then Many popular singers and entertainers equally benefited from albums bearing the “Live at Carnegie Hall” imprimatur. In the aftermath of The Weavers’ McCarthy-era blacklisting, original members Pete Seeger, Lee Hays, Ronnie Gilbert, and Fred Hellerman reunited on Christmas Eve 1955 to a sold out and wildly enthusiastic house. Producer Don Friedman’s Nov. 10, 1956 show tied in to Billie Holiday’s recently released “autobiography” Lady Sings the Blues, which found the singer in precarious health yet in great voice. Holiday died in 1959, the same year that Harry Belafonte made his Hall debut as a headliner in a meticulously produced show and recording that still allowed for carefree audience interplay and participation. No one would have suspected that Judy Garland, sidelined by ailments and personal demons, would shortly work her way back to health and the height of her career in a 1960-1961 concert tour, culminating in a two-hour tour de force at Carnegie Hall on April 23, 1961. The recording vividly showcases not only Garland’s newfound power and authority, but also the celebrity-packed audience’s genuine enthusiasm and love. One wonders if this album’s mega-success started a trend, with Tony Bennett’s two-LP 1962 Carnegie Hall release and a less heralded yet equally riveting disc from the up-and-coming Nina Simone just around the corner, along with the legendary encounter between Carol Burnett and Julie Andrews that was both recorded and televised. Certainly it had an enormous impact on Rufus Wainwright, who galvanized the audience in Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage in 2006 with his note-for-note re-creation of Garland’s concert. Yet Carnegie Hall plays host to more than just music, from an extensive lecture series presented by the Urania Astronomical Society of Berlin and a 1901 talk by the young Winston Churchill, to its role as a latter-day showcase for comedians and satirists. On Feb. 4, 1961, the controversial comedian and counterculture icon Lenny Bruce had the stage all to himself for a midnight concert. Braving two feet of snow, a blizzard, and a driving ban, nearly 3,000 people showed up, inspiring Bruce to the peak of his verbal and creative prowess (“You know, working Carnegie Hall, I dig it. I had a lot of fantasies with it … Maybe they don’t know we’re here!” he crows on the recording). Following Bruce’s death in 1966, United Artists issued an LP of excerpts, and, later, the entire concert.
47
5
of the Best
Benny Goodman: The Famous 1938 Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert (Columbia Masterworks) High-powered virtuosity and creative energy still leap out at you nearly 80 years later.
Judy Garland: Judy at Carnegie Hall (Capitol) Not just an iconic performer at the top of her game, but a celebration of the Great American Songbook.
Piotr Anderszewski at Carnegie Hall (Virgin Classics) The pianist’s musically penetrating and sonically gorgeous December 2008 debut – a great New York night.
James Levine: Live at Carnegie Hall with Evgeny Kissin (Deutsche Grammophon) The combination of Carnegie Hall’s acoustics, James Levine in action after two years’ absence due to health issues, a remarkably responsive MET Orchestra happy to have their music director back, and pianist Evgeny Kissin add up to a fulfilling and triumphant 2013 concert.
Ryan Adams: Live at Carnegie Hall (Blue Note/Pax-Am) Two complete concerts with the singer-songwriter alone and unfettered on stage in 2014, spinning out songs and stories, making no distinction between concert hall and confessional.