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?, was recently published and is available at barnesandnoble.com. He is currently at work on his first novel.

CD Review: Kenneth Gartman “We Need a Little Christmas”

Gerry Geddes
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...

CD Review: Susan Tobocman “Touch & Go”

Gerry Geddes
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...

Gay Marshall “Back on Boogie Street — Songs of Leonard Cohen”

Gerry Geddes
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...

CD Review: Josie Falbo — “You Must Believe in Spring”

Gerry Geddes
 “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...

CD Review: Diane Schuur “Running on Faith”

Gerry Geddes
Diane Schuur (Photo: Tim Courtney) 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...

CD Review: Linda Lavin “Love Notes”

Gerry Geddes
Linda Lavin’s new CD, Love Notes, is a timeless collection of terrific songs from the Great American Songbook that has the feel and sound of a classic album from the '50s or '60s but with a few surprising tracks from the likes of the Eagles and Steely Dan.  Lavin sounds better than ever and the...

CD Review: Sue Anne Gershenzon’s “You Must Believe in Spring”

Gerry Geddes
Rosemary Clooney famously said, “I am not a jazz singer. I am a singer who sings jazz songs.”  On her new album, You Must Believe In Spring, Sue Anne Gershenzon has chosen a program of songs of the highest quality – there’s not a bad song among them.  Unfortunately, in her execution of them, she...

CD Review “Robbie Rozelle’s “Songs From Inside My Locker”

Gerry Geddes
Robbie Rozelle’s new album, Songs From Inside My Locker, captures his more recent show at Feinstein’s/54 Below.  While there are some good ideas and a few good numbers to be heard, the singing rarely rises above that of a decent piano bar performance and can’t sustain the length of the recording.   As with most...

CD Review: Tim Di Pasqua’s “Place in This World”

Gerry Geddes
  Tim Di Pasqua’s new CD, Place In This World, is a collection of 12 originals that show off his way with word and melody.  Filled with a veritable bouquet of styles and genres, the album opens with an infectious uptempo declaration of missing a good friend, Tokyo, in which the story is wonderfully specific...

CD Review: Kirsten Gustafson’s “Wait Until Dark”

Gerry Geddes
Singer Kirsten Gustafson’s bluesy, dark, pop stylings are on attractive display on her new CD, ​Wait Until Dark. ​It seems that in an effort to feature the widest variety of material and styles, she and her team left behind any chance of concept or connection between the songs. On a CD, this is not always...