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?"
July turns out to be the perfect month for Feinstein’s/54 Below to book Blaine Alden Krauss in From the Soul. The fireworks started even before he hit the stage, and they did not stop until he had the crowd literally dancing in the aisles during his encore. I didn’t notice anyone actually up on a […]
Singer/curator Ben Cassara chose the perfect singer to open his Pangea Hot Summer Night Jazz Series when he chose Sheila Jordan. There is a special sense of excitement and a bit of awe when one goes to see one of the legends, and still performing at the top of her game, when one gets to […]
Tony-nominated Derrick Baskin has already made a name for himself in the worlds of theatre and music with appearances on Broadway in Memphis, The 25th Annual Spelling Bee, The Little Mermaid and, currently, Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations. His film and TV credits include Difficult People, Annie, Marshall, and Law & Order: SVU. He has […]
It seems like drag is everywhere these days thanks in large part to RuPaul and her show and her knockoffs. But it’s a different kind of drag, a more meta, self-referential kind of drag; it seems to come from watching other drag queens. It is akin to the newer breed of directors whose entire frame […]
Singer Rebecca Angel’s debut recording, Love Life Choices, is in some ways, the perfect summer album, particularly for Summer 2021. Her smooth, silky, yet surprisingly resilient voice, coupled with pulsing, insinuating music, is like a cooling breeze on a sweltering day. In this case, however, that breeze contains embers of the fear, concern and pain of Covid-19. […]
People everywhere are or will be recounting tales of what they did doing the Covid lockdown, but few will have a souvenir of that time as brilliant and creative as singer-songwriter Eleri Ward‘s. In a closet of her New York apartment, she fashioned A Perfect Little Death—Suf/Sond, a recording that imagines what 13 iconic Stephen Sondheim […]
Sometimes, listening to a brand new CD can be like discovering the pot of gold at the end of the proverbial rainbow, and that is just how I felt listening to the latest release from British jazz vocalist Sarah Moule. Stormy Emotions consists of 12 songs by lyricist Fran Landesman and composer/pianist Simon Wallace, including 10 […]
In 1952, the iconic star Fred Astaire recorded a multi-album set of the classic songs he had introduced or featured over the previous decades. Norman Granz, the producer, surrounded the song & dance man with legendary musicians from Jazz at the Philharmonic, with Oscar Peterson on piano. The songs were, of course, immaculately sung, but the […]
Singer Amber Weekes’s newest release, ‘Round Midnight — Re-Imagined, has a classic, lived-in feel that allows the listener to luxuriate in its style, its romance, its intelligence, and its sheer musical richness while enjoying the rich storytelling and the trove of surprises to be found in its tracks. There is quite a lot of backstory and factual […]
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 […]