Review: SONGBOOK SUNDAYS Celebrates Tony Bennett at Dizzy's Club

The centennial of Tony Bennett’s birth on August 3 has brought forth a multitude of riches in New York’s jazz and cabaret scene, with many tributes at Birdland, Dizzy’s, the new club The Pocket, and 54 Below, to name a few. Deborah Grace Winer’s long-running Songbook Sundays is one of several this writer has covered so far this month.

For The Tony Bennett Centennial, Winer had the great Billy Stritch on triple duty as musical director, pianist and vocalist, with the rotation of singers Debby Boone, Gabrielle Stravelli, and the young Canadian David Marino. Joining Stritch was the excellent trio of bassist Caylen Bryant, saxophonist Jacob Chung, and drummer Mark McLean.

Winer interspersed stories about Bennett and the songs throughout the well-constructed set.

The set opened with Boone singing “The Best Is Yet to Come” (Cy Coleman/Carolyn Leigh). The lovely Boone still has star appeal, with a warm, sweet voice that can handle a rhythm song as well as a ballad, but she sings softly and was generally under-miked, making it difficult to hear her over the sax and drums. Whoever was handling sound for Dizzy’s did not do her any favors. Later in the set she covered “The Lady is a Tramp” (Richard Rodgers/Lorenz Hart), and closed the rotation with a swell duet with Billy Stritch on “I’ve Got the World On a String” (Harold Arlen/Ted Koehler) and a lovely rendition of “Smile” (Charlie Chaplin/L. John Turner, Geoffrey Parsons).

Jazz singer Gabrielle Stravelli, a favorite of this writer in multiple reviews, came out strong with “Nobody Else But Me” (Jerome Kern/Oscar Hammerstein II). Her distinctive phrasing, spot-on intonation and easy sense of swing were on full display, along with the humor she brings to rhythm material. She and Stritch killed it on “Watch What Happens.” She was at her most moving on Ray Noble’s “The Very Thought of You.” Winer told the fascinating true story of how an Ohio beautician named Sadie Vimmerstedt, outraged by Sinatra’s dumping his wife for Ava Gardner, sent the line, “I wanna be around to pick up the pieces when somebody breaks your heart” to “Johnny Mercer, Songwriter, New York, New York,” with the note saying it would make a great song, and it miraculously reached him. He wrote the words and music for “I Wanna Be Around,” aside from her opening line, and generously gave Vimmerstedt co-writing credit and a share of the royalties! Stravelli was in fine form here, complemented by some bluesy playing by Stritch.

In addition to several duets, the silky-voiced Stritch did a terrific job on a medley of “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” (George Cory/Douglass Cross) sans verse and “Steppin’ Out With My Baby” (Irving Berlin). In the second half of the set, he combined the relatively obscure “All for You” with the far better-known “For Once in My Life” (Orlando Murden/Ron Miller). “All For You” was adapted from a melody composed more than 80 years ago by Django Reinhardt. Bennett wrote the lyrics for his album The Art of Romance, his first songwriting credit.

The sensational David Marino has one of the purest voices in the business. Still in his early 20s, Marino has a classically trained tenor whose velvety, rich voice has some baritone qualities and a spectacular upper register that he saves for when it seems most effective. He has brilliant pitch and breath control, precise diction, and a powerful capacity for connecting with the emotional impact of the lyrics. His first song of the evening was a gorgeous rendition of “The Shadow of Your Smile” (Johnny Mandel/Paul Francis Webster). On “How Do You Keep the Music Playing” (Michel Legrand/Alan and Marilyn Bergman), his “Tony Bennett ending” featured a one-breath glissando that nearly shattered glasses and left no doubt as to the “how.” On “Firefly” (Cy Coleman/Carolyn Leigh), a late-50’s hit for Bennett, he showed his skill with jazzier material, ending with a Tony Bennett signature high note.

Winer brought the ensemble back for a singalong of “When You’re Smiling” (Larry Shay/Mark Fisher, Joe Goodwin). It was another win for Winer in this popular series, which will return on October 4 with a Kander & Ebb tribute.

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For tickets to the October 4th edition of Songbook Sundays and more great shows at Dizzy’s visit jazz.org/dizzys.

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