Review: Billy Stritch and Gabrielle Stravelli Blow Minds With MEL & ELLA SWING! at Birdland

The tribute show is a tried and true genre of production in the cabaret and concert industry.  Every season in the industry sees a plethora of programs dedicated to the honoring of people from the past, from famous singers (there were lots of Judy Garland shows last year) to composers (a Cole Porter show can be counted on, each season) even to impresarios (54 Below has a Mel Brooks series that is most popular).  The tribute show accomplishes two things: it guarantees a built-in audience of fans who love the subject matter, and it provides the performers with material for which they have an affinity, a passion, if you will, thus ensuring their personal connection to that which they are presenting, and a greater rate of return for an audience they are determined to entertain.  With their show Mel & Ella Swing!, which played Birdland on June 5th, Billy Stritch and Gabrielle Stravelli did not just pay tribute to Mel Tormé and Ella Fitzgerald, they paid tribute to The Great American Songbook, and they paid tribute to themselves.

Gabrielle Stravelli and Billy Stritch aren’t just two performers working in the music industry, they aren’t just two artists with an understanding of jazz - they are two of the best.  On their own, Mister Stritch and Miss Stravelli can sell out a room and sell a set of songs with more style and skill than one might expect from a mere mortal; indeed, listening to each of them ply their craft, in solo shows, is so satisfying an experience as to render each of them headliners that are consistently in demand in clubs around this city and across this country.  So what happens when two proficients of this level come together for ninety minutes of perfected performances honoring the legendary Ella Fitzgerald and Mel Tormé?

Heaven.

With their show MEL & ELLA SWING! Billy Stritch and Gabrielle Stravelli have curated a program that goes beyond mere cabaret show or jazz set to something that could, easily, sit down in a small Off-Broadway Theater.  With an hour and a half of some of the best music you’ve ever heard (aided mightily by Patrick O’Leary on Bass and Mark McLean on drums), tied up with a ribbon of completely charming rhetoric, both historical and personal, as the two chums tell bits and pieces about the lives of Mel and Ella, and chunks and chapters about their mutual reactions to the legends and their catalogues.  Frankly, Gabrielle and Billy could have arranged this entire setlist as a look back at The Great American Songbook and never even mentioned Fitzgerald and Tormé, and they would have had a great show.  Oh, yes, astute people in the audience would have clued in to the connection, but, to the naked eye, it would have just been an exceptional set of songs played by two world-class artists at the top of their game.  But having Ella and Mel to tie it all in and to bring Billy and Gabrielle, personally, to the people is what makes this a cabaret show, a musical play, and not just a jazz set.  And, happily, both Stravelli and Stritch are not just master craftspeople in the telling of musical monologues - they are also natural orators, charming, funny, and accessible.

And the music, oh, the music.

Whether singing solo or singing in duets, Billy and Gabrielle both bring something special, something uniquely their own, to the equation, starting with the fact that they both have gorgeous voices, the hopeful starting point of any person who wishes to sing for their supper.  There have been those who have made their mark with a voice that isn’t beautiful, but that’s a story for another day: today’s story is about a boy and a girl who both have voices that can make a person melt.  Billy’s voice is as smooth and palatable as the wind in the mountain trees, a solo saxophone in the dark of night, or a child’s laughter on a sunny day, and Gabrielle’s voice is akin to being in a textile factory, with multitudes of colors and textures at every turn, heightening the journey from first to last notes sung.  Were they to stand at microphones and simply sing the notes on the page, it would be beautiful.  That, however, is not what they do.  Both storytellers use their naturally-given gifts and then layer in everything else in their arsenal to make their performances of songs like “Just In Time” (an evening highlight), a fantastic “Born To Be Blue,” and a gorgeous “The Folks Who Live On The Hill” eye-popping, jaw-dropping musical moments delivered to an audience that erupts with appreciation after every single song.  What Stritch and Stravelli offer is a perfect equity of training, instinct, talent, and rehearsal, all built on the foundation of those amazing voices.  The rarely-heard and rarely-sung “Mel & Ella Medley” showed Gabrielle and Billy off to great advantage, Gabrielle’s “The Man I Love” was gasp-worthy, and Stritch’s treatment of “Night And Day” was paradise on a stick - there really is nobody like him, which is probably why he is, and always has been, this writer’s personal favorite.  With Billy at the piano, providing his usual impeccable arrangements, every musical artist on the stage let go of whatever sources of stress and distraction lay on the sidewalk outside of Birdland and allowed themselves to get lost in the music, the storytelling, and the kinship that they all share for their craft, and for their company.

For the duration of their Mel & Ella Swing! show, the friendly family atmosphere rose high into the air, as the affection and admiration that the entire cast has for each other was visible, throughout the night.  Watching McLean watch Stritch for his rhythms and cues was simply marvelous, and seeing how everyone stepped aside so the audience could revel in O’Leary’s solos was heartwarming - and then there is the way that Stritch and Stravelli look at each other… it spoke highly of the family of musicians in New York City, the family of jazz proficients in the industry, and the family of artists who return, repeatedly, to the Birdland stage.  This sense of camaraderie only made better a show that already scores high marks for musical programming and performances that included an astonishing version of “Single-O” and an absolutely epic “Mountain Greenery”  that, alone, is worth the ticket price.  In truth: Mel & Ella Swing! is one of the best shows put up this season, and it has had a couple of performances, spaced out on the Birdland calendar, so there’s no reason to think (to hope!) it won’t be back for another night.  Set a Google alert on your computer and make sure that you don’t miss it, the next time - you won’t be sorry.

Visit the Birdland website HERE and find shows to see.

Billy Stritch has a website HERE.

Gabrielle Stravelli can be found online HERE.

Mark McLean’s online presence is HERE.

THIS is the Patrick O’Leary Facebook page.

Photos by Stephen Mosher; Visit the Stephen Mosher website HERE.

 

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