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.

Abigail Rockwell & Sean Harkness

Gerry Geddes
The rough-hewn, relaxed feel of Stage 3 at Rockwood Music Hall on the Lower East Side proved the ideal setting for singer Abigail Rockwell and guitarist Sean Harkness to debut their new pairing, "Rock & Hark." The show had a loosely structured, "what shall we do next?" feel that for the most part worked well. The two...

Brandon James Gwinn

Gerry Geddes
Brandon James Gwinn is a pianist at Marie's Crisis piano bar. He is a Dramatists Guild Fellow and a Richard Rodgers Award finalist. He has been artist-in-residence at Ars Nova. He is a popular music director in cabaret and theatre and a composer of numerous shows and songs. He has been performing a series of...

Jason Kravits

Gerry Geddes
Jason Kravits is one of those good, reliable television character actors whose name might escape you, but whose face has you saying, "Oh yeah, that's the long-suffering district attorney from The Practice," or "I remember that guy from Grey's Anatomy" or from one of the seemingly endless list of shows on which he has co-starred...

Marcus Goldhaber

Gerry Geddes
First, let's talk a bit about Frank Sinatra. A musical icon (maybe THE musical icon), he has influenced a few generations of male vocalists. There are some who want to do his songs, some who want to emulate his style, some who want to capture that "Rat Pack" cool of a bygone era, and some...

Barbara Fasano

Gerry Geddes
Barbara Fasano celebrated the release of her new CD, "Busy Being Free," at the Metropolitan Room with the disc's arranger and music director, John di Martino, on piano. While the title comes from an early Joni Mitchell song, "Cactus Tree," the repertoire is primarily from the Great American Songbook and includes both familiar warhorses and rare...

Amanda Yesnowitz

Gerry Geddes
Lyricist Amanda Yesnowitz has been developing a name for herself in cabaret circles in New York City, with multiple nominations for various "Song of the Year" awards and, as she put it in her recent show at the Duplex, "Mercury Rising: The Sultry, Sassy Lyrics of Amanda Yesnowitz," she has also "won some sh*t as...

A Piano Bar Holiday Reunion – with Bobby Peaco & Friends

Gerry Geddes
I have been a denizen of piano bars for over 35 years, so I was naturally intrigued when I saw that Scott Barbarino of Iridium was presenting a series called Piano Bar Reunion. The piano bar has changed drastically over the years and, apart from loction, barely resembles the minor jewel in the crown of...

Until Now… The Songs of Ron Abel and Chuck Steffan

Gerry Geddes
As part of its Winter Rhythms festival, Urban Stages presented "Until Now…The Songs of Ron Abel and Chuck Steffan" with a starry cast and an instrumental trio featuring Abel on piano, Tom Hubbard on bass, and Rex Benincasa on drums.  Abel has arranged, orchestrated and conducted around the world with such luminaries as Bette Midler,...

Analisa Bell

Gerry Geddes
A rising star in Australian cabaret, Analisa Bell brought her show "Perthonality 2.0" (she's from Perth, get it?) to the Duplex in November after having debuted it at the Metropolitan Room in August. Urged by her mentor, Faith Prince, to come to New York to sing, she proved to be an accomplished vocalist, comedian, and...

Megon McDonough

Gerry Geddes
Back in the last century, in the pre-digital 70's, I used to love to frequent New York's numerous record stores in search of new and exciting artists, taking chances on an album because of a certain song, an arranger, a producer, even a back-up singer. This practice led to the discovery of a number of...