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.

The Deborah Newallo Experience

Gerry Geddes
Red Rooster is a restaurant in the heart of Harlem’s music scene created by Andrew Chapman and Marcus Samuelson. It is so titled in honor of its namesake, a legendary Harlem speakeasy that attracted neighborhood folk, jazz greats, and major figures of the 20th century.  It continues a tradition of good food, friendly service, hip...

Critical Thoughts: Direction Can Help/Direction Can Hurt—A Tale of Two Singers

Gerry Geddes
I recently saw two singers whose shows might have very little in common on the surface but whose failings were pretty much identical, albeit brought to light in different ways.  Their main similarity is that each was ill-served by their directors and by the shows in which they presented themselves.  Coincidentally, each was also directed...

“Find the Road: A John M. Cook Anthology”

Gerry Geddes
As music director and pianist, John M. Cook has contributed to the success of many shows and singers, each one the better for his presence. I have been aware of that for quite a while, but I was not aware of how good a songwriter he is. That situation is rectified in his new revue, Find...

Brian Nash’s “Sunday Night Music Club”

Gerry Geddes
As a pianist, an arranger, a vocalist and a second banana, Brian Nash has been a vital component of some of New York’s best cabaret shows by some of cabarets best performers. With his new show, Sunday Night Music Club, which debuted at The Green Room 42, he grabbed the spotlight center stage and he never...

Lila Day’s “More of the Same”

Gerry Geddes
Lila Day made her cabaret debut with a show that had a “COVID-adjacent” premiere. Despite the circumstances, she loved the experience and knew that she wanted to do another. When she sat down to write her next endeavor, she realized that the ideas that had filled her first show were still firmly front and center in...

Randa McNamara’s “Past, Present, Peculiarities”

Gerry Geddes
When the eager crowd (filled with its fair share of cabaret legends and stars) set foot into the original cabaret space at Don’t Tell Mama to see Randa McNamara’s Past, Present, Peculiarities, they had no idea they were in for the added treat of entering a time machine that would transport them to the glory...

Album Review: Mark Winkler–”The Rules Don’t Apply”

Gerry Geddes
Singer/songwriter Mark Winkler received the 2023 Bistro Award for Outstanding Recording for his last album, Late Bloomin’ Jazzman. The blooming continues with his new collection of originals and inventive covers, The Rules Don’t Apply. It’s a musically diverse and adventurous set of songs, jumping from big band, to sextet, to trio, and back again. The ease...

Club Review: Deidre Rodman Struck–”The Year of Lost and Found”

Gerry Geddes
We all developed our own unique coping mechanisms to deal with the results of the pandemic. Singer, songwriter, pianist Deidre Rodman Struck combatted the desolation of lockdown in a way that might have seemed obvious but was inspired by the suggestion of a friend. That friend suggested that she should sit down and write a...

Album Review: “A Collective Cy–Jeff Harnar Sings Cy Coleman”

Gerry Geddes
Anyone choosing to explore the songs of Cy Coleman finds a cornucopia of jazz, pop, and Broadway with words by some of the finest lyricists the Great American Songbook has to offer. The power, wit, style and breadth of melodies and rhythms have much to offer, and singer Jeff Harnar has wisely partnered with a...

Betty Bryant: “Lotta Livin'”

Gerry Geddes
We live in an age when octogenarians and nonagenarians in the music industry are delivering performances in recordings and concerts, in cabarets and jazz clubs that are equal (and at times superior) to their younger counterparts. Near the top of any list of these remarkable musical artists, would appear the name Betty Bryant.  She is...