Review: Bryan Eng's Sextet Wows With 'SWINGIN' STANDARDS' at Birdland Theater

Gliding to the stage with an easy air like a cool breeze, Bryan Eng comes off like he’s been here before. It’s as if he has sat at this very piano, played this song, sung this note, for this audience, right here, just last week; only he hasn’t, but it’s not an act--his easy demeanor. It’s just the way he is--a drink in hand one moment, the piano keys below his fingertips the next. The voice of a crooner breathes from his youthful smile, as easy as the way he walks onto the stage and grabs the mic. What Eng lacks in experience, he makes up for in effort as, from song to song, story to story, word to line, he made it seem like he’s done this a million times. If you see Eng on the schedule, it’s a guarantee you’ll be entertained. Perhaps that’s why such a talented band assembled around the young musician. It certainly helped that he heaped constant praise on each of his bandmates, whose wonderful solo performances bounced off each other, and then back to Eng, whose beautiful voice recalls the best of Birdland.

Numerous songs come to mind from a night of classics, but perhaps what could have been the titular song was “Unforgettable” because, most certainly, his style and class were unforgettable. Nestled between “Just the Way You Are” and “The Way You Look Tonight,” Eng’s set list read like the back of a CD that you’d listen to on repeat when you needed a moment of nostalgia. Song after song simply fit like the right puzzle piece. He shared personal anecdotes, stories from the band on the road, and a few words on the history of some of his song choices, as to how they fit in, for example, how he gravitated toward the selection of “There’s a Small Hotel” from the Circle Room album. The line, “A little place I know where funny people can have fun” perfectly described how the simplicity of the night was, in how easy it was to forget any strife.

Eng also shared a couple of his originals, including “Little Lady Blues” and “A Few Days With You.” Each, in turn, captured both a simple emotion and exemplified the ease with which Eng plucks at the heartstrings. The lines “even though I didn’t travel to Rome, I’m still smiling from being with you,” from the latter song, made it clear that Eng leaned in on the theme of keeping excellent company, which highlights the air of the standards he sang. It had the same vibe as the 1920s classic, “Just You, Just Me” despite being written during its modern equivalent. A pair of my favorites of the evening were “Where or When” and “All I Need is the Girl.” Starting off the evening on a high note, after a quick instrumental, the lines “The clothes you’re wearing are the clothes you wore...but I can’t remember where or when” could have been plucked from Rodgers & Hart’s imaginations, only to be sung almost a century later by a singer who deserves mention in the same line as some of the best, to rekindle the song’s allure.

The young Eng was joined on stage by Bruce Harris on trumpet; Geoff Burke on alto sax, clarinet, and flute; Elijah Jamal Balbed on Tenor Sax and Clarinet; Ilya Osachuk on bass; and Gary Kerkezou on drums. Each had a turn with extravagant solos throughout the show, displaying their incredible talents across instruments. There was not a dull moment in the lively set, as the band tossed the rhythm from one to the other, almost challenging each instrument to outdo the first creative burst. Like flares in the dark, their trills and smooth notes tenderly teased the ear with further delight, beckoning the listener forward into the next turn of the tune. The Alto Sax solo by Geoff Burke on an early song in the set, “There’s a Small Hotel” was particularly stunning. The trumpet solo by Harris that followed the Clarinet solo by Burke on “All I Need is the Girl” could have led off a jazz album with its clean hook. Every note Harris hit sounded like the perfect note. Similarly, Balbed impressed each time he too brought lips to reed. If you were lucky enough to catch this set, I’m sure you’re anxious for Eng and the sextet to be back; I’m sure he’ll be at Birdland soon.

Check out the Birdland calendar HERE.

THIS is the Bryan Eng website.

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