In her affecting new CD, My Ship: Songs from 1941, versatile vocalist Dawn Derow celebrates the World War II-era entertainers who comforted civilians stateside and soldiers overseas with memorable recordings of America’s soothing, rousing, and escapist popular music. Recalling such icons as the Andrews Sisters, Bing Crosby, Glenn Miller, and Duke Ellington, Derow performs 14 […]
Ace clarinet and saxophone players, with clean-cut, boy-next-door good looks and winsome, twinkly-eyed personalities, brothers Peter and Will Anderson brought an infectious Yuletide spirit to the Leonard Nimoy Thalia Theatre at Symphony Space with their diverting program of jazz arrangements of Christmas music—not the traditional, religious-themed carols, but rather those secular holiday-season songs one never […]
One of the many things that Ari Axelrod gets right on stage is sharing his gratitude. A medley of “Never Never Land” (Jule Styne, Betty Comden and Adolph Green) and “Pure Imagination” (Leslie Bricusse, Anthony Newley) opened his evening at Birdland Theater, creating a fairytale mood; as if we were all going on a trip […]
Stacey Kent sings from a part of the jazz vocal tradition that I particularly admire. She’s one of the post-Anita O’Day singers who has found her lane in a mellow groove. Her sound is perfect for Brazilian styles, technically accomplished, with even tone and dynamic markings peaking at mezzo forte. She doesn’t need to shout […]
For many years, Sidney Myer has been well known to us as the kind, funny, and encouraging impresario at Don’t Tell Mama (and previously, Panache). Every once in a while he would take the stage at a fancy event and sing a song or two to everyone’s delight. In recent years, he began appearing in […]
Wendy-Lane Bailey, the beautiful and enigmatic singer/producer, took centerstage as a performer at United Solo Festival this year with her work, Five Minutes: Snapshots in Time. The show was directed by Omar Sangare who is the founder and artistic director of the festival. Described as a “musical examination of the turning points that transform your life […]
I first reviewed Karen Mason back in the “golden days” of NYC cabaret, at the Duplex, just after she moved from Chicago to NYC and then, a bit later, at the opening night of the cabaret room at Don’t Tell Mama. She was an electrifying vocalist, a spellbinding and open-hearted storyteller, and a star. She […]
As the first notes of Chopin’s “Prelude in C Minor” (which is the basis of Barry Manilow’s “Could It Be Magic”) slid easily into “It’s A Miracle” (Manilow, Marty Panzer), it was already apparent that singer Dorian Woodruff holds a special affection for and appreciation of the legendary singer/songwriter; there would be no camp and […]
A highly theatrical production, singer Quinn Lemley’s thrilling “Rita Hayworth: The Heat is On!” is an extravagant look at the life of the eponymous Hollywood sex symbol, the glamorous World War II pin-up girl dubbed the “Love Goddess.” Sporting stunning costumes (by Wendall Goings and Michael Louis) and backed by a slick four-piece band, […]
Mason Alexander Park’s The Pansy Craze at Chelsea Table + Stage was part TED talk on non-binary history, part hard rock cabaret show, and part showcase for Park’s obvious talents. They played Hedwig in the first national tour of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, and regionally in I Am My Own Wife, Cabaret, and The […]