Cirque Macau – Alice in the Cosmos

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This is very ironic. Here’s a news release about the overall concept of the new Cirque Macau show at the Sands Venetian that I’m working on (I knew about it, but won’t release any info on the show until it’s released to the media).

The ironic part is that one of the projects I had to cancel when I joined Cirque Du Soleil was writing my new musical version of Alice in Wonderland. It was scheduled for performance in April of 2008. Mmmm…..coincidental don’t you think?

Stéphane Baillargeon
Édition du mardi 19 février 2008

Article on Cirque Macau I released in French by Ledevoir.com at http://www.ledevoir.com/2008/02/19/176805.html?fe=3176&fp=242761&fr=68506

You can translate the original article from French to English at: http://babelfish.altavista.com/

Partial English Translation:

The director Gilles Maheu prepares an original production described in the documents of the company like “Alice with the country of the wonders, but in cosmos”. The spectacle of Venetian Hotel, inaugurated next October, will use seven lifting performances, including three calling upon about fifteen dancers. Gilles Maheu, well-known for his work of dance-theatre within the late troop Carbon-14, called upon Martino Müller, the choreographer who worked already with him on the musical Our-injury of Paris.

The CDS quickly hopes to propose “at least five” spectacles with Macao, according to an internal source. In fact, the company wishes to reproduce there with identical the model of development of Las Vegas where it is about to offer its sixth production and aims programming at ten spectacles from here 2015.

– With reading tomorrow: Will the CDS settle in London and New York?

Excerpt in French:

Le metteur en scène Gilles Maheu prépare une production originale décrite dans les documents de la compagnie comme «Alice au pays des merveilles, mais dans le cosmos». Le spectacle du Venetian Hotel, inauguré en octobre prochain, utilisera sept performances acrobatiques, dont trois faisant appel à une quinzaine de danseurs. Gilles Maheu, bien connu pour son travail de danse-théâtre au sein de la défunte troupe Carbone 14, a fait appel à Martino Müller, le chorégraphe qui travaillait déjà avec lui sur la comédie musicale Notre-Dame de Paris.

Le CDS espère rapidement proposer «au moins cinq» spectacles à Macao, selon une source interne. En fait, la compagnie souhaite y reproduire à l’identique le modèle de développement de Las Vegas où elle est sur le point d’offrir sa sixième production et vise une programmation à dix spectacles d’ici 2015.

– À lire demain: Le CDS s’installera-t-il à Londres et à New York?

Vince Seneri

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I got introduced to Vince Seneri’s music through a friend who is an executive producer on his project. Vince has a new Hammond B3 CD hitting the streets on March 1, 2008 and there’s already some buzz about it. He’s a seasoned player – check out his clips for yourself on his website at www.vinceseneri.com . The picture above is from one of his previous albums – his new CD release is called “The Prince’s Groove”.

I’ve never met anyone that didn’t like a well played Hammond B3.

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The Prince’s Groove – Advance Review

Vince Seneri – THE PRINCE’S GROOVE: Our first exposure to Seneri’s fantastic organ work was in issue #74 <http://zzaj.freehostia.com/Z74Reviews.htm> , & he’s outdone himself on this new CD (due for a March 1st release). As always, he’s got some stellar players with him, like Randy Brecker on trumpet & flugelhorn, Paul Bollenback’s guitar, Dave Valentin on flute, tenor sax from Houston Person, percussion by Richie Flores and Gary Fritz & (last but not least) Buddy Williams on drums. A track title like “Dearly Beloved” would make most listeners think “ballad” (as did I), but this is one of the most scorching Hammond B3 pieces I’ve ever heard… & the title track, a Vince original, is some of the mellowest jazz you’ll ever listen to. My favorite tune was “The Stinger”, composed by Seneri… it flows with sophisticated rhythm, & highlights each player without taking away from any of them… an absolute stunner! Mr. Seneri is (as of this moment) my favorite jazz organ player, & if you love jazz organ, you’ll share my sentiments there. This album gets our MOST HIGHLY RECOMMENDED rating, as well as the “PICK” of this issue for “best organ jazz”!

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Another Vince Seneri Review

How about three cheers for jazz journeymen? Cats who’ve been around for a good long while and can play the dickens out of their instruments yet do not qualify as stars — except to fellow musicians who know a genuine talent when they hear one. That’s what you get with Vince Seneri, a masterful keyboardist who cuts it up big-time on the Hammond B3 organ. The guy is a supreme groove-master on the level of such giants as Larry Young, Jimmy Smith and Jack McDuff. Less barbecue-style than those gents, Seneri has his own smooth, soulful sound that rides in the pocket. He also indulges in spirited improvisation that gamely pulls apart melody for sheer entertainment value. This weekend at Zanzibar Blue, Seneri is joined by Dave Valentin (flute), David “Fathead” Newman (sax) and Doc Gibbs (percussion) — all in all, a cool cast of jazz vets.

Eduard Harutyunyan

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Eduard Harutyunyan is a percussionist from Armenia and currently with the Cirque Du Soleil band for the Macau China show at the Sands Venetian. I’ve been getting to know him a bit in rehearsals. He is very serious about his craft and has a tight natural feel which he keeps in top shape daily. I’ll have more info on him down the road.

Road to Svara
Performance from Saturday, September 18, 2004 – 11:43 PM

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Armadam & Vahagn Hayrapetyan

Flute: Valeri Tolstov
Sax: Suren Kyarunts
Duduk, Zurna: Araik Mkoyan
Ud: Tarek Mustafa
Violancello: Artem Manukyan
Piano: Vahagn Hayrapetyan, Ruben Satyan
Guitar: Vardan Gasparyan
Bass: Artur Molitvin
Percussion: Eduard Harutyunyan
Drums: Alexander Grigoryan

“Time Report”

“Time Report” is one of the most popular jazz bands in Armenia, playing ethnic jazz. The original founders of the group are Khachatur Sahakian and Armen Hyusnunts, who produced their first album (Songs Without Words) in 1996. On the following year drummer Alexander Grigorian (Sash) and bass player Vardan Arakelian joined the duo.

The united band made its debut as “Time Report” in 1998. It conquered highest acclaims in the First International Jazz Festival in Armenia (Yerevan-98).

In 2000 percussionist Eduard Harutyunyan joined the group and drummer Arman Jalalian replaced Alexander Grigorian. In 2005, duduk and zurna player Vardan Grigorian joined the band.

The style of music of “Time Report” is defined as “ethnic-jazz”. Their arrangements of Armenian traditional songs and the colorful original compositions of each musician had placed the band at an advanced position on the modern Armenian jazz scene.

They have toured and performed in many countries of the world and participated in various jazz festivals.

Jay Elfenbein

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“Jay Elfenbein made his instrument roar, howl, slide and buzz… and he did so with virtuosity and flair.” – The New York Times 

I’ve been working with Jay Elfenbein in the Macau Cirque band and he’s pretty damn incredible. I guess what first caught my ear is how he can switch from early music to jazz at the drop of a hat. A swingin’ bass man and very knowledgable music historian with a passion for early music. And he’s got that loveable New York charm to boot so he’s a real catch for Cirque. I’ve been learning a lot from him about approaches to music and interpretation which has been awesome.

“Jay Elfenbein, who many regard as the finest medieval and renaissance musician in New York City, is as well an astoundingly unique jazz player, and a composer of undeniable brilliance.”

THE IVORY CONSORT – founded by Jay Elfenbein

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The Ivory Consort, founded and directed by Jay Elfenbein, is an ensemble that specializes in medieval music performed in an exciting and historically informed manner. For over ten years, they have brought ancient music to life on stage and over the radio with stunning clarity and brilliant improvisation. The Consort presents a fascinating mosaic of songs from the Golden Age of Spain, when Jews, Muslims and Christians forged a common musical language. With 10th through 13th century songs in Ladino, Hebrew, Arabic and Galician-Portuguese, the program provides a historical context for the intermingling of cultures before the 1492 Expulsion.

The Ivory Consort Jay Elfenbein (vihuela d’arco/vielle/rebab/psaltery/back-up vocals) “Jay Elfenbein made his instrument roar, howl, slide and buzz… and he did so with virtuosity and flair.” – The New York Times

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Chicken Stir Fry

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Chicken Stir Fry. More easy recipes that even Norwegian guys can be smart enough to make. Takes under ten minutes and super yummy.

DIRECTIONS

1. Prepare rice. Put equal parts water and rice in a pan with a little butter and salt. Once water begins to boil remove from heat and cover. Let it sit while you make the rest.

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2. Cut vegetables. Any vegetables you like. I used beans in the pod, green peppers, a couple clovers of garlic and diced carrots.

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3. Warm pan with oil or butter and start cooking your diced chicken. When you flip the chicken pieces over, then start adding your vegetables. Add soy sauce, salt and pepper to taste.

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4. Take your finished rice and put it on the place. Finish mixing the vegetables and chicken and put on top of the rice. Top with soy sauce and nuts of choice. I used peanuts and it was AWESOME.

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This meal was so good I couldn’t believe it was healthy. Maybe I’ll find out it wasn’t, but it  LOOKED healthy and tasted as good as any junk food. Guaranteed to make guys happy, even dense Scandinavians who don’t know how to cook.

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How to Boil Corn

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I know I’m starting slow on this cooking stuff but cut me some slack. I cannot believe how much fun this is! There are a lot of fancy ways I found to make corn, but I’m not fancy so here’s the ultimate bachelor recipe for cooking corn

DIRECTIONS TO BOIL CORN

1) Put corn in kettle of water and boil 1-10 minutes. The longer you boil, the softer it is. I boiled my corn for two minutes and then let it sit. Put butter on it and it tasted good to me. What guy doesn’t love that simple recipe?

That’s it. Chow down. Or read on for a more exquisite approach.

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Now I also found that people added milk to the water when boiling corn. From what I read, once you try this you’ll never go back to just water again. So here’s a fancier recipe for the more adventurous type:

Ingredients
6-8 ears corn , husks and silk removed
1 cup milk
1/4 cup whipping cream , unwhipped (or use 1-1/4 cups milk, the cream is better to use)
3 teaspoons salt (or to taste)
6 tablespoons sugar (can use more sugar)
1/4 cup butter (you can use up to 1/2 cup butter)

Directions

1. Fill a large stock pot (about an 8-quart) half full with water.

2. Add in the milk, cream, salt, sugar and butter

3. Bring to a boil, then add in the corn cobs

4. Reduce heat to a simmer and allow corn to cook for 8-12 minutes or until tender, depending on size of corn try not to over cook the corn as it will become tough.

Cirque Band in Montreal

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Greetings from the Cirque Du Soleil band (Macau I) in Montreal, Canada. This is just part of the band. From left is Olivier Milchberg, Conrad Askland, Darrin Johnson, Rose Winebrenner and Steve Bach.

Some people have asked where the players are from. Musicians are from the US (Mount Vernon, WA – Denver, CO – Chicago, IL – New York City and Branson, MO), France, Sweden, Australia and Armenia.

We’re fffffffffffffffffffrrrrrrrreeezing up here. Please send Lutefisk and Lefse. (The Lefse won’t keep me warm, I just want some.)