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“An Evening with Nathan Gunn”
Café Carlyle – March 29 – April 16
With a commanding baritone voice, GQ features, and an offhand sense of humor, Nathan Gunn is definite matinee idol material for any stage. He comes from a background of “WOO” (“World of Opera”) and has appeared in opera houses, including the Metropolitan Opera, and major concert halls. Now, Gunn and his wife, accomplished pianist/accompanist Julie Gunn, are making their debut in the sophisticated world of the Café Carlyle with a program of intimacy, easy affability, and spectacular singing.
Many opera singers try unsuccessfully to reign in their vocal power to fit a small space and adjust to the limited demands of popular music. Gunn succeeds beautifully. This eclectic evening includes romantic songs, art songs, Broadway and pop tunes. It is a program that offers the variety of Arnold Weinstein and William Bolcom’s fascinatingly dark cabaret mood of “Song of Black Max,” Cole Porter’s “Don’t Fence Me In,” the bombastic “C’est Moi!” (Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe), and a James Joyce poetic art song with music by Ben Moore, “In the Dark Pinewood.” Whatever sensitivity a song calls for, Gunn delivers. He delves deep into romantic dreamland with Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart’s “My Funny Valentine” and George and Ira Gershwin’s “I’ve Got a Crush on You.” On the other hand, although his smooth, confident tone is in no way similar to songwriter/singer Tom Waits’s well-worn, gravely sound, Gunn is decisive with the everyman folk tales of Waits’s “The Briar and the Rose” and “Whistle Down the Wind.”
There is a mix of personal memories and musical taste in the songlist. One tune Gunn particularly likes is Gene Scheer’s melody put to W.H. Auden’s Cole Porter-ish wit in “Jam Tart” (“I’m a salmon, I’m a starting pistol, I’m backgammon, I’m the Port of Bristol”). He adds bits of comment about a song and why he is drawn to it. After his opening, a rather meditative “Just before the Sunrise” (Gene Scheer), Gunn, who is the father of five, comments about the positive aspects of moments alone, that “in-between time” before sunrise. Offering a few standards, he chooses “Polka Dots and Moonbeams” (James Van Heusen and Johnny Burke) and elucidates the joy of being in love with Ted Koehler and Harold Arlen’s “I’ve Got the World on a String,” with lilting accompaniment by his wife.
The couple relays an amusing story about a recent vacation they took together, and pairs this with Daniel E. Kelley and Brewster M. Higley’s “Home on the Range,” sung with authoritative spirit and sincerity. A theatrical highlight moves him into a darker zone, when Gunn takes on characterizations in three Bolcom cabaret songs, the aforementioned “Song of Black Max,” “George,” and “Over the Piano.”
If there is a high point in this beguiling show, it must be “If Ever I Would Leave You” (Lerner and Loewe for Camelot), Gunn’s rich voice resonant with passion. A suggestion: some of these songs, like this one, might be performed unplugged. Gunn ends the program with a traditional Irish pub song, “Parting Glass,” before releasing his dramatic talents for the desperation in his encore, E. Y. Harburg and Jay Gorney’s “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?”
Julie Gunn’s stylish accompaniment and the singer were well-matched. Rarely are performances, especially debuts, so perfect for the venue and so flawlessly delivered with an unassuming sense of confidence. Nathan Gunn’s astute selections were not chosen for the opera or concert audiences but attuned to this cozy boite. While he is a newcomer to the world of cabaret, Gunn seems very comfortable here.
This show, seamless and stylish, is hopefully the first of Nathan Gunn’s regular appearances and what a welcome addition! Remember the name: Nathan Gunn. You won’t forget the performance.
