CD Review: Diane Schuur “Running on Faith”
Sometime in the ‘90s, the Grammy Awards telecast decided to have all the nominees in all Jazz Vocal categories line up on the stage and join in a group rendition of “How High the Moon.” Far stage right, last in line, was Sarah Vaughan; next to her, penultimate in the group, was Diane Schuur. A […]
CD Review: Linda Lavin “Love Notes”
Linda Lavin’s new CD, Love Notes, is a timeless collection of terrific songs from the Great American Songbook that has the feel and sound of a classic album from the ’50s or ’60s but with a few surprising tracks from the likes of the Eagles and Steely Dan. Lavin sounds better than ever and the […]
CD Review: Sue Anne Gershenzon’s “You Must Believe in Spring”
Rosemary Clooney famously said, “I am not a jazz singer. I am a singer who sings jazz songs.” On her new album, You Must Believe In Spring, Sue Anne Gershenzon has chosen a program of songs of the highest quality – there’s not a bad song among them. Unfortunately, in her execution of them, she […]
Let me open with a rather broadly stated observation: Too many people are doing too many medleys in too many shows. Now I’ll narrow in and expand on this. (Perversely, and yet delightfully, this seemingly oxymoronic sentence is not self-contradictory.) By medley, I refer to any combination of more than one song. Let’s start at […]
Highlights from the 2018 Bistro Award Show
Watch highlights from our 33rd annual Bistro Awards show (2018) that features André De Shields (Lifetime Achievement), Sheila Jordan (Outstanding Contributions to the Art of Jazz), Marta Sanders (Consummate Cabaret Artistry), Shemekia Copeland (Producer’s Award), among 19 other individual artists. Bistro Award house band includes Daryl Kojak (piano), Ritt Henn (bass), and Rex Benincasa (drums). […]
The 2020 Honoree Roll Call: Gretchen Reinhagen
Gretchen Reinhagen’s latest CD, Take It with Me, brings a new energy and interpretation to contemporary songs made famous by others. Hear her version of Stevie Wonder’s “All in Love Is Fair,” performed at the 2020 Bistro Awards on March 9. Tracy Stark accompanies on piano, Ritt Henn on bass, and Dwayne Cook Broadnax on […]
The 2020 Honoree Roll Call: Stephanie Trudeau
Stephanie Trudeau transforms herself into Mexican ranchera artist Chavela Vargas in her show, Chavela: Think of Me, which won the 2020 Bistro Award for Outstanding Tribute Show. Vargas, who broke gender barriers in both a highly macho society and music world, is portrayed by Trudeau with compelling vocals and visuals. Here’s her performance of “El” Último […]
The 2020 Honoree Roll Call: Joanne Halev
Joanne Halev used her experience in the fragrance creation profession and her travels around the globe to create her cabaret debut show, “Like a Perfumed Woman.” Here’s a medley from the show that Halev sang at the 2020 Bistro Awards where she was honored with an award for Outstanding Debut. Alex Rybeck, accompanies on piano, […]
Article #8 in this running series. “I’ve learned how special the audience is, the feeling that you get from people being right in front of you, becoming part of your act. You hear every word, cough, and sneeze. They tell you if they’re amused or moved by your interpretation and how they perceive you and […]
Thinking of Doing a Tribute or Themed Show? Then, You Gotta Get an Arc!
Article #7 in this running series. Let’s say you’ve been in love with Judy Garland and the songs she made famous for years, and you want to do a tribute to her in your next cabaret show. Or, you think Janis Ian is an underrated songwriter and you want to do a night of all […]
What is Patter and Why Is It So Important?
Article #6 in this running series. Patter is such a seemingly trivial term for the talk between songs in a cabaret act. However, the multiple definitions of the word are not all as superficial as the word itself might seem. Patter in the dictionary is 1) the talk with which an entertainer accompanies a routine; […]
A Great Show Tells a Great Story
Article #5 in this running series. A key factor to creating a successful cabaret act or revue is to give the show an emotional throughline underpinning it. The classic notion of choosing a bunch of songs that you like, and then alternating uptempos with ballads, can create a haphazard and unfocused experience, even if it […]
