Review: Clint Holmes at The RRazz Room

When Clint Holmes walks out on any stage the space immediately transforms into one of those superstar entertainment venues in Las Vegas, (ground zero for some of the world's most thrilling performers). That's how it was in the Razz Room in Boca last night as the man who keeps better time than my Apple Watch and who can't sing a note or make a gesture that isn't dazzling and exciting gave a special gift to the Boca audience.

The show was advertised as "Straighten UP And Fly Right-100 Years of Nat" (one which I've seen him do and is the ultimate tribute to Nat King Cole). Clint gave a few wonderful years of Nat and then diverted to some 50 years of one of the most electrifying entertainers on the planet.... Double Grammy nominee Clint Holmes!

For the 90 minutes of a Clint Holmes performance, your eyes and ears do not leave the stage, you don't fidget with the program and the only interruption is when you turn to your friend next to you and both mouth the words "Can you believe how good this is?", as I did with my friend and Broadway impresario ( 48 Tony Awards) Ken Greenblatt.

Enough can't be said about Clint's music director/pianist/composer Christian Tamburr. I leave it at this...if Mozart or Bach came back as Jazz artists it would be Christian. Always the mentor and gracious performer, Clint called up his friend and local singing sensation Chris Ruggiero, who was captivating with his rendition of "Fly Me To The Moon."

About Clint:

The son of an African-American jazz musician and a classically-trained British opera singer, Clint was raised with the best of two musical worlds. His 40-plus year career has taken him from the top of the charts, to concert halls, on TV screens, and cemented his legacy as a veritable Las Vegas institution.

His big break came in 1972 when he released "Playground In My Mind," a song that stayed on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for 23 weeks. In addition to hosting his own Emmy Award-winning talk/variety show, Clint was a musical feature and event correspondent for Entertainment Tonight, and served as Joan Rivers' sidekick and announcer on FOX's The Late Show.

Throughout his 40+ year career, Clint has received many accolades-most recognizably, he received the highest honor of a GRAMMY® nomination for his album, Rendezvous. Produced by eight-time Grammy Award-winner Gregg Field, the sophisticated album offers a diverse playlist that reinterprets modern day and classic pop hits, Jazz, soulful R&B, theatrical tunes, and numbers culled from the Great American Songbook.

As a favorite Las Vegas performer, Clint headlined at his "Clint Holmes Theater" at Harrah's (performances from the Clint Holmes Theater aired on PBS and a DVD was released in 2001) from 2000 to 2006. From 2012 through 2017, Holmes served as the Artist-In-Residence for Cabaret Jazz at the Smith Center for the Performing Arts in Las Vegas, performing to sell-out crowds each month. His show, Between the Lines, was featured at the Palazzo Theater in 2016 and 2017. SOUNDTRACK: "Your Songs. Our Stories. The Show." combined Clint's talents with Las Vegas Male Vocalist of the Year Earl Turner at the Westgate in 2018. Clint's Las Vegas awards include "Casino Entertainer of the Year," six time "Best Male Singer" from the Las Vegas Review Journal, "Best Singer" (two years in a row) in both NYC and Las Vegas.

In addition to Las Vegas, Clint regularly performs around the United States. New York City has become almost a second home, where he won two Broadway World Awards with Billy Stritch and Christian Tamburr for a show he co-wrote and co-starred in, Straighten Up and Fly Right... A Nat King Cole Tribute. He won the 2013 Bistro Award (NYC) for "Best Male Singer" for his performance in Stop this Train (a show which he also co-wrote) and was directed by Larry Moss. He continues to tour with the Georgia On My Mind Tour, along with Take 6, Nnenna Freelon, Kirk Whalum, and Tom Scott featuring the music of Ray Charles.

As an accomplished musician, lyricist, and author, Clint wrote the book and lyrics to Comfortable Shoes, which was produced at the Paper Mill Playhouse (New Jersey) in 1996 and The Royal George Theater (Chicago) in 2002. He also wrote the book and lyrics for Just Another Man (JAM) produced at The Judy Bailey Theater (UNLV) and My Own Song produced at Flat Rock Theater (North Carolina). Clint also wrote the title song to the movie, Who Will Stand?Currently, Clint is working on a one-man theater piece called, If Not Now When, and as a lyricist on Frank Wildhorn's new musical, La Ronde. Read more about him here.

Check out the pictures from his performance below.

Christian Tamburr & Clint Holmes

Clint Holmes

Christian Tamburr

Clint Holmes

Clint Holmes

Clint Holmes

Christian Tamburr & Clint Holmes

RRazz Room

Clint Holmes

Clint Holmes & Chris Ruggiero

Clint Holmes & Chris Ruggiero

RRazz Room

RRazz Room

Stephen Sorokoff, Clint Holmes, Kenneth Greenblatt

Jill Switzer & Chris Ruggiero

Clint Holmes & Chris Ruggiero

Clint Holmes & Eda Sorokoff

Tess, Jo Marie Payton, Clint Holmes, Jill Switzer

Clint Holmes & fans

Jill Switzer, Rich Switzer, Ken Greenblatt, Sandi Greenblatt, Eda Sorokoff