CABARET VILLE MAGAZINE. P10 Cont'd from P9
WHAT'S HAPPENING
Saxophonist
Paul Winter solstice concert celebration for all faiths
Photo: Jazz musician Paul Winter performs with the entire Paul Winter Consort at the first-annual Berkshire Jazz Festival in Great Barrington, Mass.
NEW
YORK- When Grammy-winning new age artist Paul Winter started his winter
solstice celebration more than two decades ago, he was looking for
something all faiths could take part in during the holiday season. "It
inspired me to look at the big picture and I wanted to find the most
universal milestone in the year that we could celebrate," Winter said
recently. "And it struck me that winter solstice has been for northern
people the turning point of the year for tens of thousands of years." The
saxophonist's winter solstice extravaganza marks the shortest day of the
year with music, dance and other theatrics. It has been a fixture at the
Cathedral of St. John the Divine for 26 years. Winter said many holiday
traditions can be traced to past celebrations of the solstice. "This is
where these traditions began to grow, of bringing green things into the
house," Winter said. "Most of the symbols that we see from Christmas all
came from solstice celebrations...all of these holidays are about the
return of the light, regeneration." This year's celebration ends Saturday
but last year's event can be heard on various National Public Radio
stations through the new year. Highlights from the celebration are also
available this year with the release of the three-disc box set, Solstice:
The Paul Winter Consort & Friends. The actual winter solstice will occur
Dec. 21.
Tom
Jones leads Honors
Tom Jones has been made a knight in the New Year's Honours list, leading a host of names from the entertainment world. The 65-year-old, whose hits include Delilah and It's Not Unusual, has been honoured for services to music. Playwright Arnold Wesker and jazz musician John Dankworth are also knighted, while former BBC Radio head Liz Forgan is made a Dame. TV star Bruce Forsyth, 77, is made a CBE, and actors Imelda Staunton, Robbie Coltrane and Sanjeev Bhaskar OBEs. Broadcaster and former Newsnight presenter Peter Snow becomes a CBE along with sculptor Rachel Whiteread, while the OBE roll-call includes writer Jeanette Winterson and television chef Gordon Ramsay. MBEs go to Coronation Street actor Roy Barraclough, singer/songwriter Eddi Reader and 1950s singing trio the Beverley Sisters - Babette, Joy and Teddie. Jones, from Pontypridd in Wales, is one of the most famous pop singers of the past four decades.
Photo:
Imelda Staunton
He began his musical career in 1963 as vocalist in the group Tommy Scott And The Senators and has gone on to sell millions of records around the world. Dankworth, whose career in jazz spans more than 50 years, is also honoured for his services to music. The performer, composer and conductor has also served as musical director for such greats as Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, Oscar Peterson, Sophie Tucker and many others. Forsyth, who recently presented the BBC's Saturday-night hit show Strictly Come Dancing, said he was "quick-stepping with delight" at his CBE for services to entertainment. The veteran entertainer, who rose to fame presenting games shows like The Price is Right and Play Your Cards Right, made a comeback on Have I Got News For You in 2003. He said: "I'm very happy to receive the CBE.
Photo:
Beverly Sisters
I'm delighted and I can put this all down to having done
Have I Got News for You. "It proved to everybody that I'm still a performer
and still reasonably funny. "I wish I could wear it [the CBE] when I'll be
with all my family to see in the New Year.
It
will be a double celebration because a couple of months ago I was made a
great-grandfather." Staunton's OBE follows a hugely successful year for the
actress, who won a Bafta for her role as Vera Drake in Mike Leigh's
Oscar-nominated film in February. Coltrane, who stars as Hagrid in the Harry
Potter films and played Eddie "Fitz" Fitzgerald, in the TV drama hit
Cracker, said he was "absolutely delighted" to be honoured for his services
to drama. Actor and writer Bhaskar first came to public attention when he
starred in the BBC ensemble comedy sketch show Goodness Gracious Me, which
ran to three series on radio and TV. He followed it up with The Kumars at No
42, in which he plays the role of Sanjeev Kumar, who tries to host and
broadcast a chat show from his parents' living room.
The
Beverley Sisters, who were the first UK female group to break into the US
top 10 charts, are all appointed MBEs. They were best known for
close-harmony hits like Sisters, I Saw Mummy Kissing Santa Claus and Drummer
Boy. Barraclough, who has had numerous stints in Coronation Street, becomes
an MBE. He is also well-known for his Cissie and Ada double act with the
late Les Dawson