Tammy McCann in “Legendary Ladies of Jazz—Ella, Sarah, Dinah, & Billie”

Gerry Geddes
Jazz/blues singer Tammy McCann paid a visit from her home in Chicago to 54 Below in NYC to celebrate The Legendary Ladies of Jazz—Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, and Dinah Washington. There was nothing edgy or adventurous about the choice of singers, or songs, but I suppose that was to be expected.  It did...

Storm Large — “Inside Voice”

Penelope Thomas
Get ready for gushing. Storm Large is good. Really good. It’s not the strength of her vocal abilities. It’s not the sexy chef vibes. It’s not her musical director and pianist James Beaton’s tasteful, innovative, and catchy arrangements. It’s not the well-considered setlist ranging from Kurt Weil to Ozzy Osbourne. It’s not her successful TV...

Amy Jo Jackson— “Laugh It Up”

Gerry Geddes
If one were to look up the meaning of the phrase “explosively talented,” one might very well find a picture of Amy Jo Jackson.  She is a blast of TNT talent in a genre often lacking in excitement and solid entertainment and laughs.  She not only raises the roof—she lowers the floor, she destroys the...

Ethan Mathias — “Outside the Lines”

Mark Dundas Wood
Considering that cabaret has a reputation for being an entertainment genre peopled with…let’s say seasoned performers and audiences, it’s always a terrific surprise when someone in the blush of youth shows up to take a dip in the talent pool. But when it’s someone who can navigate the cabaret stage with an abundance of energy,...

Club Review: James Jackson, Jr. Celebrates a Debut Album Release, “Birth”

Gerry Geddes
Some may know singer-actor and Obie-winner James Jackson, Jr. from his acclaimed theatre work, including the Pulitzer- and Tony-winning A Strange Loop, or most recently White Girl in Danger which played at the Vineyard Theatre. While he has been extending his exemplary theatrical career, he has also steadily developed into a first-rate cabaret performer, culminating in...

Stephanie Nakasian—“Two Shows in One: June in June & Tenor Gladness”

Penelope Thomas
Stephanie Nakasian, jazz educator and Jon Hendricks alum, performed as if we were invited into her home to share their family legacy. Spontaneously calling vocalists in the audience to step up as surprise guests, mentioning her many students and colleagues in the crowd, and referencing her life in jazz; it’s an entire community that welcomed...

Matthew Brookshire Sings The Wedding Album

Gerry Geddes
Singer/songwriter/pianist Matthew Brookshire opened the new singer-songwriter series at Pangea with Matthew Brookshire Sings The Wedding Album, a show filled with memorable originals, smartly chosen covers, and loads of charm and surprising emotional depth. It recounted the adventures of a gay man facilitating the weddings of heterosexual couples.  Matthew Brookshire (Photo: Erika Capin) Brookshire had...

Clint Holmes— “Icons Reimagined”

Mark Dundas Wood
It’s the real thing. Coca Cola made that slogan (and an accompanying jingle) widespread at the beginning of the 1970s, although the phrase has been part of American culture at least as far back as 1892, when it was the title of a short story by Henry James.  How, exactly, can we be sure we’ve...

“Josh Johnson’s Garden Variety Show”

Gerry Geddes
Josh Johnson, one of the freshest, funniest young comics around, is familiar to many from his regular contributions to The Daily Show and his frequent on-line posts, including weekly full-length concerts. When I first came across a hilarious clip on YouTube, I subscribed immediately and have been following him (and laughing) ever since. I recently got...

“I Wish You Love: The French Songbook with David Marino”

Gerry Geddes
I Wish You Love: The French Songbook with David Marino is a beautifully crafted, wonderfully performed showcase for a remarkable young singer from Canada named David Marino. His youth and his homeland and his song choices might lead the uninformed to place Marino in the Michael Bublé school of new residents in the world of the...