Tin Pan Alley Cats

Concert at Bridgewater Library  —  May 9, 2014 @ 7:30 pm

Pop tunes from America's finest songsmiths

Vintage guitars from 1920s, 1930s and 1940s

Friends of Bridgewater Public Library will host a free concert by Ken Lelen on Friday, May 9, 2014, at 7:30 pm in the Program Room, 1 Vogt Drive, Bridgewater, NJ 08807. Info at 908-526-4016 and Bridgewater Library website.

Thomas "Fats" Waller
"I'm through with flirtin'; it's just you I'm thinkin' of,
Ain't misbehavin'; I'm saving my love for you."

    Lelen will sing pop tunes composed by America's greatest songsmiths — including George & Ira Gershwin, Richard Rogers & Lorenz Hart, Jimmy McHugh & Dorothy Fields, Cole Porter, Johnny Mercer, Duke Ellington, Irving Berlin, Jule Styne, Harold Arlen & Yip Harburg, Richard Whiting, Johnny Black, Fats Waller, Hoagy Carmichael and others. In addition to the songs, the musician will offer amusing anecdotes on the composers and lyricists, Tin Pan Alley and music of the mid-20th Century.
      The music program may include such songs as: "The Lady Is A Tramp" (Rogers & Hart), "She's Funny That Way" (Whiting), "On The Sunny Side Of The Street" (McHugh & Fields), "Blue Moon" (Rogers & Hart), "Ain't Misbehavin'" (Waller), "I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm" (Berlin) and "Over The Rainbow" (Arlen & Harburg).

     "Mr. Lelen is a genial performer, with a pleasant tenor," said the New York Times. "The songs he plays will never go out of date."

     The musician will display and play steel-stringed acoustic guitars from the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. Made by Gibson, Martin, Regal, Schmidt and other U.S. firms, they produce an authentic, back-in-the-day sound that is striking for its tone, character and sustain without the use of pick-ups or electronic gimmicks.

     "People of all ages love the songs," Lelen said. "And they're pleasantly surprised by the robust sound and classy look of the vintage guitars."

Richard Rogers and Lorenz Hart
"Won't go to Harlem in ermine and pearls,
Won't dish the dirt with the rest of the girls,
That's why the lady is a tramp."

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     ©  2014 — Kenneth Lelen — All Rights Reserved