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.

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...

Marc Jordan: “Waiting for the Sun to Rise”

Gerry Geddes
I often long for the golden age of albums in which the recording was a cohesive artistic statement into which thought, passion, art, and craft were poured, resulting in work that was substantially more than the sum of its tracks. It was the time when singers and producers and creative musicians like The Beatles, Joni...

“André De Shields Celebrates the 40th Anniversary of ‘Haarlem Nocturne'”

Gerry Geddes
Haarlem Nocturne is not only a seminal show in the long and storied career of André De Shields, it is one of the seminal events in the history of New York cabaret. Teaming with his original music director, Broadway’s Marc Shaiman, De Shields mounted a 40th anniversary production of the show at 54 Below last...

Isabelle Georges in “Oh Là Là—A Passionate Journey Through the French Repertoire and Beyond”

Gerry Geddes
In spite of its rather academic subtitle, “Oh Là Là—A Passionate Journey Through the French Repertoire and Beyond was a delightful showcase for and introduction to the many sides of French musical star, Isabelle Georges. Seconds into her lively opening number, “La Grande Évasion” (music by Georges & P. Maniez, lyrics by Georges), she managed...

Tim Connell in “…it’s the joy in your heart…”

Gerry Geddes
Singer Tim Connell possesses such a warm, natural sound and such a thoughtful lyric delivery that it is easy to understand why he was awarded a 2023 Bistro Award for his last presentation on the intimate stage at Pangea. It is equally understandable that he wants to stretch his performing wings and embrace a broader, more...

Sally Mayes in “Now and Then: Jazz/Standard Time”

Gerry Geddes
At the top of her exciting new show, Now and Then: Jazz/ Standard Time, singer Sally Mayes barreled on to the stage like the proverbial blond bombshell, grabbed the room, and didn’t let go for the next hour, much to the delight of her cheering audience. Accompanied by Tedd Firth on piano and Tom Hubbard on...

Daisy Jopling’s “Who’s Who”

Gerry Geddes
The violin is no stranger to the cabaret stage. But most often it is a featured member of the band or a special guest appearance. In Daisy Jopling’s delightful show, Who’s Who, it is front and center and, in fact, more prominent than the vocals. As the title indicates, the focus of the show is...