Blak), and “The Streets of New York (In Old New York)” (1906, Victor Herbert). The nostalgia tour of My Manhattan began in the way back when with a trio of oldies, “The Bowery Waltz” (1892, Percy Gaunt), “Sidewalks of New York” (1894, Charles B Lawlor/James W.
How many of you are familiar with Carol Hall’s nostalgic “My Circle of Friends,” here enhanced by Tom Hubbard’s low, mellow bass, or the Dietz/Schwartz’ “I See Your Face Before Me” accompanied by lovely bowing of the instrument? Ross is unequivocally a master both at sequence and unearthing lesser‐known compositions. Similarly, the off‐the‐beat sound is a welcome change on “I Guess I’ll Have to Change My Plan” (Howard Dietz/Arthur Schwartz). The latter has hot jazz underpinning and a slow‐mo ending new to Ross. Following as if a plot, the verse from “You Were Meant for Me” (Arthur Freed/Nacio Herb Brown) prefaces a jaunty “I Wanna Be Seen with You” (Betty Comden/Adolph Green/Jule Styne) which, in turn, leads to Irving Berlin’s “Steppin’ Out with My Baby” (with a nod to “Putting On the Ritz”). “If you wanna find me/I kindly left my number on your wall” he sings with cozy cadence. Ross begins with a one‐anna‐two‐anna-“Doncha Wanna Know” (Wayne Moore) employing a kind of exaggerated, wah‐wah, 1940s radio tone. The closing songs-Leo Robin and Ralph Raingers' " Thanks for the Memory"Īnd Howard Dietz and Arthur Schwartz's "I Guess I'll Have to Change My Plan"-were followed by warm and prolonged applause from the Birdland guests. Godfrey." Included, too, were gems such as Duke Ellington/Paul Francis Webster's "I Got It Bad (and That Ain't Good)," Jimmy Webb's " Didn't We?," and a medley of Piaf numbers. Written for a musical version of " My Man (commented Ross: "Nobody could write a list song like Porter!"), along with numbers by Stephen Sondheim ("a master of rue, romance, regret and recrimination") songs by Lerner and Lane, including their poignant " What Did I Have That I Don't Have?," and a little-known Lerner lyric set to Gerard Kenny's music, " I've Been Married," " Down in the Depths (of the Ninetieth Floor)," and " Nobody's Chasing Me" Included were numbers by Rodgers and Hart (the latter described by Ross as "bard of the bittersweet"), in a medley Including " You Took Advantage of Me," " Glad to Be Unhappy," and " It Never Entered My Mind" songs by Cole Porter including "Just One of Those Things,
His evening offered almost three dozen classic songs that offer varying looks at love. HOW DO YOU LIKE YOUR LOVE?: A POST-VALENTINE CELEBRATION Birdland, NYC, FebruReviewed by Peter Haas for Cabaret Scenes Here's a recipe for a top-of-the-class evening of cabaret: start with the solo performer's pianistic skills and charming singing style, mix with his broad knowledge of and clear affection for his songs, and beam the spotlight on Steve Ross as he presides solo onstage in a packed-house one-nighter at Birdland.
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