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 was (and will be) an artist in residence at Pangea and he has just completed a memoir of his life in NYC called "Didn’t I Ever Tell You This?"
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 […]
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 […]
It is often quite easy, even in pandemic times, to think that New York City is not only the center of the Universe but the Universe itself—especially when it comes to music, whether it be cabaret, theatre, or jazz. I am happy to report that Sharón Clark: By Special Request (presented as part of pianist […]
Tweed presents ‘TAINT (cause it ‘taint Christmas, and it ‘taint New Year’s)—An Alt-Holiday Variety Show to benefit Pangea, the terrific cabaret that serves as home to downtown performers and the best of NYC cabaret alike. In these pandemic times, restaurants and clubs are under duress from the distancing and quarantining and all the other nightmarish requirements […]
When Rebecca Luker passed away recently it sent ripples of sadness through the theatre and cabaret communities. All the Girls, the new CD with Luker and Sally Wilfert, serves as a heartbreaking reminder of what a tremendous loss this was. It is also a joyous celebration of two of Broadway’s finest voices, in solos and duets […]
There is an open-hearted, childlike simplicity and beauty to Kenneth Gartman’s sound that is quite endearing and a perfect match for We Need a Little Christmas, a holiday release filled with the warmth of an open fire and the good will of friends and family gathered together. Add to that a thoughtful connection to the […]
Singer/composer/arranger Susan Tobocman has released her latest CD Touch & Go. It has an intriguing selection of songs that are terrifically performed and played. What is immediately unusual about the project is that the singer created all the arrangements with an assist on two of them by David Tobocman (keeping it in the family). The Latin […]
Back in 2016 at the Cafe Carlyle, Judy Collins closed her wonderful show by sitting at the piano, alone on stage, and mesmerized us with Leonard Cohen’s “Suzanne.” As we left the room and wandered out into the night we received the devastating news that Cohen had passed away that very evening. Knowing that Collins […]
“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 […]
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 […]