ONE MAN'S SCHOOL OF 'BEBOP'.Byline: Fred Shuster Music Writer Top kids' entertainer Red Grammer has warmed young hearts and minds for years, but he's finally tickled record academy voters. Grammer's ``BeBop bebop or bop Jazz characterized by harmonic complexity, convoluted melodic lines, and frequent shifting of rhythmic accent. In the mid-1940s, a group of musicians, including Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, and Charlie Parker, rejected the conventions of Your Best!'' was recently nominated for a Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (originally called the Gramophone Awards) are presented annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States for outstanding achievements in the record industry. The current President of the Academy is Neil Portnow. for best musical album for children. In the collection, subtitled ``Music to Build Character By,'' Grammer rocks, bops and swings his way through 14 nonpreachy songs with such titles as ``Truthfulness,'' ``Integrity'' and ``Kindness.'' Parents magazine said Grammer possesses ``the best voice in children's music.'' Grammer began his career replacing Glenn Yarbrough Glenn Yarbrough (born January 12, 1930) is an American folk singer. He was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and attended St. John's College in Annapolis, Maryland. He was the lead singer with The Limeliters and had a prolific solo career, recording on various labels. as the lead tenor in the renowned folk trio the Limeliters. At the same time, Grammer and his wife began writing songs for their two young sons, resulting in Grammer's first kids' record, ``Can You Sound Just Like Me?'' in 1983. It was followed by a string of successful albums that mix play with useful information. ``Kids need to play - that's how they learn,'' Grammer said. ``I'm someone who has an odd combination of things - I have this amazing voice and a powerful heart in terms of transmitting feelings. But I also love to play. With young children, it's not about being funny, it's about being silly and playful. I'm not clever and witty, but I am silly - and that really works for kids 4 to 10.'' Grammer tours across the country and is a frequent keynote speaker and performer at educational conferences throughout North America North America, third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. . Other contenders in his Grammy category are ``Green Gorilla, Monster & Me'' by Ralph's World, ``Scat SCAT sheep cell agglutination test. Like That: A Musical Word Odyssey'' by Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer, ``Some Assembly Required'' by Tom Chapin, and ``Songs From the Neighborhood - The Music of Mister Rogers'' featuring various artists. The award will be presented Feb. 8 at Staples Center during the 48th annual ceremony. ``It's not a popularity contest,'' said Grammer, who lives in Ojai. ``It's recognition of how far your work has permeated the professionals within the industry. It was a wonderful, pleasant surprise to be nominated.'' Grammer bristles at the misconception that kids' entertainment must be dominated by lowbrow physical comedy. ``Somewhere along the line, in doing things quick and fast for profit, society has decided children's entertainment is about quick slapstick slapstick Comedy characterized by broad humour, absurd situations, and vigorous, often violent action. It took its name from a paddlelike device, probably introduced by 16th-century commedia dell'arte troupes, that produced a resounding whack when one comic actor used it to laughs and so forth,'' he said. ``I've always believed kids are enthralled en·thrall tr.v. en·thralled, en·thrall·ing, en·thralls 1. To hold spellbound; captivate: The magic show enthralled the audience. 2. To enslave. and entertained by anything that adds to their awareness, knowledge and competence - as long as it's playful.'' Fred Shuster, (818) 713-3676 fred.shuster(at)dailynews.com 48th ANNUAL GRAMMY AWARDS Where: CBS (Cell Broadcast Service) See cell broadcast. (Channel 2). When: 8 p.m. Feb. 8. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) no caption (Red Grammer) |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion