Review: Matt Baker A RHAPOSDY OF GERSHWIN Absolute Art, Pure and Proper, at Chelsea Table + Stage

Last week seemed to be a Birdland kind of week for me, even though I was only inside of the walls of Birdland once, for the Stritch and Stravelli  Mel & Ella Swing! show on Monday night.  But on Wednesday night I was at Chelsea Table + Stage for the Nicolas King show (King has spent many an hour on both Birdland stages), featuring Billy Stritch, and on Tuesday night I was in the Chelsea venue, again, to see Matt Baker’s A RHAPSODY OF GERSHWIN.  Mr. Baker is the regular weekly photographer who documents THE LINEUP WITH Susie Mosher at the Birdland Theater, but he is also an accomplished musical artist of the jazz persuasion who has made any number of appearances on the Birdland stages, either as headliner or as Musical Director.  To further the theme of the Birdland family, Mr. Baker’s Gershwin show featured Nicole Zuraitis, who sings with the Birdland Big Band, and Benny Benack III, who plays Birdland with some frequency.  So why did all these artists travel downtown to CT+S, away from their regular home on 44th Street?  They did it because Birdland is having a great year and all of their slots are full.  So, in the absence of available performance times at the fabled jazz club, the artists are testing the waters of alternate venues… and that is a good thing.  It is a very good thing.

Artists need to work.  They need to work other rooms, other neighborhoods, other demographics, and other audiences.  And even though these splendid artists might call Birdland their artistic home, there is merit in moving around.  By playing other venues, the artists get to stay on their toes, keep pliable, prepare for the moments when they have to fly into a new town and play a new club with which they might not be so familiar.  Playing other venues helps the artists build a network in which they can ply their craft and pay their bills because, let’s face it: girl’s gotta eat.  It also gives the clubs new audience members, in this case, dedicated fans of the artist or of their musical genre that may have been inside Birdland many times, but who didn’t even know that Chelsea Table + Stage existed.  When artists switch up venues, it’s good for the artists, it’s good for the clubs, it’s good for the audiences.  So having Chelsea Table + Stage overflowing with jazz greats last week was a good thing, and given the quality of the shows, even a great thing.

Matt Baker’s A RHAPSODY OF GERSHWIN was, indeed, a great thing.  And since I am prone to emotional rhapsodies of my own, when particularly moved by a performance, I might offer that a stroke of good fortune found me seated with three members of the cabaret and concert community for this show, all of whom can be counted upon to validate my good favor.  Musical cabaret storyteller Lauren Frazza, jazz singer Susan Mack, and balladeer Dorian Woodruff all shared the same table with me, and all were visibly and verbally blown away by Baker and co., during and after the performance.  So if anyone doubts the appraisal, when I say the Baker Gershwin show was great, may I please point them in the direction of one of my three table mates, each of whom will substantiate my claim.

The thing about A Rhapsody of Gershwin is that it is Matt Baker’s own musical artistry on display.  When at the piano as Musical Director for someone else’s show, it is their vision that he presents.  When, however, Matt was discussing the creation of his Gershwin show, he spoke of his passionate wish to breathe (not necessarily new but) different life into these compositions that live so near and dear to his heart.  A jazz proficient, Mr. Baker wanted to explore the compositions, deconstruct them, and find new ways of (not just listening to but) hearing them.  At that goal, Matt has succeeded.  A Rhapsody of Gershwin was a splendid evening of musical entertainment, quite unique, and most memorable.  Some of what Baker presented was strictly composition based, with he and the band serving up the score in ways exciting and new, but not so new as to render the works unrecognizable, and some of the evening was instruments and voice, with Benny Benack III sliding slickly between trumpet and sexy AF vocals, or with Nicole Zuraitis re-defining what, exactly, it is that the human voice can do.  Each member of the musical cast is at the top of their game, oftentimes with Nicole acting as sixth instrument, singing not words but notes, the notes on the page, the musical phrases that Gershwin created without rhetoric.  And just as one stares down Matt Baker’s finger at the piano, or Benny Benack’s fingers on the horn, it is possible to gaze, spellbound by Nicole Zuraitis, as she turns her entire being into an instrument.  It is as fascinating to watch as it is magnificent to hear.

And speaking of watching… one of the joys of this program was seeing the way that the cast keeps their eyes on one another.  It isn’t just that they are looking to each other for cues because they certainly are (though one wonders why, since the execution of the complicated arrangements was without reproach, indicating impressive amounts of rehearsal time) - no, no, what is so rewarding about watching the musicians watch one another is the respect that is showing on their faces.  They love this music, they love their colleagues, they love the skill of their colleagues.  Each of these musicians (Max Light on Guitar, Kevin Hailey on Double Bass, Curtis Nowosad on Drums, along with the three previously mentioned) exhibited expressions of pure joy and absolute respect, while observing what their fellow craftspeople were achieving, and that speaks volumes about the community of musicians, the community of jazz musicians, and the community of people plying their craft in the industry of cabaret and concert.

And what craft.

I truly do wish that anyone reading this review could have been there on Tuesday night (June 6th) to see and, especially, hear (and hear LIVE) that which Matt Baker has created with A Rhapsody of Gershwin.  His treatments of these tried-and-true compositions are thrilling, sometimes maybe too thrilling, as I found myself wondering if, maybe, some of the (shall we say) more seasoned members of the audience might be there for traditional Gershwin, and might be a little disappointed by some of the more avant-garde arrangements.  But looking around the room, I saw that the silver haired heads in my eyesight were bobbing along in tacit approval, eyes sometimes closed in silent appreciation , and lips often moving along with those of Benack and Zuraitis.  It was a sight to behold, particularly the extremely seasoned white haired woman who was so involved with “Someone To Watch Over Me” that her entire life story played across her face as she silently sang along.  The care with which Baker has arranged the program’s order, orchestrating the emotional highs and lows of the evening by spacing out portions of Rhapsody in Blue with songs like “A Foggy Day,” “Summertime,” and “Do It Again,” is matched only by the intricacy and imagination with which he has presented each number itself, particularly his grand finale, a melding of “I Got Rhythm” and “Fascinating Rhythm” that didn’t just leave the entire cast breathless, it left the patrons gasping a little, too.   

It is always a pleasure to see a show that demonstrates the depth of a person’s artistry.  We all know that Matt Baker can play the piano, and we all know that Nicole Zuraitis can sing, and we all know that Benny Benack III can sing and play… but when Baker undertook to create A Rhapsody of Gershwin, he built a show that isn’t just a set, it isn’t just a music show, it isn’t just a concert.  Baker built a work of art that accommodates himself, his dream, his composer, his musical colleagues, and the audience lucky enough to experience his creation.  This is why the live music scene of New York City exists.  People want to be in a room with this.  And it takes artists like Matt Baker to make it happen.

Find great shows to see on the Chelsea Table + Stage website HERE.

Visit the Matt Baker music page HERE and photography page HERE.

Visit the Benny Benack III website HERE.

Visit the Nicole Zuraitis website HERE.

Photos by Stephen Mosher; Visit the Stephen Mosher website HERE.

 

 

 

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