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Randy Edelman: A Weekend In New England

  • The Lilypad 1353 Cambridge Street Cambridge, MA, 02139 (map)

Randy will share the soundscape of his career through his music and back stage stories. He will play a medley of his film soundtracks from “My Cousin Vinny”, “Last of the Mohicans”, “Ghostbusters ll” to “Kindergarten Cop”, “Gettysburg”, “Twins”, “The Bruce Lee Story”, etc.

He will also perform his pop hits “A Weekend in New England” (covered by Barry Manilow), “Isn’t it A Shame” (covered by Patti LaBelle and Nelly) “You” (covered by The Carpenters) and more. He will treat the crowd to a rollercoaster of emotions from laughter to tears.

Composer Randy Edelman lives life boldly, conquering his own visions, creating

his own destinies, muting public opinion to craft his own fate, and offering a

musical legacy that will reign for eternity. He evaluates feelings, intuition and

instincts and finds a melody for all of them. 

 

Raised in Teaneck, New Jersey, the keyboard couture was born with the ability to

hear music and transcribe it onto the piano. After a brief quarrel with fate where

Randy was temporally thrust into the pursuit of pre-med, he moved into full-time

piano and composition study at the Cincinnati Music Conservatory where he was

then able to follow his unquestionable destiny. He eventually procured an

arranging assignment at James Brown’s King Records. In 1971 Randy relocated to

New York to work as a staff writer at April Blackwood Music, while simultaneously

playing piano in Broadway pit orchestras. Yet even then there was no possible

way for anyone, even Randy, to realize that his constellation would lead to a

unicorn marathon of celebrated careers that would touch the lives of so many.

 

Like a seductive alchemist Randy began to write and record his own albums

transforming the world’s anguish into a narrative of truth and granting him a

thriving audience in the UK, with television spots on such British institutions as

“Top of the Pops” as well as many others showcasing his solo hits like, “Uptown,

Uptempo Woman” and “Concrete and Clay.” He also performed solo concerts at

prestigious venues, including the London Palladium, Drury Lane Theatre, and

Royal Festival Hall.

The original material from Randy’s songs via his solo albums began being covered

and recorded by a myriad of artist including: Barry Manilow (A Weekend in New

England), The Carpenters (I Can’t Make Music), Nelly (My Place), Patti LaBelle

(Isn’t it a Shame), Willy Nelson (Down in the Everglades), Olivia Newton-John (If

Love is Real), ABBA’s Agnetha Faltskog (Turn the World Around), Blood, Sweat,

Tears (Blue Street) The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (Grey), Dionne Warwick

(The Laughter and the Tears) and a long list of others. He has performed in

breathtaking arenas with Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention, The

Association and The Carpenters, and with Olivia Newton-John at The Budokan in

Japan. 

However back home in Hollywood Randy became interested in pursuing a new

endeavor which was creating the life, blood, and essence of the movies, through

music, and making even the plainest faces alive with promise. His individuality

and originality only touches upon the core of his iconic acclamation and his

dexterity and endowment for the creations of over 100 soundtracks both for

motion picture and television. Embodied within his eclectic film catalogs are the

mischievous comedies of “My Cousin Vinny”, “The Mask”, “Billy Madison”

“Ghostbusters ll”, “Twins”, “Kindergarten Cop”, “Shanghai Noon”, his romantic

satires such as “While You Were Sleeping”, “27 Dresses”, “Six Days Seven Nights”

and his whimsical fantasies, “Dragonheart”, “Beethoven”, “Drop Dead Fred”, “The

Chipmunk’s Adventure” and “The Indian in the Cupboard” Then there are those

dark, haunting, and ominous thrillers, “XXX”, “Anaconda”, “Diabolique”,

“Daylight”, and his most recent,  the intense and evocative  music of  “The

Possession of Anne.” 

 

However like a chameleon he is of a very specialized and distinctive breed of

musicians and has the  ability of shifting to different hues and degrees of

emotions and brilliance as shown via his more serious and passionate films

including “Gettysburg” (directed by Ronald F. Maxwell), “The Bruce Lee Story”

(directed by Rob Cohen), “Come See Paradise” (directed by Alan Parker) and “Last

of the Mohicans” (directed by Michael Mann).  Amongst the other

legendary directors he has lent his talent to are the late Ivan Reitman, the iconic

Ron Howard, and celebrated producer and visionary  Ted Turner.

 

 Some of the television shows and series he has scored encompass : MacGyver,

Mr. Sunshine, Backdraft 2 for Netflix, and Citizen X for HBO. These credits only

touch the surface of his accomplishments. He has also created the music for

“Dare Mighty Things” for NASA’s final Shuttle launch, “Wimbledon, Grand Slam

Tennis Series” for ESPN, “ESPN Sports Century,” and even the NBC “on air”

Olympic Theme, of which he has celebrated over 20 years of Olympic themed

glory keeping the musical flame alive.

 

 

The multi-award winning serialist has received some of the most prestigious

awards including BMI’s highest honor, the Richard Kirk Award for Outstanding

Career Achievement, the Composer and Lyricist’s Guild Lifetime Achievement

Award , an Emmy for the close of the NBC Olympic Broadcast, and an

Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from the University of Cincinnati, which was

received alongside the only other PhD recipient Coretta Scott King. In addition he

was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and British Academy Award (BAFTA),

for “Last of the Mohicans.” Furthermore, “Dragonheart” was nominated for the

Saturn (Science Fiction) Award, and “Leap Year” was awarded the Gold Spirit

Award (in honor of Jerry Goldsmith) for Best Comedy.

Besides recording and conducting all of his own scores in Los Angeles, New York,

Salt Lake City, and London, he has lived their performances in film festivals in

Ubeda Spain, in Lucerne, Switzerland (with the 21rst Century Orchestra), and at

Fimucité The Tenerife International Film Music Festival in the Canary Islands. One

is likely to hear an Edelman score piece on a regular basis throughout the country,

on countless symphony programs, including the Boston Pops.  

 

Randy has for the past year or so treated sold out audiences in New York and

London to his live solo performances entitled “A Life in 80 Minutes” (which spans

for more like 2 hours). He has been performing on stage  a behind the scenes view

of his outstanding career through his music and his touching and humorous

stories. Rave reviews have continuously been generated from critics including

Michael Musto, publications such as Hype, Louder Than War, NY Weekly Times

and a vast array of other publications.

 

Always dancing on the rim of a volcano, Randy continues to compose and

record,lighting up the world like fireworks plunging into the night sky and

shattering the darkness. The illustrious  composer of modern and future times has

recently released his post anthemic song of hope and inspiration titled “Comin’

Out the Other Side”, available via Tribeca Records. 

 

The never ending saga of Randy Edelman constantly endures and advances with

his ongoing work on the score for his musical, “Short Cut,” telling of the

construction of the Panama Canal, and his recently released Sony Masterworks

album of Randy Edelman’s orchestral score to Ghostbusters II in all

formats....Randy is currently working on his brand new album “Can’t Be Killed By

Any Conventional Means.”

Earlier Event: February 14
Valentine's Party
Later Event: February 16
Joe Hunt Group