May 18, 6:30 to 8:30pm
Dr. Kaung’s Salon: A Taste of Tin Pan Alley
Novelist and playwright Leon Levenson will discuss, play selections, and sing (a bit).
During the years of roughly 1885 through the 1930s, and some scholars say, even into the 1950s, musical tastes evolved dramatically. The great popularity of the sentimental lovesong was increasingly challenged by a growing interest in jazz and then rock and roll. Leon will discuss this evolution and invite discussion of the changing life styles and values that it represented. Along the way, he will share some of the music of greats such as Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, Duke Ellington and others as performed by artists such as Bessie Smith, Judy Garland, Bing Crosby, Billy Eckstine, and Mel Torme.
Leon Levenson is a retired English teacher and technical writer who now writes plays. His current projects focus on plays that combine drama and dance.
