In the quality that distinguishes cabaret songwriting from all other genres—the interpretation and communication of the meaning of original, heartfelt, and witty songs—John Wallowitch has few peers.
Closing his show at the FireBird Café last Saturday, this poet laureate of deadpan irony turned to the audience and whispered, "If fate is sweet, someday we'll meet again." The trenchant words closed a trilogy of ditties (consisting of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"; "Late Night On West 46th Street," about forgotten dreams; and "I Love You," from which the above melancholic quote is taken) contrasting a nightlife that used to be with today's transient piano bars as places to "remember forgotten promises."
Wallowitch, a much loved and honored songwriter of cabaret cult favorites such as "This Moment," "I'm 27," and "Bruce" (a Blossom Dearie staple), just ended a three week sold-out run at FireBird. He is from an older, wiser generation of songsmiths who paid more attention to the message of the lyric line than to the audience who would be listening to it. There is not an ounce of self-aggrandizing in his words. His songs reflect a bygone sensibility that is rare today and deserves wider play. On the lighter side, he recalls a less acerbic Noël Coward. On more serious turns, he is reflective and nostalgic in a mode that recalls a more philosophical Irving Berlin. Numerous artists have recorded his songs, including Dixie Carter, Karen Akers, Morgana King, and Tony Bennett. Today's cabaret regulars regularly sing them. An emotional sage whose songs come from a place in the heart, Wallowitch is variously funny, transcendent, and just plain silly.
A high point of his act was a tribute to Judy Garland that eschewed the sappy hysteria that sometimes goes with the legend. Wallowitch wrote two songs with Tony Scibetta that Don Costa orchestrated for Garland to record in 1969 before her death. "Play Melancholy Baby" and "Discover Who I Am" echo a muted Garland-style ballad with lyrics like "... I don't care if people stare and call me corny ... Can't they see my heart on my sleeve?" One could imagine Garland adding these to her canon of self-deprecating arias.
An ode to "June Allyson" that spoofs the former MGM star and her television commercials selling Depends undergarments was too funny. "Millicent Triumphs," about a saucy older gal's plastic surgery snafus, was hysterical. This savvy mix of satire and pastiche-filled entertainment, once a staple of cabaret, is now a rarity in Manhattan. Wallowitch's tuners playfully needle and slice, then strike a melancholic chord. His words and music fly, tapping into emotions that never bog down in the mire of smugness. His performance finds the dramatic or comic core of each song. He's a classic. He's one of a kind. He's returning in the fall.
Bursting on stage with the energy of a bolt of lightning, brassy, campy Atlanta nightclub owner Libby Whittemore made waves in her New York debut, "Those Glorious Gals," a fun-filled show recently at Danny's Skylight Room. With bubbly Robert Strickland at the piano, Ms. Whittemore is a serious crowd-pleaser who wins an audience with ease. Offering buoyant sendoffs on covers made famous by popular ladies of yesterday, including Petula Clark ("Downtown"), the Maguire Sisters ("Sincere-ly"), and Patsy Cline ("Walking After Midnight"), she had the room in the palm of her hand. Her southern-spun bantering was very funny. Repeatedly referring to the ladies before every song, she said, "She's the queen!" Midway through the show, the audience was chanting it without prompting. (After a while, this wore thin.)
Whittemore has an unsubtle, gutsy, Merman-like belt. This worked on most songs in her familiar program. However, the Mancini classic, "Moon River," missed its mark. Where a whisper would suffice, she sounded like she was at a cattle call. In time, she will learn about less being more. For now, she's off to a terrific start. Libby Whittemore is a winner, and a very welcome addition to the Manhattan club scene.
It's over 10 years since I last reviewed seven-time Grammy-nominated jazz legend Mark Murphy. Back then, I just appreciated what a consummate artist he is. In his sets last weekend at Birdland (with his impressive quartet of John Toomey on piano, David Finck on bass, Memo Acevedo on percussion, and Tim Horner on drums), I was in total awe of the multi-dimensional, raw musicianship in his fluid jazz and scat improvisations. Murphy brings a weathered, salty life to a song with his bottomless baritone voice. Taking carefree liberties with the structured melody line, he gave a touching, yet bathos-free depth to the music of Antonio Carlos Jobim and Ivan Lins, as well as some snappy originals, fusing them with driving conga-beat rhythms that were hard to match (much less describe.) Throughout his set, colorful crescendos exploded into mind-boggling musical climaxes. It was obvious why so many jazz musicians jammed the room and applauded wildly. Having recently released his 43rd album, he is the man of whom Ella Fitzgerald said, "He is my equal."
QUICK BITS: Reviewed here in early January, I finally caught madcap vocal trio Modern Man in their one-niter at the Laurie Beechman Theatre and was blown away by their musicianship and buffoonish sense of the hideously absurd. Interweaving raucous themes from God to Godzilla, David Bushkin, Rob Carlson, and George Wurzbach are a fusion of Bob Dylan and Pavarotti on acid! A song about assorted phone options at the Suicide Prevention Hotline was about as perversely funny as comedy can get... Karen Mason was in top form in her recent gig at Arci's Place, reprising her standards show. She is now in a league with other theatre greats who visit cabaret.
NOTE: There will be a benefit for the ailing, much-loved Berri Blair, a longtime favorite on the piano bar circuit, on Mon., July 30 at 7 pm at Cucina Stagionale, 289 Bleecker St. (off Seventh Ave. South). Performers include Daryl Sherman, Barbara Lea, John Wallowitch, Jay Leonhart, Jerry Scott, Michael Ferreri, and Christopher Gines. Reservations: (212) 289 4892.
IN THE CLUBS: Sam Harris makes a rare cabaret appearance starting Aug. 14 at Arci's Place for two weeks… Also at Arci's, "A Chorus Line" legend Donna McKechnie has been extended by overwhelming demand through Aug. 11 ... Two-time Bistro-winner Tim Di Pasqua appears at the FireBird Café as part of the MAC/ASCAP Songwriters' Series on Sun., Aug. 5 and 12, at 9 pm, with special guest singers Tom Andersen and Scott Coulter… Nan Selle's show, "Apparitions," at Danny's Skylight Room Tues. July 31 at 9:15 pm, blends maturity, melancholia, and some brilliant sightings by a seasoned trouper.