Here’s to Life

BY CAROLYN FREEMAN

The Las Vegas Suite composed by Nathan Tanouye with lyrics by Clint Holmes has been mastered and is awaiting the finishing artwork. Jerry Blank has created a great cover for the CD which will only add to the excitement that this work has created. The Las Vegas Connection (31 musicians) and Clint on vocals are our best yet. We Las Vegans who deal with summer will appreciate Clint and his interpretation of “Heat.” The CD release will be early February with a concert to celebrate. How fortunate I am to be involved with all the collaborators, musicians and artists in this stunning new album.

The question arises, how did a dancer with a musical comedy background become a jazz enthusiast? I would have to say that my husband, Russ Freeman, was my biggest influence. He shared his knowledge and past experiences with me. Russ was nine years older than me so his jazz world was far different from mine. When he and his fellow musicians met the talk was usually about a “new chord” or “rhythm changes.” It always sounded like secret code messages. I still maintain the musicians belong to a secret fraternal organization. Recently a friend was sharing her experience of seeing and hearing Artie Butler who was a surprise celebrity songwriter perform a song that he wrote with Phyllis Molinary at The Composer Showcase this past season, and this brought back a memory of a musician gathering at Lou Levy’s home. Imagine this lineup of guests for the night. It was right out of a cast from a dream show. There in the room was the man responsible for creating The Pink Panther music and so many other famous songs, Henry Mancini, the beautiful Shirley Horn and entourage, Blossom Dearie, Earl Freeman, Pinky Winters, Russ and more who all played. I heard Shirley Horn sing Artie Butler’s famous tune, “Here’s to Life” as only she could. Also, David Raksin told me how he came to compose “Laura.” So when Artie’s performance was mentioned to me recently, it brought up this night of nights in my memory bank of the grand moments of being the wife of Russ Freeman.

I have been able to hear the best and absorb their energy. No one was terribly interested in my latest ballet class. I was intrigued by their world. To improvise their moment during a tune seems unbelievable to me. I once told Russ that he had an extra groove in his brain that nurtured improvisation. I have turned in my tap shoes and ballet slippers and am now doing all I can to keep jazz alive and thriving. It’s a journey but a grand one. As we get closer to releasing this work of love and art from our hearts, be on the lookout for some special offers and events to celebrate that Chic Compass will help host; to celebrate the arrival of The Las Vegas Suite. In the meantime, “Here’s to Life”!