Contemporary Youth

3.07-3.14.07
Contemporary Youth

In this week’s issue:
* Interview Checking in with Liza Grossman of the Contemporary Youth Orchestra
* Kids COMMENT Part four of Why: Cleveland has the best healthcare for kids
* Comment Mansfield Frazier connects the dots on problems in Cle
* Pop Quiz Singer/Songwriter Michael Jantz talks up Snapshots from “The District”
* Sounds I Rock Cleveland’s Lipold gets Casually Smashed with Six Parts Seven
* Previews Callaway & CJO, A Comedy Advance, and the Masur/Khachatryan Connection
* Cool Cleveland Kids podcast click here, CC podcast click here, CC Blog click here

It’s no coincidence that Cool Cleveland’s been focused on youth culture lately. 20/30 Club last week, our recent launch of Cool Cleveland Kids, a party on Oberlin College campus. Our region needs to honor our children of all ages. This week, we throw the spotlight on Liza Grossman’s Contemporary Youth Orchestra and their cartoon concert, and we go overboard in CC Kids with a piece on health care for kids, expanded kids listings, a Pop Quiz with young ex-pat musician Michael Jantz, a review of the new CD by Six Parts Seven, a slew of Previews & Reviews, plus some sweet letters. All in all, another blast from Cool Cleveland, your source for contemporary kid stuff for kids of all ages. —Thomas Mulready

Liza Grossman
Contemporary Youth Orchestra

Contemporary Youth Orchestra has created something unique in the country: an orchestra dedicated to living, contemporary composers, consisting solely of middle and high school students. During a break in rehearsal, Cool Cleveland’s Thomas Mulready spoke with Liza about some of the 33 world premieres she’s conducted, and how she’s been able to create projects with major pop artists like Styx, Pat Benatar and Graham Nash. Contemporary Youth Orchestra performs at 7PM on Sat 3/10 with Tunes for TOONS featuring Emmy-award-winning cartoon music. http://www.CYOrchestra.org

Rock On w/Lakewood Project Founder/Director Beth Hankins as she directs an innovative music camp for Cle kids — who ultimately learn a new way to play their string instruments. Registration going on now, so act fast: Info.

Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy An enchanted forest, on stage and in the air, from the same folks who brought you Cirque Ingenieux and Cirque Dreams. Aerialists, contortionists, strongmen, puppets and trapeze artists charged with inspirational stage design, choreography and special effects, make this a treat for the whole family. Fri 3/9 & Sat 3/10 at 8PM and special 2PM show on 3/10, at EJ Thomas Hall, 330-253-2488 http://www.Ticketmaster.com

A MOMIX Family Experience This family offing of Lunar Sea conjures up extraterrestrial Medusas, headless ballerinas and predatory spiders. Expect an afternoon of acrobatic choreography, puppets and an array of lighting FX in this performance Sat 3/10 at 2PM. State Theatre, Playhouse Square. Playhouse Square

Science is Fun! This all-ages family fun day at CWRU’s Nord Hall is all about hand-on science experiments including Uber Flyer Launchers, the famous egg drop, sediment chasing, weather stations and other cool things. Best of all, this event on Sat 3/10 at 10AM is no-cost! Case Western Reserve University, Nord Hall. http://www.case.edu/artsci/csm.

The Bling in Me Parents and teens (13+) are invited to check out the Alpha Lambda Sigma/Sigma Gamma Rho Annual Youth Symposium on Sat 3/10 starting at 9AM. Co-sponsored by Boys and Girls Clubs of Cleveland & Chief Rocka Entertainment, this year’s theme is “The Bling in Me: Developing a Stronger Sense of Self-Worth in our Youth through Value Identification.” Breakfast and lunch included, no-cost, open to the public. Boys and Girls Club, 6114 Broadway Ave. http://www.sgrho-als.com.

Tunes for TOONS Cleveland’s Contemporary Youth Orchestra, made up of junior and high school students, joins Daniel Goldmark of Case, who specializes in cartoon music, along with Emmy award-winning cartoon music composers Julie and Steve Bernstein, present a concert with video, playing Krazy Kat; Gerald McBoing-Boing: The Jetsons; The Flintstones, Jonny Quest; Animaniacs; Freakazoid; Hysteria; Pinky and the Brain and others this Sat 3/10 at 7PM at Waetjen Aud on the CSU campus http://www.CYOrchestra.org/concerts/

Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra collaborates with the Avon Lake High School Chorale for their second concert of the season at Severance Hall on Sun 3/11 at 3PM. Conductor Jayce Ogren includes Copland’s Old American Songs and Lincoln Portrait with a narrator and bass soloist William Marshall. http://www.clevelandorchestra.com.

Winter Family Fun Day @ MOCA features storyteller Barbara Eady and the Karamu House Dancers on Sun 3/11 at 1PM. Art and traditions of Mali come alive through folktales and dance; kids can learn to make their own clothing. http://www.mocacleveland.com.

Wolfie & the Puppies Bach Meets Rock in this all-ages concert by the Canton Symphony Orchestra Sun 3/11. Listen as the musicians link classical and rock music. Kelly Corcoran conducts. Umstattd Performing Arts Hall, 2323 Seventeenth St NW, Canton. http://www.cantonsymphony.org.

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Awesome Fun for Families Kids ages 5 to 105 will have fun with “Monet and Impressionist Art” classes that run two Sundays, Sun 4/1 and Sun 4/15 from 2-3:30PM. Children and parents or grandparents will visit the exhibition to observe the master’s techniques firsthand. Then they will apply that newfound knowledge to their own pastel or paint creations in the studio. Fee: $32 per child/adult pair. All children must be accompanied by adults. Class limited to 20 participants. All art materials included. Contact the CMA Ticket Center to register at 216-421-7350 or go to www.clevelandart.org. CMA is a Cool Cleveland Kids Partner.
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Why Cleveland is Cool for Kids
Part Four of a 4-part series
HEALTHY KIDS or KIDS that MAY NEED HELP? Cleveland has the BEST!

One of the biggest advantages Northeast Ohio families is access to extraordinary healthcare. Nationally ranked healthcare providers in the area include the Cleveland Clinic (http://www.clevelandclinic.org) and University Hospitals Health System (http://www.uhhosptials.org). Additionally, research institutions like Case Western Reserve University, the Cleveland Clinic and Lerner Research Institution, and Cleveland State University all contribute to first rate healthcare in Northeast Ohio.

Walking into Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital, the feeling is definitely that of a “child centered” hospital. With a playground accessible for mobile and non-mobile kids to a gathering place for children and families where special programs are often offered (and accessible via an internal TV program for those not able to leave their rooms), this setting screams kid friendly. Noting on their website to have more than 850 physicians, nurses, child life specialists, social workers and other professionals Rainbow has more nationally recognized pediatric specialists than any other hospital in Ohio.

Just down the street, the Cleveland Clinic has just as good credentials. Recognized as one of the top three hospitals in the nation as (U.S. News and World Report 2006), the Clinic opened in 1921 and has a staff of more than 130 pediatricians and pediatric specialists who practice in many different specialties.

Of course, there are many more offerings in Northeast Ohio, but these resources will get you started. Grab your kids (or someone else’s, but be sure to ask first!) and get out there to explore our livable, family-friendly, and VERY COOL city.

Editor’s Note: Jeannie Fleming-Gifford, M.A., is not only a “kid at heart,” but also a brand new mom. Contact her at the address below.

From Cool Cleveland Contributor Jeannie Fleming-Gifford fleminggiffordATyahoo.com

Cool Cleveland Kids You don’t want to miss what 11-year-old Max has for you and your family this week. Listen here: http://www.coolcleveland.com/files/audio/CoolClevelandKids03.09.07.mp3. Click here to subscribe: iTunes or other.

A wild and wonderful array of hot tech and business news & events from around Cleveland and around the region. Send your business news and events to: EVENTS@CoolCleveland.com

Ohio up to #29 on New Economy Index for tech jobs, foreign investments, & knowledge worker immigration Index
NEO tech sector report shows jobs down 12%, wages 72% higher than non-tech, tech=12% of NEO’s economy Report
Cle rewards banks for community & neighborhood investments. Others lose millions in deposits Read
Jackson promises Wi-Fi for all 77sm of Cleveland, making Euclid Avenue, “one of the most wired streets in America” Read
Tax abatement works in selling homes in the city, according to CSU Urban Affairs’ Dr. Mark Rosentraub Study
Independent Internet radio stations must now pay $132 per listener per year in taxes and royalties, insuring bankruptcy Learn
$3K grants available for your block club, street club or community organization, from Cityworks Info

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After School, My Kid Designs Her Own Computer Games! At Children’s Technology Workshop, kids (grades 2-8) work with trained instructors to make real projects like Computer Game Design and Video Animation. We’re open Wednesdays 3:30 – 6 and Saturdays from 10 – 3; workshops start every hour! Project themes include: History, Mission to Mars, F1 Car Racing, Fashion Design and more! Right now, until April 1, Cool Cleveland readers get an Early Bird discount when they register for summer camps, after school programs or parties – in Chagrin Falls (38 River Street, 44022) or our other NE Ohio locations. Call Karen at 440.484.2222 to learn more – or visit www.ctworkshop.com/glc. Children’s Technology Workshop is a portfolio company of the Beta Strategy Group, LTD, www.betagroup.us – a founding sponsor of Cool Cleveland Tech.
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Launching Your New Product or Service. This latest “Noon@Nance” event feat. no-cost panel discussion on best practices Thu 3/8 at noon. CSU Nance College of Bus. 1860 E. 18th St. Register
LGBT networking Plexus connects biz com and allies through proactive biz devp’mt with event Tue 3/13 at 6PM @ Great Lakes Sci Ctr. More
Lake Communicators luncheon on Wed 3/14 will teach effective strategies and methods for staying organized. Feat. spkr Marge Hogan Mackey. Comfort Inn, Mentor. More
FIRST Buckeye Regional Robotics Comp @ CSU Wolstein Ctr Thu 3/22 – 3/24. Intense multinat’l competition teams professionals and young people solving engineering design problems. 25K students on over 1.1K teams in 35 regional comps! Info

CMNH discovers new dinosaur Albertaceratops nesmoi is 20 ft long, has horns and is big as a pickup truck Read
Summer In The City $1M program by Cle Found for 6-wk, all-day arts program for 5th & 6th-graders Read
Bike park for Midtown $100K to Midtown Cleve from State Capital Appropriations for park at Euclid & E. 55 Bike
Cle artist in Showdown Jim Morana is vying for a spot in the prestigious Saatchi Gallery and could use your help. Vote
Quaint Cleveland Ohio gets press in Cottage Living: “century-old cottages, and a revitalized urban beat” Read
Culture discount Buy a ticket to Museum of Art, Historical Society or Botanical Garden, get $2 off the others Read
DancEVERT performs in Ecuador representing the U.S. at the Intl Theatre Festival at the Univ of Central Ecuador Info
Oberlin’s Lost Highway kills in NYC “a funhouse nightmare in sound…” NY Times, “surreal memory lane…” Newsday Read
United Way surpasses goal and raises $43.8M from Key ($3.5M), NCC ($3M), Eaton ($1.35M), Clinic ($1.1M) Read
Downbeat Magazine names stalwart Nighttown in Cle Hts as one of the “100 Great Jazz Clubs” in the world. Nighttown is the only Ohio club honored. Read
Cool Cleveland Podcast You know how to do it. Click here to listen: Link. iTunes or other.
To ensure you receive Cool Cleveland every week, take a moment now and add CoolCleveland@CoolCleveland.com to your address book, trusted sender list, or corporate white list.

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Hundreds of Futures for You to Choose? Study for your career in Sports Management, Film and Digital Media, Forensic Nursing and so much more. Join us for a Spring Open House and discover more than 150 undergraduate and graduate programs at Cleveland State University’s Downtown, Westlake and Solon campuses. Plus, we offer many programs at Lakeland and Lorain County Community Colleges. Join us Tue 3/13 at East Center in Solon or Wed 3/14 at West Center in Westlake from 4-6:30PM. We¹ll help you chart your academic course and apply for financial aid. Bring your transcripts and we’ll evaluate them on the spot for easy transfer. Begin a degree or finish it — increasing your professional success starts now! Visit www.csuohio.edu/campuses or call 216-802-3000 or 216-875-9600.
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Every week, all of us here at Cool Cleveland pour through gads of fantastic things happening in CLE and NEO, all in an effort to answer that ever-nagging question: “What’s cool to do this week?” Submitted for your approval, here’s a snapshot of what we found. Got a unique event coming up? Know of something that is a totally Cool Cleveland worthy event? We want to hear from you about it; our tens of thousands of readers do, too. Be a civic and cultural activist and turn on your fellow readers.

Send your cool events to: Events@CoolCleveland.com

HOT 10,000 Little (micro) Ideas UCI president Chris Ronayne and The Cleveland Professional 20/30 Club lead a discussion on how little ideas can help CLE/NEO residents revitalize and believe in Cleveland on Wed 3/7 at 5:30 PM. Topics include nonprofits, lifestyles and economic growth. Cle Athletic Club. http://www.cleveland2030.com.

Chamber Music Concert Hear works by Margaret Brouwer and Donald Erb etc. and the world premiere of the CIM student composition that won the Verdehr Trio/CIM Composition Competition during a concert on Wed 3/7 at 8:00PM. Guest Artists: The Verdehr Trio. http://www.cim.edu.

Ann Simonton Media activist gives a talk on “Sex, Power and Media” at Strosacker Auditorium in Case Western Reserve University Wed 3/7 at 7 PM. Once a top fashion model, she now presents her compelling expose on consequences of corporate owned media. http://www.case.edu/provost/centerforwomen.

Dance Works See works by talented and diverse area dance companies including Inlet Dance Theatre, Cleveland Contemporary Dance Theatre, Antaeus Dance and GroundWorks Dancetheater on Thu 3/8 thru Sun 4/15. http://www.cptonline.org.

Joe Lovano Cabaret University of Akron JazzFest 2007 features trumpeter Jack Schantz, vocalist Maureen McGovern and the UA Faculty Jazz Ensemble with guest sax giant Joe Lovano at E.J. Thomas Hall Thu 3/8 at 7:30 PM. The venue’s Robertson Lobby will be transformed into a cool jazz club, as Cle’s own Lovano — Bittle Jazz Artist-in-Residence for JazzFest 2007 — rocks the house down. Desserts and cash bar available. Info.

New World News James Slowiak directs his new version of August Strindberg’s A Dream Play featuring students from The University of Akron, Thu 3/8 through Sat 3/10 at 8PM. Sandefur Theatre, Guzzetta Hall, on The University of Akron campus. For ticket information call: 330-972-7895. Special pre-performance seminars on dreams will begin an hour before the performances.

COYO Team-Up The Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra pairs up with the Avon Lake High School Chorale for a performance at Ross Arts Center at Avon Lake High School Thu 3/8 at 7:30PM. Music Director Jayce Ogren will feature John Adams’s Lollapalooza, Copland’s Old American Songs and Lincoln Portrait and a selection of traditional American spirituals. 175 Avon Belden Rd., Avon Lake. http://www.clevelandorchestra.com‘.

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PURE News: We’re Growing in Cleveland Heights! Please join us to celebrate the Grand Opening of our NEW Cleveland Heights office located at 2026 Lee Road (North of Cedar at Yorkshire) from 5-8PM on Thu 3/8. Progressive Urban Real Estate opened its Cleveland Heights office in 2002. To accommodate our growth, we have renovated a mid-century building in the Cedar Lee district. Over 25 agents are currently serving buyers and sellers from our Lee Road office, specializing in existing homes, condos and new construction in the Heights, University Circle and Cleveland’s east side neighborhoods. Refreshments provided by Marotta’s, a Cleveland Originals restaurant. For more information, please call 216.397.5607 or visit www.progressiveurban.com.
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HOT Winter Chillin’ Global Overnight Join park rangers and explore nature through the eyes of many cultures on this family overnight on Fri 3/9 at 6PM to Sat 3/10 at 1PM. Play games, meet new people, explore the Cuyahoga Valley Environmental Education Center. Bring your family, friends, and a sleeping bag. Call 330-657-2796 x100 or visit http://www.cvnpa.org.

True Art Gallery features works by George Kozman, Larry Krause and sculpture by Ed Zmarzly beginning Fri 3/9 6-10PM with an opening reception. Gallery hours are Thu-Fri, 5-9pm; Sat-Sun, 1-5PM. True Art Gallery, 410 East 156th St. Collinwood. Call 383-0230 for more info.

Willie “Big Eyes” Smith Former Muddy Waters drummer brings his band to Wilbert’s, 812 Huron Rd. Gig also features Cle blues/swing faves Blue Lunch on Fri 3/9 at 8PM. http://www.wilbertsmusic.com.

Guy-Vincent Ricketti Explore the artist’s work with a reception for ::identity::remix, a meditation on cultural diversity and community, on Fri 3/9 at 7PM. Features new compositions that symbolize connectedness of lives, culture, and communities. FUTURE Center for Design and Technology Transfer, Cleveland Institute of Art, 11610 Euclid Ave. http://www.elevationart.com.

HOT MOMIX Lunar Sea conjures up extraterrestrial Medusas, headless ballerinas and predatory spiders. Moses Pendleton, co-founder of Pilobolus Dance Theater, spearheaded this otherworldly display. Expect an evening of acrobatic choreography, puppets and an array of lighting FX on Fri 3/9 at 8PM. Playhouse Square

Jen Chapin & Zach The former plays “poetric urban folk” and the latter is an Ohio native who has toured with everyone from Kyle Vincent to Kevin Spacey (yes, the Lester Burnham). They perform together at the Winchester in Lakewood, 12112 Madison, on Fri 3/9. Doors at 8PM, show at 9PM. http://www.jenchapin.com. http://www.zachmusic.net.

trans•plant (trns-plnt’) Four transplanted Cleveland artists interpret the theme transplant with their works, during an opening reception at Asterisk Gallery on Fri 3/9 beginning at 6PM. Artists Dave Savage, Carlos Villagra, Jorge Lacera and Sacks10 are featured. Part of the Tremont ArtWalk. 2393 Professor Ave. http://www.asteriskgallery.com.

HOT The Clean House A Brazilian maid dreams of coming up with the perfect joke that will cause you to laugh yourself to death. Acclaimed 30-something playwright Sarah Ruhl’s acclaimed sixth play is shaking up the theatre world. At the Cleveland Play House opening Fri 3/2 thru 3/25, 8500 Euclid, Tix

Pete Yorn & Aqualung Two up-and-coming songwriters share stage Fri 3/9. With his third CD Nightcrawler, Yorn completes his Day Trilogy (see also musicforthemorningafter and Day I Forgot). Aqualung (piano balladeer Matt Hales) just finished a comprehensive tour with David Gray. http://www.hob.com/venues/clubvenues/cleveland.

Tremont ArtWalk Explore the latest installment of the ArtWalk Fri 3/9 from 6-10PM. This go-around features photography by Lucian Bartosik, A Visual Exploration of Yoga Practice by Alejandro Rivera and works by Andzej Siwkiewicz, Smokey Style, Meat, Sally Hudak and Jerry Mann. Also check out the Eighth Annual City Works juried show. http://www.tremontartwalk.org.

HOT Alfred Eisenstaedt is considered the father of modern photojournalism. He immigrated to the US in the 1930s, escaping the Holocaust in Europe and landed a job as one of the original staff photographers at LIFE magazine. One of the most important photographers in America, his work will be exhibited at Contessa Gallery, and celebrated with two Champagne Opening Receptions Fri 3/9 and Sat 3/10 from 6-9PM. 24667 Cedar Rd, Lyndhurst http://www.contessagallery.com.

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WCLVnotes Tonight at 8PM on WCLV 104.9 FM CIM Live will present the CIM Opera Theatre’s production of “Die Fledermaus” by Johann Strauss, Jr. Then on Fri 3/9 at 8PM, WCLV offers the Baldwin-Wallace Piano Gala. And on Sat 3/10 at 8PM The Cleveland Orchestra is live from Severance Hall. Kurt Masur is the guest conductor with Sergei Khachatryan as the soloist in Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1. Bruckner’s Symphony No. 4, “Romantic,” is also on the program. Complete details on all of WCLV’s programming can be found at www.wclv.com.
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Women’s (and Family) Expo is dedicated to the needs of women and covers array of lifestyle exhibitions on Sat 3/10 and Sun 3/11. Create a more well-balanced life through 200+ vendors and many seminars. I-X Center. http://www.womensexpo.org.

HOT Halim El-Dabh’s 4,086th Birthday Celebrate the birthday of percussion great/professor emiritus at Kent State University on Sat 3/10 at 7:30PM. Includes a performance by Kent African Drum Community. North Water Street Gallery, 257 N. Water St., Kent. http://www.standingrock.net.

Black & White Ball Check out the stylish benefit for the Foundation for Community Betterment, a national foundation with chapters in 8 cities, on Sat 3/10. Cleveland Masonic Temple, 3615 Euclid Ave. Visit http://www.communitybetterment.org for more info.

West Suburban Home Show is a benefit for Habitat for Humanity held at Lakewood High School on Sat 3/10 and Sun 3/11. This year’s show will include the best of shows past — building, remodeling, landscaping, design & financing — along with exciting new elements. http://www.wshomeshow.com.

Out of Bounds Third annual 3-on-3 double-elimination charity basketball tourney benefits non-profit fair trade org INTO (Illuminating Nations Through Offering an opportunity). Competition on Sat 3/10 begins at noon. Co-ed play is allowed; cash prize to the winners. Lake Ridge Academy, North Ridgeville. http://www.intoworld.org.

LEAF Lakewood Earth & Food Community, which supports bulk food buying, soil building and community gardens and agriculture, is holding an informational meeting on Sat 3/10 at Lakewood Public Library from 3:30-5:30PM to help folks connect with locally-grown food that promotes the regional economy. http://LeafCommunity.googlepages.com

Antiques in Canton & Garden Show The Museum Guild of the Canton Museum of Art sponsors this fun, two-day event on Sat 3/10 and Sun 3/11. Celebrate with a Gourmet Preview Party on Fri 3/9 at 6PM. Check out antique furniture, decoratives, jewelry and garden accessories and enjoy food, bevvies and the Kevin DiSimone Trio. Canton Museum of Art, 1001 Market Ave. N, Canton. http://www.cantonart.org.

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Having so much Fun at Cool Cleveland Events that you forgot about your annual ski trip? Well, it’s not too late! The ski season may be winding down, but you can still end it on a high note, high on a mountain, winding your way through that legendary powder of beautiful Colorado! And when you fly there non-stop aboard Frontier Airlines, you’ll receive two lift tickets for the price of one at Copper Mountain or Winter Park/Mary Jane. Get all the details here. What’s more, you’ll arrive relaxed and ready to hit the slopes, thanks to the ease of flying out of the Akron-Canton Airport and the ability to stretch out aboard that big Frontier Airbus jet. Cowabunga!
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Erin Gruwell This inspirational educator and author will be at the Cleveland Public Library on Sun 3/11 at 2PM for a reading. Call 623-2800 or visit www.cpl.org.

Jim Edmonson Chief Curator of the Dittrick Museum of Medical History presents highlights from that museum’s collection of photographs on Sun 3/11 at 3PM. His accompanying talk, Haunting Images: Photography, Dissection and Medical Students, frames the displayed works. Shaker Historical Museum, 16740 S. Park Blvd. Shaker Hts. Call 921-1201 for more info.

Empire Brass Explore the int’l reputation of North America’s finest brass quintet, where all 5 musicians have held lead positions with major American orchestras. The best-selling artists (on the Cle Telarc label) perform at the Mentor Performing Arts concert series on Sat 3/11 at 7:30PM. Sensational. http://www.empirebrass.com. http://www.mentorconcertseries.com.

Jonathan Biss The famed international pianist and third generation professional musician performs Beethoven, Webern, Mozart, Perle and Schumann on Tue 3/13 at 8PM. www.Oberlin.edu. More. Oberlin.

HOT An Arts District in Lakewood? To Be or Not To Be… that is the question posed in LakewoodAlive’s next forum on Tue 3/13 at 7PM. Panelists will explore the idea, discuss what comprises an arts district and cite specific economic benefits associated with those thriving districts. No-cost event is moderated by CC Creator/Publisher Thomas Mulready. Beck Center Armory, 17801 Detroit Ave., Lakewood. http://lakewoodalive.com.

Women Reading Women Three noted Cleveland poets — Sara Holbrook, bree, and Mary E. Weems — present a poetry performance in recognition of Women’s History Month. The performers will read from their own works as well from the works of women writers they admire on Tue 3/13 at 6PM. Call 623-7109 for info. Woodland Branch, Cleveland Public Library, 5806 Woodland Avenue. http://www.cpl.org.

Jim Lehrer PBS NewsHour anchor and author of No Certain Rest and Flying Crows speaks on Tue 3/13 at 7:30PM as a part of the “Writers Center Stage” series. Sponsored by Poets and Writers League of Greater Cleveland, this engagement takes place at Cuyahoga County Public Library Parma Branch, 211 Snow Rd., Parma. http://www.cuyahogalibrary.org. http://www.pwlgc.com.

HOT Ann Hampton Callaway & Cleveland Jazz Orchestra Enjoy a night of delectable swing’n song Wed 3/13 at 7PM with Tony-nominated chanteuse Ann Hampton Callaway for the CJO’s benefit performance @ Palace Theater, Playhouse Square Center. Guest vocalist Randie Shane, CJO Board President Joel Brotman’s daughter, also performs. See CC Managing Editor Peter Chakerian’s Preview of the show further down the page. http://www.clevelandjazz.org. http://www.annhamptoncallaway.com.

HOT Cleveland Chamber Symphony The 2007 Grammy Award winning contemporary music presents 2 free concerts. The first takes place Wed 3/14 at Noon at Trinity Cathedral as part of their Brown Bag Concert Series. The program will includes Verklarte Nacht by Schoenberg and the Jazz Symphony by Antheil. Trinity Cathedral is located at 2230 Euclid Ave. The program repeats Fri 3/16 at 7:00PM at Westlake United Methodist Church, 27650 Center Ridge Rd., Westlake. http://www.clevelandchambersymphony.org.

Little Women Mark Adamo’s operatic rendition of the coming-of-age classic by Louisa May Alcott gets the stage treatment by the Oberlin Conservatory of Music’s Opera Theater beginning Wed 3/14 at 8PM in the College’s Hall Auditorium. The opera will be sung in English. Hall Auditorium, 67 N. Main St. on Route 58, between Oberlin Inn and Allen Memorial Art Museum. See web link for complete performance schedule. http://www.oberlin.edu/~events.

Send your cool events to: Events@CoolCleveland.com

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Someone’s Gotta Do It and the GCMA (Greater Cleveland Marketing Alliance) is proud to brag about the fab national press Cleveland gets every month including Feb’s top stories which includes one from USA Today entitled “Hot-lanta is Rated No. 1 for Its Hot Bargains,” recounting how Cleveland is noted as being one of Hotwire’s Top Ten U.S. Value Destinations for 2007. Top ten! Not enough? How about The Wall Street Journal’s “What Elevates an Orchestra From Good to Great?” honoring the Cleveland Orchestra as a top orchestra throughout the world. The WORLD, my friends! And there’s more from the Chicago Tribune and Detroit Press – this month and every month . . . check it out here www.gcpartnership.com/gcma_media.aspx. Wanna know more about GCMA? Go to www.gcpartnership.com/AboutCleveland.aspx or contact Rick Batyko, Vice President at rbatyko@gcpartnership.com or 216.592.2225.
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It’s All Connected, and So Are We

Two articles and one editorial appeared in the Sunday, February 25 edition of the Daily Cleveland Paper That Shall Remain Nameless, and, while each was on a different page they all were inescapably connected to each other, to Cleveland’s African-American population, and to the stability and sustained, long-term viability of Greater Cleveland as a whole. And, while political correctness dictated that neither race nor class be mentioned in any of the aforementioned writings, both race and class certainly played a role (indeed, the primary role) in the circumstances surrounding all three pieces.

The first article had to do with “Get on Track,” a program run by the Cleveland Municipal Court in conjunction with former football great Jim Brown’s Amer-I-Can Program. On Saturday, February 24th, almost 40 individuals graduated from the innovative — at least for our area —diversion program which gives people who have come before the court with misdemeanor or traffic violations an alternative to jail time — or at minimum a hefty fine that will only dig them further into the hole they already find themselves in.

Participants receive counseling, mentoring, a chance to obtain their GED if they are not high school graduates, and, better still, a chance to enter into some type of job readiness training program, or even to begin going to college if they are so motivated.

The program works so well because for many of these mostly young people this is the first time in their recent memories — and, for some, the first time in their entire lives — that someone in a position of real authority has reached out and said they want to help them … rather than crush them. Programs like this have proven to work.

The second story concerned itself with Shaker Heights’ proposal to enact legislation that would allow the city to penalize landlords if their tenants (or their tenants’ children) commit a crime within 1000 feet of the house they are renting. The proposed legal action is a ratcheting up — or further cracking down, it’s all a matter of perspective — of existing laws and regulations that have been enacted in inner-ring suburbs over the last decade or so to protect what they call “the quality of life” within their city limits. Of course the proposed legal action got the obligatory knee-jerk response from the well-meaning — but oftentimes misguided — liberal protectors of rights at the ACLU, with Alan Weinstein, a law professor from Cleveland State, chiming in for good measure.

They question the legality of holding a landlord responsible for criminal acts committed by tenants while they are off the property they are renting, and, while I understand these legal scholars queasiness in regards to the potential up creep of the controlling arm of Big Brother in our daily lives, I think those concerns have to be balanced against the realities of modern, everyday life as it’s played out on the increasingly meaner streets of Cleveland’s inner-ring suburbs. Arms-length liberals (you know, those kinds that don’t have to live next door or down the street from a dysfunctional family in which a horde of out-of-control teenagers are running amok) only try to tell us what we can’t do to control crime and protect the quality of life, they never seem to step up to the plate and get involved in formulating solutions that work … while performing the necessary mission of staving off overreaching by Big Brother at the same instance. It should not be a zero-sum game.

It must be kept firmly in mind that the proposed laws are directed at the landlords that — in many cases — are attempting to turn a fast buck by renting to anyone able to come up with a deposit and the first month’s rent … and the community be damned if they turn out to be the family from hell. They, the landlords that is, are oftentimes safely ensconced in exurbia, where no inner-city families can ever move to, or have decamped to sunnier southern climes where the walls and fences of gated communities keep them safely away from the masses… and the attendant crime. Their next door neighbors are often folks from the ACLU.

The bottom line is, cities like Shaker Heights are attempting to find ways to make landlords accountable for the parents they rent to, just as they are attempting to find ways to make parents more accountable for the actions of their children. And to the lazy parents that cry “I can’t control my six-foot tall 16-year-old,” communities like Shaker Heights should be able to say, “Fine, then don’t move out here with him until you can control him.” Many of these children will, one day when they mature a bit, most likely wind up in the “Get on Track” program.

The remaining piece of this literary triumvirate was an editorial which focused on a scathing indictment of Cuyahoga County’s criminal justice system, which was delivered by yet another grand jury foreman upon the expiration of his term. Starting with Rev. Marvin McMickle a couple of years ago, continuing on with retired Municipal Judge C. Ellen Connally last year, and now the most recent broadside issued by former Cleveland city councilman John Zayac, every outsider who views the system is appalled at the waste and mismanagement; yet, nothing is ever done. Why?

The system doesn’t run itself (although it is, to a large degree, self-perpetuating) yet no names were mentioned in the PD editorial criticizing it. It will be interesting to see if that remains the case with future editorials on the subject, and there are sure to be some since overcoming the inertia of county government will be a task of Herculean proportions. Indeed, whose hands are on the levers of power; who can bring about change?

This system didn’t spring up over night, nor is it going to be changed in that time span. It has been in need of reform for decades, ever since it was ruled by the iron hand of the now legendary County Prosecutor John T. Corrigan.; and change it must if the Greater Cleveland area is to be improved to any substantial degree. The criminal justice system has such an impact on the quality of life of the entire region — so much more than the average citizen realizes — that it simply must be in step with the times if positive change is to be effected.

Programs like “Get on Track” are usually funded — at least in part — by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), which also funds alternative-sentencing drug courts around the country. The DOJ even offered to fund a drug court in Cuyahoga County, but officials here turned the funding down. Why? The answer you get is that Municipal Court programs are enough, but they are not; they only can deal with misdemeanors, while the bulk of the more serious problems lie in the county system, which handles felonies. Again, why was the funding turned down?

The answer, of course, is politics. The practitioners who run our county criminal justice system are troglodytes; we are literally still in the cave dwelling age when it comes to innovative thinking vis-à-vis criminal justice, reentry and recidivism, and here’s why:

Our elected officials feel that the best way to continue to get reelected and climb up the political ladder is to continue to posture as “tough on crime” while the political winds around the country are shifting to being “smart on crime” instead That’s why you have successful programs like the one instituted by Cleveland’s Municipal Court cropping up all over the place, but not at the Cuyahoga County level.

In Charlotte, NC they even have a program whereby police and members of the sheriff’s department step to young people who they know are headed for trouble with the criminal justice system — winding up in prison, or, worst yet, dead in the streets — and talk to them man-to-man. They offer help, diversion programs before laws are broken and the public safety impacted on in a negative manner. They could increase their effectiveness if they took a formerly incarcerated person with them when they have these conversations. Of course this “talking” tactic isn’t as much fun for officers as kicking in doors, high speed chases, and violent confrontations … but by all indications the program is working and working well. Will we ever use a similar program here? Doubtful.

Another group of programs that are working exceptionally well and show how public dollars can be leveraged to solve public safety problems that impact us all can be found at www.scsdma.org This is the website of Suffolk County MA (Boston) Sheriff Andrea J. Cabral. In conjunction with Professor Charles Ogletree of Harvard, and members of the local and state legal communities, she has developed job training programs within the county jail that readies individuals for their return into society. Programs like The Common Ground Institute, The Boston Reentry Initiative, and Community Reentry for Women are all working to reduce recidivism and turn tax takers into tax payers. Can we replicate some of these worthwhile programs here in Cleveland and throughout Cuyahoga County? Sure. Will we? Again, doubtful. Why? No political will to do so.

Why no political will you might ask. Well, almost all of these successful programs in Boston were instituted by, or with pressure from, African-American elected and appointed officials, and Cuyahoga County is run almost entirely by white officials; officials who just don’t have the same sense of urgency as black officials when it come to attempting to solve the problems of Cleveland’s largely black underclass. Cuyahoga County Sheriff Gerald McFaul is an old-timer who just doesn’t “get” it.

However, when (and if) we come to understand that the problems facing inner-ring suburbs, the problem of young people who run afoul of the criminal justice system — at either the misdemeanor or felony level, and the functioning of our county criminal justice system are intimately and inexorably intertwined, maybe then we can begin to bring about some workable and meaningful solutions … but it won’t happen one minute before. Hey, maybe the good and well-meaning folks at the ACLU could — instead of just saying what can’t be done — help set the tone and get some of this heavy political lifting done. It’s all a matter of will … or in the case of current Greater Cleveland, won’t.

From Cool Cleveland contributor Mansfield B. Frazier mansfieldfATgmail.com

Cle Expat and Singer/Songwriter Michael Jantz

Like Michael Jantz himself, the troubadour’s second album Snapshots of the Universe has a definite Northeast Ohio pedigree. Engineered by his old North Olmsted High School chum Tom Schick (Ryan Adams, Rufus Wainwright, Sean Lennon, Yoko Ono) and finessed by another one (Bittersweets member/producer Jerry Becker) Jantz nearly had a high school reunion going.

But just like his pals, Jantz doesn’t live here anymore.

He started out playing open mics in Cleveland many years ago, earning him a fair bit of critical praise… but the experience opened him up to a larger musical journey. Jantz wound through Europe, playing on street corners with each stop, and ended up on a tour with legendary wordsmiths Paul Simon and Brian Wilson. The journey continues, but these days the singer/songwriter calls Washington, DC home. One week after he was voted Cleveland’s “Best Male Singer/Songwriter” in one of the alt-weekly papers’ 2004 readers poll, he blew town and followed his longtime girlfriend to “the District.”

“It’s kind of like starting from square one,” Jantz says. “You have to prove yourself all over again; build relationships with bar owners, critics, the people who come see you perform. I went from being a top draw in my hometown to being a complete unknown.”

Cool Cleveland Managing Editor Peter Chakerian caught up with the NEO expat and talked to him about his travels, his Cleveland experience and a CD release party that brings him back to the Beachland Ballroom in his hometown this Saturday, March 10.

Cool Cleveland: You new album feels like an old friend or a comfortable sweatshirt, but it’s hardly feathery. There are some pretty weighty thoughts and themes on Snapshots of the Universe. Talk about where these songs come from.

Michael Jantz: All of them are new, except for “Sierra.” I think that most of them were born out of experiences of coming here to Washington, DC. It kinda kicked my ass for the first year. (laughs) I spent a lot of that first year meeting all kinds of new people in unfamiliar places, making new friends, having a lot of big life wake-up calls… growing up. Snapshots of the Universe sort of visits everything that comes with that. Conscious political undertones that you can’t get away from in a city like DC made their way in there too.

With the title, are you referring to pictures taken by the Hubble? Or is the disc named after that 1924 animation short? Both? Neither?

Nah, you know what it is? All songs are like little photographs of your life. So, you can say that these songs are snapshots of my own personal universe. It really implies the vignettes of life and experience more than anything else.

Working with folks you’ve known for a long time, like producer Tom Schick and Jerry Becker – whom you and I went to school with – must make bringing the concept of familiarity into your creative work a whole lot easier.

Definitely. It’s like working with family. Those guys are like my two best friends. We were eating, drinking together every night while we were putting this together. It wasn’t even work at all, really! (laughs) That made it so nice and easy. Not having anyone spewing opinions and BS on what we should be doing made it really fun and much more relaxed.

I know you really committed to your musical career in the early 90s, but you’ve been at it even longer than that. Where was your “tipping point” in deciding to make a career of it?

I think that moment was in 1994 at Kent State University, right around the time that Jerry moved to San Francisco. I was just a singer at that point, playing a lot of African music and drums. That’s when I got my first guitar. The next thing I know, I had made the decision to leave KSU and chase this crazy thing down.

If you weren’t a musician, what would you be doing for a career?

Well, right now I still wait tables part time in addition to doing this. But let’s see, I’d probably be doing some sort of music management, PR something like that I imagine within the industry. Or I’d be selling crack. (laughs)

Talk about your travels through Europe and stripping back to that busker vibe. What are some highlights from your travels through Europe and how has that experience change your approach to songwriting, if at all?

I think in terms of songwriting, I am not sure it had a great impact. It was the performing end of it and learning to connect in a different way… with people who didn’t speak the same language. All those nuances, playing to kids and parents and grandparents, that helped me in terms of performing. Breaking down barriers in that way and learning how to be a more effective communicator in the performing realm… that’s the biggest thing playing the streets over there gives you: a lot of confidence. Reaching people with voice and guitar is really empowering. I feel more comfortable that way a lot of the time.

How was it to open for Paul Simon and Brian Wilson? I’d still be recovering from an experience like that – mumbling to them both like that old Chris Farley SNL skit… “Remember when you were in that band the Beach Boys… that was cool…”

(Laughs) Yeah, I remember it being very surreal. I was sitting there at the show at Pittsburgh — my mom and sister came down for it — and I remember Paul Simon started playing. I was sitting on the side of the stage, sort of by myself away from everything, and I just remember saying to myself, “Please God, let me do this for a living!” In some ways, it didn’t seem that weird either. Working those amphitheatres was great. It felt very cool and organic.

Did you have any opportunity to glean any advice from either of them personally?

Oddly enough, you can’t really talk to Paul. As soon as you’d get close, other people would swoop in. But I did get to hang with the rest of the guys in his band… and the guys with Brian Wilson’s band, too. One guy with his band seemed a little envious. He said, “You’re out playing your own music!” It wasn’t so much advice as he was being right there and present in the moment. “Yeah, we tour whole continents, playing Beach Boys songs. And that’s really great… but you’re doing your own original work.” I guess the grass is greener…

I hear some McCartney in Snapshots. Intentional?

It’s weird. I have been getting that a lot lately. I think some of that is definitely Jerry’s production, but yeah, I don’t know how anyone can get away from the influence of the Beatles. They’re still the best band ever in the world. Harmonies and guitar stuff, the tambourine… I’m sure that it is cooler to say that George was my favorite Beatle… but I always liked the sunny McCartney songs. I was always drawn to Paul. Maybe that’s why it comes out that way. But it’s cool to get that compliment.

So, you said goodbye to Cleveland and followed your girlfriend to DC. That’s big. Did anyone try to dissuade you from leaving?

No, not at all. I had been looking to leave Cleveland for a long time. Even though she was very positive, my mom did say to me, “Exhaust every possible angle in Cleveland before you leave.” And when I left, I really felt like I did that. I knew everyone in the scene, was playing out a lot and had won awards. I sorta felt like I had done it, and thought if I didn’t leave I would never get out. That’s a good thing and a bad thing.

There is a lot of complacency in Cleveland, mostly because it is such a great and comfortable place. But I think that also gets to people. The flip side is that really makes it hard to leave, especially for artists. I know a lot of amazing players around Cleveland, and I swear, if they took off for somewhere else, they could be touring with huge acts and stuff.

What do you like the most about DC? And do you have plans to stay there?

I can put it this way. I really don’t see myself moving back to Cleveland. I think the journey will continue, whether here in DC or elesewhere. There are a lot of opportunities living here. For a town that is not Nashville or New York City, it’s a great music town. There’s not much indursty based out of here, but there is a ton of stuff. Ellington was from here, Berry Gordy’s out here, and the roots and hardcore scenes here are great. You’ve got Dischord… the pool of musicians here are amazing, I get to host a residency at Wonderland Ballroom and get to book people I want to check out. It’s almost like a Petri dish for me.

Who should Clevelanders look out for from DC when they travel to play here?

There’s a bunch. Georgie James, Laura Berman, the band Monopoli… they’re really good. Army of Me. Laura Tsaggaris, Jessie Elliott, Greenland and the guy from Monopoli who I am bringing with me to Cleveland, Alfonso Velez. He’s great, too.

A few more quick ones… Tim Buckley or Jeff Buckley?

Jeff. No question.

Being in DC, do you have an opinion on this? Stephen Colbert or Jon Stewart?

Man, you know after that roast he did… Did you see the White House Correspondents Association dinner roast?

Hysterical! Colbert wins for me.

I gotta go for Stephen.

Brian Wilson or Paul Simon?

That’s a tough one. I am a huge Beach Boys fan, so Brian Wilson, by a hair.

From Cool Cleveland Managing Editor Peter Chakerian peterATcoolcleveland.com

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Little Women, the Louisa May Alcott novel, comes alive onstage as Oberlin Opera Theater presents Mark Adamo’s operatic rendition of this coming-of-age classic. Adamo writes that the conflict of the opera is “Jo versus the passage of time . . . She fights her own and her sisters’ growth because she knows that growing up means growing apart.” Performances are Wed 3/14, Fri 3/16 & Sat 3/17 at 8PM, and Sun 3/18 at 2PM in Hall Auditorium, located at 67 North Main St, Oberlin. Tickets are $5 for students, $8 for seniors and those with an Oberlin College I.D., and $12 for the general public, and can be purchased by contacting Central Ticket Service at (800-371-0178). Tickets purchased at the door are an additional $3. For more information, please visit www.oberlin.edu/con.
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Links to interesting NEO blogs

Even the presidents of tech companies hate technology sometimes.
Decent, afforable lunch Downtown isn’t enough to compensate for being accosted by beggars.
How does Cleveland rank on issues like environmental, health, and social problems? 70 out of 72 cities.
The Cleveland Heights Library on Lee Road is “a model for future cornerstones of terrific communities.”
Until we can compete with greater tolerance and more technology, we will struggle to attract and retain top talent.
Five reasons small business owners should blog.
The Youngstown Business Incubator gets a MySpace page.
“I want Forest City to pay every last dime of every expenditure related to this study Pepper Pike says needs to be done.”
The NYTimes does an article on Podiobooks.com.

Check the Cool Cleveland weblog here, where Peter Chakerian follows up on Issue 18 and comments on a whole host of other local and regional news. When you’re through, add your own comments, questions and attitude. Letters@CoolCleveland.com.

Casually Smashed to Pieces
Six Parts Seven
Suicide Squeeze

Casually Smashed To Pieces is Six Parts Seven’s fifth release for Suicide Squeeze and is also their most focused work. It’s normal, and maybe expected, for many of today’s post-rock releases to stretch comfortably past the hour. You know how it goes — a little time for knob tweaking, a little time for feedback, a little more time for the knob tweaking, and then the coup de grace — the four minute outtro. Bucking this trend, Six Parts Seven package 8 tracks in a neat little thirty minutes, and still give the listener plenty of time to close their eyes, open the ears, and let it all sink in.

“Conversation Heart,” a slow guitar and banjo number, opens Casually Smashed To Pieces, then bleeds comfortably into “Stolen Moments,” where a lone cornet scales effortlessly above carefully separated guitar, keyboard, and drum lines. Herein lies the beauty of the band. Taken individually, each part of “Stolen Moments” sounds simple. Yet when that single key on a keyboard, or that solitary pluck of a guitar string, is integrated into the larger framework of the band, they become both necessary and elegant. Similarly, it’s not guitar virtuosity that makes “Knock At My Door” a compelling number.

Instead, it’s the manner in which the guitars involve themselves in this little game of cat and mouse, weaving in and out of the song from the front of the mix to the back, seemingly challenging each other for prominence only to be briefly overtaken by a much larger wave of sound. Highlighting Casually Smashed To Pieces, is the aptly named “Confusing Possibilities” where a recurring melody is staggered and layered amongst guitars, keyboards, and horns, appearing alternately in one instrument, then the other, until there’s crescendo and they are all part of the same sustained movement.

There’s a reason whey words like disposable are so common in music crit, and compliments like pleasant, and enjoyable are so rare. Our ears are bombarded by sounds, our eyes take in too many ads, as hit songs can either start as or end up being Budweiser jingles. The music we want to hear is elusive, while what we can do with out, stalks us at every TV set, every open car window, and every shopping mall. When disposable commercial pop chases you around town, your ear drums are prone to attack from the nearest pair of scissors. Well, at least mine are. Conversely, having the delicate, post-rock melodies of Six Parts Seven soundtrack your day produces a rare feeling, and a welcome feeling — that moment of silence when the music stops, and you know there’s no choice in the matter. You’re going to listen again.

Fresh off a Midwest trek with Richard Buckner, and on the heels of the release of their latest long player, Casually Smashed To Pieces, Kent, Ohio’s Six Parts Seven, return to Northeast Ohio for a record release show this Friday, March 9 at the Beachland Tavern with Goodmorning Valentine and Poor Sailor. http://www.beachlandballroom.com

Visit the band at http://www.suicidesqueeze.net and http://www.myspace.com/sixpartsseven.

From Cool Cleveland contributor Bill Lipold irockclevelandATgmail.com

Bill Lipold writes the music blog I Rock Cleveland which can be found at http://irockcleveland.blogspot.com.

Wanna get reviewed? Send your band’s CD (less than 1 year old) to: Cool Cleveland, 14837 Detroit Avenue, #105, Lakewood, OH 44107

Hey Writers! Wanna write about Cleveland music? We’ve got a slew of recently-released CDs and DVDs by Cleveland-area musicians that could use your critical commentary for Cool Cleveland Sounds. If you’re interested, send us a note at Letters@CoolCleveland.com.

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Looking for Romance and Success? So was Bernadette Peters when she played the lead role and won the 1986 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for the Broadway production of Song and Dance. This unique Andrew Lloyd Webber musical opens Fri 3/16 at the Beck Center for the Arts. With talented singer/actress Tracee Patterson now playing the lead, see how the story unfolds in this exciting collaboration with Verb Ballets, Fri 3/16 – Sat 4/7. Song and Dance tells the story of a young British woman who comes to NYC in search of romance and success. Co-directed by Scott Spence and Hernando Cortez, the show consists of two distinctly different acts – the first act is completely sung by Patterson and the second is a ballet performed by the dynamic dancers from Verb Ballets. Song and Dance was nominated for eight Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Original Score and Best Choreography. To reserve tickets call 216-521-2540 or www.beckcenter.org.
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Ann Hampton Callaway & Cleveland Jazz Orchestra

Her name might not immediately ring a bell, but you’ve likely heard Ann Hampton Callaway before. A talented singer, composer, pianist, and actress, she’s a Tony-nominated Broadway musical talent (Swing) who also just recently appeared the Matt Damon film, The Good Shepherd as the 1961 Deer Island Singer. The New York-based performer and her three-octave range warm up any musical context, whether singing with Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra or Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops.

Best known for writing and singing the theme to the TV series “The Nanny,” Callaway’s last effort Blues in the Night was released on the local Telarc label; she plans on delivering a few of the songs from that release when she performs with the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra (CJO) next Wednesday, March 14 at the Palace Theater. Theirs is a dual-purpose benefit concert: the show’s proceeds help the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation as well as the CJO.

“We have learned a great deal in the process of putting this event together,” CJO Executive Director Bob Keesecker told Cool Cleveland recently. “Five years ago, we could never have done such a great event. We were struggling administratively to a point where we didn’t have two nickels to rub together. It was just not possible under any circumstances, financially or in terms of personnel.”

A venerable who’s who of music educators in Northeast Ohio, the CJO — led by Music Director Jack Schantz — celebrate their 23rd anniversary this year, with the band’s core performing together for well over a decade. Yet, somehow, their profile has yet to earn the local spotlight jazz fans feel is deserved.

“That’s a difficult thing for us,” Keesecker offers, relating to recent band triumphs like a stint with Cleveland-bred sax master Joe Lovano at NYC’s Birdland club. “You have a world class ensemble, forging a new path and even though we’re having great success in New York and our reputation continues to improve around the country, some of our own residents are still relatively unaware of our organization.

With the “monumental” help of SRO Entertainment guru Jeffrey Mannies, the Callaway/CJO benefit has helped the band and its board members “balance advocacy and hands-on interactvity needed for our aggressive programs,” said Keesecker. “Add an aggressive fundraising focus and, all at once, you have an intense time for a small non-profit organization. Intense, I should say, but incredibly exciting time as well. With this performance, we think everyone in Cleveland is in for a real treat.”

The CJO and Callaway perform at 7:30PM at the Palace Theater; guest vocalist Randie Shane (daughter of CJO board president Joel Brotman) also performs. For tickets, visit http://www.playhousesquare.org.

Check out Ann Hampton Callaway’s website at http://www.annhamptoncallaway.com, and visit the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra at http://www.clevelandjazz.org.

From Cool Cleveland Managing Editor Peter Chakerian peterATcoolcleveland.com

Comedy Festival Preview Showcase

Did you hear the one about the Cleveland Comedy Festival? Two guys walk into a bar and… Wait – this one’s not a joke, as it turns out. Two guys did walk into a bar – and they decided to launch a Cleveland Comedy Festival. Joe Hannum, a senior direct marketing strategist at Wyse Advertising, who is also a part-time comedian, envisioned a comedy festival that would involve as many big-name comedians who came from the Cleveland area as they could convince to participate.

Last fall, Hannum and along with another local comic, John Wellington, started planning what they hope will become an annual festival last fall. With a committee of other area comedians and people connected with the comedy business, the two have begun to make their dream a reality.

The festival itself won’t happen until early 2008, but its kickoff event is this coming Monday, March 12 at 8PM at Hilarities 4th Street Theatre. The Comedy Festival Preview Showcase will feature four comics with local ties: headliner Mike Veneman, plus Chris Hegedus, Dave Arena, Ryan Dalton and Quinn Patterson. Tickets are available by calling 736-4242, or through the venue at http://www.pickwickandfrolic.com.

From Cool Cleveland contributor David Budin popcyclesATsbcglobal.net

Masur plus Khachatryan equals Magical Music Making

Sometimes the pairing of a veteran conductor with a brilliant young soloist pays off big-time. Clevelanders have been privileged to see several such examples of this program technique during the last twenty or so years. Now comes yet another match that is sure to create electricity. Kurt Masur, who made his United States debut with the Cleveland Orchestra in November, 1974, and hasn’t conducted them since 1991 (although he did bring his own group—the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra of Germany—here for a Great Performers concert in 1993) returns for a weekend concert series.

From 1991 to 2002 Mr. Masur was music director of the New York Philharmonic, in recent years, however, he’s been in London and Paris. And, no doubt, elsewhere. But finally, he’s coming back here, to conduct a program consisting of the Violin Concerto No. 1 of Max Bruch, plus Anton Bruckner’s Symphony No. 4, the “Romantic.”

Appearing as soloist in the Bruch is the amazing young Sergey Khachatryan—now all of twenty-two!—who wowed Cleveland a few years ago in the Sibelius concerto. When he was fifteen, the Armenian-born violinist took first prize in the Jean Sibelius Violin Competition in Helsinki, and two years ago, again won first prize at the Queen Elisabeth International Music Competition in Brussels. Mr. Khachatryan has appeared with all the major orchestras of the world, and in most major music festivals, as well.

Next year (2008) Mr. Masur will celebrate 60 years as a professional conductor. But he may be more fondly remembered by more people world-wide for having been the person most responsible for bringing down the Berlin Wall in 1989, in a bloodless coup. As a result of these two accomplishments, during the last twelve years, he has received honors from Germany, France, Poland, the United States, and the city of New York.

Concerts will be at 8 pm, on March 8, 9 and 10. For tickets or other information, call the Cleveland Orchestra ticket office at 216-231-1111, or visit their website at http://www.clevelandorchestra.com.

From Cool Cleveland contributor Kelly Ferjutz artswriterATadelphia.net

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Come Hear Why the P.D. declared “a master is emerging” after hearing the extraordinary playing of pianist Jonathan Biss, who will perform as part of the Oberlin College Artist Recital Series on Tue 3/13 at 8PM in Oberlin’s Finney Chapel. Through his orchestral and recital performances in North America and Europe, Biss has proved himself to be an accomplished and exceptional musician with a flourishing international reputation. Tickets are $7 for students, $16 for seniors and those with an Oberlin College I.D., and $20 for the general public, and can be purchased through Oberlin’s Central Ticket Service (800-371-0178). Tickets purchased at the door are an additional $3. For more information on the Artist Recital Series, visit www.oberlin.edu/arseries.
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Quick reviews of recent events
Going out this weekend? Take along your PDA and your digital camera. Scratch out a few notes to send us with a picture of it for our Instant Karma real-world reviews of what’s really happening. We’d love to hear from you. Send your stuff to Events@CoolCleveland.com

Dohnányi & the Cleveland Orchestra @ Severance Hall 2/28 Transcendant. That’s just exactly what it was. Sometimes a word pops into your head as you’re listening to a concert and you think, “now that’s the perfect word to describe this.” The return of Music Director Laureate Christoph von Dohnányi in a non-subscription concert at Severance Hall was, well… transcendant. He certainly seems as agile and vigorous as the last time he was here (June, 2002) except that his hair is now a cloud of white, instead of just the salt-and-pepper it was then.

The music-making was as splendid as always whenever he was on the podium. He chose two of the symphonic world’s war-horses to entertain us, and only the world’s biggest grinch could have found anything about which to complain. And then, only by reaching beyond the bounds of reality.

Throughout his tenure here, Mr. Dohnányi demonstrated his affinity for the works of Robert Schumann with regularity, so it’s hardly to be wondered at that he would choose a work by that master for this concert. This rendition of Schumann’s Symphony No. 4 crackled with verve and vitality, accented by marvelously executed dynamics. Whether the players were asked for mere whispers or full-bodied muscularity, they responded with what seemed like more than the usual enthusiasm. Schumann’s melodies were evident throughout, even the perpetual motion segments near the conclusion.

This time the large audience would not be denied, and like it or not, the maestro and orchestra received an enthusiastic standing ovation. When the musicians weren’t standing, they were busily applauding, as well.

I’d never been a major fan of Beethoven’s symphonies, until the first time I heard this orchestra do the Eroica for Mr. Dohnányi. Mercy! As a former horn player, I could not believe how fast he took the brilliant horn trio in the third movement. It just didn’t seem to me that such a tempo was possible. Well, it was, and it was exhilarating beyond belief. That performance, more than twenty years ago made a believer out of me. Richard King, Jesse McCormick and Hans Clebsch earned the special bow they were accorded at the conclusion of the piece.

All the principal winds were superb; Joshua Smith, flute; Frank Rosenwein, oboe; Franklin Cohen, clarinet; John Clouser, bassoon; Richard King, horn and Michael Sachs, trumpet. Of especial note was Mr. Rosenwein in the second movement, ‘funeral march’. The strings were marvelous throughout, delicate and sheer as gossamer or lush and full as required. Actually, the overall sound was much more sturdy than usual, which must be because of the seating rearrangement, although I don’t recall having previously seen the basses at stage right. My previous personal preference was having them across the rear of the stage, but I might have to change my mind after this concert. I hope we don’t have to wait another five years for Mr. Dohnányi to return!

After this weekend’s concerts, the orchestra leaves again for a week in Florida. Kurt Masur returns as guest conductor for concerts on March 8, 9 and 10. For tickets or other information, call the Cleveland Orchestra ticket office at 216-231-1111, or visit the web-site: http://www.clevelandorchestra.com.

From Cool Cleveland contributor Kelly Ferjutz artswriterATadelphia.net

Piano Men @ Akron Civic Theatre 3/2 More of a reminiscence of the 1970’s than a musical review, Canadian pianist Jim Witter’s Piano Men started out with a broader theme, but it soon narrowed down to his faves: Billy Joel and Elton John. With Holiday Inn patter between songs, and Powerpoint slide projections (really!) of 70’s slogans, ads, news & pop culture on the big screen, the theatricality of the event was mostly in the minds of the 50-year-olds (and better) in the audience. Overcoming some roughness in the audio mix, Witter brought the audience on stage for background vocals and handclaps on Crocodile Rock, and took “requests” to play TV theme songs baked into boomer consciousness: Gilligan’s Island, Beverly Hillbillys. His solo encore, Joel’s Souvenir betrayed Witters’ real talent for piano-songwriter passion. Now if he can keep the rest of the show out of hotel-piano-man mode, he wouldn’t risk becoming the cliche the title of his show suggests. http://www.ThePianoMen.net

Shorn @ Dobama 3/2 Juliette Regnier readily admitted during the after-show discussion of Shorn, now being performed at Dobama Theatre, that she is an actress, not a playwright. In spite of this, Regnier has penned what, for lack of a better description, is a performance piece entitled Shorn. The production brings to life the stories of three French women, who had sex with Nazis during World War II. Much like Hester Prynne in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, who was branded with wearing the scarlet “A” to identify her as an adulterer, these “collaborators” had their heads shaved and were marched through the streets as models of shame.

It mattered little that one was truly in love with the young German, another needed food and the third plied her trade as a prostitute and it would not have mattered what nationality her sex partner was.

Shorn, according to Regnier “looks at women as collateral damage during war time through the lens of French women accused of being complicit with the Nazis. She has obviously achieved this, at least in the eyes of the women who responded during the play’s after discussion.

In spite of what I consider to be a very compelling bit of acting, I have some problems with Regnier’s piece of work. The first is the piece’s format. Shorn starts and stops with several interludes. The pieces don’t really flow together. The use of a mime/clown to make bridges isn’t clearly defined. Most of the time the clown appears to be exactly what it is, a theatrical bridging device to loosely hold the parts together.

If Regnier is going to go further with this piece, she needs to more completely develop why a clown was chosen and what the purpose of that figure is. As is, it’s just gimmick for the sake of gimmick.

In addition, it would seem to serve Regnier’s message better if she stressed her self inscribed purpose of, “And suddenly I was faced with the non-judgmental question of just how would a woman/I respond during the war?” Maybe her “clown” might challenge the audience with that question, thus developing the theme.

And, I did not find the woman clearly etched. Each should be more clearly fleshed out so that their underlying motives and their reasoning for their actions would clearer.

Capsule judgment: Shorn which is getting its world premiere at Dobama is an interesting evening of theatre, one that is thought provoking. Yet, because of its flawed script, Shorn” leaves one wishing for a more complete experience.

Shorn runs through March 4 at Dobama’s temporary home on Shaker Square several store fronts away from the Shaker Square Cinema. For tickets call 216-932-3396.

From Cool Cleveland contributor Roy Berko royberkoATyahoo.com

Roy Berko’s blog, which contains theatre and dance reviews from 2002 through 2007, as well as his consulting and publications information, can be found at http://royberko.info.

Die Fledermaus @ CIM 3/2 Coaxing David Bamberger out of retirement and into becoming head of the opera department at Cleveland Institute of Music was apparently not a difficult task. After 29 years as founder and head of Cleveland Opera, he was obviously not ready yet for the rocking chair and slippers. Furthermore, it’s good to expose the young potential opera singers to a teacher with the experience accrued by Mr. Bamberger (who directed this production) throughout his career. Acquiring the services of the multi-talented John Simmons as opera coach and accompanist would have been a coup for any opera department; so, good for Cleveland to have both gentlemen in the same program.

Their expertise and experience paid off, big-time, last week in four sold-out performances of one of opera’s most charming and delightful bon-bons, the bubbly Die Fledermaus of Johann Strauss II. The plot makes little sense, but who cares about such trifles when presented with so much gorgeous music, and in this instance, music performed with such joie de vivre?

The opera program has almost enough capable singers to have completely double cast the performances; only one ‘guest’ was required, otherwise all the singers were students, a good omen for the future of opera in this country. I attended on Friday night, which had the same cast as Wednesday, but I’ve heard similar wonderful reports from those who attended either Thursday or Saturday—the nights of the guest artist, tenor Timothy Culver as Eisenstein.

Soprano Susan Williams as the maid Adele displayed a perky and flirtatious temperament to match her beguiling voice. Her ‘laughing song’ was superb, in every way. Her mistress, Rosalinda, requires a different sort of soprano, and this role was excellently portrayed by Natasha Ospina. By turns winsome, romantic or stubborn, the voluptuous Ms. Ospina was marvelous, although I wished she might have danced at least a few steps in the famous Csárdás at Prince Orlofsky’s ball. The sensual, seductive music cries for movement, but otherwise, her musical and acting attributes certainly need no apology.

Irene Roberts was exceedingly bored as the Prince, but never boring. Her attempts at laughing in the final scene were hilarious. As Adele’s sister, Ida, Antonia Botti-Lodovico displayed remarkable poise and on-stage presence. Laurel Elizabeth Brown was an interesting Frosch. Well, actually, Mrs. Frosch, the mister having become too inebriated to serve. She was well on her way to following in his footsteps, although not so far gone as to falter at the role’s required silliness.

Eisenstein (Rosalinda’s hubby) was engagingly brought to life by tenor Adam J. Smith, who not only sings well, but is also an adept actor and dancer. The role of his friend, Dr. Falke, was sung by baritone J. Andrew Macbeth. The two of them have been in several productions together, and their camaraderie was evident.

Frank, the prison warden who tries to capture the errant Eisenstein, was deliciously wrought by Richard Ollarsaba, whose tipsiness in the third act was hilarious. The two roles not double cast were those of Alfred and Dr. Blind. As the latter, Marcel Worrell Miller stuttered and danced his way through his portions in fine style, while Jermaine Jackson, as Alfred, was the typically tempestuous tenor, whose high C Rosalinda found to be irresistible.

Considering the limitations of Kulas Hall while acting as an opera house, set designer Terry J. Martin nevertheless contrived three winning and serviceable sets, aided by the lighting design of Dave Brooks. Costumes by Allison Garrigan appeared slightly more Edwardian in nature than the Victorian we usually see, but were colorful and pretty as well as effective. The men in their tailsuits were uniformly handsome. The CIM Orchestra, conducted by Harry Davidson provided a wonderful foundation for the lighter-than-air music. The English version of the libretto by Ruth and Thomas Martin had several additional local and current references, including the admonition by Prince Orlofsky to anyone not wanting to see opera—they should go to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, instead. However, I surely didn’t see anyone make haste to leave!

If you missed this production, CIM’s voice students will be showcased April 27-29 in opera scenes with piano accompaniment, in DO Make A Scene directed by John Simmons. For tickets or more information, call 791-5000, ext. 411, or visit their website: http://www.cim.edu. If you aren’t able to attend any of the live performances, tune in tonight (Wednesday, March 7) at 8PM to WCLV-FM (104.9) or on the web at http://www.wclv.com for a broadcast of the performance, taped during last week’s run. You can judge for yourself!

From Cool Cleveland contributor Kelly Ferjutz artswriterATadelphia.net

Thoroughly Modern Millie @ Carousel 3/2 There is an old adage in the theatre, “The show must go on!” There are lots of legends about performers going on stage in the midst of tragedies and illnesses. Carousel Dinner Theatre has a reality tale to add to the list. On Saturday, Hollie Howard, who plays the title role of Millie in Carousel’s Thoroughly Modern Millie fell off the stage during the afternoon preview performance of the show. That evening was opening night!! What to do?

In the make believe world of theatre, as exemplified in such shows as 42nd Street the understudy goes on, does a smash-up job and becomes a star. Well, that’s not what happened at Carousel. They mount their shows in a week, so the understudy doesn’t really get to learn her/his part until the show is running.

Howard, complete with taped ankle, went on after some adjustments to the choreography. Ironically, this was not the first injury for this production. Director Marc Robin, early in rehearsals, tripped over a piece of scenery, and hurt himself. Opening night was his first night off crutches.

Howard’s being hobbled hurt no one. In fact, if the announcement hadn’t been made before the show, the audience wouldn’t have known the difference. Howard danced well, sang even better, and portrayed the role to perfection.

In contrast to many musicals which are turned into films, Thoroughly Modern Millie was first a movie. It opened in 1967 and stared Julie Andrews, Mary Tyler Moore, John Gavin and Carol Channing. In the early 2000s, the movie was adapted for the stage. It maintained the basic story line of the movie but, in an effort to be politically correct, it toned down the stereotypical traits of the Asian characters in the film. (Some will still find those stereotypes offensive.)

The plot revolves around Millie Dillmount, who, in 1922 comes to the Big Apple from Kansas determined to marry her wealthy boss. She sheds her country girl image and becomes a “modern” flapper in order to hook her man. On her first day in NY, she accidentally trips Jimmy Smith, an apparently ne’er-do-well paper clip salesman. Yep, you guessed it. He isn’t a ne’er do well, and in the tradition of trite musicals, after a few obvious plot twists, they go off into the sunset. Well, into the bright lights of Broadway, to live happily ever after.

The show, which is filled with lots of upbeat songs and many dance numbers, including some great tap dance routines, is dynamic, thanks to Robin’s setting a lightening quick pace, clearly developing the characters, and adding some fun gimmicks (such as having the Chinese lines projected in English on screens on the sides and above the stage). But most of all, he explodes the stage with creative choreography.

The cast is excellent. The music, the sets, the costumes all work. Howard brings Millie to musical and dramatic life. Brian Ogilvie is properly wholesome as Jimmy Smith. He dances and sings well. Donna Ryan is so bad as the scheming Ms. Meers, that she is good. Christin Mortenson effectively lets loose her big voice in “Only in New York.” Lindsey Clayton is fun as Miss Flannery, an uptight boss who turns into a goodie. Jim Sorenson is Broadway handsome and effectively develops the over-bloated Trevor Graydon, the richie on whom Millie has her sights set. Even the male dancers, who are often the weak link in many musical productions, are excellent.

Capsule judgment: Carousel’s Thoroughly Modern Millie is everything that makes for good dinner theatre… a sprightly production, featuring a well chosen cast, guided by excellent direction. If you like theatre-light and don’t want to think a lot, but have a good time, you’ll dance happily out of the show.

‘Thoroughly Modern Millie” runs through April 28. For tickets call 800-362 4100. Show times are Tuesday through Thursday evenings at 8PM, Friday and Saturday evenings at 8:30 PM and Sunday evenings at 5 PM. There are matinees on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons at 2PM.

From Cool Cleveland contributor Roy Berko royberkoATyahoo.com

Roy Berko’s blog, which contains theatre and dance reviews from 2002 through 2007, as well as his consulting and publications information, can be found at http://royberko.info.

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On Whiskey Island March 1, 2007- is the day Cleveland’s waterfront renaissance began. After nine years, the debate regarding the future land uses of Whiskey Island was finalized. On March 1, the Honorable Tim Hagan, Cuyahoga County Commissioner, said “that issue is over with.” The county owns Whiskey Island Marina, a 500 recreational boat public access marina, and Wendy Park, a 20-acre parkland with the only natural beach in downtown Cleveland. Finally, the county can continue its Great Lakes restoration success story without the constant threat of the Port Authority trying to build a gravel dock on the marina, which would have destroyed this wonderful public waterfront. The debate started nine years ago with the release of the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority Maritime Master Plan, in March 1998. The Port Authority’s master plan depicted the 10-acre Whiskey Island Marina basin and the adjacent 20-acre parkland as shipping docks. Since that time the Whiskey Island land uses have changed nine times in various planning initiatives. The most recent plan for the county’s Whiskey Island property was the Port Authority publicly stating that it wants to acquire Whiskey Island Marina to expand its adjacent bulk storage operation at the Cleveland Bulk Terminal. Commissioner Hagan put the Port Authority’s plan to build a gravel dock on Whiskey Island Marina to rest, during the public comment period at their board meeting yesterday. The following public comments and the commissioner’s responses are transcribed from an audio tape of the meeting. Ed Hauser’s closing public comments: In closing, you have all my documentation, review it and take action on it. The other thing too is Mayor Jackson, the first mayor in the nine years I’ve been participating, has finally had the backbone to recognize Whiskey Island and is doing the right thing. Keeping the marina, the greenspace, addressing the Coast Guard Station and bringing the Towpath Trail. So far the mayor is on board; hopefully the commissioners will stay on board. I know Commissioner Dimora is firm on this, and the Metroparks. The only holdout is the Port Authority, to build a $30 million gravel dock on the marina, which will destroy this public space. Honorable Commissioner Tim Hagan’s response: Ed, it’s not going to happen, everybody is opposed to it. All three commissioners are opposed to it. So you can leave here comforted by the fact the marina is not going to be buried in. The mayor has already signed off on it. We’re all done with that. The issue is over with. So, please don’t give us a lecture about it again. We’re done with it. Ed Hauser’s response: Well, this is the first time I’ve heard that. Honorable Commissioner Tim Hagan’s response: Well good, go home happy. Ed Hauser’s response: I am happy, thank you. You see a big smile on my face! So there you have it. After nine years of debate, Whiskey Island Marina and Wendy Park will remain a beautiful urban oasis in the heart of Cleveland- where our American Heritage River greets our Great Lake! It’s time to celebrate Cleveland’s waterfront renaissance!
from Cool Cleveland reader Ed Hauser ejhauserATameritech.net

On Kucinich in Newsweek (See Kucinich hits Newsweek here) Thanks for linking to the recent Newsweek interview with Dennis Kucinich. I was happy to have the chance to read it. He gets slapped down a lot in some local Cleveland media (the Scene, week after tiring week), so it was great to read and hear what he actually has to say. A lot of politicians are looking for a way out of the Iraq mess. Kucinich is offering a practical plan. The longer the politicians delay, and the longer we do not hold them accountable, the more lives are wasted and the more resources are destroyed. I for one am glad that people like Kucinich and George McGovern continue to be vocal about the disastrous consequences of our war and occupation of Iraq. Thank you Cool Cleveland!
from Cool Cleveland reader Cliff Berns kacbATearthlink.net

Thanks Cool Cleveland I just wanted to tell you I had a great time at the Zappa party and also seeing the performance. It was an outstanding value in Cleveland entertainment. The Cool Cleveland newsletter has been great. The diversity of the information provides a lot of mental stimulation, whether you are in the mood for heavy or light stuff. My average session time is probably 15-20 minutes (really long in the advertising world). And it makes me feel more connected and in the know of what is happening around me.
from Cool Cleveland reader Diana Shulsky diana.shulskyATRealLiving.com

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Boogity, Boogity, Boogity… This is where Peter, a one-time contemporary youth, attempts comedic and/or inspirational writing that is supposed to go about this long… or, if he is feeling so inclined, this long… and if he is feeling frisky and inspired, this long. Or maybe this long. But he almost never goes this long, which is why he usually replaces this long rant with something better and more issue-specific. What a kid he is. Thanks to Peter Chakerian, T.L. Champion, George Nemeth, Kelly Ferjutz, Mansfield B. Frazier, David Budin, Roy Berko, and introducing Bill Lipold. And lastly, though certainly not least, thanks to our readers and everyone who partners with us. Want to volunteer and contribute your writing to Cool Cleveland? Send your reviews, articles, or story ideas to: Events@CoolCleveland.com.

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