In the words of Ella Fitzgerald, Diana Krall, and Zooey Deschanel among many others – what are you doing New Year’s Eve?  And while we’re at it, how about tomorrow night (the video will show on TV tomorrow so ‘tonight’ refers to the 30th) straight through to Saturday, January 2nd.  If your plans aren’t set, here’s New Year’s Music in New York City to kiss off a mean ’15 and bring on a sweet ’16.

We’ve got hip hop with Future.  The Atlanta MC will perform downtown on the East side at Pier 36 that juts out from Clinton Street.  We’ve got jazz with Macy Gray in Times Square and Chris Botti in the village, and rock (or jam bands if you like) from both Phish at the Garden and Gov’t Mule at the Beacon… all on New Year’s Eve.  All but Future are doing multi-night engagements.  They Might Be Giants, who I did not mention in the vid, are also doing a year end run of shows in Billyburg.

Sting Symphonicities At Carnegie Hall

Longtime New York resident Sting is no stranger to the “hallowed sacred venue” (his words) that is Carnegie Hall.   However the former Police frontman‘s performance last week marked a first in that it was the first time he had headlined there by himself as opposed to leading star-studded line-ups in fund-raisers for his rainforest fund.  This show was a benefit as well with the recipient being Carnegie Hall’s own music education programs that offer resources to players running the gamut from beginners to advanced.

Five years ago, Sting recorded Symphonicities with the Royal Philharmonic at Abbey Road Studios.  He revived the concept for this show along with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s.  The local ensemble, which plays regularly at Carnegie Hall as well as The Morgan and The Brooklyn Museum, was led by conductor Rob Mathes who did an outstanding job arranging the material.

Sting featured a crowd-pleasing setlist that included 4 Police songs: Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic, King Of Pain, Roxanne, & Message In A Bottle – the last of which he played solo on acoustic to close the show.  He also included the Frank Sinatra song In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning with Chris Botti accompanying on trumpet.  The two friends, who toured together for two years supporting Brand New Day, also performed that tune in a celebration of Frank Sinatra earlier this month.  You can see a bit of their duet together among other highlights as I was fortunate enough to be at that event as well.  The tuneful trumpeter Chris Botti by the way is at The Blue Note through January 10th 2016.

The event raised over 2 million dollars!

NY Philharmonic Frank Sinatra Tribute

Stars ranging from Christina Aguilera (the Princess of Pop) to Bernadette Peters interpreted songs made famous by a man born in Hoboken, New Jersey almost 100 years ago to the day.  Sinatra: Voice For A Century was a night long on talent at David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center on Thursday, December 3rd, 2015.  Seth MacFarlane hosted the event and he displayed his trademark humor while concisely telling Sinatra’s life story.  MacFarlane is an excellent narrator as a gig hosting the Oscars would suggest so solid ground there.  However as a fan of MacFarlane’s work on Family Guy and American Dad as well as Ted, I wasn’t sure I was ready to hear the voice of Brian the Dog (among so many others) sing.

My fears were misplaced as MacFarlane is an outstanding vocalist and clearly a devotee of Mr. Sinatra.  His new album No One Ever Tells You, to say nothing of its cover, are proof of that.  The night was a triumph for him as well as for choreographer Joshua Bergasse, conductor Alan Gilbert, and co-directors Lonnie Price and Matt Cowart.  The show was well paced and dancing complemented the music without competing with it.  Sting and Chris Botti teaming up was a highlight of the evening.  They have excellent chemistry as they’ve performed together at Chris Botti’s residencies at The Blue Note.   My regrets on not getting contributors such as Fantasia or the Broadway talent like Sutton Foster, Kyle Dean Massey, and Billy Porter into the video.  You’ll enjoy their talents along with the rest if you tune in to the PBS TV-13 in New York telecast next Friday December the 18th.  Otherwise check your local (PBS) listing as they say… This is not to be confused with another nifty Sinatra tribute that was on TV this past Sunday night.

Here are some bits from interviews and performances over the past year or so put together as a celebration of jazz in NYC, past and present…full of fantastic characters!

Find the full reports on Wynton Marsalis, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Bill Frisell, Chris Botti, and Lew Tabackin in the jazz section.

Grammy awarded jazz trumpeter Chris Botti is a New Yorker…