Photos: Amanda McBroom and CAST PARTY at Birdland

Christmas came early at Birdland!  On Monday September 23, Amanda McBroom returned to the iconic music room to celebrate the release of her new recording, “Wintersong,” a collection of songs to mark the winter holidays. (The cd was released on October 4.) There were cherished holiday standards, musical surprises by Dan Fogelberg, Joni Mitchell, and Ken Hirsch, and Amanda’s own collaborations with her writing partners Michele Brourman and Ann Hampton Callaway. Amanda McBroom has been composing music since her teens, and her songwriting and concert careers were launched by her Golden Globe winning song “The Rose” – the mega-hit recorded by Bette Midler for the 1979 film of the same name, about a Janis Joplin-esque character.

The concert was followed by the weekly open mic, “Jim Caruso’s Cast Party.” Host Caruso, along with the Symphony Orchestra (Matt Baker on piano, Steve Doyle on bass and Daniel Glass on drums) oversaw another celebration of a wide variety of musical talent that continued into the wee hours.

Photos by Kevin Alvey