BWW Reviews: With His Smooth, Swinging Style, MARCUS GOLDHABER Is a Resonant Delight at 54 Below

Marcus Goldhaber wears his mantle lightly. Emulating such as Chet Baker, Hoagy Carmichael, and Fred Astaire-those artists who most often sounded nonchalant, yet polished-- the vocalist offers pared down (not simplistic) interpretations of American Songbook/jazz numbers with emotional translucence, as well as authoring his own fine contributions to the oeuvre. I dare you to distinguish those from songs originating in the 1940s and 1950s.

With Free and Easy: Livin' on Swing Street at 54 Below (July 25), Goldhaber takes us on a personal walking tour of musical influence. We hear about the grandfather with whom he always sang a duet before saying "hello," a mother whose piano playing was siren song during homework, and lessons learned from Sarah Vaughan, Harry Connick Jr., Gerry Mulligan, and Chet Baker. Material is varied yet sustains a distinct style. The vocalist is unhurried (even when up-tempo), mindful of lyrics, and elegantly restrained. He seems comfortable on stage and refreshingly sincere.

Segueing from Frank Loesser's wistful, cottony "My Time of Day"(from Guys and Dolls) to Fred Roger's "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" (deft shadowing by Ron Jackson on guitar) requires a light touch and lack of embarrassment. Both songs are successful.

"I Fall in Love Too Easily" (Jule Style/Sammy Cahn) emerges a slow waltz with the quietest percussion doing loop-de-loops (Joe Strasser creates this as skillfully as he does high swing ebullience), flute that sounds like an afternoon breeze (Mike Migliore), and humming bass (Paul Gill). Accompaniment comes in short phrases while Goldhaber maintains well calibrated, legato vocal. "Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams" (Ted Koehler/Billy Moll/Harry Barris), one of the songs shared with his grandfather, is tenderly rendered with only piano. The room stills.

Guest Vocalist Melissa Stylianou (photo right), also a member of the girl group "Dutchess," joins Goldhaber for two duets." Collaboration showcases the balance in their voices--he, darker, she more open throated with pronounced vibrato, yet both expressively low-key. Goldhaber's own "Somebody in Love" is a buoyant, hurry-up-and-wait number that appears to be sheer 1940s. Accordioned words are carefully pronounced. Saxophone (Migliore) zigzags, guitar (Jackson) somehow executes curly-cues. The performers relate wonderfully. Swing is superb.

"As Long As I Am Falling in Love" (Goldberger with Jon Davis) is another notable original. A soft shoe on sand, lyrics arc from soft to soft with brief brightness between. Melody is provocative, teasing. Strasser's drums suggest wide, swinging hips, a coat dragged on the floor, cigarette ashes in a martini glass. The song escalates to Mel Torme territory without going over the top. There are others. I can't help but think what Etta James would've made of "You're Losing Your Appeal." Goldhaber's compositions should be checked out by any vocalist with a proclivity for this kind of music.

Selective mining of earlier eras includes:

"Hungry Women" (Jack Yellen/Milton Ager), introduced by Eddie Cantor in Florenz Ziegfeld's 1928 production of Whoopee, which is paused for a period perfect joke. Goldhaber colors his performance with a nasal quality and happy snap; 1931's "Moonlight Savings Time," (Harry Richman/Irving Kahal), a hit for Maurice Chevalier, another artist whose style this vocalist often reflects. The number suits Goldhaber's throwaway charm. His expert band, lead by Musical Director/pianist Michael Kanan, plays easy swing. Phrasing is impeccable; and the terrific "Black Coffee" (1948--Paul Francis Webster/Sonny Burke), one of the evening's highlights. The latter shows a bluesy side of Goldhaber, its drawn out lyric emerging from forlorn breathing, pronunciation like "caw-fee" and "iz drivin' me crazeee" adding color, and an airbrushed tiptoe out. Migliore's mellow sax cries quietly.

Caveats: An interpretation of Cole Porter's "Every Time We Say Goodbye," the only song where bright, bouncy accompaniment opposes lyrical content, and a rhythm-driven "Any Place I Hang My Hat is Home" which, though intriguingly arranged, feels too emphatic and showy for this evening.

His CD A Lovely Way to Spend An Evening is just that. [http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/marcusgoldhaber5]

Marcus Goldhaber appears at The Metropolitan Room on September 26 at 7 pm, and at Bar Thalia every Sunday thru Aug. 30. Two shows per night at 7 pm and 8:30 pm.

To post a comment, you must register and login.