The event will take place in front of a live studio audience at The Greene Space [44 Charlton Street (on the corner of Charlton and Varick), New York City], and will also be presented as a live video webcast online at www.thegreenespace.org. There are ten (10) acts representing the borough of Manhattan. The in-house audience will vote for their favorite act, and then the top five choices will advance to an online voting round.
]]>I´m in Heaven Tonight
Sarah DeLeo | Autoprodotto (2009)
di Vittorio Lo Conte
Sarah DeLeo is a true surprise, now with her second recording she introduces a mix of modern songs ("Let It Rain" of Patricia Barber) and classics. Her voice is stainless, like one of the great white female singers (like Peggy Lee or Lena Horne) and she's also accompanied by our own Fabio Morgera. The album is produced with much skill, some songs are accompanied by organ and others by the piano, succeeds in creating moving atmospheres, as an example "No Moon at All," one of the better moments of the album, with the organ which emphasizes the nocturnal atmosphere, or "Let It Rain," with the piano of David Cook.
From her web site we learn that she is currently pregnant and will be taking some time off. When she returns to the scene we will again listen to her gladly. These are not times of great orchestras and great singers anymore, nevertheless such a voice is able to attract the attention of listeners even today, because it is extraordinarily communicative.
]]>
Sarah DeLeo:
I'm in Heaven Tonight
If you haven't heard of her, you will and if you know her you've been anticipating this album....
It then goes on to describe the album by saying you have selected the best music choices from slow tempo to swing and the best music from the 40's through the 80's. The instrumentation is complex and you can listen to the songs multiple times and pull out different sounds each time. The review calls out a number of your songs by title as well.
The review describes your singing as a well "studied" vocalist that enjoys what she is doing and sings with an inner fire.
It concluded with the CD is wonderful and you'll by successful by keeping doing what you are doing.
I'm in Heaven Tonight Review in Hungarian Publication, Hifi Piac
]]>In January I released my second CD, I'm in Heaven Tonight. I am very pleased with the response this album received. I'd like to thank all the reviewers and radio programmers/djs who gave consideration to this CD. If you ever have been given a CD to listen to, you know how difficult it is to find the time and then how time-consuming it is to listen critically, so you'll understand how thankful I am that these people fit I'm in Heaven Tonight into their schedule. I would also like to thank the listeners who bought the CD either in physical form or download and/or joined my mailing list. Given the economy and the fact that this was my second CD, I tempered my sales expectations, but I have been very encouraged by the number of sales. For many listeners, I'm in Heaven Tonight served as an introduction to my first CD, The Nearness of You. In addition, I was able to fit in three great gigs before I gave birth in August, and I thank those who attended these gigs.
I continue to be delighted that my work reaches so many ears. There were times when I was producing/rehearsing/recording I'm in Heaven Tonight when I thought I was completely crazy for doing this project between two pregnancies, but in the end, I am so glad that I did. Now that I have two successful CDs under my belt, I am more than ever confident about what I am doing. So much of what I do is instinctual, and I have always known my instincts to be good, but to then receive such a positive response from listeners, as I have, is very gratifying.
I am very optimistic about the future, in spite of the uncertain economy and the challenges of building a career in a cluttered niche. The immediate future will be somewhat complicated for me given that I have two young children at home, and I want to be with them as much as possible during this time in their lives. This basically precludes the active nighttime schedule of which I have grown accustomed. However, I am very clear about the direction in which I need to go, and I know I can be effective if I use my time and the tools available to me efficiently. I am notoriously inefficient - I am an artist after all!! - but at least while the kids are little, I will have to forswear my tendency towards the scenic route, and travel in the express lane. Maybe this period in my life will irrevocably change the way I operate, at least from a business perspective, but in any case I welcome the challenges ahead.
So much to look forward to, so thankful for what I have.
Wishing you all the best in 2010!!!
Sarah
]]>I recently read a similarly themed article in the New York Times by Charles Isherwood. He contrasted the wonderfully deep lyric interpretation of Barbara Cook with the technically sound, yet soulfully lacking, music on the tv show, "Glee". According to Isherwood, the music on "Glee" lacks, "the human touch. When the kids in the club break into song, their voices become oddly disembodied, just one element among many to be manipulated by technicians in a thick layer of sound." Now, I don't watch "Glee", and I suppose that I should watch a bit of it before I comment on it, but given that I have watched a few episodes of "American Idol", I am guessing that he is talking about that belting style punctuated by the overuse of melisma that has grown very popular over the last few years. To me this kind of singing usually lacks subtlety, and without subtlety, you lose feeling, you lose honesty. I understand that as someone who has done a lot of singing and has listened to and watched a lot of other singers, I have a particular perspective, but I generally don't find this style of singing engaging.
As I mentioned above, I have yet to watch any Susan Boyle videos, but when I hear people talk about her, most people with the notable exceptions of my husband and Chelsea Handler mention how moving her singing is to them. Commenting on the CD's success in the New York Times, Steve Barnett, chairman of Columbia Records, said, "The reason that this record really did what it did was that people wanted to get it and own it, to feel like they're a part of it." Clearly, people are responding to her story - contest underdog/"never been kissed" ugly duckling - but I am hopeful that people are indicating with their dollars that they are looking for singing that not only sounds good, but also makes them feel something. I'd also like to think that by extension they are also indicating that age and experience have value. It also goes without saying that pretty people don't always make the best music. In the end though I'm not holding out any hope that Susan Boyle will singlehandedly stem the tide of the teenybopper tsunami, but for now, I'll just enjoy the moment when an older, not-so-attractive woman with a beautiful voice and a lot of heart served as a reminder of the way things could be as opposed to the way things are.
]]>