Review: BEN VEREEN Finds Magic to Do at Catalina Jazz Club

On Friday December 18th and Saturday the 19th the legendary Ben Vereen came to Catalina Jazz Club for his latest one-man cabaret An Evening with Ben Vereen. Backed by three fabulous musicians, musical director David Loeb at the piano, Tom Kennedy on bass and Marc DiCianni on drums, Vereen took the stage for 70 minutes and let fly. There was enough energy and passion abounding for three performers, let alone one. Known as a primo dancer, that was at a minimum, as he is approaching 70, but he moved in constant rhythm across the stage and back as he lovingly sang 20 songs, mostly from Broadway. There was very little patter; Vereen poured his soul into the work and kept his packed house begging for more.

The opening medley was, of course, rousing songs from Pippin, including Vereen's signature "Magic to Do"& "Corner of the Sky", followed by "Aquarius" and "Hair" from Hair, and "I Don't Know How to Love Him" and "Jesus Christ Superstar" from Jesus Christ Superstar. What followed was a simply beautiful Charles Aznavour tune. "I Didn't See the Time Go By" is by far one of the more gorgeously plaintive statements about living amidst the all too fast passage of time. From Wicked there was "Defying Gravity". I almost expected Vereen to take flight here, for he churned up so much raw energy and emotion, pacing back and forth across the entire stage several times.

Sammy Davis Jr. is Vereen's mentor, and so he put together a splendid medley of Davis's hits like "Candyman", "What Kind of Fool Am I?", "The Birth of the Blues", and "Mr. Bojangles". With much humility Vereen gasped "And he called me friend!" To honor Christmas there was a quick yet jovial "Jingle Bells", followed by Joni Mitchell's precious "Both Sides Now", then "Such a Beautiful Day". My favorite segment was giving each of the musicians their due and solo on a special number. Vereen sang "Misty" and had Marc DiCianni finish it off gloriously on drums, then Tom Kennedy's bass accompaniment and solo turn was rhythmically riveting on "How Wonderful Life Is With You in the World" and last but hardly least David Loeb's piano accompaniment and lovely solo on "At Last". Vereen closed his set with "For Good" from Wicked and left us wanting more.

As I mentioned before one of Ben Vereen's greatest attributes is sharing his passion. He even wears a baseball cap, hanging on the microphone before the show, which says Spiritual Enforcer. He is full of joy and optimism, and they simply ooze out of him with every breath. His CD Steppin' Out with Ben Vereen was such a sellout hit that he's working on a new album of this show. Watch out for it by summer! In the meantime there will be repeat performances of this concert at 54 Below in NYC early in 2016! Don't miss him! He's the best! I saw him originally in Pippin in the 70s... and now 40 years later, he's still blowing audiences away. How lucky can we get!

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