Interlude - June 11
June 11, 2020
Dance activities for kids, classic concert videos, Sammy Davis Jr. and a note from Michael Feinstein
Welcome back to Interlude, the twice-a-week dispatch that brings online arts, entertainment and education opportunities straight to your inbox so you don’t have to look for them.
A note from our Artistic Director
Like other performing artists, Michael Feinstein – artistic director for the Center and founder of the Great American Songbook Foundation – has been staying in touch with his fans lately through social media and online video. In a new series of short videos titled Notes with Michael Feinstein, sponsored by the Payne & Mencias Group, “the Ambassador of the Great American Songbook” himself offers some music and encouragement specifically for you, the Center’s patrons and friends.
Watch the first installment here.
Appreciating a pop culture Renaissance man
With help from our friends at the Songbook Foundation, we continue our observance of African-American Music Appreciation Month with a tribute to one of the 20th century’s consummate entertainers. Samuel George Davis Jr. (1933-1990), better known as Sammy, was an acclaimed singer, musician, dancer, comedian, actor of stage and screen, impressionist and more. No wonder they called him “Mr. Show Business.”
In 1966, Davis became the first black artist to host an hour-long network variety series in prime time, The Sammy Davis Jr. Show. Only black-and-white copies remain from the original color broadcasts, but here’s a fun episode featuring the Supremes as well as plenty of singing, dancing and comedy from the man himself.
In conjunction with the show, Davis released an album of the same title, a collection of 12 standards featuring cameos by Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra. Spotify users can find the album here.
Earlier this month, courtesy of Founder Michael Feinstein, the Songbook Foundation Archives received a collection of rare musical arrangements from the show. Archivist Lisa Lobdell discusses the collection in this “unboxing” video.
Unboxing the Sammy collection
Faegre Drinker PB&J Replay: Phoenix Rising Dance Company
As you may recall, we’ve been browsing our archives for great moments in the monthly Peanut Butter & Jam family concert series and adding in some at-home activity ideas for a thing we call Faegre Drinker PB&J Replay.
Today’s installment features Indianapolis’ Phoenix Rising Dance Company, good friends of the Center who delighted kids and their grownups alike with an interactive 2018 performance based on the children’s book Giraffes Can’t Dance by Giles Andreae. You and your little ones can talk about the book’s uplifting message and learn some new moves right here.
Video series spans decades of live music
With the concert industry on temporary hold, the staff of Paste music magazine has been scouring YouTube every week or so to find the best concert clips from the worlds of classic rock, folk, blues, soul, punk, indie-pop and other genres for an online series called Live Music at Home.
Though the clips vary in length and quality, they feature some of today’s rising artists and established acts as well as music legends at their peak, often with commentary on the historical context. There’s Santana in 1970, Aretha Franklin in 1971, Bruce Springsteen and the Sex Pistols in 1978 (not together, sadly), Bob Marley in 1979, the Clash in 1980, Prince in 1982 … whew!
You can check out the menu here, but be careful – it’s a rabbit hole.
