In Jazz We Trust....

http://www.kuumbwajazz.org/concerts/010710.htm....

Known for his classic interpretation of and undying dedication to the Great American Songbook, Ron Kaplan now brings us his newest CD titled New York (Kapland Records), and dedicated to the great east coast jazz mecca of the same name. Using his sophisticated phrasing, rich, warm tone and superb command of his trademark baritone, Kaplan personally takes you on a tour of New York City. “Although I am from California,” explains Kaplan, “Every time I go to New York City I am always struck by the energy, excitement and exuberance of the place. It’s the jazz capitol of the world". ....

Having done extensive research, Kaplan has thoughtfully selected a dozen classic compositions that specifically reflect a myriad of different aspects of the sights and sounds of New York - from the ongoing nightlife or riding the subway to walking around uptown. Close your eyes and let Kaplan and his top-flight band, featuring Lewis Kaiser on coronet, Dale Mills bringing the reeds, Martan Mann at the piano, Billy Bosch on bass and Jimmy Baum on drums, transport you to the "Big Apple".....

Having grown up in Los Angeles in a musical family, Kaplan studied music, acting and comedy and earned his BA while attending L.A. Valley College and the University of California at Santa Cruz. While he settled into family life and a professional career as an insurance agent in Santa Cruz, he continued to ply his skills as a singer and is known for his association with the long-standing Santa Cruz jazz band Warmth, directed by pianist/keyboardist and local legend Don McCaslin. Kaplan has also performed in LA, Las Vegas, New York and London, and made television appearances on Musicians Weekly and BET on Jazz. In 1997 he founded his own record label, Kapland Records subsequently released his debut recording, High Standards followed by Lounging Around, Dedicated, Jazz Ambassadors, Saloon, and New York. www.ronkaplan.com....

Aside from being one of our finest contemporary singers of jazz standards, Kaplan has spent his entire career championing the Great American Songbook. He is the founder and executive director of American Songbook Preservation Society, a non-profit organization whose mission statement is: "To preserve our cultural treasure known as the Great American Songbook by performing this music at home and abroad as Ambassadors of Song." www.GreatAmericanSongbook.org....

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Greetings one and all…

Happy Holidays and New Year too!

A few updates from Ron Kaplan, Kapland Records and American Songbook Preservation Society.

I’m happy to report that I will be appearing at Kuumbwa Jazz Center on Thursday, January 7, 2010 http://kuumbwajazz.org/concerts/010710.htm and will be performing the repertoire from my recording entitled New York. I had the opportunity to perform this material in NYC this summer at Feinstein’s. It was great fun.  If you love NY, you will love this evening of New York songs!

I am also happy to report that we have completed the documentary film entitled Words and Music on behalf of American Songbook Preservation Society. You can watch the short film version on our website and if you like make a donation in support of our efforts.  http://greatamericansongbook.org/videoMessage.html

We have been receiving play on Community TV of Santa Cruz County as a PSA.

The film is a companion piece to our 15-singer concert DVD of 2008 in Los Angeles.

If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation before year-end, I promise we will make good use of it. http://greatamericansongbook.org/make_a_donation.htm

Thank you for your support!

Lastly…I wanted to share this brief trailer for a film entitled Jake’s Dead that I had the opportunity to play a Newscaster in earlier this year. It will be released in June 2010. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3zmjRUVrDg

Wishing each and every one of you good health, happiness, and good fortune.

…in jazz we trust

RonKaplan

www.ronkaplan.com

www.greatamericansongbook.org

www.myspace.com/kaplandrecords

LoveAllBeAll

Greetings one and all...

NYC: Ron Kaplan sings New York!  July 10th & 11th 2009

Ron Kaplan:

Friday, Jul 10, 2009: 8:30PM 
Saturday, Jul 11, 2009: 8:30PM

"Ron Kaplan is an original personality in the world of jazz vocalists
and he has managed to put his name into that previously closed inner
circle. He has breathed new life into it by the sheer force of his
style, for as you know, “the style is the man himself”. The Velvet
Crooner and the elegant power of his seemingly casual phrasing is in
fact, ultra-tight and perfectly seductive… Jean Szlamowicz, Jazz Hot"

In addition to his career as a concert performer and recording
artist, Kaplan also is the founder and executive director of The
American Songbook Preservation Society, a non-profit organization whose
mission statement is: "To preserve our cultural treasure known as the
Great American Songbook by performing this music at home and abroad as
Ambassadors of Song." For more information, visit
greatamericansongbook.org.

As to the future, Kaplan says, "I am deeply committed to performing
these great standards and doing what I can to keep this music alive and
viable for new generations of listeners."

One of our finest contemporary singers of jazz standards, Ron
Kaplan has spent his entire career championing the Great American
Songbook, with much of that classic material written in or about New
York City. So it makes perfect sense that this tradition-oriented
vocalist dedicates his latest album, New York, to that remarkable
metropolis.

“Although I am from California,” explains Kaplan, “every time I go
to New York City I am always struck by the energy, excitement and
exuberance of the place. Everything about it is exciting – the history,
the architecture, the people, the culture, the arts. It’s the jazz
capitol of the world. It’s the home of Broadway theatre, Tin Pan Alley,
the Brill Building and countless legendary songwriters over the past
century. There is so much to do and the atmosphere is so intense. It’s
the city that never sleeps. It is one of the few cities in the world
that has had many, many songs written about it. The difficulty wasn’t
finding New York-themed songs for this recording, but deciding which
ones to sing.”

Ron Kaplan's New York and his other CDs are available at online
sites (such as cdbaby.com and amazon.com), digital download locations
(including iTunes.com, rhapsody.com) and Kaplan's own ronkaplan.com.

In addition to his career as a concert performer and recording
artist, Kaplan also is the founder and executive director of American
Songbook Preservation Society, a non-profit organization whose mission
statement is: "To preserve our cultural treasure known as the Great
American Songbook by performing this music at home and abroad as
Ambassadors of Song." For more information, go to
greatamericansongbook.org. "The Great American Songbook is full of what
is known as popular standards -- great songs written generally between
1920 and 1960, most often for Broadway shows or Hollywood musical
films, but sometimes simply in the Tin Pan Alley tradition of pianists
and lyricists working together to create quality material for the big
bands or the pop singers of the day."

Kaplan has carved out an exemplary singing career by following in
the footsteps left by legends such as Frank Sinatra, Mel Torme, Nat
King Cole and Tony Bennett. Ron has superb command of his flexible
baritone that literally cocoons the listener within the cozy atmosphere
of the images and feelings that he sings about. His trademarks are his
sophisticated phrasing, the mature tonal qualities of his vocals, and
his relaxed style.

Kaplan selected a dozen classic compositions that reflect a myriad
of different aspects of New York City. “The chronology of the songs is
like taking a trip to New York City, seeing the different parts of the
island, experiencing the nightlife, riding the subway or the buses,
walking around or going uptown.” A couple of the tunes are better known
as jazz instrumentals than vocalized compositions, but Kaplan did
extensive research to track down the lyrics, often going back to the
earliest versions or sheet music, and sometimes singing verses seldom
heard today.

While most of the CD’s tunes are from the first half of the
Twentieth Century, the stage is set with a song from the Seventies,
Billy Joel’s “New York State of Mind” (“He’s saying that once you’ve
been a New Yorker, you always feel the pull to go back to that city.”).
Lester Young’s “Jumpin’ With Symphony Sid” is about a famous New York
disc-jockey playing the swing, R&B and jazz of the Forties over the
air. No trip to NYC would be complete without a stop on Broadway,
represented by both “Lullaby of Broadway” and a medley, “New York New
York/Broadway,” where, as the lyrics say, “the night is brighter than
day.” Then it’s off on a historical ride around the city with Billy
Strayhorn’s classic “Take the ‘A’ Train” which became one of Duke
Ellington’s signature themes. Appropriately, next comes the
Ellington-penned “Drop Me Off in Harlem” and a Cotton Club standard,
“Harlem Nocturne,” which Kaplan first heard as an instrumental on a
noir-ish private eye television show years ago.


The journey around the big city continues with “Forty Second
Street.” Kaplan says he loves the historical content (“it talks about
everything from dancing girls and chorus lines to Times Square and Wall
Street”). Another side of the city is presented in “Sunday in New York”
(“it reminds me of strolling along the streets and people watching”).
For many years striving, struggling artists have flocked to this
important entertainment capital determined “to make it” and this drama
is described in the Sixties Brill Building hit “On Broadway.” Kaplan
injects a little humor with the cynical tongue-in-cheek “Give It Back
to the Indians,” written by tunesmiths Rogers and Hart. The recording
closes with another song by the same team, “Manhattan” (“perhaps the
quintessential song about New York”).

Kaplan’s other albums are High Standards, Dedicated, Jazz
Ambassadors, Lounging Around, Saloon and a special-edition fund-raising
live recording American Songbook Preservation Society Singing the Great
American Songbook.

“All of my albums are an acknowledgment and tip-of-the-hat to those
who came before us and paved the way for us to have a truly American
soundtrack of music for our lives,” explains Kaplan. “My greatest
desire is to keep this wonderful music before the public for the next
hundred years and beyond. This music needs to be elevated and cared
for, which is why I started the not-for-profit American Songbook
Preservation Society.”

Ron is delighted to bring this recording to Feinstein’s Loews
Regency under the musical direction of Steinway Artist and New Yorker
Pete Malinverni. www.petemalinverni.com

Please call 212-339-4095 for reservations or further information.
FEINSTEIN'S AT LOEWS REGENCY
540 Park Avenue (at 61st Street)
New York, NY 10021
212-339-4095