Cabaret Setlist: “Makin’ Whoopee” – Music by Walter Donaldson, Lyrics by Gus Kahn
Repertoire for the Once and Future American Songbook Song #7 in this running series 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 most have wanted to interview was…Sir Winston […]
CD Review: Tania Grubbs Quintet — Live at Maureen’s Jazz Cellar
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 […]
CD Review: Josie Falbo — “You Must Believe in Spring”
“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 […]
Taking Your Act Online? Resources to Up Your Tech Game
(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 […]
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, […]
The Musical Marriage: Your Musical Director and You (Part One)
Article #9 in this running series. Your musical director is probably your first and most primary connection as a cabaret artist. In fact, if you don’t have a director and/or writers with whom you’re working (both of which we will be addressing in future pieces), they may very well be your only collaborator in the […]
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; […]
