Press Release from the New England
Conservatory on Ran's Intensive Summer
Course
August 8-16, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday, Tuesday,
Thursday:
5:30-8:30 p.m.
Special public evening: Tuesday, August 14,
6:30 p.m.
Chris Connor is arguably the most unique
"white stylist" in jazz singing. With her
husky timbre and long expressive phrases,
Chris Connor remains one of jazz's most
nontraditional musicians. Connor started
singing with a big band led by trombonist Bob
Brookmeyer before leaving her native Kansas
City for New York in 1947. After a stint with
the Claude Thornhill Orchestra, Connor was
hired by Stan Kenton at June Christy's
recommendation.
Connor began her solo
career in 1953, recording three albums for
Bethlehem before moving to Atlantic in 1955,
reaching the height of her popularity.
Highlights include The Thrill is Gone,
Something to Live For, The Lady
Sings the Blues, Roundabout, You Stepped Out
of a Dream, High On a Windy Hill, and
Lonely
Woman -- the first recorded version of the
Ornette Coleman classic.
We will explore Connor's musical personality
by listening to selected recordings spanning
her career and by hearing personal anecdotes,
rather than by analyzing
specific musical selections. In tracing
Connor's progress from her roots with
Bethlehem to her Atlantic years with Ronnie
Ball to her commercial success in the '70s
with Rod McKuen to her comeback in the '80s
and '90s, we will gain an appreciation of the
full range of this extraordinary vocal
stylist.
You can receive one college credit for taking
this short, intensive course.
You can download the enrollment form here. For more information, use this
link or contact Ran at
ran@ranblake.com.
Finally, here is an mp3 of one of Ran's favorite
tracks, Get
Out of Town. You can listen to a number
of her other songs on her
website.
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On Sunday, July 8, Ran will participate in a
roundtable discussion titled From
Beethoven
to Ballads: Music of Landscape at Brookline
High School.
The event is co-sponsored by Brookline Adult
and Community Education and the National Park
Service/Frederick Law Olmsted National
Historic Site.
The program will explore the
interrelationship of
landscape and music across a range of musical
genres and cultures. Specifically, topics
will include landscape as a source of
creative inspiration for musical composition,
the added dimension to
performance from performing music
outdoors in a natural or naturalistic
landscape, and music as a medium for
educating the public about the environment
and promoting a deeper connection between the
public and the environment.
Boston Globe music writer Scott Alarik
will
serve as moderator, and the other
participants are Charles Ansbacher (conductor
of the Boston
Landmarks Orchestra), Mark Erelli (singer
songwriter), and
Aine Minogue (Celtic harpist).
The two-hour discussion begins at 7 p.m. The
high school is at 115 Greenough Street.
Tickets are $10, with registration through
Brookline Adult &
Community Education, 617-730-2700, or
www.brookline
adulted.org.
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