Review: George Bugatti Smoothly Sings Through the Decades at 54 Below

On August 13th, jazz singer and musician George Bugatti graced NYC’s 54 Below with The Great Story of Broadway Jazz.

A headliner in Las Vegas and Los Angeles who has performed with everyone from Tony Bennett to Michel Legrand, Bugatti returned to his hometown of New York City to deliver an enchanting evening exploring Broadway’s enduring influence on jazz.

Plenty of jazz standards got their start on Broadway, written by famed composers for stage productions before being later recorded by legends like John Coltrane, Ella Fitzgerald or Frank Sinatra. With narration by Scott Siegel — who has produced, written, and directed more than 600 major concert events performed worldwide — the night was part concert, part masterclass in Broadway and jazz history. Together, Siegel and Bugatti took the audience on a musical journey. 

Bugatti’s classic, smooth voice transported the audience back to the peak of the swing era. He opened with “Ain’t Misbehavin’,” (which of course appears in the musical of the same name) scored by Fats Waller, whose music laid much of the foundation for modern jazz piano. From there, he moved seamlessly through songs that illustrated the close relationship between Broadway and jazz, and the indelible mark each has left on the other.

Whether performing “I Get a Kick Out of You,” written by Cole Porter for 1934’s Anything Goes (the only musical to turn a profit during the Depression, Siegel helpfully noted), or “The Lady Is a Tramp” from 1937’s Babes in Arms, Bugatti highlighted how many show tunes found second lives as jazz standards. Sometimes, the jazz interpretations even eclipsed their Broadway origins, as with Sinatra’s famous 50’s recordings of both these songs.

While Sinatra’s takes probably mean many people do know the showtune origins of many standards, there were still some learning moments. Fans of the genre probably know the jazz standard “How High the Moon,” a song whose beginnings in the 1940 show Two for the Show have been largely forgotten despite its lasting musical legacy. 

Even though there was a lot of information given, the performance remained personal and conversational throughout. Introducing Cy Coleman’s “The Best Is Yet to Come,” Bugatti shared, “I really relate to him, being in shows, and behind the piano.” His respect for Coleman — whose Broadway credits include Sweet Charity, Barnum, and City of Angels — shone through as he performed the song with warmth and playfulness.

The audience was engaged with the performance throughout, and they showed their love. As the night drew to a close, Bugatti dove into Kander and Ebb’s work from Chicago, which immediately had the audience snapping along to the overture, and cheering through “Razzle Dazzle.” By the time he ended with “New York, New York,” the crowd was singing and clapping right up until the lights came up.

With a voice built for the Great American Songbook and an endearing stage presence, Bugatti left his audience wanting more, reminding everyone that these songs — and the stories behind them — still swing in the present day.

To see more from George Bugatti, visit georgebugatti.com.