Paul Shaffer of David Letterman to Play The Ridgefield Playhouse

Shaffer is best known for the 30 plus years he spent as David Letterman's musical director and bandleader, but on Saturday, May 6th at 8 p.m. this world renowned musician takes center stage at The Ridgefield Playhouse! Shaffer has had a hand in the sounds and songs that peppered the landscape of late night television. Still behind the keyboard, he spearheads The World's Most Dangerous Band, the group of musicians who formed from the CBS Orchestra and from some of his many other professional endeavors. Solid and powerful, this group of accomplished musicians, featuring vocalist Valerie Simpson of Ashford and Simpson fame, brings a night of classic hits and music from 's new self-titled album to the Pepsi Rock Series Powered by xfinity. began his career in 1972 as musical director for the Toronto production of "Godspell." His talents landed him on the original cast of "Saturday Night Live" where he spent 5 years as the band leader and performer - most notably for his parody of Don Kirschner. Shaffer occasionally teamed up with the "Not Ready for Prime-Time Players" off the show as well, including work on Gilda Radner's highly successful Broadway show and as the musical director for John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd whenever they recorded or performed as The Blues Brothers. In 1984, Shaffer played keyboards for The Honeydrippers, a group formed in 1981 by former Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant, and performed on the hit single "Sea of Love" which reached #1. Make it a great night out with dinner and a show - visit Gallo Ristorante (5 Grove Street, Ridgefield) and enjoy a complimentary glass of house wine with your entrée when tickets are presented.

Featured vocalist for this musical extravaganza is Valerie Simpson. She is one half of the legendary songwriter/producers and performers Ashford & Simpson. As one of music's most famous duos, Valerie Simpson and Nick Ashford have written some of the biggest hits of their generation including "Solid," "Let's Go Get Stoned", "Your Precious Love", "Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing", "You're All I Need To Get By", "Reach Out and Touch", "The Boss", "I'm Every Woman" and scores of other tunes

Paul Shaffer has been musical director at the White House; served as musical director and producer for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony since its inception in 1986; he led the band for the "We Are The World" finale of Live Aid; authored the best-selling memoir We'll Be Here For the Rest of Our Lives; co-wrote the Number One 80s dance hit It's Raining Men; and acted in feature films and television shows.

Paul Shaffer has released two solo albums, 1989's Grammy-nominated Coast to Coast, and 1993's The World's Most Dangerous Party, produced by rock musician Todd Rundgren. Shaffer has also recorded with a wide range of artists, including Donald Fagen, Ronnie Wood, Grand Funk Railroad, Diana Ross, B.B. King, Asleep at the Wheel, Cyndi Lauper, Carl Perkins, Yoko Ono, Blues Traveler, Cher, Chicago, Peter Criss, Scandal, BrIan Wilson, Late Show regular Warren Zevon, jazz trumpeter Lew Soloff, and bluegrass legend Earl Scruggs. In 2002 he received his first Grammy award for Best Country Instrumental, for the Earl Scruggs and Friends album.

For tickets ($85), call the box office at 203-438-5795, or visit ridgefieldplayhouse.org. The Ridgefield Playhouse is a non-profit performing arts center located at 80 East Ridge, parallel to Main Street, Ridgefield, CT.

To post a comment, you must register and login.