Gerry Geddes has conceived and directed a number of musical revues—including the Bistro- and MAC Award-winning "Monday in the Dark with George" and "Put On Your Saturday Suit-Words & Music by Jimmy Webb"—and directed many cabaret artists, including André De Shields, Helen Baldassare, Darius de Haas, and drag artist Julia Van Cartier. He directs "The David Drumgold Variety Show," currently in residence at Manhattan Movement & Arts Center, and has produced a number of recordings, including two Bistro-winning CDs. He’s taught vocal performance at The New School, NYU, and London’s Goldsmith’s College and continues to conduct private workshops and master classes. As a writer and critic, he has covered New York’s performing arts scene for over 40 years in both local and national publications; his lyrics have been sung by several cabaret and recording artists. Gerry is an artist in residence at Pangea, and a regular contributor to the podcast “Troubadours & Raconteurs.” He just completed a memoir of his life in NYC called “Didn’t I Ever Tell You This?”
For new young jazz vocalists beginning a performance career, the shadows of the giants that came before them can be intimidating and overwhelming as well as inspirational. But when 26-year-old singer, Tawanda (who tied for first place in the 9th Annual Sarah Vaughan International Vocal Competition in 2021) made her New York debut this month […]
Back in the day, when I became a lifelong fan of singer/songwriter/producer Todd Rundgren, albums were not merely a collection of “pick & choose” streamable tracks. They were an entity unto themselves—an artistic statement in which to immerse oneself, in which to get lost like a good book or a good movie. Each song benefited […]
Bobby Short…Blossom Dearie…Frances Faye…Diana Krall. Their names alone conjure images of sophisticated, exciting nightlife, of bôites inhabited by saloon singers on the ivories, of wonderful dreams of music and class and style. Alas, it has been a long time since that piano and voice alchemy has topped the entertainment world in New York City and […]
What could go wrong? One of New York cabaret’s warmest, most intelligent, and talented vocalists paired with a solid crooner in the classic mode whose rich, smooth sound and smart phrasing sets him apart from other current practitioners of saloon singing paired to sing the songs of Peggy Lee and Frank Sinatra accompanied by two […]
On October 28, 2022, we lost Jay Rogers, one of the most hilarious, talented, endearing clowns in New York cabaret and theatre, to cancer. It is a tragic reminder of the fragility of our lives, and that even a man whose art and being embodied a whole-hearted, joy-filled embrace of life and living it to […]
In 1960, lyricists Alan and Marilyn Bergman secured their position in the Great American Songbook with Frank Sinatra’s recording of “Nice ‘n’ Easy” (Lew Spence) and, up until Marilyn’s death this year, they provided a lyrical backdrop to the passing decades with songs in film, theatre, television, and recordings while working with some of the […]
After she was discovered (and signed to Columbia Records) at her very first cabaret show, Jane Olivor released five albums between 1976 and 1982 that endeared her to many, particularly in the gay community. As their superstar Barbra Streisand ascended to the stratosphere, Olivor took her place in many of their hearts. As the AIDS […]
When I teach vocal performance, one of the first things I stress to students is that performing in a cabaret space is more akin to film acting than stage acting. Subtle gestures, like a raised eyebrow or a simple smile, can be much more effective than the grand gestures and histrionics of a theatrical performance. […]
Sondheim tribute recordings and CDs have become a cottage industry in the music world. There have been many fine entries in the genre harkening back to Sir Richard Rodney Bennett, Dame Cleo Laine, Jackie & Roy, Herbie Hancock, and Betty Buckley to name a few, not to mention the myriad concert and studio tributes by […]
Before I get to Scott F. Mason’s hilarious show at Don’t Tell Mama, One Dame Funny Night, return with me to those thrilling days of cabaret past, and to one of the best cabaret comedians in the late 20th century, Pudgy (the stage name of Beverly Wines). Pudgy began her career at a time when […]
