Carla Clark | For The Republic Phil Geoffrey Bond speaks during the ceremony for his induction to the East Alumni Wall of Fame at Columbus East High School, Friday, April 13, 2022.
Another former Columbus resident has been nominated for a Grammy Award.
Phil Geoffrey Bond, a 1993 Columbus East High School graduate, has been nominated for his work as producer of the recording “Sondheim Unplugged: The NYC Sessions Volume III” in the Traditional Pop Vocal Album category for the 66th Annual Grammy Awards scheduled Feb. 4 in Los Angeles.
Last year and the year before, singer/musicians and former part-time Columbus residents Lucky Diaz and Alisha Gaddis of Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band were nominated for Best Children’s Album.
“I am deeply honored and grateful to the many vocalists who appear on Volume III of Sondheim Unplugged, all of the engineers, and our musical director, Yellow Sound Label, who distributed the recording as well as the audiences who have been so gracious and now the listeners, too. I’m grateful to Columbus for giving me my start in theater. I’m humbled and I can’t wait to pick out something to wear to the ceremony in L.A. on Feb. 4.”
Bond’s company, the New York-based Above Deck Entertainment, partnered with Yellow Sound Label to make the recordings happen. The total three discs in the project feature 70 vocalists and more than 120 of Sondheim’s songs backed only by piano.
Bond’s inspiration for the recording was an outgrowth of the monthly cabaret series “Sondheim Unplugged” that he created, wrote, and served as executive producer and host. The series that stretched 11 years attracted sellout crowds at Feinstein’s/54 Below, and was also in other locales such as London, England.
Last year, a critic at the website broadwayworld.com called the three-disc effort “a landmark collection destined to be a major contribution to the canon of Sondheim recordings.”
In an interview with The Republic last year, Bond reacted to the outpouring of national publicity the project earned.
“While I’m thrilled and flattered that our project is being embraced by many, I’m not all at surprised,” he said. “It’s simply a testament to Steve.”
