Ode to BILLY JOE(L)

A very "compelling" look at the characters in Billy Joel's "Piano Man" from the world of Comedy Central's "Robot Chicken."

**warning - explicit language**

Billy Joel's voice is none other than HSM "it boy" Zac Efron.

...and now on to some Billy Joel covers.  The first is by a vocal jazz group from Germany called BERLIN VOICES.  They released a whole album of his covers entitled "States of Mind."  

This is a very interesting album.  I don't "love" every track, but they do some very interesting things with his music....

... I do LOVE their swingin' version of "ALLENTOWN!"  This is the "must download track" from the album.

Stage and screen vixen Bernadette Peters put out a lovely version of "HE'S GOT A WAY" (pronoun obviously changed) on her 1996 release "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight."

Also, you must check out this stunning version of "AND SO IT GOES" by Jazz siren Sara Gazarek.  I featured this in a previous post, but it's SO good that I couldn't resist another mention. 

Finally, the recently cancelled ELI STONE (don't even get me started) featured a lovely cover on it's last aired episode.  Here's the lovely Laura Benanti (recently seen as Gypsy Rose Lee on Broadway) singing (and playing) a lovely version of "THIS NIGHT."  The song starts at 0:57.

R.I.P. Eli Stone.

Getting Started...

"Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music"

- Sergei Rachmaninov

I absolutely love this quote. Whether I am performing or listening to my i-pod or cd's, my day is usually filled to the max with music. If my life was a movie, I would have a pretty cool soundtrack. (If I do say so myself!)

I feel so many of us are searching for new music to feed our souls, for that one song to change our lives.  I feel, "Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough to discover new music!"

I am one of those people who can be heard time and time again saying "You have GOT to hear this!" I am constantly making mixed cd's for friends or making people wait in the car a few (or maybe more) extra minutes to hear "just ONE MORE song that I have GOT to play for you."

So think of this blog as our little "New Music For The Soul" club.  I will be posting Artists, Songs, Albums, and Movies that inspire me or simply make me happy. They might not all be your cup of tea, but check them out.... you never know when you will find that one song to brighten your day.

Speaking of brightening your day, here's a great cover of "You Are My Sunshine" by up and coming jazz vocalist Sara Gazarek. 

Here's the audio for "You Are My Sunshine" from Sara's first album "Yours"

This is an absolutely beautiful rendition of Billy Joel's "And So It Goes" featured on her 2nd album "Return To You"

Sara has 2 great studio albums with some pretty cool covers.  She also has a live album "Live at the Jazz Bakery"  that you can purchase on her website or i-tunes.  This album has a really cool version of "So This Is Love" from Disney's "Cinderella."

Here's her website....

www.saragazarek.com

(sorry having trouble with hyperlink)


Thanks for reading! (and listening)

Musically Yours,

MICHAEL