CARNEGIE HALL PRESENTS
Standard Time with Michael Feinstein

Zankel Hall
Monday, March 22nd, 2010 at 7:30 PM

Michael Feinstein, Artistic Director

With Special Guests:
William Blake
Jennifer Sheehan

With:
Ken Ascher, Musical Director and Piano
Trumpet to be announced
David Mann, Reeds
Bob Mann, Guitar
Sean Smith, Bass
Dave Ratajczak, Drums

With Pianists:
James Followell
James Sampliner

This performance is sponsored by Bank of America, Carnegie Hall's Proud Season Sponsor.

More Information:

Ticketholders for Standard Time with Michael Feinstein originally scheduled for March 10, 2010 should contact CarnegieCharge at 212-247-7800.

It’s always time for great American standards, especially when they’re recreated by someone as wise as Michael Feinstein. Nobody has studied this music more deeply, or performs it more memorably.

Michael Feinstein, Artistic Director

With Special Guests:
William Blake
Jennifer Sheehan

With:
Ken Ascher, Musical Director and Piano
Trumpet to be announced
David Mann, Reeds
Bob Mann, Guitar
Sean Smith, Bass
Dave Ratajczak, Drums

With Pianists:
James Followell
James Sampliner
Michael Feinstein

Michael Feinstein, one of the premiere interpreters of American popular song, has been a household name since the success of his 1988 one-man Broadway show, Isn’t It Romantic. He enjoys an active performance calendar, including major concert halls, symphony orchestras, intimate jazz clubs, and college campuses. More than a mere performer, he is nationally recognized for his commitment to the American popular song, both celebrating its art and preserving its legacy for the next generation.

The Sinatra Project—his latest CD from Concord Records that celebrates the musical sensibilities of “Old Blue Eyes”—earned Michael his fifth Grammy nomination. He is currently preparing the PBS-TV series, Michael Feinstein: Man On A Mission, in which he discovers treasures of the Great American Songbook around the world. Michael will also serve as the artistic director of the Carmel Performing Arts Center, a $160 million performing arts
center in Carmel, Indiana.

In 2004, Michael completed a national tour with songwriting icon Jimmy Webb based on their CD, Only One Life—The Songs of Jimmy Webb. The disc was named one of “10 Best CDs of the Year” by USA Today.

His Manhattan nightclub, Feinstein’s at Loews Regency, has presented the top talents of pop and jazz, including Rosemary Clooney, Steve Tyrell, Barbara Cook, Tony Danza, Glen Campbell, Diahann Carroll, Jackie Mason, and Dame Cleo Laine. Michael also opened Feinstein’s at the Shaw in London.

Michael started playing piano by ear when he was five. As a teenager, he played at weddings and parties in Columbus, Ohio. After graduating from high school, he worked in local piano lounges, moving to Los Angeles when he was 20. Through the widow of legendary concert pianist-actor Oscar Levant, he was introduced to Ira Gershwin in July 1977. He became his assistant for six years, granting Michael access to numerous unpublished Gershwin songs, which he has since performed and recorded.

The Library of Congress recently elected Michael to the exclusive National Sound Recording Advisory Board. He and other industry leaders meet regularly in Washington, DC, for a forum on safeguarding America’s musical heritage. Visit michaelfeinstein.com for more information.


William Blake

William Blake is a native of Dallas, Texas. He is thrilled and honored to be sharing the stage with Mr. Feinstein and to be making his Carnegie Hall debut. William’s television and film credits include American Idol (fourth season) and Violet Tendencies, and he has been featured on such recordings as Daydreamer and Ornamental Christmas. He has performed in many regional theater productions, including The Who’s Tommy (Cousin Kevin), The Rocky Horror Show (Riff Raff), and Chicago (Mary Sunshine). William has been seen in many cabaret performances at celebrated New York City venues like Don’t Tell Mama, the Metropolitan Room, and Uncle Charlie’s. He would like to thank his family and friends for their undying love and endless support. God is good.


Jennifer Sheehan

Jennifer Sheehan is a graduate of The Juilliard School and is a recipient of the Mabel Mercer Foundation’s Julie Wilson Award for her interpretation of the Great American Songbook. She also has performed at Jazz at Lincoln Center as part of the Mercer Foundation’s annual cabaret convention. Jennifer’s new show, You Made Me Love You, was recently debuted at the Laurie Beechman Theatre. This past holiday season, she completed her third season as one of six vocalists in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. Other highlights include singing with Andrea Marcovicci and Klea Blackhurst in a tribute to Leo Robin at the 92nd Street Y, performing in Gershwin’s Of Thee I Sing at the Bard SummerScape Festival, and appearing as a featured guest artist for three seasons with Boston Musical Theater.


Michael A. Kerker

Michael A. Kerker has been Director of Musical Theatre for ASCAP since 1990. In addition to coordinating ASCAP’s Musical Theatre Workshop in New York (led by composer-lyricist Stephen Schwartz), he works with Disney Theatricals to produce the ASCAP / Disney Musical Theatre Workshop in Los Angeles (also led by Mr. Schwartz). Together with Michael Feinstein, Mr. Kerker produces a regular series of concerts at Carnegie Hall that highlights the catalogue of both legendary and contemporary songwriters.

Mr. Kerker is also producing a regular series of interview programs titled Broadway: Up Close and Personal for the Kennedy Center. His on-stage conversations with some of the nation’s most prominent songwriters have included Jerry Herman, Alan and Marilyn Bergman, Charles Strouse, Sheldon Harnick, and Mr. Schwartz.

Mr. Kerker produces an annual songwriter’s cabaret as part of the Chicago Humanities Festival. He also produced the ASCAP Foundation Jerry Herman Legacy Program—a series of seminars, master classes, and concerts that feature the legendary composer-lyricist. The program has been presented nationwide in such cities as Chicago, San Francisco, Savannah, Miami, and Pittsburgh.

Mr. Kerker is proud to be a member of the boards of the American Theatre Wing, the Johnny Mercer Foundation, and the Songwriters Hall of Fame.