TEXAS JAZZ VOCALIST KEN SLAVIN RETURNS TO METROPOLITAN ROOM JANUARY 7 WITH A NEW SHOW
“Cocktails With Ken: A Saloon Jazz Mixology” Serves Up Classic Saloon and Torch Songs with a Twist
ALL-STAR BAND INCLUDES NEW YORK JAZZ LEGENDS JOHN COLIANNI, FRANK TATE AND PAUL BOLLENBACK
The number-one male jazz singer in the home of the Alamo will return to the Big Apple the first week of the New Year for his fourth headline appearance at the popular Metropolitan Room, 34 W. 22nd Street.
Ken Slavin’s new show, “Cocktails With Ken: A Saloon Jazz Mixology" is slated for Thursday, January 7, at 9:30 p.m. EST. Doors open at 9 p.m. EST. Tickets are $25, $85 and $115 and are available online at Metropolitan Room.com or by calling 212-206-0440. There is a $5 discount for members of the Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs (MAC) and members of Cabaret Hotline Online. Special discount coupons will also be given to patrons attending Marilyn Maye’s sold-out Metropolitan Room performance at 7 p.m. the same evening....
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TEXAS JAZZ VOCALIST KEN SLAVIN RETURNS TO METROPOLITAN ROOM JANUARY 7 WITH A NEW SHOW
“Cocktails With Ken: A Saloon Jazz Mixology” Serves Up Classic Saloon and Torch Songs with a Twist
ALL-STAR BAND INCLUDES NEW YORK JAZZ LEGENDS JOHN COLIANNI, FRANK TATE AND PAUL BOLLENBACK
The number-one male jazz singer in the home of the Alamo will return to the Big Apple the first week of the New Year for his fourth headline appearance at the popular Metropolitan Room, 34 W. 22nd Street.
Ken Slavin’s new show, “Cocktails With Ken: A Saloon Jazz Mixology" is slated for Thursday, January 7, at 9:30 p.m. EST. Doors open at 9 p.m. EST. Tickets are $25, $85 and $115 and are available online at Metropolitan Room.com or by calling 212-206-0440. There is a $5 discount for members of the Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs (MAC) and members of Cabaret Hotline Online. Special discount coupons will also be given to patrons attending Marilyn Maye’s sold-out Metropolitan Room performance at 7 p.m. the same evening.
Slavin will be accompanied by a classic New York City jazz trio: star pianist John Colianni, who was Mel Torme’s pianist for six years and has worked with such legends as Cleo Laine and Bucky Pizzarelli; guitarist Paul Bollenback, an internationally acclaimed solo artist who also tours with Joey DeFrancesco and has worked with such stars as Della Reese; and veteran bassist Frank Tate, who worked with Bobby Short for the last ten years of his legendary run at New York's Cafe Carlyle. Music director for the show is noted jazz pianist, composer and producer Barry Brake of San Antonio.
Slavin's January 7 performance will feature an elegant and eclectic program of great saloon and torch songs - all served up with swingin’ jazz touches.
“He brings to the Metropolitan Room a level of class and a classic approach to his performance and presentation that I have difficulty finding these days,” says Bernie Furshpan, managing partner of the Metropolitan Room. “His choice of music and songs and his entire approach to a jazz cabaret production should be the envy of many an artist. I’m looking forward to his next performance and many more after that!"
Though based in San Antonio, Slavin has made significant in-roads in New York after his Big Apple debut at the Metropolitan Room on Halloween Night 2013. His latest CD, recorded on that special night and produced by Tony Award-winner Paul Boskind (co-producer of the revival of “The Normal Heart” in 2011), is heard on jazz radio stations coast to coast and has received excellent media reviews. He also recently became a voting member of The Recording Academy, which produces the annual GRAMMY Awards.
In the past two years since his Metropolitan Room debut, Ken has enjoyed increasing popularity on New York area radio stations and on nationally syndicated radio programs with his newest CD, “You Gotta Have Heart: Ken Slavin Live at The Metropolitan Room in New York,” executive-produced by Tony Award-winning producer Paul Boskind of New York and San Antonio. Boskind won a 2011 Tony for “Best Revival of a Play” as one of the backers of the critically acclaimed “The Normal Heart” and his most recent production, “Mothers and Sons,” starring Tyne Daley, received Tony nominations for “Best Play” and “Best Actress.”
A native of the Tri-State area – he was born in New London, Connecticut, and spent his childhood years on Staten Island, in Newark and in Greenwich, Connecticut – Slavin has been performing in Texas for 25 years. A self-described “late bloomer,” he began his music career just before he turned 29.
Now 54, Slavin has racked up numerous awards and glowing reviews across the country and overseas. His CDs sell regularly in Japan, Europe and Latin America. He also recently became a voting member of The Recording Academy, which produces the GRAMMY Awards.
His CDs are programmed on many traditional and internet radio stations in the USA and Europe. His critically acclaimed “I'll Take Romance" has been spotlighted on U.S. radio programs from Alaska to New York and as far away as the United Kingdom, Italy, Poland, New Zealand, Portugal, France, the Czech Republic and Mexico - and is currently programmed on the “Singers and Swing" channel of cable TV's Music Choice network, headquartered in New York City. It is also a Spotify, Amazon.com and Apple iTunes favorite.
His unique interpretations of jazz, pop, blues and Spanish language classics and his charismatic stage presence have made him the top male jazz vocalist in Texas - popular everywhere from the “country club set" and sophisticated nightspots to jazz festivals and college campuses. Slavin has opened for such jazz legends as The Four Freshmen, Eddie Palmieri, Dee Dee Bridgewater, David Sanborn and Chico Hamilton. He also has performed in concert with the internationally acclaimed Jim Cullum Jazz Band, legendary New York-based jazz pianist Johnny O’Neal and internationally acclaimed jazz drummer Gerry Gibbs, son of renowned jazz vibraphonist Terry Gibbs. He also has given private performances for Grammy Award winners Helen Reddy and Vikki Carr and recently opened for smooth jazz saxophone sensation Jeff Kashiwa of Seattle at the annual San Antonio Summer Art & Jazz Festival.
In 2011, Slavin was invited to appear on BBC London's popular program, “Late Night with Joanne Good." That same year, after being discovered on You Tube by Diane Linden Thomas, producer of the internet radio program “A Visit With Connie Francis" (which streams every week on Baltimore Net Radio), Slavin was invited to guest-host four of the broadcasts. It was a definite thrill for the crooner, who is a lifelong fan of Francis’ music.
In 2012, the San Antonio Summer Art & Jazz Festival presented Slavin with the “Lifetime Achievement Award" for his musical contributions to the community - most notably for a six-year series of concerts and a special CD he produced to benefit the San Antonio AIDS Foundation.
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