The Ken Arlen Orchestra entertained guests at the Lyric Opera’s lavish 25th annual Fantasy of the Opera Gala on February 6, 2009. Entitled “Be Dazzled,” the event took place at the Civic Opera House and featured hors d’oeuvres prepared by Chicago’s top chefs. The Fantasy Cabaret cocktail portion of the evening featured performances of music by Cole Porter, Stephen Sondheim, Kurt Weill and others, performed by Lyric artists. Lyric’s music director, Sir Andrew Davis, was the emcee for this portion of the evening. Ken Arlen Orchestra took over as the guests were treated to a sit-down dinner provided by Calihan Catering, followed by dancing to KAO’s high-energy music.
  |
For the fourth straight year, Ken Arlen Orchestra entertained guests at the Bravo Greater Des Moines Gala in Des Moines, Iowa. Bravo Greater Des Moines is a non-profit organization committed to strengthening the Des Moines metro area’s arts and cultural community. Ken Arlen Orchestra has become, over the years, a major attraction for the Gala, and a photo of Ken was even used on the cover of this year’s program (see it at www.arlenmusic.com/KAO/Pages/bravo.html). Ken and the rest of the Orchestra greatly appreciate their continued involvement with Bravo and their deepening ties to the Des Moines community.
.
  |
  |
Now in its fifth year, Ken Arlen’s Front of House is one of Arlen Music’s most consistently popular ensembles with our social and corporate clients. Led by charismatic front man David Sherman, this stellar 9-piece group also features the vocal talents of Karla Clark and LeTroy Jackson. These amazing vocalists are backed by some of the best, most experienced musicians in Chicago, under the music direction of saxophonist Dan Nicholson of the world-renowned Chicago Jazz Ensemble. The combination has been electric; the band has quickly become a favorite with clients, and last year performed a remarkable 60 events!
In addition to his fantastic work as leader of Front of House, David Sherman has been working on his own musical pursuits. On his debut CD, Out of the Sky, with band The Steak House Mints, David shows off both his vocal and songwriting skills. With influences like the Beatles, the Beach Boys and Nick Drake, Out of the Sky has been garnering praise from critics like the Chicago Sun-Times’ rock critic Jim DeRogatis (read his blog entry about the CD here. David and the Steak House Mints were recently chosen as one of the top 10 unsigned Chicago bands by Metromix.com. For more information, see The Steak House Mints’ MySpace page at http://www.myspace.com/thesteakhousemints.
  |
 |
Ken Arlen Orchestra keyboardist Neil Artwick has long been known as one of the top session players in Chicago, working with top recording artists such as Luther Vandross, Michael Jackson, Al Jarreau, Bernadette Peters, and Mavis Staples, to name a few. He has also worked as a composer and keyboardist for television and film scores, including being heard on the Oprah Winfrey Show theme.
Neil and long-time collaborator, guitarist Robert Davis, recently released a CD under the auspices of Lake Effect, their smooth jazz ensemble. The CD, Brighter Moments, features their unique sound of Latin, funk, jazz, R&B, all bound together by Neil and Robert’s distinctive writing style and liquid grooves. Their single, "Latin Nights," has been receiving heavy airplay and is in the rotation at many of the major smooth jazz radio stations around the country, including Chicago's WNUA. For more information, check out their website at www.smoothjazzband.com.
 |
 |
Entourage Bandleader Gives Back
Earlier this year, in a special project to give back to the world community, Entourage bandleader David Young traveled to Cambodia as an artist/teacher for the Cambodian Living Arts organization. Cambodian Living Arts, a project of World Education, works to support the revival of traditional Khmer performing arts and to inspire contemporary artistic expression in Cambodia.
David’s role during his time with CLA was teaching music notation, both to students as well as the master teachers. He was also involved in creating a fundraising video which is to be donated to the organization. Now back in Chicago, David is promoting a photo exhibit about Cambodian performing arts at the Elastic Arts Foundation, 2830 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago. He will also be helping to organize a fundraiser for the CLA at the same venue, to be held on the evening of May 8th.
Entourage, meanwhile,continues their exciting performing schedule. On April 4th, Entourage performed at a gala benefit for UNICEF at the InterContinental Chicago attended by actress and UNICEF Ambassador Lucy Liu.
  |
  |
|
