Scene Last Night: Davos Piano Man for Homeless World Cup
Barry Colson, who plays the Hotel Europe piano bar during Davos, had the same jokes and songs last night at the Gansevoort Park Avenue.
“Except in Davos, Randi Zuckerberg takes the mike and starts singing,” said Nancy Lublin, chief executive officer of DoSomething.org, right before breaking into “American Pie.”
Colson was brought to New York for the night by the Rock Art Love Foundation, one of whose founders is Davos regular Rich Stromback, a venture capitalist. The other is marketing executive Nichole Rhodes. Julian Jaeger, who worked for the World Economic Forum before joining Clinton Global Initiative, is also helping out.
The idea of the foundation is to be a “philanthropic platform” that produces events for different causes, driven by music, art and compassion, Rhodes said. The first event last night, the Rock Art Love Ball, benefited the Homeless World Cup, a soccer tournament in which competitors are homeless.
Stromback met the founder of the Homeless World Cup, Mel Young, at a dinner during Davos and was so inspired that he followed him to Mexico City last summer for the tournament, where the idea for the ball was hatched.
Cocktails, dinner and an auction took place at the Angel Orensanz Center. There the highest-wattage Davos regular was Arianna Huffington, accompanied by her sister, Agapi Stassinopoulos, who has a book out about Greek wisdom and unconditional love, and Jimmy Maymann, chief executive officer of the Huffington Post Media Group.
Restaurant Openings
Many tables were filled by sponsors of the event, including ic! Berlin, which hand-makes eyeglass frames without screws in Berlin, and the restaurant group Maison Dellos, which is opening two restaurants in New York in the next two months.
Singers Roberta Flack, Chaka Khan and Valerie Simpson, actor Cuba Gooding Jr., and director Lee Daniels all took turns on stage. The stick-thin Israeli-born violinist Miri Ben-Ari performed a piece inspired by Martin Luther King Jr., as guests sampled chicken and waffles by Chef Roble & Co., of the Bravo reality show that chronicles his adventures as a caterer.
Lublin, who was honored, said she is founding a new organization called the Crisis Text Line, “a 911 for teens.”
Re-creating some of the magic of Davos around the piano was the highlight of the night.
“I skipped Davos this year so I’m in heaven right now,” Lublin said.
Joined by DoSomething.org colleagues, she sang Billy Joel’s “Piano Man,” Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” and Irene Cara’s “What a Feeling.” Colson’s song list is seven pages long, ranging from Fats Domino to Styx to the Eurythmics.
“The more you drink, the better I sing,” Colson said, around 1 a.m.
(Amanda Gordon is a writer and photographer for Muse, the arts and leisure section of Bloomberg News. Any opinions expressed are her own.)
Muse highlights include Warwick Thompson on London theater, Scott Reyburn on the art market, Ryan Sutton on New York restaurants and Jeremy Gerard on New York theater.
To contact the writer on this story: Amanda Gordon at agordon01@bloomberg.net or on Twitter @amandagordon.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Manuela Hoelterhoff at mhoelterhoff@bloomberg.net.
Rock Art Love Ball
Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Micaela Connery, executive director of Unified Theater, Nancy Lublin, CEO of DoSomething.org, and Aria Finger, COO of DoSomething.org.
Micaela Connery, executive director of Unified Theater, Nancy Lublin, CEO of DoSomething.org, and Aria Finger, COO of DoSomething.org. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Jan. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Bloomberg profiles Barry Colson who has been playing at the Hotel Europe pianobar during Davos for the last 17 of 20 years.
Rock Art Love Ball
Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Jimmy Maymann, CEO of Huffington Post Media Group, and Arianna Huffington, its chairman and editor in chief.
Jimmy Maymann, CEO of Huffington Post Media Group, and Arianna Huffington, its chairman and editor in chief. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Rock Art Love Ball
Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Mel Young, founder of Homeless World Cup, and actor Cuba Gooding Jr.
Mel Young, founder of Homeless World Cup, and actor Cuba Gooding Jr. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Rock Art Love Ball
Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Valerie Simpson performs in honor of Chaka Khan, who was honored at the event.
Valerie Simpson performs in honor of Chaka Khan, who was honored at the event. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Rock Art Love Ball
Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Tae Strain, the chef of a new restaurant in the meatpacking district called Manon, and Lukas Schueller, general manager of the restaurant. Strain said one item on the "new American cuisine" menu will be seared scallops.
Tae Strain, the chef of a new restaurant in the meatpacking district called Manon, and Lukas Schueller, general manager of the restaurant. Strain said one item on the "new American cuisine" menu will be seared scallops. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Rock Art Love Ball
Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Tanja Weindling, general manager of eyewear maker ic! Berlin, Jay Weindling, a real estate agent with Haven Properties, and Michael Brennan, who works in marketing for ic! Berlin.
Tanja Weindling, general manager of eyewear maker ic! Berlin, Jay Weindling, a real estate agent with Haven Properties, and Michael Brennan, who works in marketing for ic! Berlin. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Rock Art Love Ball
Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Nana Meriwether, Donald Trump's Miss USA 2012, in Rachel Roy. Meriwether said her own experience as a volleyball player at UCLA helped her appreciate what the Homeless World Cup is doing for its players.
Nana Meriwether, Donald Trump's Miss USA 2012, in Rachel Roy. Meriwether said her own experience as a volleyball player at UCLA helped her appreciate what the Homeless World Cup is doing for its players. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Rock Art Love Ball
Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Sasha Cohen, an Olympic medal-winning figure skater, came to the event after her Contemporary Civilization class at Columbia University, where she has midterms this week.
Sasha Cohen, an Olympic medal-winning figure skater, came to the event after her Contemporary Civilization class at Columbia University, where she has midterms this week. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Barry Colson
Michael Strewart/Alison Brod Public Relations via Bloomberg
Barry Colson sits at the piano reprising his Davos gig at the Gansevoort Park Avenue in New York, U.S., in this handout photo taken on March 12, 2013.
Barry Colson sits at the piano reprising his Davos gig at the Gansevoort Park Avenue in New York, U.S., in this handout photo taken on March 12, 2013. Photographer: Michael Strewart/Alison Brod Public Relations via Bloomberg
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