Billy Stritch & Jim Caruso, Tommy Tune and More Set for Royal Room Cabaret This Fall
By: Nora Dominick Aug. 11, 2015
Returning Favorites Include Billy Stritch & Jim Caruso, Nicole Henry, Nicolas King, Aaron Weinstein & Bucky Pizzarelli, The Four Freshmen and Tommy Tune
Plus Nightly Music in Polo with Norm Kubrin, Bill Mays, Memory Lane and Jill & Rich Switzer
(Palm Beach, FL - August 11, 2015) The Colony Hotel - which The Palm Beach Post has hailed as "probably the best place for cabaret on the planet" - plans another music-packed Fall at the hotel's celebrated Royal Room, featuring a starry line-up of returning favorites:
October 30-31 & November 6-7
Back By Popular Demand
Widely celebrated as two of Manhattan's most sophisticated musical goofballs, they sing, play and generally throw a party weekly at such NYC hotspots as Birdland and Bemelman's Bar. An award-winning composer, arranger, vocalist, and jazz pianist of extraordinary range and sophistication, Billy Stritch breathes new life into the Great American Songbook, all the while bringing an easy sense of humor and showmanship to his performances. He has been the long-time accompanist for Liza Minnelli, writing arrangements for the annual Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall, and co-penned the 1994 Grammy Award-winning country song, "Does He Love You?," recorded by Reba McEntire and Linda Davis, which has sold over four million copies nationwide. In 2001, played the piano-playing crooner in the Broadway revival of 42nd Street, and has made numerous TV appearances including Sondheim: A Celebration at Carnegie Hall, The Today Show, The Charlie Rose Show and both The Oprah Winfrey Show and The Rosie O'Donnell Show.
Jim Caruso made his Broadway debut alongside Liza Minnelli in the smash hit Liza's At The Palace!, singing, dancing and celebrating the music and arrangements of the late, great Kay Thompson and the Williams Brothers. The show was honored with a 2009 Tony Award for Best Special Event and the recording was nominated for a Grammy. For his nightclub work, Caruso has won six MAC Awards and two BackStage Magazine Bistro Awards for sold-out shows at Birdland, Bemelmans Bar at The Carlyle Hotel, Arci's Place, The Oak Room at the Algonquin Hotel, and The Russian Tea Room. His recent studio recording, "The Swing Set," was called "a top drawer first-rate swinger" by Jazz Times and "a completely entertaining experience" by All About Jazz. He was featured in a Tribute to Kander & Ebb at Carnegie Hall, backed by the New York Pops, and performed in a Tribute to Hope & Crosby in an evening hosted by Michael Feinstein at Zankel Hall.
Reviews of Billy Stritch & Jim Caruso:
+ Village Voice: "They've got something of that old Bob Hope-Bing Crosby chemistry going for them, which ain't bad. Since they pal around with everybody in show biz, you never know who's going to join for a tune or two."
+ London Times: Billy Stritch is "equally gifted as a player and a singer, and doing both with no-holds-power. Stritch is not afraid to dazzle."
+ Stephen Holden, The New York Times: Jim Caruso is an "impish, twinkling eyed performer (who) exudes the buoyant spirits of a contemporary vaudevillian."
+ Rex Reed, New York Observer: This, dashing, polished and seasoned pro can do almost anything!. (Caruso's) reflective and touching and bouncy and irreverent... and boy... can he swing!"
November 13-14 & 20-21
Back By Popular Demand
Nicole Henry displays a potent combination of dynamic vocal abilities, impeccable phrasing, and powerful emotional resonance. Her repertoire includes the American Songbook, classic and contemporary jazz titles, contemporary standards, blues, and originals. Ms. Henry's passionate, soulful voice and heart-felt charisma has earned her a 2013 Soul Train Award for "Best Traditional Jazz Performance," three Top-10 U.S. Billboard and HMV Japan jazz albums, and rave reviews both domestically and internationally by The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Japan Times, El Pais, Jazz Times, Essence and more. She has wowed audiences in over 15 countries and 30 music festivals worldwide, including a recent smash run at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola in Manhattan's Time-Warner Center.
Reviews of Nicole Henry:
+ Morning Call Review: "Elegant. Powerful. Stylish. Mesmerizing. Expressive. Shimmering. Personable. ... (Nicole) Henry really is breathtaking, visually, and to the ears."
+ KCDM 91FM: "The best, or arguably one of the top performances at the Jazz Summer Fest was Nicole (Henry) ... If you had heard (her) in 1960, you would have believed you were listening to Ella Fitzgerald's younger sister."
+ Soul Tracks: "Nicole Henry possesses the kind of sing-the-phone-book voice that is both commonplace and necessary among interpreters of the Great American Songbook. Her phrasing is impeccable and Henry also has the kind of vocal pronunciation that ensures that her listeners will understand each word ... She is an amazing singer who is able to combine timeless vocal stylings to everything she touches."
December 3-5
Back By Popular Demand
The modern day "King of Swing" and the youngest performer ever to debut in the Royal Room (he was 19 at the time), Nicolas King has been singing since he was 4. The young protégé of Liza Minnelli was first seen on Broadway in Beauty & The Beast, then in A Thousand Clownsopposite Tom Selleck, and in Hollywood Arms directed by Hal Prince, all before the age of 13. Other credits include eight consecutive annual performances on The Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon, ABC's The View, NBC's Today Show, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and more than a dozen nation TV commercials. King went on the road as Liza's opening act during her 2006 tour, and he received the prestigious Julie Wilson Award from the Mabel Mercer Foundation at the 2010 Cabaret Convention.
Reviews of Nicolas King:
+ Stephen Holden in in The New York Times: Nicolas King is "a polished crooner ... a promising pop-jazz crooner."
+ Liza Minnelli: "Look out Showbiz, here comes Nicolas King."
+ Carol Burnett: "This kid is amazing."
+ Joe Franklin on Bloomberg Radio: "Riveting performances ... Nicolas King is my candidate for super-stardom this decade."
December 10-12
Aaron Weinstein & Bucky Pizzarelli
Back By Popular Demand
Named a "rising star violinist" by Downbeat Magazine, Aaron Weinstein has earned a reputation as one of the finest jazz violinists of his generation. As a featured soloist, he has performed at Carnegie Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Wolftrap Center for the Performing Arts, Birdland, Blue Note, the Iridium, and abroad at jazz festivals in England, France, Switzerland, Iceland, and Israel. Mr. Weinstein performed and recorded with an array of jazz icons including: Les Paul, Bucky Pizzarelli, John Pizzarelli, Scott Hamilton, Dick Hyman, Dave Frishberg, Ken Peplowski, Houston Person, Jon Hendricks and Annie Ross. He has written arrangements for artists including Janis Siegel, Michael Feinstein, Billy Stritch, and Hilary Kole, and is a New York Nightlife Award.
Bucky Pizzarelli is a legendary jazz guitarist and banjo player, who has worked with everyone from Benny Goodman to Dick Cavett. He started his career with the Vaughn Monroe dance band back in 1944, and later became a member of the house band of The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. In 2005, he was inducted into the ASCAP Jazz Wall of Fame.
Reviews of Aaron Weinstein & Bucky Pizzarelli:
+ + David A. Frey in The Palm Beach Daily News: "A true prodigy with an impressive career that belies his age, Weinstein consistently strikes a balance between his undeniable technical prowess and an approach to the music that is refreshing and respectful. This natural knack for the jazz genre is complemented by a similar knack for comedy, with a great low-key delivery that serves him well."
+ This Is Cabaret: "Weinstein is very much the epitome of that rare paradox that Woody Allen displayed all those years ago: non-threatening yet, crucially, underneath it all, supremely talented.
There is certainly no denying Weinstein's ability with a stringed instrument."
+ Wall Street Journal: "Aaron Weinstein is providing much-needed adrenaline to pre-modern jazz styles in general and the hot violin in particular . . . In his onstage patter, he is slyly understated and as dry as six martinis."
+ Jazz Times: "One of swing guitar's great elder statesmen, Bucky Pizzarelli is an inordinately versatile player, capable of seamlessly moving from sideman to soloist."
December 16-19
The Four Freshmen
Back By Popular Demand
It wouldn't be December in the Royal Room without the 12th annual visit from The Four Freshmen, the nation's longest lasting vocal harmony group who are celebrating more than a half-century of crowd-pleasing performances. From their first hit song, "It's a Blue World," to being votedDown Beat Magazine's Vocal Group of the Year in both 2000 and 2001, the group presents classic jazz-pop songs with cutting-edge vitality. The Four Freshmen have released more than 40 albums and 70 singles and been nominated six times for a Grammy.
Reviews of The Four Freshmen:
+ David A. Frye, Palm Beach Daily News: "The reason for the long collaboration (between The Colony Hotel and The Four Freshmen) is simple: the combination of tight, spot-on four-part harmonies, brilliant arrangements of carefree classic tunes and the intimacy of the Royal Room is a near-perfect match."
+ Charles Osgood, CBS Sunday Morning: "Some musical groups survive and even flourish, year after year, decade after decade. The Four Freshmen have endured for the simple reason that they are top in their class."
+ The Virginia-Pilot: "A more charming evening of jazz there never was."
+ Topeka Capital-Journal: "The sound of The Four Freshmen remains as fresh and vibrant as when the original quartet started singing more than 50 years ago."
December 31 / New Year's Eve
Back By Popular Demand
A 10-time winner of Broadway's prestigious Tony Award, Tommy Tune is widely recognized as one of the world's most prolific director/choreographers, who has enchanted audiences over the past 50 years with his charisma, vision and innovation. A native Texan who won Tony Awards for such Broadway hits as Seesaw, My One and Only, Grand Hotel, Nine, The Will Rogers Follies and more, he also is a recipient of eight Drama Desk Awards, three Astaire Awards, The National Medal of Arts and his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His film credits include Hello Dolly and The Boyfriend, and he made his Las Vegas debut as the star of EFX at the MGM Grand Hotel. This will be Mr. Tune's third appearance at The Colony Hotel's Royal Room.
Reviews of Tommy Tune:
+ Stephen Holden in The New York Times: Tommy Tune "still radiates the boyish ingenuousness of a Texas hayseed newly arrived in the big city to gape in wonder at the lights of Broadway. New York City may be the only place large enough to reckon with his talent. At once gawky and graceful, this limber, toe-tapping showbiz oxymoron is still a gosh, golly, gee-whiz kind of guy: an endearing naïf."
+ David A. Frye, Palm Beach Daily News: Tommy "Tune tells his tall tales through a select collection of pop and show tunes, stitched together with show-biz anecdotes and accented by the occasional eight bars or so of tap. The show has impressive production elements that extend the performance beyond the cabaret genre into almost a mini-musical."
+ The Washington Post: "For a man (past) 70, Tommy Tune is still strikingly cute... in skinny jeans and with his collar popped, looking like a kid ready for his first big break... A traditionalist to the core, a sentimental link to the era before jukebox musicals and animated extravaganzas, a latter-day Fred Astaire... Tune's between-songs patter got a bit show-bizzy at times, but... by and large, the old song-and-dance vaudeville vocabulary was invoked with uncommon class."
+ The Washington Times: "Tommy Tune's performance managed to be both low-key and bravura. Years in the spotlight have honed his warm, easy communion with the audience, and his canny sense of timing led him to craft a show that combined reminiscence, stirring belted-out singing, and whispery, understated soft-shoe routines."
Showtime & Ticket Information:
For all Royal Room Cabaret performances, the doors open at 6:30 for dinner and the show starts at 8:30. To make reservations, people should call the hotel box-office at 561.659.8100. The Colony is located at 155 Hammon Avenue in Palm Beach, just one block south of Worth Avenue, one block west of the Atlantic Ocean.
Please note that all performers and booking dates are subject to change and additional performers may be announced at a later date.
Music Nightly in The Colony's Popular Polo Lounge:
Sporting colorful polo-themed murals by legendary photographer Harry Benson and floor-to-ceiling pillars painted to resemble sophisticated bar drinks, The Colony's popular Polo Steaks & Seafood is the ultimate playground for Palm Beachers seeking good conversation, perfect martinis and great music all week long, including:
+ Norm Kubrin, the former resident pianist at the Waldorf Astoria's Peacock Alley - Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday, 7:30 to 9:30 pm. (October 27-April 2)
+ Motown Fridays with Memory Lane performing everyone's favorite Soul City/Top 40 hits from the 60s through today - Every Friday, 9:30 pm to 12:30 am.
+ Jill & Rich Switzer, the popular morning hosts on Legends 100.3 FM - Every Saturday, 9:30 pm to 12:30 am (October 31-April 9)
+ Sunday Jazz Brunch with Bill Mays, the prolific pianist, composer arranger and recording star - Every Sunday, 11:30 am to 2:30 pm. (November 29-April 3)
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