Jason Kravits to Host The 40th Annual Bistro Awards Gala

The 40th Annual Bistro Awards Gala will honor Grammy Award-nominated jazz-cabaret singer Sandy Stewart, accomplished pianist and singer Kathleen Landis, acclaimed jazz vocalist Jane Scheckter, Grammy Award-winning singer Catherine Russell, and Grammy-nominated pianist Sean Mason, among the other honorees, for cabaret artistry on Monday, April 14 at New York’s Gotham Comedy Club at 7:00 PM. 
 
As is the Bistro Award tradition, the evening will feature performances by all the awardees. Adding to the anniversary year’s excitement, several Bistro Award honorees from seasons past are also slated to appear and perform at the event.
 
Actor and musical comedy improv wiz Jason Kravits will be the evening’s guest host. Seen on screens and stages for over 35 years (Only Murders in the Building, The Practice, Sabbath’s Theater, The Drowsy Chaperone), he has been touring the country and abroad for the past 10 years with his Bistro Award–winning musically improvised cabaret, Off the Top!
 
A singer whose career first blossomed in the 1950s and early 1960s, Sandy Stewart will be presented with the Bistro Award’s top honor, the “ASCAP-Bob Harrington Lifetime Achievement Award,” for her extraordinary and diverse career singing pop, early rock-and-roll, and American Songbook and jazz standards. Grammy-nominated for her 1962 recording of John Kander and Fred Ebb’s “My Coloring Book,” she appeared on early TV variety shows hosted by Ernie Kovacs, Ed Sullivan, and Perry Como. In later years, she became known as a sensitive and wise cabaret-jazz performer, often appearing and recording with her son, jazz-piano virtuoso Bill Charlap, who will accompany her at the Bistros celebration.
 
Kathleen Landis is being presented a special award for “Consummate Piano-Vocal Artistry.” Known for her long career as a restaurant and club entertainer, most notably her long stint at the Café Pierre at the Pierre Hotel, her unique style and talent are the epitome of sophistication, intelligence, and musical artistry.
 
Also honored with a special Bistro Award is Jane Scheckter, who will be honored for her “Sustained Cabaret Artistry,” both as a club performer and a recording artist. Her sophisticated vocal phrasing and straightforward jazz-singing style have consistently kept lyrics front and center throughout her years in the spotlight.  
 
In 2024, Craig Rubano returned to New York cabaret after a hiatus of several years. He will receive an award for his “Outstanding Autobiographical Show,” Take the Moment, a skillfully assembled piece of musical theater about his life’s journey. It included carefully chosen songs that fit his story, along with some rafters-shaking singing.
 
Carolyn Montgomery will accept an award for “Outstanding Tribute Show” for girlSinger: A Celebration of Rosemary Clooney. A textbook example of the way to do a tribute show in cabaret, it provided a glimpse into the life of an iconic American singer, with minimum patter and maximum charm.
 
Another “Outstanding Tribute Show,” Family Matters: A Celebration of All Things Rodgers, Rodgers & Guettel, will bring an award to the mother/son team of Deborah Zecher and Joshua Zecher-Ross. Highlighting an American music dynasty that includes three generations of musical-theater composers—Richard Rodgers, Mary Rodgers, and Adam Guettel—it was an entertaining, informative, funny, emotional, and beautifully constructed show.
 
Singer Ann Kittredge will take home a trophy for “Outstanding Recording” for her richly rendered album Romantic Notions. It’s a scintillating set of intriguing re-imaginings of hit tunes, named one of the top-10 vocal albums of 2024 by the Broadway Radio Show.
 
Also being honored with an “Outstanding Recording” award are the team of singer Catherine Russell and jazz pianist Sean Mason. Their Grammy-nominated album, My Ideal, is an eclectic mix of attractive songs, pared down to just voice and piano, allowing the listener to experience the pair’s artistry in a fresh new way.