"In order to know a man’s life there is one word that must supersede everything,” Sinatra says. “And that word is truth. You are going to see the glittering lights. You are going to see the soaring mountain peaks. But you are also going to see the depths. You’re going to see the chasms.”

“There was a time in his career many years ago when his entire world – his work, his movies, his television, his records, his marriage, his personal life – everything fell apart completely,” Sinatra says. “And that is going to be shown in our show.”

First of all I was unaware that Sinatra had a son capable of singing as well as Sinatra Jr. does. Many times I closed my eyes and imagined with no difficulty that I was hearing the original recordings of all these magnificent songs as recorded by Sinatra himself.  All of the multimedia pieces were chosen with great care and presented a very moving, well-paced  and well-rounded story of Sinatra's life and indeed the life of all New Yorkers' and even all Americans who lived during Sinatra's career ups and downs.  The show reminded me of another great father son tribute, the play “Jack Lemmon Returns” by Jack Lemmon's son, Chris Lemmon.

There was an unnecessarily melancholy and almost apologetic air to Sinatra Jr.'s performance and also the fact that he never referred to Frank during the show as his father or "dad" struck me as very sad and the following quote explains why that is.

In interviews Frank Jr. repeatedly speaks of how his own life ‘is immaterial’, adding: “I’ve never been a success. I have never had a hit movie, a hit television program, a hit record. It would have been good for my personal integrity, my personal dignity to have had something like that. I have never made a success in terms of my own right. I have been very good at re-creation. But that is something that pleases me because my father’s music is so magnificent."

But I wholeheartedly disagree with Sinatra Jr.'s summation of his career. Although he may not have received any awards yet, this engrossing and educational tribute to his father stands on its own as a wonderful and well-crafted, musical production. 

Sinatra Jr. didn't have much time with his father as a child due to early divorce yet he devoted seven years of his life, working 24/7 to managing his ailing and genius father during Sinatra's last decade on earth. His efforts gave us an additional seven years of Sinatra live performances which is a huge contribution to the history of music and his fans worldwide. 

Sinatra Jr. doesn't just imitate his father, or impersonate him, his voice has a rich timbre and phrasing all his own that bleeds through the performance in just the right amounts.

Imagine if Elvis Presley had had a son who resembled him physically to a degree and more importantly was a college music major capable of playing and singing the music Elvis made famous for decades after his death. Wouldn't we consider that a great achievement in its own right? 

I heard many people during the intermission say just how much they were enjoying the show and that Sinatra Jr.'s storytelling and choice of photos and video, etc., really surpassed their expectations for the concert - and I felt the same way. We saw an impressive timeline that included the Rat Pack, Nancy Sinatra, various films and private family photos. Sinatra Jr. also flawlessly performed one favorite after another and really hit the mark on his beautiful rendition of "My Way".

Sinatra Jr.'s Centennial Celebration is a wonderful work of art and the amazing choice of talented musicians in his outstanding orchestra made this theatrical experience more than just a trip down memory lane. 

Sinatra Jr. has achieved something more in this production than mere imitation or tribute. He has created a highly entertaining and moving audience experience, partly because he is talented in his own right and partly because he has something no Sinatra impersonator will ever have. "The blood of my blood" Sinatra Jr. has  the blood of his genius and powerful father - the evergreen Frank Sinatra - running though his veins which makes the whole audience aware they are in Frank Sinatra's presence as he is surely watching his son proudly from the wings at every performance. 

I highly recommend seeing this production and hope that Sinatra Jr. will continue to perform it long after this 100th year birthday celebration hype has settled down again, because Sinatra's story deserves to be told to new generations as well as old and Sinatra Jr. is the only one who can tell it the right way with “the real truth" ringing out between every note. 

The 9^th annual Chicago Dancing Festival came to a close on a rainy Sunday last week with the Dancing Under The Stars performance at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion.  Despite the less than ideal weather for an outdoor performance, there was a good crowd to catch the closing show of the festival, even a few folks camping out on the grass under makeshift tents crafted out of umbrellas.  Overall the show made it worth sitting through a little rain!

The show opened with a fantastic mash up of flamenco, Irish Step and tap brought to us by the Chicago Rhythm Project.  With only 6 dancers, sometimes performing 2 at a time, they created a show that sounded and felt as big as a full troupe production. The stage was mic’d perfectly to echo the rhythms throughout the pavilion enabling 6 dancers to create a large and loud performance.

I was most excited to see the Pittsburgh Ballet Theater perform Sandpaper Ballet but was left a little disappointed. After a very long overture of Christmas music, 25 or so dancers, clad in one piece costumes that gave the illusion of a clear sky with a few puffy clouds over a luscious green landscape, finally filed onto the stage. There were great moments with intricate and interesting formations but overall it felt flat and a little unrehearsed. Timing was off and the swingy jazz movements that could have really brought the ballet to a fun and whimsical place, seemed like they were being thrown away.

The show got back on track with Torrent from the Brian Brooks Moving Company.  The staging was amazing with the movements of the dancers and their formations flowing along with the music brilliantly. Between the score backing up the piece and the constant motion of the dancers, I was absorbed as I watch movements transfer from person to person and flow across the stage.  They were introduced as a returning favorite and they certainly lived up to the title.

As a great contrast to the large group pieces, Sarah Lane and Joseph Gorak of the American Ballet Theater wowed the audience with a picture perfect pas de deux performance from The Sleeping Beauty. I watched the entire piece with a smile on my face, thinking that it is performances like this that make little girls everywhere want to grow up to be ballerinas!

The Miami City Ballet took a turn from their traditional Balanchine style ballet to perform Sweet Fields, choreographed by Twyla Tharp. Set to a series of Shaker hymns, and performed in simple white costumes, it was a moving piece. At times the bounce and flow of the costumes became distracting but overall this piece was elegant, alternating between powerful and serene moments.  And with a lift that elicited a collective gasp from the audience, it certainly captured everyone’s attention.

The show ended with a true showstopper and my favorite piece of the night.  The Joffrey Ballet performed In Creases choreographed by Justin Peck. Performed to Philip Glass Four Movements for Two Pianos, which were situated on the stage with the dancers, it was an intricate ballet demonstrating perfect technique combined with movements I have never seen before. It had a breathy quality for a ballet piece and was a great blend of modern and traditional ballet.  This piece alone was worth sitting outside in the rain for and a great end to an overall wonderful performance.

With another year under their belt, the Chicago Dancing Festival has wrapped up for this year. Having attending two of the performances, I am already looking forward to next years 10^th anniversary season. The Dancing Under the Stars performance stood up to the test of Chicago weather, combining traditional ballet, modern ballet, tap, and modern into an eclectic and captivating show. If you missed it this summer, keep your eyes out for shows next summer!

Santana’s Corazón Tour blew through Chicago as quickly as a summer storm. But for two all-too-brief nights, Santana lit up the Pavilion stage at Ravinia to a sold out crowd of dancing, drinking, smoking, nostalgic concert-goers.

For many in the audience, Ravinia was the perfect venue, paying homage to their first time seeing Santana play Woodstock in 1969. Baby boomers swayed and rhumbaed in any space they could find amidst the sold out crowd, unashamed to don twinkling cowboy hats, smoke a joint, and down a glass of cheap merlot. They sang every lyric, grabbed any passerby to salsa with, and threw peace signs to the friendly Ravinia security guards. On the other end of the audience spectrum were young millennials who were introduced to Santana during his resurgence to popularity in the late 1990s, most likely with Santana’s 1999 album Supernatural that included such #TBT favorites as Smooth: https://youtu.be/6Whgn_iE5uc and one of my personal favorite songs, Maria Maria: https://youtu.be/nPLV7lGbmT4. There was not a single person seated in the Pavilion or on the lawn when Maria Maria played. People of every age, race, and gender danced together to the sounds of the guitar, played by the living legend, Carlos Santana.

In the unlikely event you have lived under a rock for the past few decades, Santana first became famous in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band, Santana. The Mexican-American musician pioneered the unique blend of rock and Latin American music that continues to rocks heads, and hips, to this day. He has won 3 Latin Grammy Awards and 10 Grammy Awards, eight alone at the 42nd annual Grammys in 2000. In 2003 Rolling Stone magazine listed Santana as one of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of all time, keeping company with other greats such as Keith Richards, B.B. King, Eric Clapton, and Jimi Hendrix. Santana’s latest album, Corazón, proves that he can still throw down with the best of them in the biz and was born to play the guitar. Ravinia audiences were also treated to a special family event when Santana’s son, Salvador Santana, took the stage to play a brief set, proving that talent and dedication to craft runs in the family.

Ravinia and Santana to together like salt and margaritas. The cool summer night perfectly complimented the cool blend of guitar, timbales and congas. The next time Santana blows through Chicago don’t miss your chance to see him live, and be sure to give the man your heart, make it real or else forget about it.

This summer the 9th annual Chicago Dancing Festival returns with four days of free dance performances throughout the city. On Wednesday evening, the MCA hosted a production entitled Modern Women in the Edlis Neeson Theater for two back-to-back shows. 

As the audience filed into the theater, a video of Loie Fuller’s “Serpentine Dance” was projected onto the back wall of the stage.  The film is from 1896 and each frame of the film was tinted by hand to give an already beautiful and fluid dance piece the additional magic of what appears to be a color changing costume. The show continued to incorporate projected video and photos at the start of each piece taking us back in time to see the founding women of modern dance. This was a great addition to the show, however each clip lasted for close to a minute and the lack of background music made for a somewhat uncomfortable silence in the theater – interrupted more than once by someone’s cell phone ringing!

The show was 1 hour with 5 pieces. The first piece was “Valse Brillante”, originally choreographed by Isadora Duncan in 1915, performed by Lori Belilove & The Isadora Duncan Company. As the introduction video clip showed, many of Isadora Duncan’s works were performed outside in nature. This piece transported us to a summer garden with the light and airy movements flowing together perfectly to the buoyant music of a solo piano. The graceful silk costumes floated behind the dancers who beautifully executed a classic piece of modern dance. 

Martha Graham is one of the most well known names in modern dance with a long legacy. “Deep Song” is a solo work, originally performed by Martha Graham herself in 1937, recreated on the stage by Blakeley White McGuire of the Martha Graham Dance Company. It was performed in the same costume designed for the original piece, a lovely full-length black and white dress which is as much a part of the performance as the dancer and the bench incorporated into the choreography. The piece is powerful, full of fear and distress, and it had the audience entranced.

The final 3 pieces were newer works paying homage to other masters of modern dance including Doris Humphrey, Ruth St. Denis and Ruth Page. My favorite of these pieces was “A Picture of You Falling” by Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. This solo piece was a short piece brilliantly performed by Jason Hortin in the show I attended.  Choreographed by Crystal Pite and set to a composition of voice-overs and sound effects, it was an amazingly athletic and noteworthy piece. With a flavor of bone breaking dance style characterized by rhythmic contorting movements of the body, it had me completely absorbed and as a short piece it left me wanting more! The level of applause for this piece in the curtain call has me thinking the rest of the audience agreed with me on this being a standout of the show!

Overall the show was a great tribute to the women whose creativity, inspiration and courage brought us a new form of dance that broke from the traditions of ballet and paved the way for so many dancers and choreographers after them. It was a great show even for those not versed in modern dance, with accessible pieces that stirred your emotions. The Chicago Dancing Festival runs from August 25th to the 29th and is a great opportunity for those passionate about dance as well as those who are just interested in a night out. If you missed it this summer, keep your eyes out for shows next summer!

An amazing feeling comes over you when going to see a live band outside during the summer. It’s such a treat to be able to attend a show in beautiful landscapes of Ravinia in Highland Park, Illinois. When ZZ Top is in town you know it’s going to be a party.  

On such a beautiful Thursday evening several thousand fans gathered into Ravinia to see that little band from Texas that wallops a big ol' punch. ZZ Top is going to take the stage tonight and you better watch out. The guitar riffs are amazing.

Opening out the night was Blackberry Smoke. Great musicians! Vocally they were just an amazing band. They tore into it with a nice country twang to them that really set your hair on fire.  The influence of Southern rock on this band can be heard. They have an Allman Brother’s feel to them within their big jam band style. Some real great playing was displayed. Great pickers!

The time had come for the main act to come out. The temperature was perfect, the mood was serene, and the crowd was ready. “Got Me Under Pressure” and “Gimme All Your Loving,” were just like the record and tremendous crowd pleasers as well. They brought out the choreographed dance moves and charmed the hell out of a sold out audience. They come complete with matching guitars, beards, hats, and matching attitudes. Bad ass!!

This band seems like it’s been going on forever. Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill, and Frank Beard got ZZ Top going strong and soon had a great following in no time. They had a good career in the 70’s with a few strong hits. Once the 80’s came they added synthesizers and became unstoppable. Each one of these guys was right on the money all night long.  

At Ravinia they displayed their MTV hits, old hits, and never stopped laying down a groove. The crowd was very well organized. Large displays of food, tables, chairs, bottles of wine were everywhere to be seen. Can’t think of a better way to enjoy ZZ Top live than in the plush lawn of Ravinia. It was a perfect setting for songs like, “Jesus just left Chicago”, “Sharp Dressed Man”, “Tush,” and “LaGrange”.

When ZZ Top is in town you know it’s going to be a party.  ZZ Top just played Ravinia and it was amazing. They played a great set that made everyone want more, but what did they leave out?  Nothing.

Boys love their rockets. We find this out rather quickly in Marriott Theatre’s world premiere of October Sky, a new musical based on the 1999 film featuring Jake Gyllenhaal and Chris Cooper. Written by Aaron Thielen with the music and lyric by Michael Mahler, the play opens with a heavy duty musical number “Marching into Hell” where a handful of coal miners head deep into the dangerous coal mines.

Taking place in 1957 Coalwood, West Virginia, most boys are destined to become coal miners. Opportunity to take another career path are far and few between. The city depends on the mine, which has become even more dangerous with newer technology that powders the coal, leaving a hazardous dust to be inhaled and cause lung disease rather than the older days where the mineral was gather by using picks. Occasional gas explosions also take place as we find out in the first scene as news of such a tragedy leaves thirty dead in a nearby mine.

Homer’s father, John Hickam, heads a large mining crew and fully expects his son to follow suit. However, when the Soviet Union launches Sputnik for all the town to see in the October Sky, Homer and his friends are driven to make a rocket of their own. Naturally, Homer’s father sees this as a distraction, while the town supports the boys as their rockets slowly become more and more advanced, despite their moments of failure. With the help of Miss Riley, Homer’s teacher who recognizes their interest in such a science as a way to avoid the destined mining life, the boys eventually take their work to a series of science fairs. While Homer’s mother is supportive and pleased with Homer’s ingenuity, his father still struggles with the idea. 

October Sky is not just a story about boys making rockets, it is also a story about support from friends, changing hearts and perseverance. It is a feel good story that encourages one to follow their dreams.

Superbly cast, I really enjoyed Nate Lewellyn in the role of Homer Hickham. He is a bit reminiscent of a young and boyish Tom Hanks. Lewellyn displays his solid vocal range in many challenging numbers, perhaps most notably in Act II’s “Stars Shine Down”. Ben Barker, Patrick Rooney and Alex Weisman perfectly round out the quartet of rocket builders while Susan Moniz really shines as Homer’s wise and loving mother, Elsie Hickam. One of my favorite performances is that of David Hess as John Hickam. I really find it a pleasure to observe Hess’ vocal prowess and his ability to execute such a wide variety of emotions. 

The songs are lyrically clever – and often funny, while the set has a few fun surprises such as the effect used as the miners take an elevator down into the mine. Theresa Ham does a fantastic job as costume designer, really pulling off the 1950s era and Dance Captain Jameson Cooper utilizes some very unique and original ideas in the big dance numbers. The show is finally brought together tightly with a strong ensemble and a wonderful band that knows how to get their southern twang on when needed. 

One of the show’s big crowd pleasers was the knee-slappin’ number “Moonshine”, a lively number that takes place in the backwoods and has the actors playing instruments as “Bathtub Amos & The Drunk as a Skink Jug Band”.  

October Sky runs around two-and-a-half hours long but is quite enjoyable throughout thanks to a fetching story, fun effects and enjoyable musical numbers. October Sky is being performed at The Marriott Theatre through October 11th. You can find out more about the show or order tickets at www.MarriottTheatre.com. 

Dorothy Parker once said, "If you want to know what god thinks of money, just look at the people he gave it to." Arthur Miller's 'The Price' centers itself around a middle aged couple getting on toward their golden years, but for them, it's not so golden. The horrors of The Great Depression have haunted Victor and Esther for years and now that they’re finally liquidating his father's shabby estate, they see glimmers of financial security.


While Victor has struggled for years, partly by choice and partly out of an obligation to care for his aging father, his brother Walter selfishly pursued wealth and stature. Will a chance meeting with an almost supernatural antique dealer pave the way for a reconciliation?


Timeline Theatre presents 'The Price' in a time much like the one it was originally presented in. While the recession of 2008 clearly didn't hit as hard as '29, the uneasy ripples are still being felt today. Director Louis Contey's intimate production feels fresh and modern. Since this is a lesser known Miller, you won't be coming to it with any high school English class biases.


The small ensemble here works well together. Kymberly Mellen as money-hungry Esther is both aggravatingly pathetic and also heartbreakingly true in a final moment so slight you might miss it. Her character is an interesting commentary on how Miller and popular culture must have felt about wives. Her costar, Bret Tuomi as Victor is good, but often seems disconnected from the character. Perhaps this was a flaw of Miller's script because large swaths of monolog from Roderick Peeples as Walter seem insincere at times too. 91 year old Mike Nussbaum as furniture dealer Solomon is by far the most endearing part of the show. There's a heaven-sent quality to this role which is uncharacteristic of Miller's solidly grounded work. Nussbaum's performance is very charming.


'The Price' at Timeline Theatre is a highly polished, and well designed play that will introduce a new generation to a minor, but no less important Arthur Miller classic. It's a history lesson in privation and a cautionary tale about the unpleasantries money brings to people's lives. It's also powerful story about what it means to choose between love and wealth.


At Timeline Theatre through November 22nd. 615 W Wellington Ave. 773.281.8463

Chances are everybody knows a Chicago song whether they are aware of it or not. It’s nearly impossible to not had at least one of their melodies buzzing through your head at one time or another. When seeing them perform live it is almost amazing to hear how many hits they have manufactured during their heyday from the 1970s through the mid-1980s. After all, the band has received multiple music awards including a Grammy, they have been elected as Founding Artists to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, a star in their honor sits on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and they even have a street in Chicago named after them. Let’s also not forget that their record sales have topped the 100,00,000 mark. Not too shabby. Fortified with a vibrant horn trio, catchy choruses, spot on vocal harmonies and precise musicianship, Chicago is still putting on a highly entertaining shows decades after they released their first album in 1969, Chicago Transit Authority.

Returning once again to the city of the band’s origin, Chicago took the stage at Ravinia Saturday night for one of two nearly sold out performances. With a similar look to the past twenty or so years as far as band members go, Chicago ripped into one classic after another. Co-founders, Robert Lamm (keyboard/vocals), Lee Loughnane (trumpet/vocals) and James Pankow (trombone/vocals) led the march along with Jason Scheff who had joined the band in 1985 as Peter Cetera’s replacement.

The two-hour-plus set consisted of twenty-six songs and was split into two sets - a fifteen minute intermission in the middle. The first set was power-packed and included the hits “If You Leave Me Now”, Will You Still Love Me?”, “Look Away” and “Another Rainy Day in New York City”. As enjoyable as the first set was, the second was even better as one hit was churned out after another such as “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?”, “Hard Habit to Break”, “You’re the Inspiration”, and “Hard to Say I’m Sorry/Get Away” to which to crowd got up from their seats at its energetic end and stood for the remainder of the show.  

Ending on a high note, Chicago finished off the set with “Saturday in the Park” just before the upbeat, feel-good “Feelin’ Stronger Every Day”.    

James Pankow practically put on a show by himself. Continuously strutting, dancing and interacting nonstop with the crowd, the spirited trombone player was key in keeping the energy level high. Pankow successfully proved that trombone players can be as cool – or at least animatedly squirmy - as any other musician. No doubt, the man was fun to watch. Chicago also put on one hell of a drum solo where Tris Imboden and percussionist Walfredo Reyes Jr. fiercely battled each other much to the delight of the audience. And for those wondering, yes, Robert Lamm’s voice was as rich as ever. In all, the components were fully in place for a well-round, and very fun, musical experience.

The band left the crowd with a one-two punch encore of “Free” followed by what is probably their most famous song of all, “25 or 6 to 4”. It would be very difficult to imagine a single person leaving disappointed after such a remarkable performance. As someone who had seen Chicago in 1982, the show was a great blast of the past, while to newer fans or first timers a glimpse into a great era of music that they may have never experienced first-hand.   

A Ravinia favorite for some time, one can only hope for Chicago’s 2016 return.

In the highly engaging, thought-provoking world premiere, “Assassination Theatre: Chicago’s Role in the Crime of the Century” by investigative reporter and author Hillel Levin, the audience is thrust into a very well-presented exploration into the murder of President John F. Kennedy. Offered as somewhat of an acted out documentary complimented by a series of haunting projected images, Levin takes a look at credible proof compiled over the years, whether physical, circumstantial or witness accounts, and makes a convincing argument that the key players involved were members of the Chicago mob.

Says Levin on how he stumbled upon, and then pursued, the story, “The origins of this show go back to 2007, when I wrote a story for Playboy magazine about the burglars who broke into the home of Tony Accardo, Chicago’s long-time mob leader. After the article was published, I was approached by Zach Sheldon, one of the FBI agents featured in the story, who asked, ‘Why don’t you do a real story about the mob?’ When I asked what that was, he replied, ‘How they killed JFK.” This prompted Levin to spend the next seven years in extensive research before concluding what Sheldon and other FBI agents determined. As Levin explains, “The assassination was kind of a theater, staged to put the blame on only one actor in what was, in fact, a much larger production.”

Michael Joseph Mitchell is very convincing as Hillel Levin, wrought with passion and conviction as more and more evidence is revealed. As the investigation unfolds Levin and Zechariah Shelton (performed splendidly by Mark Ulrich) bounce theories off each other, speculating, and furthermore perhaps ultimately proving, the mobs involvement. Ryan Kitley and Martin Yurek do a tremendous job in playing a multitude of characters as they are introduced and revisited in the story. As the story progresses, a flow chart is created of who’s who in the mob and how they connected with alleged gunman Lee Harvey Oswald and Jack Ruby. In this truly gripping docu-play, mind blowing evidence is brought forward, holes in the famous Warren report are exposed, motive is revealed as well as the means to pull off the crime of the century.

Levin kind of lets the government off the hook as far as any direct involvement they may have had in the actual assassination itself, which might be an unpopular theory to many conspiracy buffs. However, he does implicate the government in covering up the true facts of the crime in order to preserve the peace of the public and to prevent the possibility of war with the Soviet Union. Even after Levin’s very convincing evidence is presented, one might still wonder if such an assassination could have been pulled off without the inside intel of, say, the CIA. Nonetheless, Levin’s beautifully presented theatrical investigation peaks interest from beginning to end without the slightest lull whatsoever.

The argument made for a high-level conspiracy is substantial and far more believable than buying into the lone gunman theory that the media has provided via the government. Of course, Levin is not the first to point this out, nor will he be the last. We’ve seen similarities in other assassinations in that of Robert Kennedy’s, Martin Luther King’s, John Lennon’s, etc., etc. It is admirable that Levin takes such a stance. His investigative presentation is effective and hard-hitting and, at the very least, certain to leave audience members asking questions afterwards, perhaps urging them to research JFK’s assassination for themselves and other potential cover ups rather than opting for complacency and blind belief.   

Soundly directed by Kevin Christopher Fox, “Assassination Theater: Chicago’s Role in the Crime of the Century”, currently playing at the Museum of Broadcast Communications (360 N. State St.) through November 7th, is highly recommended. It is a well-acted, intelligent, quick moving, greatly comprehensible theatre presentation loaded with twits and shocking revelations that is sure to stir one’s interest. For tickets and/or more show information, visit www.assassinationtheater.com.

It was a warm, balmy night with no rain for Harry Connick Jr's sold out summer concert at the beautiful and romantic Ravinia Music Festival this year.

Connick played a dynamic two hour set which included all of the favorites you'd expect like songs from his "When Harry Met Sally" soundtrack. Among the many numbers in his very well-rounded set, he played "It Had to be You",  "Where or When" and "The Way You looked Tonight" along with several New Orleans' Jazz treats and three new songs from his upcoming album. 

Of the three new songs from his much anticipated October release which included “Trying To Matter”, and “I Like It When You Smile”, I enjoyed the adorable ode to his wife of thirty years, Jill Goodacre, “No One Does I Do Like We Do" the most. But his super sexy delivery on “I Like It When You Smile" will be a great hit single as well.

Looking at the handsome, fit 47-year-old Harry Connick Jr., it seems like just yesterday when I first met him and heard him play the piano 27 years ago!

I was living in New York City with my boyfriend, actor Steve Larson, who was a regular on "Third Rock from the Sun". Steve had a job bar tending at The Village Gate, the most revered Jazz Club in New York's Greenwich Village. Throughout its 38 years, the Village Gate featured such musicians as John Coltrane, Coleman Hawkins, Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Bill Evans, Dave Brubeck, Dexter Gordon, Art Blakey, Woody Shaw, Miles Davis, Vasant Rai, Nina Simone, Herbie Mann, and Aretha Franklin, who made her first New York appearance there.

Every night while Steve was working I would sit at a small table with a five dollar bill on it drinking a glass of coke he kept refilling so that I looked like a patron. I’d watch musician after musician for free. It was a wonderful music education for me, and a full six years before I started my own band in Chicago. One night at the "Open Mic" when the usual crowd of older Jazz musicians would straggle in trying to sign in to get a slot to play, a young man dressed in a baby blue polyester tuxedo from head to toe walked in to play the piano. This was a bold move as kitschy, second hand clothing was not yet the rage back in 1987. Harry was still quite chubby with baby fat and had a few spots on his face. But when he played I remember thinking this kid must be some kind of prodigy - and I was right. His talent was jaw-dropping. 

The very young Harry Connick Jr. soon became a regular performer. I would always have a few singles on hand to tip Harry with when he played the open mic nights, and we talked briefly on occasion. I asked and found out he was Jewish on his mother's side and had been studying music seriously since he was five- years-old. Harry once said I "had a brilliant smile” and that he really appreciated seeing me there on open mic nights because he said I seemed to "listen to every note with my whole body". Years later when I saw his successful national debut and that he was marrying a super model, I almost didn't recognize him, so complete was his physical transformation into the  thin, handsome, and debonair performer we know him as now. I must have heard hundreds of musicians at The Village Gate during the four years I lived at The Ansonia on Broadway and 73rd from 1987-1991, but Harry Connick Jr. and the amazing guitarist who was also an unknown - Chris Whitley (now deceased) and David Bowie are the only ones I actually got to know and remember. 

At the riveting Ravinia concert, Connick Jr. also played the horn in a wonderful, "dueling banjos" type standoff with his crew of some of the best trumpet players alive today which was very impressive. I was unaware that he was a multi-instrumentalist. 

After three decades and millions of records sold and numerous Grammy awards Harry Connick Jr. is still going strong with his quality blend of old and new Jazz and Pop. Connick will also be returning to judge on "American Idol' and hopefully we will see him return to acting as well, because I really enjoyed his work in Hope Floats with Sandra Bullock and his run on the hit series, Will and Grace. 

"Everything I do is part of my passion," he said, explaining his diverse talents. "I do the things I like to do. It's sort of a bigger version of having more than one hobby. I love to play piano, sing, and act. I love to do all those things."