CD Review: Jane Monheit —”Come What May”
Gerry Geddes
Jane Monheit’s latest release, Come What May, is a timeless collection of standards. The terrific orchestrations, including gorgeously utilized strings courtesy of Wayne Haun, the tasteful song selection and vocals displaying heart, brains, and accomplished musicality add up to an album that is as fresh as tomorrow while achieving a classic sound that would have...
CD Review: Rebecca DuMaine and The Dave Miller Trio—”Someday, Someday”
Gerry Geddes
Rebecca DuMaine has a lightness and fragility to her sound that calls to mind Blossom Dearie, and, as with Blossom, that lightness extends to her perfectly realized scat in musically astute, smile-inducing style. Her terrific new recording, Someday, Someday, is filled with great songs (both classic and contemporary) and offers many pleasant surprises. It is...
Cabaret Setlist: “When October Goes” – Music by Barry Manilow, lyrics by Johnny Mercer
Mark Dundas Wood
Repertoire for the Once and Future American Songbook Song #13 in this running series The lucky thirteenth installment of Cabaret Setlist centers on “When October Goes,” a short, bittersweet, and evocative ballad of love and loss. The song, which debuted in 1984, has gradually come into its own as a modern standard. It has a...
CD Review: Gary Negbaur—”You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught”
Penelope Thomas
In 1949, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught” from South Pacific outraged many people with its positive take on interracial relationships. Seventy-two years later, it’s painfully obvious that we’re still not truly learning, so it’s a timely title track for Gary Negbaur’s 2021 Blujazz label album. Negbaur’s rendition is catchy—he covers the...
CD Review: Nicolas King “Act One—Celebrating 25 Years of Recordings”
Lisa Jo Sagolla
Listening to singer Nicolas King’s new, fun-filled CD, Act One—Celebrating 25 Years of Recordings, reminded me of Easter mornings as a kid, when I was surprised over and over again discovering all the colorful, tasty little treats the Bunny had hidden among the nooks and crannies of my familiar home environment. Though most of its...
Live Stream Review: “Sharón Clark: By Special Request, Volume 2”
Gerry Geddes
It is often quite easy, even in pandemic times, to think that New York City is not only the center of the Universe but the Universe itself—especially when it comes to music, whether it be cabaret, theatre, or jazz. I am happy to report that Sharón Clark: By Special Request (presented as part of pianist...
Cabaret Setlist: “Lush Life” – Music and Lyrics by Billy Strayhorn
Mark Dundas Wood
Repertoire for the Once and Future American Songbook Song #12 in this running series Billy Strayhorn’s intricate ballad “Lush Life” has, I think, something in common with Stonehenge—England’s massive and mysterious Bronze Age monument. Both are remarkable accomplishments whose existence seems scarcely plausible. You can’t fully explain how they arrived or what inspired their creation....
CD Review: “Chip Deffaa’s Irving Berlin: Sweet and Hot—Rare Songs, with an All-Star New York Cast”
Ken Bloom
Props to Chip Deffaa who specializes in recording rare songs from the American Songbook. Of course, one’s definition of “rare” depends on how much knowledge you bring to the party. There are certainly some extremely rare songs on this album, some of which are getting their first recordings. Then there are songs like “Alexander’s Ragtime...
“‘TAINT— An Alt-Holiday Variety Show”
Gerry Geddes
Tweed presents ‘TAINT (cause it 'taint Christmas, and it 'taint New Year’s)—An Alt-Holiday Variety Show to benefit Pangea, the terrific cabaret that serves as home to downtown performers and the best of NYC cabaret alike. In these pandemic times, restaurants and clubs are under duress from the distancing and quarantining and all the other nightmarish requirements...
CD Review: Rebecca Luker and Sally Wilfert, “All the Girls”
Gerry Geddes
When Rebecca Luker passed away recently it sent ripples of sadness through the theatre and cabaret communities. All the Girls, the new CD with Luker and Sally Wilfert, serves as a heartbreaking reminder of what a tremendous loss this was. It is also a joyous celebration of two of Broadway’s finest voices, in solos and duets...
