It was a year of beginnings. The red rim of the sun fought to push itself through the London cloud bank lighting its backstreets….those streets whom wore the avant-garde, punk inspired, stripped down rock n roll, and those who wove the thread. The English spoken here is proudly barbaric yet civilized and Royal. The pavements move gracefully against the urban landscape whispering stories of the city’s past and echoing London’s rich history. In its midst is the London Eye standing as a sentinel over the city like a celestial clock dancing in the sky, its movements choreographed by the pulse of the city below.
The night held a special kind of warm, velvet blackness that hugged you as composer Randy Edelman performed a piano concert, and sung the poetry of the stars, sharing the canvas of his life at the Crazy Coqs, an Art Deco establishment fashioned in the carefree, libidinous style emphasizing the eclectic, avant-garde, geometric beauty of the 1920’s.
The New Jersey born maestro seemed at home in London where he began his career with hits like Uptown, Uptempo Woman and Concrete and Clay. He later wrote songs that were covered by iconic artists including Barry Manilow (A Weekend in New England), Patti LaBelle (Isn’t it A Shame), hip hop artist Nelly (My Place), The Carpenters, Olivia Newton-John, Willie Nelson, and a marathon of others. Then through a twist of fate he turned his focus to the silver screen and created over 100 film and television soundtracks including: My Cousin Vinny, While You Were Sleeping, Kindergarten Cop, Twins, Ghostbusters ll, The Bruce Lee Story, Dragonheart, Gettysburg, XXX, Drop Dead Fred, Anaconda, Last of the Mohicans (which earned him a Golden Globe Award), and an unending stream of others. He has also written themes for ESPN, the hit series MacGyver, and NASA.
His madness is magical, bewitching, lilting, wistful, passionate and touching. His music is essential, and doesn’t fade over time. In literary terms his songs are a metaphor for eternity. The audience was still captivated long after his fingers lifted from the keys. But that wasn’t all….the composer is a story teller. He dreams up the wild and improbable, the humorous and the heartwarming. He knows just how to keep the crowd engaged. The congregation watched and listened to the unprecedented as reality rearranged itself for the Uptempo audience.
I should paint a few lines about the songs he played, “Everything is Possible”, “Comin’ Out the Other Side”, “Sentimental Fools”, “Don’t Forsake Me Now”, “Concrete & Clay”, and included even broader strokes along the fine lines of his film score medleys. All beautifully executed by the maestro as his piano playing is elite. Doing extraordinary things again and again has built the giants, the icons, the legends, the Randy Edelmans…. A fan commented “I waited 46 years to see him again”, another “inspiring”, and yet another “His music is like an old friend helping us grow old and like a new friend, helping us stay young”……
Randy will release brand new music Sept 6, 2024. Watch for him at the iconic Carnegie Hall on December 8, 2024.