West 73rd: The Kurt Weill Project profile picture

West 73rd: The Kurt Weill Project

About Me

Like much of Kurt Weill’s music, the Kurt Weill Project was conceived in the spirit of collaboration. United by their musical curiosity and shared love of jazz, pianist Frank Ponzio, bassist Peter Donovan, drummer Vito Lesczak, and vocalist Hilary Gardner embarked on a musical journey through the eclectic, haunting, and deeply human world of Kurt Weill.
Unwilling to restrict their creativity to a specific genre, the musicians agreed early on that the music itself should be their guide. Their resulting recording, A Song About Forever, explores Weill’s music from a jazz perspective, while incorporating the classical, theatrical, and global influences that continue to make Weill’s music compelling to listeners from all walks of life.
The quartet calls itself "West 73rd" in a nod to where their musical collaboration began: in the studio of pianist/producer Frank Ponzio on West 73rd Street in Manhattan. The members of West 73rd draw their inspiration from the non-stop energy pulsing through the streets of New York City. Their resulting music is as sophisticated, dynamic and ever-changing as New York itself.

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My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 17/06/2008
Band Website: www.kurtweillproject.com
Band Members: Frank Ponzio (pianist/producer)
Hilary Gardner (vocalist)
Peter Donovan (bass)
Vito Lesczak (drums)

CD Special Guests:
Leif Arntzen (trumpet)
Aaron Heick (clarinet)
Influences: Collectively, our influences are too many to mention.

For the purposes of this project, our biggest influences were each other and, of course, Kurt Weill and his musical legacy.
Sounds Like: A jazz-based exploration of Kurt Weill's songs, with a nod to their musical theatre roots.
"...a quartet that puts obvious knowledge and love into their performances."
-Kyle O'Brien, Jazz Society of Oregon
Record Label: CAP
Type of Label: Indie

My Blog

Name Change & MAC Award Nomination!!

Hello Friends,Just a little note to let you all know a few exciting pieces of news:1.  We have a new name.  From here on out, we're going to be known as "West 73rd."  Why?  Well, it's a nod to our fai...
Posted by on Fri, 15 May 2009 12:48:00 GMT

Another Metropolitan Room review

04/08/2009 The Kurt Weill ProjectBy: Michael Patrick Hearn To promote their recent CD A Song About Forever, The Kurt Weill Project performed every night between March 25 and 29 at the cramped Metropol...
Posted by on Fri, 15 May 2009 12:45:00 GMT

A Review from the Metropolitan Room

nytheatre.com reviewJason Jacobs · March 26, 2009"A Song About Forever, the debut outing by The Kurt Weill Project, offers an insightful and intimate evening of Kurt Weill music in a distinctively jaz...
Posted by on Fri, 15 May 2009 12:39:00 GMT

The Kurt Weill Project at the Metropolitan Room!

Kurt Weill's music has been performed in opera houses, jazz clubs, Broadway theatres, and rock venues. Artists of all stripes have tackled Weill's music, from Mary Martin to Marianne Faithfull, from ...
Posted by on Tue, 17 Mar 2009 12:27:00 GMT

The Kurt Weill Project in the New York Times!

Friends,On January 18, the Kurt Weill Project had the honor of performing at a soiree hosted by Jacques Fages here in New York City. To our surprise and delight, the New York Times was there covering ...
Posted by on Wed, 28 Jan 2009 08:24:00 GMT

The Kurt Weill Project on myspace!

The Kurt Weill Project has finally made it to myspace! You can find our new CD, A Song About Forever: Songs by Kurt Weill on iTunes, or at the following links:http://www.cdbaby.com/kurtweillprojectht...
Posted by on Tue, 17 Jun 2008 14:26:00 GMT