Phil Geoffrey Bond gets nod for Sondheim series
Producer, raconteur and expert on all things Sondheim, Phil Geoffrey Bond hasn’t come down from the clouds since learning that the third volume of his three-set compilation, Sondheim Unplugged: The NYC Sessions, was nominated for a Grammy Award in the Traditional Pop Vocal Album category.
Produced by Bond, who lives in Garrison, the recording features highlights from the past decade of Sondheim Unplugged, the monthly cabaret show which Bond conceived when Stephen Sondheim turned 80. Bond produced and hosted it at several venues, most recently at 54 Below in New York City, where it has been running ever since.
During the pandemic, with venues closed, Bond shifted his focus to making a series of cast recordings, featuring highlights of the past decade of the show. Released in 2021 and 2022, the three recordings each reached No. 1 in their category on Amazon. Streaming sales continue to be robust, he said.
Several local singers, Natalie Arneson, Sally Mayes and Lisa Sabin, each of whom performed at the Philipstown Depot Theatre in Garrison, are featured on the albums. Another Depot performer, Liz Callaway, who did a one-woman show there in 2022 under the banner Cabaret at the Depot, was nominated in the same category. The other nominees are Rickie Lee Jones, Laufee, Pentatonix and a virtual unknown named Bruce Springsteen.
Bond was notified of the nomination by the president of his record company, Yellow Sound Label, and a text from a friend. The albums are available at sondheimunplugged.com. The Grammy Awards will be televised Feb. 4.
