Ingrid Michaelson's "Be Ok" is more than OK

Discovered from her MySpace page, Ingrid Michaelson’s breakout hit, “The Way I Am” has appeared on Old Navy commercials, and her songs have been featured on shows like “Grey’s Anatomy” and “One Tree Hill.” Her self-released last album “Girls and Boys” sold 230,000 copies reaching No. 2 on the i-Tunes pop chart. Consciously or not, anyone with a television or a computer has heard the indie pop songstress’s distinct voice. Lately, it seems like everything she touches turns into gold –all the more reason to think that her latest effort “Be Ok” (released on Oct. 14) is a disappointment.

“Be Ok” sounds nothing like “Girls and Boys”; it feels like an incomplete album (only 11 songs and lasting only 32 minutes) assembled haphazardly instead of a well-crafted and polished work that “Girls and Boys” was. Of the 11 tracks, two are covers, two are slightly versions of the same song, one is a live version of a song previously recorded on “Girls and Boys.” With the lack of new material, few would think that Michaelson’s project is worth doing. Or if it is an album worth buying.

Despite these reasons, however, “Be Ok” is an opportunity to hear Michaelson’s voice at its purest. A mix of previously unreleased songs, covers, and live recordings from shows in the past year, the album is stripped of the bold instrumentations from studio sessions (most noticeably the guitar riffs) that accompanied the songs in “Girls and Boys.” Most of the time Michaelson sings only with the help of a lone ukulele, guitar or a piano, resulting in intimacy and purity that help showcase her vocals which are hauntingly beautiful and slightly off-kilter.

Proceeds of the album will benefit Stand Up to Cancer, and all the songs appropriately reflect the message of hope. The songs instantly invoke smiles – whether jubilantly with the title track, “Be Ok “ where Michaelson’s determinedly upbeat vocals are complemented with rousing handclapping, or wistfully as in “Oh What A Day” where she desperately yearns for “something good” after a break up.

Michaelson’s songwriting, lauded in “Girls and Boys” for its quirkiness, resurfaces again in a few songs. In “You and I” she sings , “Maybe I want to do what bunnies do/ with you if you know what I mean” and in “Lady in Spain” , “I am a lady from Mars / And I can unscrew the stars.” The best lyrics belong to “The Chain” where the songs starts with “The sky looks pissed..” “The Chain” is also the best track of the album, a live performance done with complex, harmonized vocals with the help of band mate Allison Moss .

Michaelson’s covers of “Can’t Help Falling In Love” and “Over the Rainbow” are also beautifully done. She sings the former with an earnestness that even Elvis didn’t have (not arguing that hers is better than the King’s, just distinctly different). And like Israel Kamakawiwo'ole’s version of the latter, Michaelson sings “Rainbow” accompanied by the ukulele. Equally haunting, Michaelson’s voice makes it her own. Singing reservedly in the rest of the album, she is sweetly hesitant for most of the song but lets go at key points, resulting in a powerful and memorable performance.

"Be Ok” should not be considered the official follow up to “Girls and Boys” but as its supplement. Not taken as an entire album, but as a collection of songs, it is a worthy testament to Michaelson’s talent.

Ingrid Michaelson BE OK


Michaelson's "Be Ok"

Chicago Jazz Orchestra -- Still Swinging After 30 Years

Nostalgia loomed large at Thorne Auditorium (375 E. Chicago Avenue) on October 19 at 4 p.m. as the Chicago Jazz Orchestra resurrected the swinging ghosts of jazz legends during “Exquisitely for Ella: A Songbook Tribute to Ella Fitzgerald”. Led by conductor and director, Jeff Lindberg, the 42-piece ensemble performed iconic works by Nelson Riddle, Billy Strayhorn , Duke Ellington and others, while featured vocalists Spider Saloff (co-star of Public Radio’s “Words and Music”), 2008 Chicago Music Awards’ Jazz Entertainer of the Year Dee Alexander, and CJO lead vocalist Frieda Lee, invoked the spirit and the sound of the First Lady of Jazz.

“Exquisitely for Ella” was the first of the CJO’s 11th annual subscription series, as well as the celebratory concert marking the 30th anniversary of the Chicago Jazz Orchestra, making it Chicago’s oldest professional jazz orchestra in continuous operation.

Lindberg explained that the tribute to Ella Fitzgerald was chosen to mark the orchestra’s milestone because of its mass appeal to the public. It was first performed in 2006 to two sold-out shows. “You couldn’t have chosen a more outstanding representation of the jazz idiom,” added vocalist Frieda Lee, “Not only Ella’s exquisite singing, but also the rich music that was arranged for her.”

Lindberg and associate artistic director, Charley Harrison, chose the most beloved songs from Ella’s Songbook Series produced by Norman Granz. From toe-tapping favorites such as Irving Berlin’s “Blue Skies,” and scat pieces like Ellington’s “Cottontail,” to the lush selections such as Jerome Kern’s “The Way You look Tonight” and “All the Things You Are,” the CJO was making its case that after 30 years, it was still swinging.

Some of the current members of the orchestra were barely learning to walk when Lindberg and the late trumpeter Steve Jensen (for whom the show was dedicated) founded The Jazz Members Big Band in 1978. Since their first performance at Gaspar’s on the corner of Belmont and Southport 30 years ago, the Chicago Jazz Orchestra has shared the stage with prominent artists such as Dizzy Gillespie, Joe Williams, Kurt Elling, Quincy Jones and Herbie Hancock. In 1979, the band was selected to be the opening act of the First Annual Chicago Jazz Festival. This December will also be the 20th straight year that the CJO will perform at the Kennedy Center Honors.

The Chicago Jazz Orchestra has dedicated itself to preserving the works of jazz masters over the years. The Smithsonian Museum regularly commissions Lindberg and Harrison to transcribe original jazz recordings. Because of the improvisational nature of jazz, many performances are not written down for posterity and cannot be performed again.

In 2003, new works by Billy Strayhorn (Ellington’s arranger) were posthumously discovered, and the CJO worked to bring the never performed pieces to life. Deborah L. Gillaspie, the curator of the University of Chicago’s Chicago Jazz Archive Collections referred to Strayhorn as “one of America’s truly great composers and also one of the most neglected.” Gillaspie noted the CJO’s contribution, "The collaboration between the CJO and the Strayhorn family to present the works of Billy Strayhorn is an important milestone in Chicago Jazz history. I was fortunate to hear that first CJO concert of Strayhorn's music in 2003 at the Museum of Science and Industry; it was wonderful to see Billy Strayhorn honored as a genius in his own right."

Lindberg, who is also the music director of the Wooster Symphony Orchestra in Ohio, stresses the importance of preserving these works, “This is very important to us because the music needs to have an established canon which we can build upon. Then perhaps jazz can finally get the recognition it deserves.” Lindberg insists that even after all the great jazz artists in history, the “Academy” still keeps a distance from jazz.

Frieda Lee, who has been with the band for 20 years, credits the longevity of the CJO to its dedicated musicians. Lindberg adds that being based in Chicago has contributed to their success, “I don’t think we would have this quality of players anywhere else. Because of today’s movement of people, there really is no regional sound anymore—except in Chicago. The musicians play in such a relaxed way; it really is a swinging city.”





Ella Fitzgerald performing "Oh, Lady Be Good!"

"Considering Democracy: 8 Things to Ask Your Representative"

First-time filmmaker Keya Lea Horiuchi took the stage to introduce her film, “Considering Democracy: 8 Things to Ask Your Representative” to an audience of less than a dozen people gathered in Theater One of the Gene Siskel Film Center on Tuesday, October 7 at 8p.m. The Chicago premiere was not only met with heavy rain, but also conflicted with the second presidential debate which drew 66 million viewers nationwide. “I’m so glad you can make it tonight,” Horiuchi said. “I am hoping that my film initiate conversation and refresh the dialogue about democracy at such a crucial time.”

Attendees were convinced that the debate kept people from traveling downtown to see the documentary that seeks to show how the United States compares to other industrial democratic nations (not third world countries) and thereby exposing our nation’s shortcomings.

“I’m really surprised that there aren’t more people here,” said Rogers Park resident, Emily Westerburg, 25. “I guess it’s hard to compete with McCain and Obama, but I’m sure that I can always catch the debates online. I just didn’t think this film is something that I should miss and I jumped at the opportunity to watch it tonight.”

Associate Director of Programming for the Gene Siskel Film Center, Martin Rubin, was hoping more people would feel the same way as Westerburg when he decided to hold the screening for “Considering Democracy,” “We don’t normally show political films. There usually isn’t much draw for them,” Rubin said, “But I thought that because of its timeliness, it would be an interesting selection that would attract people.” Rubin added that he was drawn to the documentary because of Horiuchi’s (who narrates the film) engaging style and ability to make the subject matter comprehensible.

Without a major film distributor (“Political films are a tough sell, said Rubin. “Unless you’re Michael Moore.”), Horiuchi depends on these screenings and question and answer sessions to publicize the documentary. Although commercial venues such as the Gene Siskel Film Center have shown her films, the screenings are mostly shown in homes of volunteer hosts and Horiuchi attends as many of these screenings as she possibly can. She funded the documentary on her own, first emptying her retirement account, then spending her savings, and finally using credit cards to make the film. On her screening tour, she depends on the hospitality of others to let her sleep in their houses or sleeps in her car in towns where invitations weren’t extended.

The name of Horiuchi’s production company, Girl With A Camera Productions, accurately describes how the film was made. “I wanted to learn what other people thought of the United States. For years, I had heard a lot of people repeating the same things like, “They hate us for what we have.” Or, “They hate us for our freedoms.”I wanted to see where these ideas came from,” Horiuchi explains. “So, I decided to quit my job, travel and find out for myself.”A former teacher, she bought a camera and went to 10 different countries (Greece, Egypt, Canada, Australia among others) asking its citizens, “What do you think about America?” She then took the answers and framed them into eight different questions on eight issues, (questions include, Why can’t we have national health care?” “Why can’t Americans have four weeks of vacation like workers in other countries?” “Why don’t we get more international news in the media?”) hoping that Americans would view them as catalyst to discuss issues and initiate action. After traveling and filming, she spent time researching the issues. The movie took four years to make.

Horiuchi has yet to ask her representatives the questions she posed in the film but, “A few politicians have shown up to the screenings,” she said. “Of course, the screenings were in Vermont and they reacted positively to the film.” Horiuchi hopes that the film evolves to a project where people would go and ask their politicians the questions, record them and post them on her website. Asked whether she considers herself an activist or a filmmaker, Horiuchi responded, “I think political activism is important. But I really love films. So, I think I am a filmmaker more.”