Gerry Geddes

Gerry Geddes, critic for BistroAwards.com, is an award-winning director, writer, teacher, performer, lyricist, and a contributor to the podcast Troubadours and Raconteurs. He conceived and directed the acclaimed musical revues Monday in the Dark with George (Bistro and MAC Award winner), Put on Your Saturday Suit—Words & Music by Jimmy Webb, and Gerry Geddes & Company (in its five-year residency at Pangea). He has directed singers André De Shields, Darius de Haas, Helen Baldassare, and Lisa Viggiano. He has been active in the cabaret world for over five decades and has produced numerous CDs; his lyrics have been performed and recorded here and in Europe. Gerry’s workshop, The Art of Vocal Performance, is regularly offered to singers of all levels. His memoir of life in NYC, Didn’t I Ever Tell You This?, is available at barnesandnoble.com. He is currently at work on his first novel.

Nina Pelton and Kellie Ishmael’s “Two Most Wanted”

Gerry Geddes
Singers Nina Pelton and Kellie Ishmael are long-time friends who met 30 years ago in the band Jigsaww; since then, they have pursued solo careers and on occasion guested in each other’s shows. But to celebrate the longevity of their relationship both personal and professional they created their new duo show, Two Most Wanted—their very...

Album Review: Bria Skonberg’s “Indigo”

Gerry Geddes
Juno Award-winning singer/musician Bria Skonberg’s new album, Indigo, is a companion piece to her recent release, Brass, which centered on her trumpet playing. Indigo is focused on her equally impressive vocals with a collection of mostly standards in crystalline orchestrations that highlight and enrich her supple, gentle, intelligent phrasing and her pleasingly smoky sound. It...

Carmen Lundy—”Notes from the Wine Cellar”

Gerry Geddes
The release of jazz great Carmen Lundy’s sixteenth album, Notes from the Wine Cellar, coincides with her being named a 2026 NEA Jazz Master, the highest accolade a jazz artist can receive. This is a highly personal project with Lundy contributing much more than just vocals. Produced with Elisabeth Oei, Lundy wrote all the songs,...

Album Review: Kathy Ingraham’s “Jazz Dreams”

Gerry Geddes
For a project inspired by a 1944 Oscar-winning short film called Heavenly Music, Kathy Ingraham’s new recording, Jazz Dreams, is an unexpectedly bracing and jazzy dive into rock radio. In the film, a deceased bebop jazz band leader must justify his entry into the heavenly Hall of Music before a committee of elitist classical composers and...

Album Reviews: Sondheim’s Melodies Linger On

Gerry Geddes
Stephen Sondheim passed away on November 26, 2021 but the immortality of his songs has never been in question. Right now, there is a multi-decade film of Merrily We Roll Along being filmed under the direction of Richard Linklater—starring Paul Mescal, Ben Platt, and Beanie Feldstein—in “real time”—which will then be edited backwards. A filmed version of...

Mark Winkler “Love Comes First”

Gerry Geddes
Bistro Award winner Mark Winkler is, arguably, one of the most prolific jazz singers today. Love Comes First is his 23rd recording and he shows no signs of slowing down. In his recent show at New York's Pangea, he announced that in August he will be recording an album with British jazz royalty Claire Martin filled...

As Is (AI and Stacey Schulman) — “Crazy World”

Gerry Geddes
I have always had a warm spot in my music listening heart for pop recordings. I love jazz, rock, film scores, Broadway, folk, and so many other genres that I have been told that my taste is so eclectic that it is nonexistent.  Even though two out of three of my favorite singers are Sarah Vaughan...

Marcus Goldhaber— “The Promise of You”

Gerry Geddes
Since jazz singer/ songwriter Marcus Goldhaber first came on the scene, and through appearances at major jazz clubs and cabarets around the country, and through five previous albums, he established himself as one of the young guard of protectors of and contributors to the Great American Songbook. His style is a captivating blend of jazz...

D’Jamin Bartlett—”Night Club: A True Story”

Gerry Geddes
In the late winter of 1973, I found myself sitting in the Shubert Theatre to see a brand-new show that turned out to be one of the most perfect musicals I had (or have) ever seen. The show was A Little Night Music and I went back to see it nine times on Broadway at...

Aaron Valentine — “Who Are You Again? Learning to Sing Through Life”

Gerry Geddes
Hearing Aaron Valentine’s rich, piercing vocals on a medley of A Chorus Line’s “Music and the Mirror” (Marvin Hamlisch, Ed Kleban) and Glee’s “Let Me Be Your Star” (Marc Shaiman, Scott Whitman) near the top of his recent show at Don’t Tell Mama, Who Are You Again? Learning to Sing Through Life, it’s easy to...