Art Garfunkle
I went to see Art Garfunkel at the Philharmonic Pops concert last Friday night. My company was the major sponsor for the event, so we got some free tickets (thanks guys!).
Anywho, Garfunkel is a legend and I enjoy the work of Simon and Garfunkel, so I was glad to get to go. His voice is wearing from age and at first I was a little concerned that he would be struggling through the whole concert, but overall, I was actually impressed. The bit of airey-ness in his tone couldn’t mask the fact that he has an unnaturally smooth high range and an impeccable ability to tell stories through his songs. Plus, he had some great musicians with him including a fabulous guitar player, Larry Saltzman. It was worth the trip just to hear the acoustic and electric guitar treatments Saltzman was able to bring out.
On the negative side, the whole first half of the concert was the Philharmonic playing three lengthy arrangements of musical theatre tunes. I have to say, I was pretty disappointed that the selections were not any more varied. It was like listening to the same medley over and over. I have to disagree with the cheery review given by the Oklahoman about this concert. I was very glad when the first half was over.