Paul Simon Invite-Only Concert Shines a Light on the Soho Sessions’ Vital Work for Charity
variety.comJem Aswad Executive Editor, Music In a loft-like space five floors above New York’s Soho neighborhood, one of the greatest songwriters of the past century was giving a private performance of several of his best-known songs.
Paul Simon has always moved resolutely ahead with his music, incorporating global styles ranging from South American music to reggae into his intricately crafted songs even decades before his pivotal 1986 album “Graceland” helped bring “world music” to the mainstream, and his work has continued to be innovative and explorative into the present.
But on Monday night, he went straight for the classics from Simon & Garfunkel and his early solo career, opening with the 1968 generational anthem “Mrs.
Robinson” and moving into “Slip Sliding Away,” “Mother and Child Reunion,” “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard” — which featured Yankee great Bernie Williams for an impromptu whistling solo — “Homeward Bound,” “The Boxer” and “Sounds of Silence,” accompanied by his longtime musical director Mark Stewart on guitar and cello.
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