Review: HARLEM AFTER DARK Evokes an Older Age at Birdland Jazz Club

Allan Harris is a celebrated singer and songwriter with a smoky-smooth baritone, a terrific jazz and blues guitarist with a specialty in slide guitar, and a soulful interpreter of jazz and blues standards. Harris and his wife, Patti Timura Harris, have for years hosted annual Harlem After Dark home concerts in their uptown brownstone, reminiscent of the “Playboy After Dark” television shows, where very cool jazz cats played in Hugh Hefner’s ersatz penthouse living room. In early 2025, Harris turned this party into a traveling show, initially appearing at Dizzy’s Club in Columbus Circle. The latest edition of Harlem After Dark took place at Birdland Jazz on July 18.

Harris’s core players for the series are singer Maya Azucena and singer/tap dancer AC Lincoln. At this performance, the accompanists were pianist Rick Germanson, bassist Brandi Disterheft, and drummer Damon DueWhite.

Throughout, the singers took turns performing songs that showcased their particular skills, and Azucena paired off with the men on several duets. They had tight patter to introduce the songs and stories that brought the concept to life. Many new songs and arrangements were heard, making it a show that is easy to see multiple times.

With Harris on his gold Les Paul guitar, the three sang his original, "I Grew Up," from his Kate's Soulfood album. This served to set the musical narrative for the evening, as Harlem is, indeed, the place. Azucena sang another Harlem-based tune, “Drop Me Off in Harlem” (Duke Ellington/Nick Kenny).

AC Lincoln is a unique entertainer with throwback skills. The tall Lincoln, with movie star good looks, wears a custom cream suit with his signature cream Stetson. He has a rich, mellifluous baritone that typically sits a full step higher than that of most comparable singers. With “happy feet” that seem to be itching to hit the tap board, Lincoln intersperses tap throughout his performances, sometimes as solos and often while singing. (This is far more difficult than it looks, though he makes it look easy.)

On “I Should Care” (Axel Stordhahl, Paul Weston/Sammy Cahn), Lincoln sang this gentle ballad while simultaneously tapping. Lincoln then took a funky piece of music that morphed into a soulful “Fly Me to the Moon” (Bart Howard) as it might have been arranged for the late Al Jarreau. A spectacular, extended guitar solo by Harris was the icing on the case.

Azucena and Harris had a lovely duet on “Cheek to Cheek” (Irving Berlin) with an excellent solo by Germanson.

Azucena let loose in a jazzy, upbeat rendition of “Summertime” (George Gershwin, DuBose Heyward) that no baby could sleep through (it is a lullaby, after all), and which garnered a huge audience response. Lincoln’s high-speed tap solo was energetic enough for him to lose his Stetson mid-dance.

One of the hottest numbers, "Black Coffee Blues" (written by Harris with bassist Ray Brown), started with a long bass solo by Disterheft before Harris came in on slide guitar. Harris’s voice here had the texture of butter, or perhaps crème brûlée would be a more apt metaphor. His singing here was wonderfully expressive and masterful, singing, “She’s got that sweet black coffee and she’s good to the last drop.”

Azucena stayed in the blues lane with the Bessie Smith “dirty” number, “Need a Little Sugar in My Bowl” (Clarence Williams, J. Tim Brymn, and Dally Small). She was at her best here, both vocally and physically, as she turned up the heat in a manner reminiscent of Jessica Rabbit’s nightclub number in Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Instead of a literal wolf with telescoping eyes bashing himself over the head with a hammer, a rather overeager patron acted this part at Birdland.

Lincoln and Azucena had a sprightly duet on “How High the Moon” (Morgan Lewis/Nancy Hamilton), first singing in unison before Lincoln supplied a scat/vocalese counterpoint, an unusual take that worked quite well here.

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For more information about Allan Harris and Harlem After Dark, visit https://allanharris.com/harlem-after-dark. For more great shows at Birdland, visit www.birdlandjazz.com.

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