I remember once hearing the words of my beloved grandmother, “There isn't enough time in the day!" Hmmm-, I would ask myself...what is she saying? I know there are sixty minutes in an hour and twenty-four hours in a day, seven days in a week and that seemed like more than enough time for me to find mischief...
Last evening I heard the American Songbook presented at Lincoln Center in the Allen Room from January 11-February 12, 2012. I thought it would be songs from Cole Porter, and Ira Gershwin, to my surprise it invoked my days of listening to the Steve Miller Band , when they sang the title song Fly like an Eagle...and the bridge went; Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin' Into the future, Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin' Into the future. Gavin Creel the lead singer was front and center stage, with a voice that had a pop-edge, lyrically melodic, and to my surprise not a typical Broadway sounding voice, his had a more subtle quality to his notes with gospel undertones while story-telling.
During a moment of patter between himself and his drummer, Sean McDaniel, the rhetoric went on about their ages...Creel admitted to being 35 years old, while McDaniel laughed and said something to the effect that when he was 17 year old, he promised himself if he didn't make it in the music industry by the time he was 21...which lead Gavin into a song about "Age" and how time moves forward, holding on to the light. American Songbook was somewhat different than what I'd expected...excluding the Judy Garland medley (three songs that I could actually hum and sing along to the melody).
Listening while watching this talented group of musicians, their playbill credits read on....and on....not to mention their youthful appearance is an astonishment to their accomplishments. I'm thinking about my age; and mortality since my birthday regardless of how much I try it still finds me.
Then I realized youth remains not in the past but with our future...what we do, how we interpret the moment we are living, breathing, listening, moving with the vibe, when we turn the corner and our foot slips into that tiny crack in the sidewalk; how do we improvise that second while stepping into our future?
The American Songbook, dedicated to the celebration of popular American song. Designed to high-light the creative mastery of America's songwriters from their emergence at the turn of the 19th century through the present. No doubt the emerging vibe on stage is one that generated youthful pop-culture with conviction to lyrics, telling stories and spanning all styles and genres from the early roots of Tin Pan Alley and Broadway to the eclecticism of today's singer-songwriters from theatre to cabaret this group of twelve artists brought energy, enlightenment and talent way beyond their years...tick kin'...slippin' into the future!
