Last year it was songs based on Maya Angelou. This year, Louis and Capathia will perform Rosen’s song cycle about growing up on the South Side of Chicago during the 1970’s when the neighborhood was experiencing upheaval. This piece deals with love, family, religion and race. And it is AWESOME (I’ve heard it twice at Joe’s Pub and I own the album). Here’s a note from Louis about the show.

DEAR BROOKLYN FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS:

I wanted to let you know that my splendid collaborator, Capathia Jenkins (a 2007 Drama Desk Award nominee), and I are scheduled to perform our second benefit concert on behalf of The Old Stone House on Saturday night, June 16th. The proceeds will go to supporting The Old Stone House’s rapidly growing arts programming, including this summer’s Piper Theatre at OSH’s production of Macbeth, Brooklyn Film Works and the excellent Brooklyn Reading Works.

The performance will mark the Brooklyn concert premiere of the songs from our recently released and highly acclaimed debut recording, South Side Stories, songs of youth, coming of age and experience, inspired by the Chicago neighborhood where I grew up. We’ll also be offering a “sneak preview” of a excerpts from my newest work for Capathia, Giovanni Songs, on words by the renowned poet Nikki Giovanni. Capathia and I will be joined by two splendid musicians, the pianist Kimberly Grigsby, and Dave Phillips on acoustic and electric bass.

The evening is being billed as a “Champagne Cabaret,” which means champagne and dessert will be served at 8 pm, and the concert will begin at 8:30. Last year’s benefit sold out—the room only holds 90 people—so we hope that you make the scene.

The Old Stone House is at J. J. Byrne Park at 3rd Street and 5th Avenue.
Tickets are $40 in advance, $45 at the door.
Advance tickets can be purchased online at www.nycharities.org, or you can RSVP by calling 718 768 3915.

By the way, the South Side Stories CD s now available for downloading at www.itunes.com, www.rhapsody.com and most other online sights, as well as available for purchase at www.cdbaby.com, and in Park Slope at the Community Bookstore on 7th Avenue.

Best Regards,
Louie

P.S. For those who would like to read what critics have had to say, here is a sampling of the press we received when we performed the New York premiere of South Side Stories at The Public Theater’s Joe’s Pub last winter, and its world premiere in Chicago the winter before that at The Steppenwolf Theater.

From Bloomberg News’ Jeremy Gerard, Nov.1, 2006: “Jenkins will knock you flat….I’ve never been so seduced by music completely new to me yet as embraceable as any from the classic American songbook….Don’t miss this show!”

From the Chicago Tribune, Kerry Reid, December 21, 2005: “In South Side Stories, Rosen has created a fine and sometimes somber portrait of heartbreak and survival, joy and its absence, and love that endures even when the objects of that love are long vanished.”
From Cabaret Scenes’ Tesse Fox, October 29, 2006: “Capathia Jenkins is gifted with one of those rare voices that makes pouring out one’s soul into music seem effortless. And when she is singing the music of Louis Rosen, she makes that soul into a thing of rare beauty and power….A wonderfully emotional celebration of life that can appeal to every musical palate.”

From the Chicago Sun-Times, Hedy Weiss, December 20, 2005: “Something quite magical can happen when a composer has a specific voice to serve as his muse. Consider the case of Louis Rosen…and his songbird of choice, Capathia Jenkins…performing Rosen’s nostalgic, romantic, emotionally charged song cycle, ‘South Side Stories’….”

From The Jewish Exponent, Michael Elkin, October 26, 2006: “In a way, Rosen’s collaboration with singer Capathia Jenkins, his musical muse, gives voice to two peoples, blacks and Jews, in a harmony rarely heard offstage.

OnlyTheBlogKnowsBrooklyn, Louise Crawford, November 6, 2006: Here’s what I was thinking after Capathia Jenkins’ and Louis Rosen’s tight, moving, musically glorious show at Joe’s Pub last night: How lucky they are to be working together. And how lucky we are to witness the on-going story of their unbelievably fruitful collaboration….Great, great show….”

This year, it’s a champagne bash. So reserve a ticket and come on down. You won’t want to miss an incredible night of music.

Buy your ticketes here.