Singer Ken Slavin from Texas comes to Don’t Tell Mama during Tony Award Weekend with Shaken, Not Stirred – With a Tony Twist! Slavin’s first engagement at the legendary cabaret at 343 West 46th Street in the heart of the Theater District will feature two shows: Friday, June 9 at 9:30 p.m. and Saturday, June 10 at 8 p.m. Joining him on stage are New York musicians Yaz on upright bass both nights, Mike Campeni on drums on Friday night and Steve Little on drums on Saturday night, with musical direction by Barry Brake.
Slavin’s performance will feature an eclectic program of great saloon and torch songs – all served up with swingin’ jazz touches. Several of the tunes will be from classic Broadway shows that were either nominated for or won the coveted Tony Award. “I’m thrilled to be making my first appearance at the most famous cabaret room in the theater district,” Slavin said. “I am so grateful to Sidney Myer for making this possible!” 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 (YorYou Gotta Have Heart: Live at The Metropolitan Room in New York) and executive 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. (LINK TO ALL CD TRACKS: http://tinyurl.com/zq7wcy5)
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, and has been performing in Texas for 27 years. A self-described “late bloomer,” he began his music career just before he turned 29.
His CDs sell regularly in Japan, Europe and Latin America. And he is currently ranked #1 on ReverbNation’s jazz charts for San Antonio and for the Southwest Region – and has been in the Top 10 for its U.S. and global jazz charts for several weeks. Slavin is a member of MAC, the Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs. His unique interpretations of jazz, pop, blues and blues have brought him 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, smooth jazz sax man Jeff Kashiwa, 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, also based in New York, who is son of renowned jazz vibraphonist Terry Gibbs. He has given private performances for GRAMMY Award winners Helen Reddy and Vikki Carr and recently opened for 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. 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.
“Magnificent! His choice of music and songs and his entire approach to a
cabaret production should be the envy of many an artist.” – Bernie Furshpan, The Metropolitan Room, NYC
“He doesn’t do Rat Pack. Slavin simply sings the Great American Songbook in a baritone timbre that resides somewhere between Chet Baker sweetness and Johnny Hartman’s husky silk. Ken Slavin is the most stylish, unwavering singer in town.” – Hector Saldana, The Weekender, San Antonio Express-News
$20 plus a two-drink minimum.
All MAC members will receive $5 off at the door. Call 212-757-0788 or visit www.donttellmamanyc.com for reservations.
For more information, visit KenSlavin.com. Or call Len Triola Promotional Services Inc. at 516-782-9635 or 516-781-2749.
Leave a Reply