Top Ten Musicals

After Sir Paul, Juber mad a solo name for himself

Those two years with Paul McCartney's band, "Wings," served Laurence Juber well. Helped him get a Grammy, in fact. And when it ended, the guitarist from East London migrated to America.

All these years later -- 30 in a blink of an eye -- Juber's rock 'n roll days may be dust, but his acoustic guitar career thrives.

And, 19 solo recordings later, he's much sought-after for not only live performances, but soundtracks and commercials.

Not that the 59-year-old is bereft of anything Beatles. His "LJ Plays the Beatles" made Acoustic Guitar magazine's all-time Top 10 list.

Still, most of Juber's tunes are either other classics or originals and he'll showcase his immense talent Thursday at the 142 Throckmorton Theatre in Mill Valley. He returns in the fall for an Oct. 9 gig at the Napa Valley Opera House.

Juber lives in Southern California, but sneaks up to NorCal several times a year.

"I've always had supportive and enthusiastic crowds in the Bay Area," Juber said. Besides, "traveling from gig to gig is a little less demanding than on the East Coast."

It may have been a slow climb to the top of the acoustic mountain, but Juber planted his victory flag several years ago.

His credits include Ken Burns' baseball documentary, "The Tenth Inning," the motion picture, "Good Will Hunting," and upcoming CDs by Dan Hicks and Barry Manilow.

"The toughest part is fitting solo guitar into a recognized genre," Juber said. "Having been in Wings helped me to some extent, however, because I reinvented myself as a fingerstyle guitar soloist, the McCartney credit only helped to a limited extent."

Juber can boast of his own credentials now, said East Bay music promoter and musician Jim Ocean.

"Laurence is an awesome acoustic guitar player," Ocean said. "He truly 'finger pickers' -- no nails, no picks, just super callouses -- from a lifetime of stellar performances. He gets more energy and beauty out of an acoustic guitar than anyone."

The acoustic guitar is a familiar accompaniment for singer and songwriters, said Juber, "but it's harder to classify in instrumental music."

'Fingerstyle' guitar isn't a style or genre of music, but an approach to playing the instrument soloistically, where the right hand fingers cover melody, harmony, bass and rhythm elements in the music, said Juber. "Much like a classical guitarist would do technically, but on steel strings, with a broad pop repertoire and without the tuxedo.

Give Our Regards to Broadway – 10 Best Books Turned Musicals ...

Being turned into a musical next year, but British pop singer Lily Allen will be writing all new songs for the production. Naturally, the classic scene that ran through our minds was Renée Zellweger as Bridget Jones belting out a boozy rendition of “ Without You ” at her office Christmas party, surrounded by a silent crew of colleagues waving their lighters in solidarity. Fun to imagine how that performance would be amped up on a Broadway stage, isn’t it?

Although we at Word & Film usually focus our attention on television and movie-based projects, news about the “Bridget Jones’s Diary” musical has inspired us to create a special post. Dust off your old playbills, and join the conversation as we highlight the top ten books that have successfully been adapted into Broadway musicals. In the comments below, make sure to tell us about your favorite book-based musicals that did not make our list.

Wicked

L. Frank Baum’s familiar story The Wonderful Wizard of Oz , tells the story of Alonso Quixano (or  Don Quixote , as he later rechristens himself), a fifty-year-old man whose obsession with books on chivalry drives him to embark on knightly quests. Though everyone around him questions Quixote’s sanity, he continues to carry out quests of duty, which include rescuing princesses and slaying ferocious dragons. Don Quixote’s story was brought to Broadway audiences in the form of Man of La Mancha tells the story of a disfigured composer living in the bowels of the Paris Opera who becomes a suspect in the disappearance of young singer Christine Daaé. Although there has been a resurgence of interest in Leroux’s novel since the debut of Andrew Lloyd Weber’s musical in 1986, the book sold very poorly when first published and went out of print numerous times during the twentieth century.