CD Review: Luba Mason “Triangle”
Ken Bloom
First things first: I’m a huge fan of Luba Mason. She’s smart, funny, sensitive, playful, and has a great way with a song. But despite of all these superior qualities I find her new CD, Triangle, somewhat disappointing. I like the songs, her interpretations and the accompaniments all individually, but, as a total listening experience,...
CD Review: Ken Greves “Vintage and Rare: The Songs of Harold Arlen (Vol. 3) — Ridin’ on the Moon”
Lisa Jo Sagolla
Of all the revered composers of Broadway’s Golden Age, whose work makes up a large part of the American Songbook mined by cabaret artists, Harold Arlen is perhaps the most blatantly jazz-influenced. For this reason – while the composer’s fans are surely delighting in the recent release of Ridin’ on the Moon, Volume 3...
“Machiavelli Was Right”
Bistro Awards
Click on the arrow on the left above to listen to "Machiavelli Was Right" from the musical The American Foxe, book and lyrics by Karen Gottlieb, music by Michele Brourman. (Lyrics below.) "Machiavelli Was Right" is sung by George Ball, vocal recorded by Rob Trow, and engineered and mixed by Stephan Oberhoff. In the mid...
“Turn It All Around”
Bistro Awards
Click here to listen to Turn It All Around Words and music by Debra Barsha and Sheilah Rae (lyrics below) Sung by Wonu Ogunfowora Harris M. Turner and Wonu Ogunfowora, backup singers Accompanied and produced by Taylor Peckham Debra Barsha and Sheilah Rae recently wrote this empowering and inspirational song, "Turn It All Around," not...
Cabaret Setlist: “Take Care of This House” – Music by Leonard Bernstein, Lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner
Mark Dundas Wood
Repertoire for the Once and Future American Songbook Song #8 in this running series. This installment of Cabaret Setlist is published on the day before what’s being called the most significant presidential election of our lifetimes. Wanting something pertinent to the occasion, we decided on a Broadway song first heard in 1976, the year of...
How Seven Performers Created Their Unique Niche in the New Normal (or Where There’s a Will, There’s A Way)
Wendy Lane Bailey
Part Two of a two-part article on virtual performing. Read Part One here. Performers across the boards have quickly adapted to the changes brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic. A number of cabaret performers have taken existing shows and retrofitted them to the online format, others have created all new virtual shows for themselves, while a...
Cabaret Setlist: “Makin’ Whoopee” – Music by Walter Donaldson, Lyrics by Gus Kahn
Mark Dundas Wood
Repertoire for the Once and Future American Songbook Song #7 in this running series "Whoopee" on stage. Walter Donaldson and Gus Kahn’s “Makin’ Whoopee,” first sung by Eddie Cantor in the 1928 musical Whoopee!—is a hardy comedic evergreen. While researching it, I was startled to discover that the person I would...
CD Review: Josie Falbo — “You Must Believe in Spring”
Gerry Geddes
“You Must Believe in Spring” (Michel Legrand, Jacques Demy, Marilyn and Alan Bergman), the title song of Josie Falbo’s new CD, is going through a bit of renaissance at the moment. It has appeared no less than three times on CDs I have reviewed in the last month. But Falbo alone has the benefit of...
CD Review: Tania Grubbs Quintet — Live at Maureen’s Jazz Cellar
Lisa Jo Sagolla
An exquisitely soothing CD, Tania Grubbs Quintet: Live at Maureen’s Jazz Cellar serves up delicious jazz—of the ilk that needs to be heard again and again. The richly textured arrangements, created by vocalist Tania Grubbs and bassist Jeff Grubbs (her husband), are so wonderfully layered that they’re only fully appreciated after multiple listenings. Despite...
Taking Your Act Online? Resources to Up Your Tech Game
Wendy Lane Bailey
(Part One of a two-part article.) The virtual performance wave brings a need for performers to be tech savvy. As we turn our living rooms, bedrooms, and basements into performance spaces, performers find themselves having to confront the technical issues of putting together a show in an entirely different way. While dealing with technical issues...
