New York, NY - March 11, 2009 - “Mark Berman is a rock of creativity, laughter and joy," says Hugh Jackman, Oscar host and Hollywood star, who spent over a year singing with Berman (on piano nightly) during his Tony Award-winning performance in The Boy from Ozon Broadway. Sarah Jessica Parker? Berman achieved pop culture glory when he played piano on the iconic theme for HBO's “Sex and the City." Add another to his already impressive list of colleagues (which includes the Queen of Soul herself -- Berman backed Aretha Franklin on keyboards for several years), many of whom will be in attendance for Berman's live jazz performance with rising star vocalist Ken Ard with the American songbook: Vocal Jazz 101, featuring Mark Berman, playing what Variety raves is “dazzling piano." Daily Variety equals that with “Ken Ard was born to be an entertainer, he radiates and mesmerizes.” In a collaboration for the ages, Berman and Ard perform at:
The Metropolitan Room, 34 West 22nd Street, between 5th and 6th Avenues, NYC
Mondays, March 16 & 23, 2009 at 9:30 pm
Reservations encouraged: 212 206 0440 or online at: The Metropolitan Room
Berman and his trio, drummers Ray Marchica and Joe Nero alternating Mondays, and bassist Bryan Copland, will stretch out with soulful and burning arrangements of such standards as Romberg and Hammerstein’s “Lover Come Back To Me” and Monk’s “Round Midnight.” Backing internationally acclaimed jazz vocalist Ken Ard, a sensation in Europe, the evening is sure to showcase Berman's range as a pianist, while Ard could be in line to inherit the mantle of the great Johnny Hartman. There is no better time to regain a sense of luxury, a blissful escape to a sumptuous world of music with two blazing jazz up-and- comers, Mark Berman and Ken Ard.
Flush with critical accolades as a composer/arranger, Berman returns to his piano roots after time writing music for HBO's “Sex and the City" and Showtime's upcoming “Nurse Jackie," (starring Edie Falco), as well as several films, notably Sam Bassett’s highly anticipated documentary, Bettina. Berman's rsum reads like a history of modern music. He has played with such jazz greats as Illinois Jacquet, Jackie McLean, Mark Murphy, and Houston Person, rising jazz stars Wycliffe Gordon and Hilary Kole, and R&B and pop/rock with Ben E King, Gladys Knight, Phoebe Snow, Carole King, Petula Clark, Lesley Gore, Blood, Sweat & Tears, and Richie Havens, among many others.
Berman's debut recording, The Genesis Project (2008), which he wrote, arranged and produced, established him firmly in the jazz pantheon as a pianist and composer/arranger, about which Modern Drummer raves: “ . . . Berman shines as composer, keyboardist and arranger, bridging jazz, R&B and Gospel.” A chorus of peers and press alike agrees: “Deeply moving, heartfelt and accomplished.” (Rob Mounsey); “Brilliant.” (RadioMike Metheny); “Great listening.” (KMFB- FM); “Great.” (RadioIO). Of his work with singers, more praise: “Stylishly interpreted.” (Variety) and “Berman, on piano, lays down all the right notes and chords with masterly musicianship.” (WNTI-FM). Legendary songwriter Carole Bayer Sager says, “I love Mark's jazz piano playing." As if the praise of peers were not enough, Berman’s fans include at least one Pulitzer Prize- winning novelist -- Oscar Hijuelos was taken with Berman's work, declaring his music “Cool jazz with a universal message" -- high praise from the author of The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love. Jazz fans and lovers of great music must hear the pairing of Mark Berman and Ken Ard in Vocal Jazz 101. Berman’s soulful piano together with Ard's warm, lustrous baritone create an ambience that brings elegance and glamour back to the night! For reservations, call 212 206 0440, or go to The Metropolitan Room.
For more information on Mark Berman, visit: Mark Berman Music
For more information on Ken Ard, visit: Ken Ard Jazz
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For more information contact All About Jazz.
