Lincoln Center's American Songbook 2011 Announces Week Four Events

Lincoln Center's acclaimed series American Songbook, which explores the best of the golden age of musical standards through to the best in current songwriting, will bring to the stage some of today's most gifted interpreters of song. Week Four closes out the series with one blockbuster night after another. "The greatest singer in the world," Barbara Cook, will perform on February 15th (rescheduled from January 12th.) Hearing that voice, that style in the intimacy of The Allen Room will make a night of memories for those fortunate to be there. On February 16th another virtuoso, the renowned mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe, will make her popular concert debut with a night devoted to the songs of Kate Smith. A change in mood and music happens on the 17th, when singer/songwriter Alexi Murdoch makes a rare public performance of new material from his soon-to-be-

Pfizer is a proud sponsor of Lincoln Center's American Songbook 2011.

released CD. Next up is Broadway's most riveting leading man, Ra?l Esparza, who goes back to his Latin roots to sing songs of Cuba. Esparza is followed on February 19th by another Broadway star - Kate Baldwin - whose ravishing soprano lit up last season's Finian's Rainbow. American Songbook closes the season with an early Sunday evening performance on February 20th by legendary trumpeter Herb Alpert and his wife, singer Lani Hall.

American Songbook will be presented in the spectacular Allen Room of Frederick P. Rose Hall, home of Jazz at Lincoln Center. The Allen Room possesses one of New York's greatest settings - a stunning vista of Central Park and the Manhattan skyline that provides an evocative backdrop for the performers.

TICKETS can be purchased online at Lincoln Center's website www.AmericanSongbook.org, via CenterCharge at 212-721-6500, at the Alice Tully Hall, Avery Fisher Hall Box Office, or at the Frederick P. Rose Hall Box Office.

Lincoln Center's American Songbook 2011 Week Four
February 15 - 20, 2011
The Allen Room, Frederick P. Rose Hall, Broadway at 60th Street

Wednesday, February 15, 2011, 8:30 pm: Barbara Cook has been called "the greatest singer in the world," and six decades after her professional debut her voice still astounds. Cook changed the way we listen to the American songbook, treating popular tunes as the art songs they are and investing the lyrics with an actor's understanding and sensitivity. Her recent turn on Broadway in "Sondheim on Sondheim" reminded everyone of her place in American musical history. This night in The Allen Room will add to her firmament.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011, 8:30 pm: Stephanie Blythe: We'll Meet Again-The Songs of Kate Smith
The mezzo- soprano's commanding, sumptuous voice has captivated audiences in many of the world's great opera houses, and this year brings her singular voice to the new productions of Das Rheingold and Die Walküre at the Metropolitan Opera. She also makes her popular music debut in American Songbook, where she will pay personal tribute to the great Kate Smith by singing songs made famous by Smith, a beloved music icon whose stirring voice helped to comfort and galvanize our nation.

Thursday, February 17, 2011, 8:30 pm: Alexi Murdoch Singer/songwriter Alexi Murdoch is an unlikely star, but a star he most definitely is. Raised in Scotland and educated in the United States, Murdoch has released only one full length album since 2006. His reputation, however, far belies that output. Murdoch's folk- and rock-influenced songs developed a rabid following both with online and television audiences due to their use in films and television, including the soundtrack to 2009's Away We Go by director Sam Mendes and writers Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida. This intimate and rare public performance is timed to coincide with his second proper album, Towards the Sun.

Friday, February 18, 2011, 8:30 pm and 10:30 pm: Ra?l Esparza A heartthrob with serious acting chops and a thrilling voice, Esparza has become Broadway's leading man of choice according to directors and audiences alike. His credits include Taboo (2003), Company (2006), Homecoming (2007) and Speed-the-Plow (2008) - each one earning Drama Desk awards, Tony nominations, and the affection of thousands. The son of Cuban-Americans, Esparza will celebrate the music that shaped his life: a Cuban heritage that led to work in American musicals. This unlikely combination of pop, jazz, theater, and rhumba are the soul of his first generation culture and the inspiration for this eagerly awaited American Songbook debut.

Saturday, February 19, 2011, 8:30 pm: Kate Baldwin Last season's Finian's Rainbow on Broadway revealed a luminous new star: Kate Baldwin. With her sparkling soprano and charming stage presence, Baldwin earned every award nomination in the theater for her role as Sharon McLonergan. Baldwin specializes in the music of Yip Harburg and Burton Lane, Stephen Sondheim, and the wonderful Sheldon Harnick. Her American Songbook show will showcase these composers and more.

Sunday, February 20, 2011, 6:30 pm: Herb Alpert and Lani Hall Iconic trumpeter Herb Alpert and his wife, the internationally-renowned singer Lani Hall, have a passion for Brazilian and American jazz and American popular standards. They communicate that passion with soulful, elegant performances of classic American songs tinged with the color of Brazilian music throughout. It is a sound that is sexy and rich, the result of legendary chemistry and musical finesse. Their album of standards, Anything Goes, was released to broad acclaim in 2009.

Since it was launched in 1998, American Songbook has been dedicated to celebrating the extraordinary achievements of the popular American songwriter from the turn of the 20th century to the present day. Spanning all styles and genres from Tin Pan Alley and Broadway to the eclecticism of today's songwriters working in pop, cabaret, rock, folk and country, American Songbook traces the history and charts the course of the American song from its past and current forms to its future direction.

Artists who have appeared on the American Songbook series include Andy Bey, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Betty Buckley, Ann Hampton Callaway, Calexico, Liz Callaway, Neko Case, Rosanne Cash, Michael Cerveris, Kristin Chenoweth, Peter Cincotti, Eric Comstock, Victoria Clark, Rodney Crowell, Alan Cumming, Dean & Britta, Mos Def, Dirty Projectors, Christine Ebersole, Kurt Elling, Marianne Faithfull, Sutton Foster, The Fountains of Wayne, Michael Friedman, Mary Cleere Haran, Darius de Haas, Joe Henry, Fred Hersch, Jane Krakowski, Judy Kuhn, LaChanze, k.d. lang, Gabriel Kahane, Bettye Lavette, Amos Lee, Patti Loveless, Rebecca Luker, Patti LuPone, Nellie McKay, Marin Mazzie and Jason Danieley, Del McCoury, Audra McDonald, Lori McKenna, Nellie McKay, Alan Menken, Jane Monheit, Megan Mullally, Kelli O'Hara, Tonya Pinkins, John Pizzarelli, Martha Plimpton, Punch Brothers featuring Chris Thile, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, Steve Ross, Stephin Merritt with The Magnetic Fields, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Nico Muhly, Bernadette Peters, Chita Rivera, Jimmy Scott, Patti Smith, Todd Snider, Sufjan Stevens, Stew, Billy Stritch, Elaine Stritch, St. Vincent, Paulo Szot, They Might Be Giants, Leslie Uggams, Suzanne Vega, Rhonda Vincent and the Rage, Deborah Voigt, Lillias White, Dar Williams, Lizz Wright, David Yazbek and John Lloyd Young. The series has also presented concerts highlighting the music of composers and lyricists such as Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, Harold Arlen, Alan and Marilyn Bergman, Leonard Bernstein, Jason Robert Brown, William Bolcom and Arnold Weinstein, John Bucchino, Michael John LaChiusa, Cy Coleman, Ricky Ian Gordon, Adam Guettel, David Hidalgo and Louie Pérez, Frank Loesser, Alan Menken, Cole Porter, Andy Razaf, Richard Rodgers, Arthur Schwartz, Duncan Sheik, Stephen Sondheim, Billy Strayhorn, Charles Strouse, Jule Styne, Jimmy Van Heusen, and David Zippel.

Pfizer is a proud sponsor of Lincoln Center's American Songbook 2011.

Major support for American Songbook is provided by Fisher Brothers, In Memory of Richard L. Fisher; and Amy & Joseph Perella.

Additional corporate support is provided by Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Additional support for Lincoln Center's American Songbook is provided by The DuBose and Dorothy Heyward Memorial Fund, The Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, Logicworks, Jill and Irwin Cohen, Great Performers Circle, Chairman's Council and Friends of Lincoln Center.

Public support is provided by the New York State Council on the Arts.

Artist hospitality provided by Zabar's and Zabars.com

Movado is an Official Sponsor of Lincoln Center, Inc.

United Airlines is the Official Airline of Lincoln Center, Inc.

First Republic Bank is the Official Sponsor of the Fashion Lincoln Center Online Experience.

MetLife is the National Sponsor of Lincoln Center, Inc.

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (LCPA) serves three primary roles: presenter of superb artistic programming, national leader in arts and education and community relations, and manager of the Lincoln Center campus. As a presenter of over 400 events annually, LCPA's programs include American Songbook, Great Performers, Lincoln Center Festival, Lincoln Center Out of Doors, Midsummer Night Swing, and the Mostly Mozart Festival and Live From Lincoln Center.

LINCOLN CENTER PRESENTS AMERICAN SONGBOOK 2011
At The Allen Room, Frederick P. Rose Hall
Broadway at 60th Street

Wednesday, February 15, 2011 at 8:30 pm
Barbara Cook
Tickets: $45, 65, 85, 100

Wednesday, February 16, 2011 at 8:30 pm
Stephanie Blythe: We'll Meet Again-The Songs of Kate Smith
Tickets: $45, 65, 85, 100

Thursday, February 17, 2011 at 8:30 pm
Alexi Murdoch
Tickets: $35, 50, 60, 75

Friday, February 18, 2011 at 8:30 pm and 10:30 pm
Ra?l Esparza
Tickets: $45, 65, 85, 100

Saturday, February 19, 2011 at 8:30 pm
Kate Baldwin
Tickets: $40, 55, 70, 85

Sunday, February 20, 2011 at 6:30 pm
Herb Alpert and Lani Hall
Tickets: $40, 55, 70, 85

TICKETS can be purchased online at Lincoln Center's website www.AmericanSongbook.org, via CenterCharge at 212-721-6500, at the Alice Tully Hall Box Office, Avery Fisher Hall Box Office, or the Frederick P. Rose Hall Box Office.

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