Review: IT'S DE-LOVELY when Jeff Harnar Sings Cole Porter at Birdland

Cole Porter songs – the clever ones with spiffy rhymes and the achingly romantic beauties — are pretty much classic cabaret. And pretty-voiced Jeff Harnar is pretty much a classic cabaret singer and has been for a pretty long time.  Proudly, he announced during his latest Birdland set, which was a parade of Porter, that this year marks the 40th anniversary of the start of his collaboration with his musical director/pianist Alex Rybeck.  They may have frequent flyer miles together, but neither is on automatic pilot while “flying too high with some guy in the sky,” to quote a bit of “I Get a Kick Out of You,” one of the many of the standards in the set. A medley of half a dozen items about friendship and flattery and fun, which they co-arranged, lets the two sing together with spunk.  Instrumentally, they are joined by a couple of other shining seasoned pros, familiar to cabaret and jazz club regulars: bassist Ritt Henn and drummer Dan Gross.  

The set included a recreation of a medley that the singer had performed at Carnegie Hall in the 1991 concert that marked the 100th anniversary of Cole Porter’s birth. He learned that night that the famous songwriter, strict about having his words sung by his musicals’ performers so the Broadway audiences wouldn’t struggle to hear anything, had a particular habit.  During rehearsals, he’d sit up in the balcony and, every time there was an audibility concern, “he’d ring a little bell.” For those motivated to attend by a longtime fondness/ exposure to this tunesmith’s treasures, many of the numbers selected will metaphorically “ring a bell.”  No worries about not catching the words if you catch a Jeff Harnar performance.  There is much attention given to diction.  He highlights individual phrases and words by coloring them with emotion, briefly adopting an accent, accompanying them with gestures and looks, or inserting just the slightest pause for anticipation or appreciative reaction. At one point in “It’s De-Lovely,” he stops and points to the audience, indicating that we should shout out the line that rhymes with “joy” and quite a few do, evidence that there were plenty in the packed room that knew it (or made an educated guess) to cheerily chime in with “It’s a boy!” 

Special treats include his Jimmy Durante impression and Harnar-written additional choruses with modern-day references for the name-dropping invitation list “I’m Throwing a Ball Tonight.”  And he has a ball with that. Without risking getting professorial or shutting out those newer to the repertoire, the spoken material offers appreciation for the legacy and the craft.  Working the Birdland stage to turn to –and sing to – different parts of the audience (and the bar), the dapper performer “checks in” with each area.  Less ambulatory for the love-drenched ballads, of course, he’s more still for “In the Still of the Night.” In a hushed room, he’s in the zone, gracing the glorious melody with pure, liquid tones.  Self-hypnotized, vulnerable, sympathetic listeners lean in.  Wondering “What Is This Thing Called Love?” he seems suitably distressed, but de-stressed, at last, for “At Long Last Love.”  

The old saying goes that March “goes out like a lamb,” but Cole Porter never goes out of style.  The stylish Mr. Harnar goes out to venues in Florida for performances in the month’s last week with this concert.  So it’s off to the airport, “flying too high with some guy in the sky.” 

Find more about Jeff Harnar on his website.

For more shows at Birdland, visit their website.

Photo credit: Kevin Alvey