I’m such of fan of Connie Evingson – she’s beautiful, she is a great singer – but she’s also a brave performer, who follows her musical passions.
She’s explored Gypsy jazz, done full albums of music by Peggy Lee and Dave Frishberg, and now she’s showcasing the rhythms of bossa nova.
Connie Evingson
“I have a bit of a restless spirit,” she told me from her home in Minneapolis recently. “I love to explore new things. I love researching new things. If I wasn’t a jazz singer, I’d probably be librarian.”
Well, maybe. You’ve probably heard Connie singing on Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keeler – she most recently was on the Prairie Home cruise that sailed out of Tampa. But you’ll never mistake her for Keeler’s uptight, and straight-laced Research Librarian character.
This coming week – on Wednesday, Nov. 7 at 7:30 – she’s appearing at the Side Door cabaret with trumpeter Charles Lazarus for a show of big band love songs.
She’ll also be doing some tunes from her latest album – Sweet Happy Life – a celebration of the songs of Norman Gimbel. The song is in the Top 10 on all the jazz charts and getting heavy airplay on jazz radio.
The critics have loved it. This review is typical:
“At a time when everyone believes they can sing bossa nova and releases a disc to prove it, Connie Evingson takes the bossa bull by the horns and has produced a true masterpiece.” All About Jazz, July 30, 2012 — C. Michael Bailey
Connie jokes that Gimbel is the greatest songwriter no one has ever heard of. He wrote the English lyrics to Girl From Ipanema and other Jobim tunes, along with Killing Me Softly, the Roberta Flack hit and numerous others.
Girl From Ipanema, says Connie, is the second most covered song of all time – after the Paul McCartney classic, Yesterday.
In the early 1960s, record executive Lou Levy hear Jobim’s songs and thought they’d cross over at pop hits if they had English lyrics. He gave the tunes to Gimbel who didn’t translate the existing lyrics, but wrote his own.
When Jobim heard his lyrics he approved. His only complaint – the girls in Brazil are tan but they generally aren’t tall.
For her show at the Side Door, Connie is bringing a great band. Charles Lazarus has played with the Canadian Brass and is a featured performer with the Minnesota Orchestra. The quartet features Tommy Barbarella, is a veteran pianist who toured extensively with Prince.
Don’t miss Connie and Charles and the band in the intimate Side Door Cabaret on Wednesday, Nov. 7. For tickets and info visit www.mypalladium.org.
Or call the box office at 727 822-3590.
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