Articles by this Author:
“Does This Song Look Good on Me?”—Four Singers Discuss Their Approaches to Repertoire
It’s one of the central issues that cabaret and jazz performers face throughout their careers: How do you best go about picking material to sing? And that initial query prompts...
“Barbra Streisand: the Music, the Albums, the Singles”—a Conversation with Author Matt Howe
It was Yentl that turned Matt Howe into a Barbra Streisand aficionado. He’d been in high school when A Star Is Born came out in 1976—too young to see an...
Cabaret Setlist: “Let’s Not Talk About Love” – Music and Lyrics by Cole Porter
Repertoire for the Once and Future American Songbook Article #24 in this ongoing series. In 23 installments of Cabaret Setlist, how have we not yet looked at a song by...
“The Real Ambassadors”: New Book Recalls an Anti-Segregation Jazz Musical Starring Louis Armstrong and Carmen McRae
Say, show tune lovers—did you ever hear of The Real Ambassadors, a musical developed by famed jazz pianist Dave Brubeck (“Take Five”) and his wife, Iola, in the late 1950s...
Cabaret Setlist: “Life Is Just a Bowl of Cherries” – Music by Ray Henderson, Lyrics by Lew Brown
Repertoire for the Once and Future American Songbook Article #23 in this ongoing series. When times get tough, people look for escape routes, right? Think of those 1930s Warner Bros....
Book Review: In “Shy,” the Late Mary Rodgers Settles Some Musical Scores
Showing up in bookstores and online this week is the posthumously published Shy: The Alarmingly Outspoken Memoirs of Mary Rodgers (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2022), written in tandem with the...
Up Close and (Very) Personal: Three Cabaret Singers Discuss Their Musical Memoirs
For most any cabaret show, performers will want to share something about themselves. They’ll note, for instance, what a particular song in their setlist means to them personally and why...
Cabaret Setlist: “What About Today?” – Music and Lyrics by David Shire
Repertoire for the Once and Future American Songbook Article #22 in this ongoing series. This April 24 marks the 80th birthday of Barbra Streisand, a performer who has been an...
Cabaret Setlist: “I’d Be Surprisingly Good for You” – Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Lyrics by Tim Rice
Repertoire for the Once and Future American Songbook Article #21 in this ongoing series. When BistroAwards.com started the Cabaret Setlist series, we subtitled it “Repertoire for the Once and Future...
Cabaret Setlist: Taking a Chance on Songs (Part II)—Meg Flather Takes on Jud Fry’s “Lonely Room” from “Oklahoma!” (Music by Richard Rodgers, Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II)
Repertoire for the Once and Future American Songbook Article #20 in this ongoing series. Happy 2022, all! I wish you many memorable musical moments in the year to come. In...