Cabaret Setlist: Springing Forward with Three Songs of Hope and Happiness
Repertoire for the Once and Future American Songbook Article #14 in this ongoing series In the most recent installments of “Cabaret Setlist,” we’ve looked at the brilliant-but-dark “Lush Life” and the splendid-but sad “When October Goes.” I love these musical explorations of anguish and heartbreak, but I realize they’re not the only sorts of songs […]
The premiere screening will take place on Friday, April 30 at 8 pm; details on how to access the event are forthcoming. (New York, NY, March 22, 2021)—Internationally acclaimed singer, songwriter, recording artist, and actress Petula Clark will be honored at the 36th annual Bistro Awards on Friday, April 30. This virtual special event will have its […]
CD Review: Jane Monheit —”Come What May”
Jane Monheit’s latest release, Come What May, is a timeless collection of standards. The terrific orchestrations, including gorgeously utilized strings courtesy of Wayne Haun, the tasteful song selection and vocals displaying heart, brains, and accomplished musicality add up to an album that is as fresh as tomorrow while achieving a classic sound that would have […]
CD Review: Rebecca DuMaine and The Dave Miller Trio—”Someday, Someday”
Rebecca DuMaine has a lightness and fragility to her sound that calls to mind Blossom Dearie, and, as with Blossom, that lightness extends to her perfectly realized scat in musically astute, smile-inducing style. Her terrific new recording, Someday, Someday, is filled with great songs (both classic and contemporary) and offers many pleasant surprises. It is […]
Darlene Love: From “Rebel” to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
Pop icon and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Darlene Love was honored at the 32nd Annual Bistro Awards on Monday, March 13, 2017, receiving the ASCAP-Bob Harrington Lifetime Achievement Award for her five decades of musical accomplishments. Rolling Stone has called Love “one of the greatest singers of all time,” and The New […]
André De Shields: A Video Glimpse of an Artiste Extraordinaire
The Bistro Award team created a video montage for the multi-award-winning artiste extraordinaire, André De Shields, when he was honored with its 2018 Bob Harrington Lifetime Achievement Award. However, as things can happen during a live performance, we never got the chance to show it! So, here it is now, a two-and-a-half minute glimpse of […]
Cabaret Fave Jason Graae Opens the 2016 Bistro Awards
Weren’t we lucky to have musical theatre, film, TV, opera, and cabaret artist Jason Graae host the 31st Annual Bistro Awards show. Cited by the New York Times for being a “manic mischief,” watch this four-time Bistro recipient in action in this clip that I found while sifting through the many years of Bistro Award […]
Judy Collins: A Video Retrospective
Just before Suzanne Vega presented Judy Collins with her Bob Harrington Lifetime Achievement Award in March, 2019 at the 34th annual Bistro Awards, we showed this video retrospective that we created for the acclaimed singer-songwriter and Grammy Hall of Famer, in recognition of her six decades of musical accomplishment. The award was sponsored by […]
How Important Is It to Have a Director? Here Are What a Few Directors and Artists Have to Say
Article #12 in The New Cabaret Artist’s Handbook. Part Two of Shellen’s Lubin’s discussion on the importance of directors in cabaret. I hope you’ve figured out from the “shopping list” of directorial tools and qualities that I noted in Part One of this article that each director brings their own skill set and perspectives to the […]
Just How Valuable Is a Director to Your Cabaret Act?
The New Cabaret Artist’s Handbook Article #11 in this continuing series. Most likely there have been times when you’ve asked yourself this question: “Do I really need a director for my cabaret show? After all, I have a theme and ideas, plus I’m working with my longtime musical director who is smart and savvy and […]
The Musical Marriage Continues: Your Musical Director and You (Part Two)
Article #10 in this running series. For this half of our focus on musical directors (just in case you missed Part One: read it here), I posed some challenging questions to a number of them along with a few singers. We’ll begin with Daryl Kojak, who has been the musical director for most of the Bistro Awards […]
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 […]