Saloons: Some Enchanted Evenings

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Saloons: Some Enchanted Evenings

Cabaret has always been a mixed bag. The golden age is gone. However, in today’s schizo world of nightclubs, things are looking pretty good. It is a milieu unique in the entertainment industry. And, it continues to reinvent itself. The late cabaret critic Martin Schaeffer wrote in Back Stage in 1993,“There cannot be a better night of classic American music than a Bobby Short gig at The Carlyle.” He was right; especially if you’re a purist of the Great American Songbook. Short, one of cabaret’s most celebrated singer-pianists, left a gap in Manhattan nightlife when he passed in 2005, after a thirty year residency at Café Carlyle. The same can be said about ghosts who haunt the saloons from the past like Mabel Mercer, Dorothy Loudon, George Shearing, Rosemary Clooney, Barbara Lea, John Wallowitch, Claiborne Cary, Susannah McCorkle, Mary Cleere Haran, Nancy LaMott, Julie Wilson and a profusion of legends whose likes we will not see again in the mashed up world of nightlife these days. If you were lucky enough to be in the audience for a show by any one of the aforementioned, you witnessed greatness. It was an embarrassment of riches. So, who are the torchbearers of today?

At the annual MAC (Manhattan Association of Cabarets & Clubs) Awards ceremony in 1988, legendary singer Sylvia Syms took the stage to present an award. After viewing an eclectic array of singers and comics perform along with lots of back-slapping banter, she took a step forward, surveyed the crowd and summed it all up in an eloquent homily that even made it to the NY Post. In her labored, comforting voice, she shared an insider’s wisdom with an audience that crammed into the Village Gate to celebrate themselves: “Those of us who have been on the boards for as many years as I have been have a tendency to talk about what is going to happen after it’s over for us. There’s really nothing to worry about. Because in the hands of the young, up-and-coming singers that I’ve heard perform tonight, it’s going to be better, it’s going to be greater, it’s going to be wilder and more colorful than it ever was. When I began in this business, they called cabarets saloons. I was a saloon singer… ”

There was more. She was repeatedly interrupted by rousing cheers as she hit one home run after another aimed at the hearts of a room full of hopefuls. They all had the same dream. And, after three long hours of this ceremony/love-fest, more than four hundred guests left with the words of a saloon singer ringing in their ears. She will be remembered with a special night at this years Cabaret Convention at Jazz At Lincoln Center hosted by Rex Reed.

 

Many of today’s rising artists’ carrying that torch in the clubs are committed to preserving great songs. They include (but not limited to) the likes of Matt Baker, Celia Berk, William Blake, Carole J. Bufford, Eric Comstock & Barbara Fasano, Kevin Dozier, Liam Forde, Lauren Fox, Alison Fraser, Eric-Yves Garcia, Nicole Henry, Lina Koutrakos, Maxine Lineman, Rosemary Loar, Kristoffer Lowe, Richard Malavet, Marieann Meringolo, Stearns Matthews, Marissa Mulder, Molly Pope, Marcus Simeone, Anne Steele, Gabriella Stravelli and it even includes Sean Harkness and his guitar and Aaron Weinstein with his jazz violin. That’s just tipping the iceberg.

There are other, more established, cabaret stars like Ann Hampton Callaway, Joyce Breach, Mary Foster Conklin, Baby Jane Dexter, Natalie Douglas, Eric Michael Gillett, Jeff Harnar, Sheila Jordan, Barb Jungr, Karen Mason, Sharon McNight, Mark Nadler, Karen Oberlin, Vivian Reed, Annie Ross, Steve Ross,Stacy Sullivan, Marcus Simeone, Billy Stritch, KT Sullivan, Wesla Whitfield, Carol Woods and Andrea Marcovicci to name some who are consistent favorites. These entrenched performers are singing traditional cabaret fare fused with lighter material including tribute and pop-flavored shows. In the recent mix there have been celebrations of Judy Garland (Hilary Kole,) Seth Sikes with two separate shows honoring Garland and Liza Minnelli, Karen Oberlin’s Elvis Costello show, Lillias  White’s Cy Coleman show with Billy Stritch and one of the years most successful duet shows honoring Sondheim (“Another Hundred People.”) starring Jeff Harnar and KT Sullivan. Many cabaret artists’ like pop singer Analise Ashleigh, known for her turn in Broadway’s “Kinky Boots,” are also grounded in the  American songbook as in her shows at Feinstein’s/54 Below. And that’s just some of what has kept cabaret alive and booming over the past year. They all raised the bar.

Speaking of raising bars, other well known stars who play high profile or major engagements at rooms such as Feinstein’s/54 Below, Café Carlyle, Metropolitan Room, The Appel Room at Jazz At Lincoln Center and The Blue Note, etc. (jazz will be the subject of future columns) include: Betty Buckley, Barbara Cook, Matthew Morrison, Chita Rivera, Paulo Szot, Iris Williams, John Lloyd Young – and concert-cabaret aficionado Michael Feinstein (who started in saloons and made his cabaret debut in 1986 at the Oak Room at The Algonquin to wide acclaim.)

No mention of greatness and wonder would be complete without a serious nod to that beloved 88-year old thunderbolt called Marilyn Maye who rips the roof off the house with every sold out appearance. As the late Donald Smith, founder of the Mabel Mercer Foundation, said, “… cabaret will always keep good music alive…. that is why it must thrive.” And it will. That “new breed” referred to also includes a mixed bag of Broadway and pop singers who use cabaret as a one-night showcase to put their wares on display (often at Feinstein’s/54 Below.)

It’s been said many times that there is nothing like the thrill of discovery. Over the past few years, Feinstein’s/54 Below and its alt-cabaret equivalent, Joe’s Pub have turned into the premiere emporiums in Manhattan to view rising talent with enough heft to overcome the rampart facing real singers beyond today’s insidious, rock-hip-hop domination where the easiest route to stardom is exposure on a TV talent contest like “The Voice” or “America’s Got Talent.” Hooray for intimate nights.

There is more hope for good music reaching a younger audience. There are stars on the scene who appeal to the youth and their peers who are not part of the hip-hop generation. Chart-buster’s like Adele, Taylor Swift, Josh Groban, Harry Connick, Jr., Celine Dion – and Michael Buble’ (I didn’t say I was a fan,) etc., are exposing sensible (if not always great) songs to the younger set. They all have many fans. Maybe that’s because, they sing lyrics that can be understood. The big question is will this youth of today (overwhelmed by peer pressure) seek out classy artists’ to look up to and will they appreciate the greatness that will be around a hundred years from today? Some aging pop stars like Barry Manilow, Joni Mitchell, Rod Stewart, etc., discovered they could reinvent themselves by turning out questionable albums of American standards in the 90s that sold well and breathed life into sagging careers. Why not? Today, there is no Ella Fitzgerald or Frank Sinatra and their like for the kids to look up to.