Review: June Cavlan Sings Up a Storm at Birdland

Just after the lights dimmed and the entertainer’s name was announced (“Birdland is proud to present…”), the respectful, anticipatory silence in the hushed room was broken by someone piping up, in a strong tone of voice: “I want the waiter with the water!”  It wasn’t a belligerent customer demanding service (the wait staff at the venue are notably attentive and had made their rounds).  No, it was the titular first line of the opening number, boldly sung by formidable June Cavlan, confidently grabbing immediate attention.  Rather than treating it as a throwaway ditty to break the ice, she made it a showpiece that presented instant evidence of her talents that the audience would cheer throughout the night: serious jazz chops that allow her to smoothly sail through quick tempi with some tongue-twisting words, scat-singing, a range of vocal colors, and the confidence to drive the band, that showed its own strong skills. I did wonder whether a waiter with some water would wander over or be waved down as he walked that way, but wait!–there were little bottles of water on the stage, so such playful shtick wasn’t in the plan. Since the talented lady opened her set with what is also the opening track on her recently released dazzler of a debut album, A Portrait of June, more from that seemed a likely possibility, so when I noted bassist Russell Hall’s very dashing broad-brimmed hat with a big feather, I also wondered if she’d include the recording’s selection “The Ladies Who Lunch” and if she’d turn to him on its memorable line, “Does anyone still wear a hat?”  Yes and no: she did perform that number at the very end of the supremely satisfying set – the only other representative of the CD – but Hall's hat did not get a nod. But hats off to all who made the program pop with panache, from the sizzle of “Just Squeeze Me (But Please Don’t Tease Me)” to “I’ll Tell the Man in the Street” from the Rodgers & Hart score of I Married an Angel, crooned angelically indeed, with pure and tender tones.       

I guess if your name appears in a song title, people you meet will bring that up if the song is one that is still known long after its initial recognition.  I don’t envy women named Caroline who have Neil Diamond fans bellowing “Sweet Caroline—bop! bop! bop!” in their ears or guys named Alfie who, year after year, get asked “What’s it all about?” I have hundreds of old classics permanently sharing space in my brain, so ever since I noticed that singer June Cavlan had January 20 booked for a one-nighter at Birdland, the music and lyric of “June in January” has been in heavy rotation in the January jukebox of my mind. I don’t know if the star of this show knows this piece or has it mentioned to her much.  (But I do know she is certainly familiar with other material by the men who wrote it – Ralph Rainger and Leo Robin — because two other numbers of theirs are on the Portrait of June album.) It is not an ultra-famous standard that’s often chosen for live shows or recordings in recent years. Unlike the woman on the Birdland stage, who was born in the current century, it’s old – originating in the not ultra-famous film Here Is My Heart 90 years ago last month. It was introduced by Bing Crosby in that movie and he recorded it a few times, including it on his very last album, Seasons, which also featured the Carousel show tune June probably has been greeted with: “June Is Bustin’ Out All Over” that refers to its subject (the month of June) as “a love song sweetly sung,” words that also describe a couple of highlights of the set.  But the windy night and recent snow also made me think of the lyric of “June in January”: “A clouded moon creeps across the clouded sky/ Winds of January sigh and moan/ The snow is just white blossoms/ That fall from above…” which goes on to say that wintertime feels as warm as a June Day due to someone’s “magical charms.” Cavlan’s warm vocals and warm personality are certainly among her charms, working like magic to make me forget the brutal weather and the drama of Inauguration Day. While the friends of the Trumps and Vances were at dances called The Inaugural Balls in D.C., fans of Miss C. were having a ball swaying and nodding to jumping jazz and gentle gems.  

The icing on the delicious musical cake came with harmonies when onto the stage came the other two members of The Sunhouse Singers (Kate Kortum and Joie Bianco, her college classmates, current roommates, and close friends) for a breathtakingly elegant “Moonlight in Vermont.”  The top trio put its spin on “Red Top” (aka “My Little Red Top”) with solo swaths for each of the women (and Mr. Hall singing wonderfully, too, interpolating a bit of “Every Day I Have the Blues”).  Pianist Caelan Cardello and drummer Max Marsillo were the other two first-rate musicians shining throughout the night.

Yes, Birdland on West 44th Street was bursting with young talent this past Monday evening, the night off for the two performers playing a character also named June, just a few steps east on the street in the revival of Gypsy,  scheduled to run through …guess which month… yes, June.  But the career of the June who enlivened Birdland will have a very long run.  She mentioned that her favorite theatre songwriter is Gypsy’s lyricist, Stephen Sondheim, and that she intends to record and perform some of his songs in this new year. That’s music to my ears; I hope she is the type who keeps her New Year’s Resolutions!

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Learn more about the singer on her website at www.junecavlan.com

Find more upcoming shows at Birdland at www.birdlandjazz.com

Group photo of The Sunhouse Singers by Conor Weiss

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