San Antonio Express-News
S.A. Life Page 1D
 Publication Date: February 26, 2001

Singer connects with classics
 
Jim Beal Jr. EXPRESS-NEWS STAFF WRITER 

 Not every song Ken Slavin sings is older than he is, but most are.

Slavin, who won't turn the big 4-0 until August, has been described as a lounge singer, a saloon singer, a classic pop singer and a jazz crooner. His considerable repertoire includes tunes written by the Gershwin brothers, Cole Porter, Duke Ellington, Jerome Kern and other giants of the American standard.

"There are several reasons I love this music," Slavin said. "This is the kind of music I grew up with. My father's father, Albert Slavin, was an alto saxophonist and bandleader. My father grew up playing saxophone and he'd play sax in the living room and the family would sing along. When I was 12 or 13 a friend had some 45s by Kay Starr and Nat King Cole. When my father heard me listening to them I realized we could have something to talk about."

Though he got serious about classic music at an early age, it wasn't until he was 29 that Slavin began to get serious about singing in public.

Thursday night Slavin will celebrate the release of his third album, "The Song Is You," with a public party at Sunset Station's Club Agave, 1174 E. Commerce St. Showtime is 6 p.m. Admission is $5. Slavin will be accompanied by the players who worked with him on the disc, pianists Joe Piscatelle and Andrew Langham, Chuck Moses (bass), Steve Glaeser (drums) and Mike Berglund (trumpet).

"I've always connected emotionally with the lyrics to the older songs. That's not to say I didn't try to be a modern kid," Slavin said with a laugh. "But I kept this kind of music from my friends."

He started singing the standards in public before the lounge resurgence and before the swing resurgence, so Slavin was looked upon as somewhat of a novelty. But when he started recording and began staging well-attended concerts to benefit the San Antonio AIDS Foundation, it became clear Slavin was in the music whirl for more than kicks.

For the last three years Slavin has worked the Polo Lounge in the Fairmount Hotel. Their music - his band includes Piscatelle and Moses - is an integral part of the San Antonio fabric for locals and tourists.

"What keeps it going is a passion for music that continues to grow," Slavin said. "I see this as more than nostalgia. The songs mean more to me now than they did when I started. When I was 29 I didn't really know what I was doing. As I continue to sing these songs I can put my own stamp on them. There are wonderful turns of phrases and meanings in these songs. Every human emotion is reflected in the lyrics. It sounds hackneyed, but these songs are timeless."

On "The Song Is You," Slavin and company serve up on-the-mark readings of "Route 66," "Embraceable You," "Corcovado," "I Thought About You" and other chestnuts plus a new song, "If You Go Away This Time," by local composer Tom Masinter.

"I chose the songs kind of by trial and error," Slavin said. "I started planning this album in 1998 and had a list of songs that went over well in live performances. In '99 I did a big show at the Empire. It was a good show with good arrangements so I got that band together and recorded. This past January I made the final cuts and realized every song had 'you' in the title or featured prominently in the lyric. I think there's a good balance of romance, sadness and the upbeat."

Slavin's albums and his live shows have turned part of the spotlight on members of his band. In Piscatelle, Slavin has a secret weapon, the quintessential jazz pianist who knows almost every song worth knowing.

Piscatelle, 67, was born in Connecticut and worked out of Los Angeles for 35 years making music with an array of artists including Chet Baker, Nancy Wilson, Buddy Rich, Liza Minnelli, Tony Bennett, Philly Joe Jones, Sy Zentner and many others. The piano man isn't shy about telling a player or a singer if mistakes are being made. When he hands out a compliment, it carries plenty of weight.

"Ken's singing a lot more jazz kind of stuff now, and he does a real good show," Piscatelle said. "Ken's doing more sophisticated music now and the players are able to do a lot more changes. That kind of music is more or less a sound. You can make any music cook, even country and western. The more tunes Ken does like that the more it requires a listening audience. Sometimes we have nights where there are 30 people sitting silent, just listening."

Slavin says he knows at least 300 songs, maybe more. And he's confident enough in his chops and those of the band to delve deep into the book, though he'll do "Fever" and "Mack the Knife" when asked.

Singing is not all Slavin does. By day he's director of media relations for a public relations firm.

"I've reached a point where a lot of people know me as a singer and not as a public relations guy," he said. "Physically it gets kind of tough balancing the two because both take a lot of energy, but I'm lucky to be in a field that offers me a lot of flexibility. It's the perfect marriage of careers. My only regret is I didn't start singing when I was 18."

jbeal@express-news.net