Review: MAJOR ATTAWAY: THE GENIE'S JUKEBOX - Aladdin's Longest Running Genie Didn't Just Go There, He Went Attaway at Feinstein's 54/Below

Heigh-Ho, my merry rainbow tribe! Bobby Patrick, your RAINBOW reviewer here. Putting the silent T in CABARET to bring you all the T.

Well, my dear ones, Monday night's trip to the gorgeous Feinstein's 54/Below yielded some tres cool jazz from a tres cool genie. Major Attaway, Disney Aladdin's longest-reigning denizen of the lamp, brought big, broad, bodacious bellowing, along with some smooth-as-silk stylings, to his GENIE'S JUKEBOX performance, and by the end (to paraphrase the title of one of his tunes) everybody wanted to be THIS cat. Entering to the strains of the Cab Calloway hit MINNIE THE MOOCHER, sliding onto the stage with a dancer's grace, and launching into a set of revised lyrics that were personal to him and his musical life, Attaway engaged his house with the obligatory call and response of the famed jazz piece that went from fun-to-try to impossible... for anyone but him. After this whiz-bang opening, Major's show became about paying an hour-long tribute to his former Disney employers. Explaining how his early consciousness was informed by The Mouse's Movie Musicals, Attaway went thataway with his setlist, giving forth fab numbers from their copious catalog, leaning (surprisingly) on the more villainous characters from some of Disney's most famous animated features. Showing his considerable range with a real smokey jazz reverence on CRUELLA DE VIL, MA took a pause so that his Music Director, August Haas, could wail an improv trumpet solo that raised the basement roof and nearly had the crowd on its feet.

Adding to the magical merriment, Major's buddy and fellow genie (on the road) Korie Lee Blossey joined on the stage so the two could double down on the vocals. The best of their duets were their full-of-fun renditions of YOU'VE GOT A FRIEND IN ME and, of course, the obligatory Aladdin companion, FRIEND LIKE ME, which closed out the show. The evening, on the whole, leaned on Major's jazzaholic tendencies, giving the crowd loads of chair dancing and exuberant vocal appreciations. In working together, these two pals brought loads of laughs, fun, and tremendous brassy vocals that swayed the room. Now, to bring a little rain with the rainbow and add some critic to this critique, sometimes there was a little too much fun being had on the stage, causing the program to dip in forward momentum, as the boys and the band indulged themselves and reveled a little too much in a crowd that was absolutely eating them up. We also must call out points in the proceedings when the two voices were indulging (rather than mixing and blending) in some wild ways that could not be described as 100% pleasing to the ear, but these are small notes that can be fixed with a touch more rehearsal and direction. An investigation online did not reveal a director credit for the show, leaving no responsible parties other than Attaway himself for the stage antics, but we will stress these are small points and the audience was having a blast, nonetheless. Out of all this frivolity came a couple of truly FAB numbers that stand out as Bobby's faves. A forgotten gem of the Mouse's from the '70s THE ARISTOCATS, had the pair and their fine musicians swinging to the jive that is EVERYBODY WANTS TO BE A CAT - a number that, in the vernacular, rocked the joint, and MA's dive into the deep to sing Ursula's POOR UNFORTUNATE SOULS from LITTLE MERMAID was a gender swap revelation.

A word or two about the boys in the band must be said, and those two words are FAN & TASTIC! Music Director Haas assembled a 4 person combo that truly sounded like a 20 piece band. Combined with his own powerful trumpet skills, the other gentlemen - Eugene Gwozdz - Piano, Ray Marchica - Drums, and Jeff Koch - Bass supported their singers, matching them in sound and dexterity without running out in front of their voices. All of these musicians were marvelous jazz improvisers who proved that skill with each of their solos.

Finally, it must be said that, with just a tiny bit of tightening up, Major Attaway: THE GENIE'S JUKEBOX is more than worthy of a repeat viewing, and little Bobby hopes that, since he is a fairly regular performer on their stage, it is a show that will turn into an F/54B series with Attaway at the center, singing his face off across a rotating song list, and bringing it to the stage with Blossey and others because Bobby gives this show a solid...

4 Out Of 5 Rainbows.

To Follow Major Attaway, Go Thisaway To His Webbypage: HERE

Keep Up With Korie Lee Blossey's Tweets On The Twitter: HERE

Ande Followe On Ye Olde FaceBooke: HERE

All Photos By Yours Truly, Bobby Patrick

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