spider saloff

Artist Information

Biography

SPIDER SALOFF
www.spiderjazz.com

“One of the finest jazz singers working in this or any other city,” The Chicago Tribune stated emphatically.
“A wicked way with a lyric!” exclaimed The New York Times.

Spider Saloff has received critical acclaim nationally and internationally. Saloff is not only a seasoned vocalist but also a songwriter and playwright. Her newest project is her one woman musical, “Entertaining Guests” which will debut in Chicago this year.
She performs concert venues ranging from intimate jazz rooms to full symphony orchestras.
Heard world wide as the co-star and co-creator of the internationally syndicated Public Radio series Words and Music .

Recently, Saloff was featured with the prestigious Chicago Jazz Orchestra in a tribute to Ella Fitzgerald. She received the honor of performing the American Premiere of a newly discovered song by the great Billy Strayhorn, “So This Is Love”. And as one of the rare officially sanctioned acts of the Gershwin Centennial, her concert, Spider Saloff Sings Gershwin, toured the U.S. and headlined the St. Petersburg Gershwin Festival in Russia.

Ms. Saloff has played such renowned jazz and night club venues as New York’s Jazz at Lincoln Center, Iridium, Joe’s Pub, Birdland ,The Russian Tea Room, Michael’s Pub, and The Algonquin, as well as San Francisco’s Jazz at Pearl’s, and Plush Room and Seattle’s Triple Door. And Chicago’s famed Gold Star Sardine Bar, The Green Mill, and the Fairmont Hotel.

Other leading venues include symphony orchestras and concert spaces such as; The Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC, Wilmington Grand Opera, Wallingford Symphony, The Castro Theater is San Francisco, and Town Hall and Dick Hyman’s Jazz in July in New York.

Spider Saloff has recorded and performed with such jazz luminaries as Les Paul, Tom Harrell, Nick Brignola, Ray Drummond, Harry Allen, Mark Murphy and Dick Hyman. She has worked frequently with Larry Novak, Tony Monte, Steve LaSpina, Ken Peplowski and Bill Charlap.

A five-time winner of the prestigious MAC Award, including one for Best Female Jazz Vocalist, presented by the Manhattan Association of Cabarets, she also received a special citation for her musical contributions from NARAS (presenter of the Grammy Awards).

Spider Saloff has 7 CDs released nationally on Kopaesthetics Records: 1938, Sextet, The Memory of All That, Cool Yule and A New Set of Standards, Like Glass.. Her Christmas CD entitled Cool Yule was a finalist for the Indie Awards. Her newest recording, Cole Porter Live at Maxim’s was released summer of 2008 and nominated for a MAC Award as Jazz Recording of the Year.


Television and radio credits include: The Bonnie Hunt Show (CBS), The Steve Baskerville Show (CBS), Centerstage (PBS), Artbeat (PBS), Words & Music (syndicated series, 57 episodes), a one-hour feature on the Noteworthy Women series (Public Radio), and Studs Terkel (WFMT).

Instrumentation

Saloff performs with a variety of instumentalist that she has worked with world wide. From as small as guitar and vocals or piano and vocals to full symphony.

Discography

Spider Saloff Discography

On Kopaesthetics Records

Title: 1938

Label: Kopaesthetics

Year: (1990)

Tracks:
This Joint is Jumpin
You Go To My Head
When McGregor Sings Off Key
Two Sleepy People
Medley: Love Walked In/ Most Gentlemen Don’t Like Love/This Can’t Be Love
The Weekend of a Private Secretary
A Tisket A Tasket
September Song
My Heart Belongs To Daddy
Tomorrow
You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby
The Girlfriend of the Whirling Dervish
Spring Is Here
Music Maestro Please
Thanks for the Memory

Personnel:
Spider Saloff – vocals
Ricky Ritzel – piano, vocals
Bob Drake - producer


Title: Sextet

Label: Kopaesthetics

Year: (1995)


Tracks:
Miss Brown to You
Out To Sea (Sail Away)
I Want To Be Happy
Alone In the Dark
No Moon at All
Easy Street
Out of This World
I Keep Going Back To Joe’s
Serenity
Everytime We Say Goodbye

Personnel:
Spider Saloff – vocals
John Colianni – piano and organ
Ray Drummond – bass
Tom Harrell – trumpet and flugelhorn
Nick Brignola - saxes
Klaus Suonsaari – drums
Bobby Sanabria – percussion
Bob Drake - producer


Title: The Memory of All That: A Celebration of Gershwin

Label: Kopaesthetics

Year: (1997)

Tracks:
Slap That Bass
How Long Has This Been Going On?
Fascinating Rhythm
Do Do Do/ Do It Again
Nashville Nightingale
Isn’t It A Pity?
Love Walked In
They Can’t Take That Away From Me
Ask Me Again
S’Wonderful
Lonely Boy
Vodka


Personnel:
Spider Saloff – vocals
Bradley Williams – piano
John Whitfield – bass
Harry Allen – tenor sax
Bob Drake - producer



Title: A New Set of Standards

Label: Kopaesthetics

Year: (1998)

Tracks:
Come Into My Heart
Once In A Blue Moon
Love Is Not a Plaything
Take A Little Time
If I Had To Do It All Over Again
I’d Love to Fall in Love with You
It’s A Good Time to Be in Love
When Love Walks In
Can You Tell?

Personnel:
Spider Saloff – vocals
Larry Novak –piano
John Whitfield – bass
Bobby Lewis –trumpet
Pat Ferreri – guitar
Tom Radke – Drums
Richard Yeo – cello
James Mack - producer


Title: Cool Yule

Label: Kopaesthetics

Year: (2000)


Tracks:
Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
The Christmas Song
Christmas Waltz
Cool Yule
Santa Baby
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
Let It Snow
We Three Kings
I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm
Christmastime Is Here
Winter Wonderland
What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?
I’ll Be Home for Christmas
Boogie Woogie Santa Claus
A Child Is Born
White Christmas


Personnel:
Spider Saloff – vocals
Jeremy Kahn – piano
Steve Rodby – bass
Jerry Steinhilber – drums
Randy Ashton
Bob Drake - producer


Title: Like Glass

Label: Kopaesthetics

Year: (2005)

Tracks:
You Better Watch Yourself with That One
Street of Dreams
Right as the Rain
Like Glass
Gravy Waltz
The Turn Around (Smada)
I’ll Never Be the Same
Satan’s L’il Lamb


Nature Boy
Detour Ahead
Deep in a Dream

Personnel:
Spider Saloff – vocals
Steve Ramsdell – guitars
Kelly Sill – bass
Zach Brock – violin
Geraldo De Oliveira – percussion
Producers – Spider Saloff, Steve Ramsdell


Title: Cole Porter Live at Maxim’s

Label: Kopaesthetics

Year: (2008)

Tracks:
Night and Day
I Concentrate on You
Let’s Misbehave
Get Out of Town
Tale of the Oyster
Dream Dancing
Weren’t We Fools
Laziest Gal in Town
Easy To Love
What Is This Thing Called Love
I Love You
So in Love
Love for Sale
I’ve Got You Under My Skin
Everytime We Say Goodbye
Just One of Those Things
You’d Be So Nice To Come Home To

Personnel:
Spider Saloff – vocals
Jeremy Kahn – piano
Producers – Bob Drake, Spider Saloff


Compilations

Title: Women Who Swing Chicago(compilation)

Label: Big Chicago Records

Year: (1998)

Tracks:
Love Walked In
From: The Memory of All That: A Celebration of Gershwin


Personnel:
Spider Saloff – vocals
Bradley Williams – piano
John Whitfield – bass
Harry Allen – tenor sax


Title: Chicago Jazz Magazine Sampler: 2006 (compilation)

Label: Chicago Jazz Magazine

Year: (2006)

Tracks:
You Better Watch Yourself with That One
From Like Glass

Personnel:
Spider Saloff – vocals
Steve Ramsdell – guitars
Kelly Sill – bass
Geraldo De Oliveira – percussion

Official Website

http://www.spiderjazz.com

Audio

• Deep Inside the Rain
  Listen   Download

Lyrics

• YOU BETTER WATCH YOURSELF WITH THAT ONE
• LIKE GLASS
• Deep Inside the Rain

Video

Photo Gallery

Press

• What the critics say [+ Show ]
  

  What celebrities say about SPIDER SALOFF “Here is a list of qualities that every great singer mu...What celebrities say about
  SPIDER SALOFF
  
  “Here is a list of qualities that every great singer must have. Great pitch, Time, Clarity, (Diction) and the greatest gift of all instant identifiability - you hear a few notes and immediately know who is singing. This is something that any singer would kill for.
  
  Spider Saloff needn’t worry. She has all these qualities and then some!
  
  She’s incredibly musical, a great performer, and marvelous songwriter. A perfect example of this is the title track from her latest CD “Like Glass” on Kopaesthetics
  Just listen. You’ll love it1”
  
  Johnny Mandel
  
  “ A great person, as a singer and personality!”
  Margaret Whiting
  
  “A great singer! Not just a jazz singer…a deep love of music. She cherishes each note. Martha Raye had it and Mel Torme, and Frank Sinatra and Judy Garland and so does Spider Saloff.”
  Hugh Martin
  
  “A thrilling singer! This is a voice you can dig, ‘cause I dig it too.”
  -Lionel Hampton
  
  “Right-on intonation and a personal style which can sell a ballad or tantalize with half a chorus of scatting.”
  -Dick Hyman
  
  “Full of life and vitality.”
  -Studs Terkel
  
  “Ms. Saloff is a gifted and polished song stylist. A most enjoyable musical outing!”
  -Rex Reed
  
  
  “ the Lady Spider’ will reel you in immediately! There isn’t a venue she can’t make her own, from the biggest auditorium to the most intimate nightclub. She’s blessed with perfect pitch, exquisite phasing, and she’s a marvelous actress. I’ve known her for years and she’s a warm, witty and unforgettable person. I love and admire her both as a performer and as a woman. She can SING and she can COOK TOO!”
  
  -Julie Wilson
  
  
  "If there is a greater, more electric and sensitive singer on the planet than spider saloff, my ears eagerly await."
  
  Rick Kogan
  
  
  The critics rave about
  SPIDER SALOFF
  
  
  
  “Rarely have I heard so many musical ideas from one set of pipes with the talent and self assurance to carry them off. Her jazz phrasing is flawless.”
  -Back Stage
  
  “A wicked way with a lyric and a glint of well-controlled mischief.”
  -The New York Times
  
  “Slyly sophisticated, easily accessible, Saloff stands as a kind of ideal.”
  -Chicago Tribune
  
  
  “Saloff’s frenzied scat-singing trip brought the audience to its knees.”
  -Star Ledger
  
  “Her voice takes on a lovely Billy Holiday-like quality. Saloff will win you over completely.”
  -New York Post
  
  “It’s apparent she’s a performer of depth…she demonstrated her impressive jazz skills [with] a sudden outpouring of high notes.”
  -Chicago Sun-Times
  
  “Saloff’s flexible pop soprano pipes are tops.”
  -Variety
  
  “ She is dynamic, a powerhouse of passion!”
  -San Francisco Examiner
  
  “Whether scatting impressively or breaking hearts with her stirring performance, her agile voice and winning stage presence kept the audience totally enthralled.”
  -Asbury Park Press
  
  
  The elegant style and vocal delivery of Chicago vocalist Spider Saloff secure her place in the tradition of great female jazz singers.
  
  -WTTW Channel 11, (PBS) Network Chicago
  
  
  
  What the critics say about the CD Like Glass
  
  “sensual, smoky…together, they combine the blues with samba and brace the audience for whatever comes next.”
  “The silky timbre of her voice and the natural resonance of her band combine seamlessly to produce a lovely concert. . Saloff swings when appropriate and delivers each lyric clearly. Her scatting gives the session an uplifting quality that never stops.”
  All About Jazz
  
  
  “In Like Glass, the title cut, Saloff conveyed an openness of sound and smoldering intensity that recalled June Christy. Saloff let the music speak for itself. Now that’s singing!”
  
  Chicago Tribune
  
  “Like Glass, Saloff’s sixth album aptly highlights her talents and carries the listener to some dreamy intimate soundscapes.”
  Chicago Jazz Institute
  
  “a classic vibe, that is a must have set for adults looking for sophisticated music that won’t be broken into by commercials and newsbreaks. Contemporary, mainstream jazz that’s right there.”
  
  Midwest record recap
  
  
  “Every once in a while you come across a talent that speaks to you…..Moves you….Influences you! Enter Spider Saloff.”
  
  EJazzNews.com
  
  
  “Dynamic and highly entertaining! A jazz vocalist with few peers!”
  
  Smother.net
  
  
  "...Spider delivers a lyric like Barry Bonds scores homeruns...She
  connects everytime."
  
  Chris Cortez KCSM
  
  
  

• Saloff's brilliance matches the magic at Auditorium Theatre [+ Show ]
  

  Saloff's brilliance matches the magic at Auditorium Theatre By Howard Reich Tribune arts cr...
  
  Saloff's brilliance matches the magic at Auditorium Theatre
  
  By Howard Reich
  Tribune arts critic
  Published June 18, 2007
  
  
  
  Listeners don't usually think of the enormous Auditorium Theatre as an intimate space, but it certainly became one over the weekend.
  
  With the exceptional Chicago singer Spider Saloff onstage, and her audience — seated at café tables — right there onstage with her, the grand old venue suddenly was transformed.
  
  Everyone, in other words, had come together under the Auditorium proscenium on Saturday night for the launch of this year's "On Stage With …" cabaret series. For the capacity audience, this meant watching Saloff perform at the edge of the stage, with her back to the house, her silhouette framed by the hundreds of glittering little bulbs that dotted the auditorium behind her.
  
  If there's a more magical space in Chicago in which to savor ultra-sophisticated jazz singing, this listener has yet to encounter it.
  
  The glamorous ambience wouldn't count for much, though, if the musicmaking weren't on a comparable level. But after Saloff's unconvincing performance two years ago at the Green Mill, where she inexplicably over-emoted and oversold her repertoire, one wondered if she would go overboard in such a spectacular setting.
  
  To the contrary, she cut back on the hard sell and the let the natural voluptuousness of her voice and intelligence of her lyric reading tell the story. In so doing, Saloff returned to form, reclaiming her place among the country's most adept jazz vocalists.
  
  Few singers today, for instance, dispatch music of Billy Strayhorn with comparable lushness of tone and elasticity of phrase. The shades of light and half-light she brought to Strayhorn's "A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing" reflected a profound understanding of the subtlety of Strayhorn's work. Every syllable that Saloff sang carried dramatic meaning; every improvised note had tonal weight and substance.
  
  Saloff drew much of the evening's repertory from her most recent recording, "Like Glass," delivering the title cut and other originals with obvious confidence in her deepening achievements as songwriter.
  
  Throughout, she benefited greatly from the lithe accompaniment of Steve Ramsdell on guitar and the airborne solos of Zach Brock, one of the most promising and versatile young violinists in jazz.
  
  hreich@tribune.com
  
  

• Orchestra, singer deliver enjoyable Gershwin concert [+ Show ]
  

  South Bend Tribune February 11, 2008 Orchestra, singer deliver enjoyable Gershwin concert Review ...South Bend Tribune
  February 11, 2008
  Orchestra, singer deliver enjoyable Gershwin concert
  Review
  
  By ANDREW S. HUGHES
  Tribune Staff Writer
  
  SOUTH BEND — The South Bend Symphony Or-chestra and featured guest Spider Saloff gave a fun per-formance of George Gershwin’s music Saturday at the Morris Performing Arts Center.
  
  The upbeat, fanfare music of “Strike Up the Band” opened the concert as one of two initial instrumental pieces performed by the orchestra and Maestro Tsung Yeh.
  
  With its swing rhythms and focus on the tuba and trom-bones, “Strike Up the Band” made for a pleasurable intro-duction to the night.
  
  
  
  
  A delightful rendition of “An American in Paris” fol-lowed.
  
  The orchestra performed it with life and joy. The taxi horns added humorous ac-cents — including when Yeh pointed toward the percussion section to emphasize their presence — and the leisurely opening theme sounded color-ful as the melody moved throughout the orchestra un-der Yeh’s command.
  
  When the tempo picked up, the wind and brass sections turned in exciting ensemble playing, and violinist Zofia Glashauser and violist Keith Lawrence combined for lovely solo and then duo playing on the transition into the piece’s blues section.
  
  Glashauser also had a short, sad solo during the blues sec-tion that served as the high-light of the string section’s lush, Romantic playing.
  
  “An American in Paris” ended with a peppy opening on trumpet for its third section and powerful and vivid play-ing by the brass and wind sections.
  
  Saloff then joined the or-chestra, along with upright bass player Darrel Tidaback and pianist Tony Monte.
  
  Her delivery was reassuring but tinged with melancholy on “Lonely Boy” but bright and lively on “Slap That Bass.”
  
  For “Embraceable You,” her voice sound warm and dra-matic, while her delivery on “Isn’t It a Pity” mixed regret and joy.
  
  “I Got Rhythm” featured a bold, playful and gleeful vocal and impressive scat singing from Saloff.
  
  For encores, Saloff sang a warm, emotive “The Man I Love” and an upbeat “They Can’t Take That Away From Me.”
  
  At the end of a few songs, including “Lonely Boy” and “Embraceable You,” Saloff’s final held note was impressive for its length and the clarity of her tone.
  
  Saloff clearly enjoyed herself at the Morris and made sev-eral comments and jokes be-fore the songs.
  
  “It has been called the most perfect ballad ever written,” Saloff said in introducing “Embraceable You.” “It may have been called that by George Gershwin, but it is beautiful.”
  
  Saloff introduced “Nashville Nightingale” with a joke about jazz musicians: “It has been said jazz musicians improvise a lot, which is to say we play music we don’t know with people we’ve never seen be-fore.”
  
  Saloff, however, wasn’t alone on the Morris’ stage. Her pianist, Monte, repeatedly turned in skillfully con-structed, expertly played so-los, particularly on “Embraceable You” and Nashville Nightingale.”
  
  Tidaback had fun, exciting bass solos on “Slap That Bass” and “I Got Rhythm,” while his technique of brush-ing his right hand against his strings gave “Summertime” a hushed effect.
  
  The tuba at the end of “Fascinatin’ Rhythm” was powerful and playful, the clarinets added sweet accents to “Lonely Boy,” and the French horns added depth and power to “Embraceable You.”
  
  The second half of the con-cert also featured two other instrumental pieces performed by the orchestra.
  
  The medley “Gershwin in Concert” was notable for Glashauser’s emotional play-ing of the violin solo, while Lara Turner had a short but engrossing cello solo on “Lullaby.”
  
  Yeh also appeared to be in good spirits and enjoying him-self, even making a few of his signature deadpan jokes in his introduction to “An American in Paris.”
  
  “If you walk along the shops (in Paris), you will keep this pace,” Yeh said after hum-ming the piece’s opening, walking theme. “I’ve tried it on 42nd Street and just couldn’t.”
  
  Yeh then had the percus-sionist demonstrate the four tones of the taxi horns that feature prominently in the work’s opening section.
  
  “My goodness,” he said, “even the taxi horn’s in tune in Paris.”
  
  At the Morris, as well.
  
  
  
  
  
  

• New sparkle for Berlin gems [+ Show ]
  

  New sparkle for Berlin gems February 21, 2008 BY JACK BES ContributorS Irving Berlin's music i...
  New sparkle for Berlin gems
  February 21, 2008
  BY JACK BES ContributorS
  Irving Berlin's music is so ingrained in American life that it seems to have always been with us, like the Liberty Bell.
  "People might think of it as old-fashioned and flowery, but his music is so amazingly contemporary," said Chicago jazz singer Spider Saloff. "We want people to hear this music as if it's the first time being played. That's the power of the greatness of that music."
  » Click to enlarge image
  
  Spider Saloff, a Chicago jazz singer, brings her fresh take on Irving Berlin's tunes to the Gorton Center.
  'BERLIN IN SWINGTIME: A FRESH LOOK AT IRVING BERLIN'
  Gorton Community Center, 400 E. Illinois Road, Lake Forest. 4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 24. $20 in advance, $25 at door, adults; $10 students. (847) 234-6060 or gortoncenter.org
  Saloff and an acoustic trio -- Jeremy Kahn, piano; Stewart Miller, bass; and Bill Overton, sax -- will perform arrangements that range from hard-swinging to a gentle Latin groove.
  Almost-buried treasure
  But Saloff's approach is rooted in a deep appreciation of the song. Roaming through the vast Berlin catalogue, she chose some classics like "How Deep is the Ocean?" and "Cheek to Cheek," but also demonstrated her sharp ear for lesser-known songs such as "Moonshine Lullaby" from "Annie Get Your Gun" and "Reaching for the Moon," the sole remaining tune from an early talkie musical from which the studio chopped out all the filmed numbers.
  "'Reaching for the Moon' hasn't been done very often," she said. "It's a very rare piece and it's hauntingly beautiful."
  If Berlin's vintage tunes sound contemporary, that was what he wanted all along. His lyrics typically don't have dated topical references. And Berlin strove to make his songs as universal as possible, going as far as deleting the opening verse in the sheet music for his most famous holiday song because it placed the singer in Beverly Hills as he dreamed of a white Christmas.
  Only F sharp
  Saloff will tell stories about Berlin's life and career between songs. She appreciates the powerful symbolism of his life. The son of poor Russian Jewish immigrants, Berlin sang for pennies in the street as a young boy in the early years of the 20th century before becoming a singing waiter who dabbled in writing parodies of popular songs. Even later in life, Berlin played the piano, badly, in only the key of F sharp, and hummed his songs to a musical secretary who transcribed and harmonized them.
  "This kid starts plugging his songs, and he's got all this genius but no musical background and no ability," Saloff said. "He was really working from what was inside of him and creating this music. It's quite a wonderful, uplifting tale."
  Saloff's own backstory begins with her childhood in the south Jersey town of Woodbury. She moved to Chicago about 10 years ago, winning audiences and critical raves for her shows and CDs that draw on the great American songbook, though always on the lookout for lesser-known gems like the Gershwins' "Do It Again."
  The nickname Spider -- she likes to joke that she got the name in prison -- dates back to her youth and refers to the fact hat "I have very long arms and legs and very thin, long hand but a very short torso," she said. "It's the nickname that wouldn't go away. And I finally gave in to it. And it helped. People never forget it."
  
  
  

• Spider Saloff Spins a Jazz Web [+ Show ]
  

  Napa Valley Register Spider Saloff spins a jazz web at Copia Monday Friday, December 13, 2002 ... Napa Valley Register
  
  Spider Saloff spins a jazz web at Copia Monday
  Friday, December 13, 2002
  
  By L. PIERCE CARSON
  Register Staff Writer
  
  An engaging jazz/cabaret singer from Chicago, Spider Saloff, makes her Napa Valley debut at Copia Monday in a unique jazz holiday program, "Cool Yule."
  
  Saloff will offer yuletide classics from her new holiday recording as well as a number of songs from the great American songbook.
  
  Nicknamed for her long arms and legs and short torso -- she stretches up to a height of five-feet-two-inches -- Saloff is co-creator and co-host of the internationally syndicated National Public Radio series "Words and Music."
  
  A five-time winner of the prestigious MAC Award presented by the Manhattan Association of Cabarets, Saloff is an authority on the music of George Gershwin. Not only has she toured the country with a show -- "Spider Saloff Sings Gershwin" -- she headlined a Gershwin Festival in Russia.
  
  She picked up her nickname while a student at Glassboro State College in New Jersey, where she majored in theater arts. She was raised in nearby Woodbury, N.J., where she surprised her family by announcing she intended to pursue a career in show business.
  
  Saloff worked in road companies and regional theaters after she moved to New York. At first, she was afraid to use her nickname professionally. "I thought people would think I was a rock star or something," she confides. "But I found that it was a good move. People don't forget it."
  
  Initially, her goal was to land in a Broadway show. Although she can both sing and act, Saloff is not a dancer -- which limited her roles.
  
  But then she heard about cabaret rooms. "In New York, I discovered that there were all these supper clubs and nightclubs where you could produce a show that would spotlight your talents as a singer and an actor," Saloff notes.
  
  Using her unforgettable nickname, Saloff put together her first show, a mix of jazz and show tunes, and has been working ever since.
  
  But Saloff relocated to Chicago after she found the job market much more promising in the Windy City.
  
  "The problem in New York is clubs either hire major headliners -- who can perform only two weeks of the year -- or people who are just raw and willing to work for peanuts. There is no room for middle acts, people who are talented but still building their national acclaim."
  
  Such a description fits Saloff, whom Chicago Tribune arts critic Howard Reich once described as "the unusual case of a vocalist whose gifts exceed her fame, rather than the other way around."
  
  
  
  
  Spotlighting American classics
  
  The 41-year-old singer is quite fond of the great American songbook. And she has one "unbelievable" experience to share regarding a performance of these standards.
  
  "I had been performing what I consider classics at a concert one evening," she recalls, "part jazz, part American songwriters -- some Duke Ellington, some Hoagy Carmichael, some Irving Berlin. And this kid, who was 25 or younger, said to me: 'Those songs you sang are really great. Did you write them yourself?'
  
  "Not much can render me speechless, but that came close. Sure, it's incredible that people would be unaware of their American musical heritage. But I realized that comment proved these songs are fresh enough that, if performed the right way, come across as new as the day they were written."
  
  Saloff has built a career on singing such songs as if they were new. "The era of music between the two world wars is comparable to the Impressionist era of painting. There's a timelessness to it and, I think, a real need for such music. It's filling a certain void left by the pop music of today."
  
  Tickets for Monday's 8 p.m. concert are $20. They can be reserved by phoning 259-1600 or logging online at www.copia.org.
  
  
  
  
  
  

• weekend at the Jazz Factory [+ Show ]
  

  September 2006 Louisville Music News Jazzin' By Martin Z. Kasdan Jr. A Long Weekend at the Jazz ...September 2006
  Louisville Music News
  Jazzin'
  By Martin Z. Kasdan Jr.
  A Long Weekend at the Jazz Factory: Spider Saloff and Zach Brock, the Mattan Klein Quintet and the Frank & Joe Show
  Chicago-based singer Spider Saloff brought Lexington native and Louisville favorite Zach Brock on violin to the Jazz Factory on Thursday, August 10, together with Chicago guitarist Steve Ramsdell, for an evening of both original material as well as mostly lesser-known but wonderful songs by such stalwarts of the American Songbook as Yip Harburg, Harold Arlen and Cole Porter. She and her musicians transformed Henry Mancini's "Dreamsville" into a Brazilian sounding piece, complete with gentle percussion by Brock on the body of his violin. "Satan's L'il Lamb," by Harburg, Arlen and Johnny Mercer, received a warm reception due both to the clever lyrics and Saloff's delivery of them. In a post-show conversation, she mentioned that she had been an actress in New York before embarking on her singing career and she used her thespian background to good advantage without overdoing it. The title song of her CD, Like Glass, was stunning an! d her lyrics to Billy Strayhorn's "Smada" (retitled "The Turn Around") complemented the song well. (Kopaesthetics K-108, available at www.cdbaby.com if you can't find it locally)
  
  

• Saloff introduces "Love" to Bay Area Jazz Fans [+ Show ]
  

  Contra Costa Times Music ________________________________________ Posted on Fri, De...Contra Costa Times
  Music
  
  
  
  
  ________________________________________
  
  Posted on Fri, Dec. 05, 2003
  
  
  
  
  Saloff introduces 'Love' to Bay Area jazz fans
  By Andrew Gilbert
  TIMES CORRESPONDENT
  
  It's not every day that a singer gets the chance to introduce a new song by Billy Strayhorn.
  For one thing, Strayhorn has been dead for more than 35 years, and his known body of work, written both individually and in collaboration with Duke Ellington, includes more than enough classics to fill several shows, from the sublime ballads "Chelsea Bridge," "Day Dream" and "Lotus Blossom" to the art song "Lush Life" and the Ellington Orchestra's enduring theme song "Take the 'A' Train."
  So when Chicago-based jazz vocalist Spider Saloff was asked by the Strayhorn estate to perform "So This Is Love," a song unheard for more than 60 years, it was an irresistible honor. She premiered the heartrending ballad last September to a sold-out house at Chicago's Storefront Theater, the first time the piece had been sung since Strayhorn wrote it in 1935.
  "It was like an out-of-body experience. I was very high for several days after that first performance," said Saloff, who introduces "So This Is Love" to the Bay Area on Thursday at Club Jazz Nouveau in San Francisco, accompanied by the trio of veteran pianist Larry Vuckovich. During a two-week stay in the region, she is also performing as a guest Saturday morning on the public radio show "West Coast Live," and is the headliner at the Dec. 16 Shanti Project benefit Christmas show at the Plush Room, which also features Spencer Day, Tim Hockenberry, Kim Kuzma, Bob Sarlatte and others. She returns to Club Jazz Nouveau on Dec. 18.
  "When I received the music, it was beautifully packaged with Billy Strayhorn's signature," Saloff continued. "It was exciting to work with it and decide what to do to make it my own. Yet we struck very purely to what he wrote and the simplicity of the original arrangement."
  Strayhorn wrote the original arrangement for "Fantastic Rhythm," a high school show that made his reputation as an up-and-coming composer in Pittsburgh. The lyric, about the pain of unrequited love, was as emotionally mature as his talent was precocious. Another piece from "Fantastic Rhythm" was "My Little Brown Book," which became part of the Ellington book several years later.
  "That someone that young could have that kind of sophistication is amazing," Saloff said. "'My Little Brown Book' came from that show and it became a hit, but 'So This Is Love' has been hidden away. There's a lot of material that has not been let out yet. He left tons and tons of music in his apartment when he died, and it's quite an archival feat to go through it."
  Strayhorn initially joined the Ellington Orchestra as a lyricist in 1939, but within a few months, he had become an indispensable member of the organization, working as the second pianist, arranger, composer and leader of the frequent recording sessions featuring small Ellingtonian combos. Though widely esteemed and loved by fellow jazz musicians during his life, Strayhorn seemed happy or at least resigned to being overshadowed by the flamboyantly urbane Ellington.
  The fact that Strayhorn was openly, albeit quietly, gay at a time when it was extremely difficult if not dangerous, even in show business, probably made Ellington's shadow a comfortable place. The Maestro certainly sang Strayhorn's praises whenever possible, always crediting him for "'A' Train" and other works. In his book "Music Is My Mistress," Ellington famously described the extrasensory nature of their creative collaboration. Far more than his alter ego, Ellington wrote that Strayhorn "was my right arm, my left arm, all the eyes in the back of my head, my brainwaves in his head, and his in mine."
  Besides the Strayhorn song, Saloff is performing a diverse array of material. Through her syndicated public radio show "Words and Music," she is best known as an incisive interpreter of the American Songbook. But judging from her performances last year at the Jazzschool and Castro Theatre with Chet Baker biographer James Gavin, Saloff is just as comfortable singing an original arrangement of a Gerry Mulligan composition.
  "People associated me with the American Songbook, but I'm really doing both standards and jazz tunes," Saloff said. "For instance, I'll be doing a new lyric I wrote for Coltrane's 'Naima' that I debuted in San Francisco last June at Original Joe's."
  
  

• Saloff is True Talent [+ Show ]
  

  State Journal Register Springfield, IL By NICK ROGERS ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT WRITER After la...
  State Journal Register
  Springfield, IL
  
  By NICK ROGERS
  ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT WRITER
  
  After last year’s charged performance from jazz singer Ann Hampton Callaway, the Illinois Symphony Orchestra gave the cabaret theme another go for the first 2004-05 pops concert.
  Saturday’s concert at Sangamon Auditorium featured vocalist Spider Saloff. Saloff is a true talent and her voice was complemented far more frequently by her own backing band, made up of pianist Tony Monte and upright bass player Mark Sonksen.
  Even if the format squeezed out the possibility of a fuller sound, “A Gershwin Gala” allowed several ISO individuals the rare chance to let loose on jazz solos or sections.
  The orchestra opened the evening with “Cuban Overture,” Gershwin’s impressive sketch of motifs that brought to mind a 24-hour time period on the island of music and mystery. Potent bursts of brass dotted the opening movement, which buzzed like nightclub neon.
  A clarinet solo led into the more subdued second section, which resembled the dying-down of the hubbub and the dawning of the next day, when the beat inevitably has to pick back up.
  Radio clips of Gershwin introducing and playing some of his own music preceded a snappy bit from the ISO Brass Quintet for “Strike Up the Band.”
  With an ever-so-slight crescendo, the quintet’s swinging was spot-on and made one of the lasting impressions of the evening.
  “In case you were expecting a large man with tattoos, I’m Spider Saloff,” said the Chicago-based jazz singer as she took to the stage for “Embraceable You.”
  Her phrasing was impeccable, as was the slinky dramatic persona she brought to the beautiful ballad. Monte’s solo also shined.
  Saloff’s voice captured the huskiness and the heart of Gershwin’s music, brimming with bright girlish tones, raw sass and scintillating scat singing.
  Naturally, Sonksen had good solo moments on “Slap That Bass,” but the orchestra also provided the rare fully backed moment with a mysterious, sneaky-sounding chord progression.
  Stephen Parsons’ trombone solo on “Someone To Watch Over Me,” in which he played the vocal line, was a truly warm, voice-like recreation for which he fully earned the multiple bows he took.
  Trumpeter Andrew Tichenor also belted out a bouncing response to Saloff’s vocals on “They Can’t Take That Away From Me.”
  The rarest Gershwin song of the evening, and its high point, was “Lonely Boy,” a lullaby removed from “Porgy and Bess” at the demand of the actress who originally played Bess.
  There was no place in the production for her to sing “Summertime,” so she asked that a reprise of that be substituted for “Lonely Boy.”
  The simple elegance of the song makes that decision look, in hindsight, like a horrible one. But Saloff’s soaring vocals on “Lonely Boy,” which few if any in the audience had heard, made it an immediate favorite.
  After Saloff, Monte and Sonksen left following “I’ve Got Rhythm,” the orchestra did its own “Porgy and Bess” reprise — playing a medley of selections from the production for guest conductor Richard Haglund.
  Haglund, conductor of the Sangamon Valley Youth Symphony, filled in for the evening in place of conductor and music director Karen Lynne Deal, who was absent because of the death of her father earlier last week.
  
  Nick Rogers can be reached at 747-9587 or nick.rogers@sj-r.com.
  
  

• Spider Saloff Like Glass [+ Show ]
  

  Spider Saloff LIKE GLASS Midwest Record Recap One of the reasons to say there is still a music ...Spider Saloff
  LIKE GLASS
  Midwest Record Recap
  
  One of the reasons to say there is still a music scene in Chicago is that Spider Saloff is based here. One of those cool under the radar performances that manages to be everywhere whether you know it or not, she drops a cool new set that has the sophistication that used to be easy to find and is now prized and in demand when you can find it. Putting some local jazzbos to great use to create a classic vibe, that is a must have set for adults looking for sophisticated music that won’t be broken into by commercials and newsbreaks. Contemporary, mainstream jazz that’s right there.
  
  
  

Setlist

Sample set lists.
most sets are 45min in typical setting. In formal concert setting they can be 50 min to 1 hour and 10 min. They are normally a mix of standards and original tunes, all with original arrangements.

ACT 1

1 *LET’S FACE THE MUSIC Amin

2 AUTUMN IN NY C

3 *GRAVY WALTZ G

4 IT DON’T MEAN A THING Amin

5 *YOU BETTER WATCH YOURSELF WITH THAT ONE

6 WHEN I FALL IN LOVE C

7 *T’AINT NO SIN



ACT 2
1 AUTUMN LEAVES C

2 SKYLARK Ab


3 NATURE BOY Bb


4 GEORGIA ON MY MIND Bb


5 *THE TURNAROUND

6 *LIKE GLASS

7 PERDIDO F

Basic Requirements

Calendar