On my return from Marco Island Tuesday, I stopped in Naples for the Linda Eder & Steve Tyrell concert at the Philharmonic Center for the Arts. I had hoped to visit the Naples Museum of Art, but I arrived at 3:40 and they closed at 4. Really I just wanted to stand under the Dale Chihuly Persian ceiling! So instead I sat in the courtyard (pictured below) between the museum and the Center for the Arts, and then crossed the street to the Waterside shops, where I "window shopped" at Louis Vitton, DeBeers, and Cartier, and then wandered through Nordstrom's fragrance department, asking for samples of Ellie Saab, Kenzo and Prada. Pretty much a few days of perfume each. Rather clever when the real deal normal bottle sells for $95.
The concert began with Grammy Award winning vocalist Steve Tyrell. In his 40+ years in the music business, he has achieved great success as an artist and songwriter. In 2005, after the passing of the legendary Bobby Short, Tyrell was asked by New York City's Cafe Carlyle to take over their revered Holiday Season of November and December, which Mr. Short had not missed in 36 years. Steve's most recent album is an album of love songs inspired by so many fans using The Way You Look Tonight at their weddings including President Clinton who used it as his father-daughter dance with Chelsea.
The featured performer was one of the greatest contemporary voices of our time, Linda Eder. Her diverse repertoire spans Broadway, standards, pop, country and jazz. Linda's career soared after appearing on Star Search in 1987 where she won for an unprecendented 12 consecutive weeks. This led to a leading role on Broadway. Her new album Now reunites Eder with Broadway and pop composer Frank Wildhorn. Her voice is the perfect complement to Wildhorn's lush, imaginative music.
