Cole Porter: I’ve Got My Eyes on You

Cole Porter: I’ve Got My Eyes on You

On a recent foray into the jazz realm here in Pittsburgh, I was introduced to “I’ve Got My Eyes on You” by Cole Porter. It struck me as a charming little number at first hearing, but Porter’s veneer is thin; he is, after all, the master of...
Cole Porter:  I’m In Love Again

Cole Porter: I’m In Love Again

Just listen to how Bobby Short sings Cole Porter’s ‘I’m In Love Again’! It’s perfection. I am addicted to rough edges around a beautiful voice: that little bit of grit, the almost-growl, the ability to sense the breath in the sound. And pretty much any recording of...
Cole Porter: You’re the Top

Cole Porter: You’re the Top

Noël Coward said it best: Mr. Irving BerlinOften emphasizes sinIn a charming way. Mr. Coward we knowWrote a song or two to showSex was here to stay.Richard Rodgers it’s trueTook a more romantic viewOf this sly biological urge.But it really was ColeWho...
Cole Porter:  Too Darn Hot

Cole Porter: Too Darn Hot

Thinking back on my years living in New York City, I remember how sweltering the summers could be. I’ll try to send NYFOS and NYC a Mediterranean breeze from my home in Barcelona, but in the meantime, here is Ms. Fitzgerald once again, telling us that it’s “Too...
Cole Porter:  Brush Up Your Shakespeare

Cole Porter: Brush Up Your Shakespeare

In anticipation of NYFOS’s program Lyrics by Shakespeare, performed on August 8 as part of Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival, we are featuring a week of songs inspired by Shakespeare on Song of the Day. It will be held in the intimate Kaplan Penthouse so seating...