Review: SONGBOOK SUNDAYS Honors Kander and Ebb at Dizzy's

Deborah Grace Winer’s latest Songbook Sundays at Dizzy’s on October 4 featured some of the best material from the legendary songwriting of John Kander and Fred Ebb. Kander, who is 99, was present for the first of two sets. Broadway World was on hand for the second set.

The excellent quartet consisted of pianist and musical director Jon Weber, bassist Jay Leonhart, drummer Mark McLean, and trombonist Sam Chess. The unusual choice of a jazz trombonist as the only horn proved to be a wise one, with Chess adding tremendously to the evening’s sound and vibe.

The guest singers were Broadway and cabaret stars Karen Ziemba and Matthew Scott, and jazz performer Vanisha Gould°.

Kander and Ebb are, of course, the songwriting team behind the scores of such great shows as Cabaret, Chicago, The Rink, and many more. They helped make Liza Minnelli a major star half a century ago, and their shows are regularly remounted on Broadway, with several made into motion pictures.

Ziemba opened the show even before Winer came out with an excellent, expressive reading of “Where You Are,”, a song written for Chita Rivera in Kiss of the Spider Woman. She was in fine voice throughout the evening.

Gould’s rendition of “Funny Honey” (Chicago), featuring a terrific arrangement, showed the clear influence of Billie Holiday, while later songs suggested some study of Ella Fitzgerald. Here, she was soulful and bluesy, and Chess added much to the mood here.

Scott, like Ziemba, performed each song he took on as if he were singing it on a Broadway stage. His humorous delivery of “Not Every Day of the Week” (Flora, the Red Menace) made it a delight. Flora was the show that made a 19-year-old Liza Minnelli the youngest Tony winner to date in 1965.

Gould brought jazz to “All That Jazz” (Chicago), complete with some scat singing. Unfortunately, despite reading the lyrics from a music stand, she did not get them right. Importantly, though her sang on pitch and has a good voice, her performance lacked the pizzazz or oomph that Chita Rivera brought to the song when she introduced it. Later, with a rubato start and only Weber’s accompaniment, Gould did a good job on “Maybe This Time” (originally written for Kaye Ballard; later used in the 1972 film Cabaret).

Ziemba delivered again with a marvelous rendition of “Don’t Tell Mama” (Cabaret), the song that gave the venerable cabaret club its name. Her eyes and hands did great work for her, and she did a little dancing as well. Notably, McLean’s work on the tom-toms really kicked things up a couple of notches.

Winer told a story about "Theme from New York, New York" and the New York Yankees. Although Minnelli introduced the song in the 1977 film New York, New York, Frank Sinatra had his final blockbuster hit with it. For a time, the Yankees played Sinatra's version after home victories and Minnelli's after losses. After Minnelli expressed her displeasure, the Yankees began playing Sinatra's version after every game. With a song as iconic as this, it may seem like a tough act to follow either version. An arrangement by the late John Otto was a big help. Here, until the first "my little town blues," when it became a ballad. At the final "my little town blues," it morphed into something closer to the familiar version, building to a powerful, pleading finish with an impossibly long note. It was a show highlight.

Leonhart, himself a singer and songwriter, is one of the few bassists who can carry a show, as he regularly does at Birdland. He performed a unique version of "Razzle Dazzle" (Chicago), simultaneously singing and playing bass. When Kander once heard Leonhart perform it, unbeknownst to the bassist, he told him he'd "never heard it interpreted like that."

Ziemba and Scott came together for the only duet of the night, “But the World Goes ‘Round” (the film New York, New York), another show highlight, with Ziemba singing several lines a cappella toward the end of the song.

Winer concluded the evening by bringing up all three singers for a rousing “Cabaret.”

Winer, as always, was a fine host with warm, engaging stories about the songwriting duo and the songs they wrote.

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Next up in the series is Songbook Sundays: Irving Berlin on December 6. For tickets, visit https://ticketing.jazz.org/21912.

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