Review: I'M IN LOVE AGAIN Featured Love for a Cabaret Legend at Jazz at Lincoln Center

When Mark Nadler came to the stage for his spot towards the end of the second night of the annual Cabaret Convention multi-performer concerts, he told the audience that he wouldn’t be channeling the distinctive style and sound of the late icon being celebrated in the evening titled I’m in Love Again with his rendition of “I Can’t Get Started.” Before he got started with his number, the singer-pianist cheerily chatted with the audience while trying to adjust the height of the piano seat. The night was a tribute to another singer-pianist of cabaret, Bobby Short (marking the 100th anniversary of his birth), a photo of whom loomed over the stage. While referring to the subject of the salute a couple of times as “Mr. Short” as he noted that the seat was too low for a tall man such as himself, he interrupted himself as if having an “Aha!” moment, quipping, “Oh! I get it!  Mr. SHORT!”  It got a laugh.  Taking that a cue of permission to push the pun, I’ll say that it seemed that: IF some of the participants who, unlike Mr. Nadler, might have been trying to approximate Bobby’s debonair, sophisticated approach, his joie de vivre, command, or his husky timbre, they risked coming up short (instead of Short-esque).  This brings us to the dilemma, decision, and desires folks must face when a show or recording is an homage to a legendary artist with that person’s repertoire on the musical menu:  Should one, out of respect, try to imitate or emulate or approximate or impersonate?  Arguably, you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t.  Purposely pursuing an entirely different direction can be, likewise (or “unlike”-wise), problematic.  It can come across as dishonoring the honoree and uncaring.  In this kind of endeavor, audiences may not click with the clueless or the clones. 

Mark Nadler is such a strong and brave entertainer that his wildly comic, unique “I Can’t Get Started” was a home run, especially after he warmed up the audience with funny patter.  Others who were irreverently several miles away from stirring memories of a Bobby Short type of class act weren’t so lucky.  Of course, if you weren’t fondly familiar with his manner, it might not seem like bad manners and you might enjoy more numbers on their own merits for being creative.  (I’m usually eager for surprises and fresh approaches to songs I have heard many times, but a tribute show puts me in a different mindset and brings different expectations and hopes.)  To my mind, ears, and taste, there were some misfires and performances that left me cold. But, in those cases, others responded with warm applause and attention in the well-attended Rose Theater.   

Since Bobby Short was a singer and pianist, it was logical that the roster would include those with both abilities. The night got off to a fine start with someone who is clearly in the same tradition and has a long history, radiating authenticity: Steve Ross, deftly delivering enthusiasm with the inviting “I’m Throwing a Ball Tonight.”  Thank goodness for him and the gentlemanly Eric Yves Garcia.  And there’s hope for the future with the talents of terrific Brian Eng, who has graced the Cafe Carlyle, which was home base for Bobby Short for decades. Another with style who’s played the Carlyle for a while and was on target was Billy Stritch. 

Other singers such as the sparkling Nicolas King provided some pleasing moments and swell songs. Unsurprisingly, classics by Cole Porter were well represented. But I wish the set list included some of the lesser-known choices that Bobby Short championed by exposing them in his shows and on his albums.  It was a fun idea to include the catchy  TV commercial jingle for a perfume that was sung by an on-camera Bobby and likely was the first or only exposure some people had to him.  The night’s host, Natalie Douglas, merrily sang this and took on other numbers, more than most hosts in past Cabaret Convention concerts.  Her strong inclusion of “Black and Blue” was a sobering reminder of the prejudice that the Black entertainer we were celebrating had to face, set up with a story about how he would be unwelcome at some venues.  The sometimes gushing spoken introductions by Miss Douglas described many of the vocalists as those she is a fan of or are her personal friends. I was glad that the roster included two young impressive female vocalists, ages 17 and 20, both coincidentally having the same first name: Ava Allen and Ava Nicole Frances.  Of course, they were born too late to have seen Mr. S. in person (he died in 2005), but others were able to share some first-hand experiences of being in his audiences and/or knowing him.   

Special awards to Natalie Douglas and Mark Nadler were given by the event’s presenter, the Mabel Mercer Foundation, named for the influential artist who, among other things, shared two notable bills with Bobby Short in NYC at The Town Hall, the original home of the Cabaret Convention programs.  Both were recorded as albums and have been reissued on CD and in digital form.        

The long and the “Short” of this report is that the Bobby Short night was a mixed bag, but offered a diverse and often diverting lineup.  

Look in our cabaret section for the extensive displays of pics from the three nights by photographers Conor Weiss and Stephen Sorokoff (and some interesting perspective on his times backstage from the latter).  

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Find more upcoming events at Jazz at Lincoln Center on their website at www.jazz.org

More info on the Foundation’s programs and history are at www.mabelmercer.org

Header photo credit: Conor Weiss

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