Review: Amanda McBroom Brings Christmas to September in WINTERSONG at Birdland

In the cabaret world, it is not necessarily the uproarious applause that is the true measure of a great artist. It is the silence; when an audience is so intently engaged that you could hear a pin drop. That is when you know that a performer is in command of the room. There were many such moments last week on September 23rd when Amanda McBroom unveiled highlights from her forthcoming album WINTERSONG at Birdland. It is a collection of mostly new songs on a holiday theme. It feels strangely incongruous on a sultry September evening to be listening to songs about hearth and family, but McBroom painted such vivid songscapes that you left the concert ready for a vigorous sleigh ride.

This should come as no surprise. Since the 70’s, Amanda McBroom has been the pre-eminent American nightclub performer. She is a writer of sensitive and truthful human portraits about life’s most intimate moments. If she had written nothing besides “The Rose” she would still be considered a representative of the Great American Songbook. But there are countless other tunes from her pen that have entered the firmament of American songs and have been recorded by artists as varied as Bette Midler, Barry Manilow, Judy Collins, Barbara Cook, Anne Murray, The Manhattan Transfer, LeAnn Rimes, and Jack Black. Songs like “Errol Flynn,” “Crimes of the Heart” and “Ship in a Bottle” are perennial cabaret favorites.

As a performer, McBroom is imbued with that special gift of making you feel she is singing only to you. Her voice is low and as rich as a slightly melancholy viola. It is especially suited to Christmas songs about missing home and appreciating family and simple joys. At 77 years old, there is no flagging of energy and no loss of range and tone. She is as engaging as she has ever been. Watching her show, you realize you are in good hands. It is like being invited to a holiday party by the perfect hostess.

Her show is a mix of her own original compositions, most written with her longtime composer Michele Brourman, and very personal renditions of traditional Christmas classics. She opened with "Are You Ready?” followed by the charming “My Christmas Angel,” which she explained was originally titled “All I Want for Christmas” but Mariah Carey beat her to the punch. Her song “Eggs” was a very sensual conversation over a post-romance breakfast. She gave a very rueful reading of Joni Mitchell’s semi-seasonal “River.” She rounded off this first section with a brand new song entitled “The New Harris/Walz,” an amusing take on modern politics.

She opened the second section with a debut, a collaboration with Rosie Casey, “The First Snow of the Year.” It was a tender portrait of burgeoning love. The centerpiece of the evening was a monologue in song “Mary Said No” about the doubts the mother of Jesus might have experienced. This was sandwiched between “All About Love” and the very fine “Hope Floats.” She relinquished the stage to her marvelous guitar player Ritt Henn for their collaboration “I Give Up," a very funny blues tune about the virtues of cynicism.

The last section was short but meaningful. “Baby in a Box” is an oblique comment on reproductive choices and the complexity of what that means. The concert ended with a medley of the traditional “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Eve” and McBroom’s signature “The Rose.” It is always fascinating to hear a singer perform a tune they have lived with for years. Such songs become more than the sum of their parts. There are layers of meaning and subtext and shared experience. It was a beautiful end to a hopeful and sentimental evening.

Ms. McBroom was beautifully supported by her wonderful musical director, Beth Falcone, who also provided melodious backups. And Ritt Henn on guitar was not only a marvelous musician; he became McBroom’s foil and scene partner. She is at heart, a very compelling actress who inhabits songs like they were old friends. And the very appreciative audience left her show also feeling like old friends.

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Amanda McBoom’s forthcoming album WINTERSONG  will be available in mid-October on all major streaming platforms as well as on her website amcbroom.com

For more great artists at Birdland, visit birdlandjazz.com

Header photo credit: Kevin Alvey

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