Club Review: Brian Letendre

Gerry Geddes
Within moments of the first song, the Scissor Sisters’ “I Don’t Feel Like Dancing” (Elton John, Jason Sellards, Scott Hoffman) in Brian Letendre’s delightful return to the New York stage at 54 Below, it was obvious to everyone that he is a dancer, in spite of what the lyrics proclaimed.  The swirl of the mirror...

Club Review: Miss Maybell and Her Jazz Age Artistes

Penelope Thomas
Early twentieth century popular music is a melting pot: with strong roots in Black American music, blues and ragtime grew into hot jazz and Tin Pan Alley, laying the groundwork for swing and big bands, then Bebop, all the way into the birth of rock and roll…this era is the foundation of what many of...

Anthony Murphy’s “A Joyful Noise!”

Gerry Geddes
Rarely has a show been more aptly named than Anthony Murphy’s A Joyful Noise which debuted recently at Green Room 42.  Murphy, a self-professed Broadway baby, was dazzling throughout.  The show was like a feast with each song offering a new course that deepened the experience and satisfied the musical palette in new and exciting...

Club Review: Deborah Stone’s “Take Me Back—Joan, Joni, Dylan, and Others”

Gerry Geddes
Back in the day, you couldn’t walk around the West Village without finding a folk club on every block; the sound of guitars and voices wafted into the streets wherever you went.  I remember catching the NY debut of a brand new singer at The Bitter End, a singer who “grew up” to become Jackson...

Club Review: Linda Purl’s “This Could Be the Start”

Penelope Thomas
Linda Purl is a true working actor: whether you’ve seen her on Happy Days or The Office, on or Off Broadway, in regional theatre, in straight plays or musicals, or in Japan, where she spent her early years—you’ve definitely already enjoyed her work. It’s this level of performance experience that backs up her craft as...

Club Review: “Ann Hampton Callaway Sings Peggy Lee and the Songs of the ’70s”

Penelope Thomas
Ann Hampton Callaway is a seasoned jazz artist, songwriter, an interpreter of the American Songbook, and an entertainer who knows how to work a crowd—especially when her ex-husband is bravely sitting in the front row. Her show at 54 Below on Sunday, January 15 was a half-and-half evening of Peggy Lee and 1970s pop, which...

Club Review: Ronny Whyte’s “Swinging Sondheim”

Gerry Geddes
The urbane sophistication and consummate musicality of singer/pianist/songwriter Ronny Whyte proved a perfect match for the artistry of Stephen Sondheim in the new show, Swinging Sondheim, which debuted this month at Birdland.  He treated the songs with style and reverence, as he would Porter or Gershwin or any other great songwriter; his treatments had a...

Club Review: “Off the Charts with Martha Bartz”

Betsyann Faiella
Professionally known as a mezzo soprano classical concert and oratorio soloist, Martha Bartz is a newcomer to cabaret, and welcome to her!  She’s enthusiastic and she hired some of the best arrangers in the business—Alex Rybeck and Christopher Denny among them—and Jeff Harnar as her director.  However, Off The Charts with Martha Bartz lent the mistaken impression that...

Club Review: Shana Farr’s “Dream Reality”

Penelope Thomas
Shana Farr is a beautiful singer. She looks beautiful. She was beautifully prepared for her show Dream Reality at the Laurie Beechman Theatre. Her life story, give or take 1.5 minor hiccups, sounded beautiful. She likes beautiful songs about dreams. She can hit high theatre soprano notes, seemingly effortlessly, and, yes, very beautifully. Shana Farr...

Club Review: Danny Bacher Quartet

Gerry Geddes
There is something special in the sound, the style, and the phrasing of a horn player who sings; I think back to my favorites of the past like Chet Baker, Jack Sheldon, and even Louis Armstrong.  They brought a unique musicality and lightness to their delivery while paying attention to the lyrics, both narratively and...