Review: SONGBOOK SUNDAYS at Dizzy's Club Ends The Year On A High Note

Last night, Songbook Sundays swept into the season with a last-minute holiday gift for club-goers, and it was exactly what everyone wanted, just in time for Christmas.  Deborah Grace Winer’s latest offering for the popular music series was LET’S CALL THE WHOLE THING GERSHWIN, and it was one of the best Songbook Sundays productions this writer has, yet, seen.  A fan and supporter of the series since it began, I have to admit that I have missed every Songbook Sundays production since stepping down as the BroadwayWorld Cabaret editor at the start of 2024, but after last night’s show, that’s a mistake I won’t let happen again.  I think it can be safely said that I will be at every single performance Deb Winer and co. present in the upcoming year.  This was a brilliant bit of musical revelry the like of which doesn’t come along every day of the year, and a sensational way to end this one.

For her Gershwin show, Deborah Grace curated six of the most proficient and exciting musicians a person could hope to put in a music show - and usually, one or two is enough to make a program special, but when it’s six, when it’s THIS six, it was, quite literally, one thrill after another.  And even though I am prone to hyperbole (cabaret’s worst kept secret), I’m not kidding when I say it: these six people are thrilling.  They are exciting.  They are talented.  They are the best in the business.  The Dizzy’s Club audience was screaming for them, they were gasping and muttering wows and oh-my-gods.  There was even a mid-show standing O at one point.  All of the components lined up to make this a perfect night of music… and the perfection started with the music because Gershwin.  It sort of says it all, doesn’t it?  Gershwin.  Says it all.

For eighty minutes Musical Director Ted Rosenthal guided Linda Purl, Nicolas King, and Imani Rousselle through a program that included some of The Gershwins’ most beloved compositions, all being played by Rosenthal at the Piano, Erena Terakubo on the Saxophone, Tim Horner on Drums, and Noriko Uedo on Bass (Winer informed that three of these people make up the Ted Rosenthal Trio - Terakubo was the guest artist last night).  Thanks to the skill of all four musicians and Rosenthal’s arrangements (which, happily, featured lots of solos for each instrumentalist), the music was of the highest possible caliber, which the Misters Gershwin deserve, but which the Misses Rousselle and Purl, and Mister King also deserve.  When a singer is working at this level, they deserve the best, and that’s what they got, the real winners of the evening being the audience.

Ms. Purl, she of the silken voice and acting abilities, was tasked with ballads for the evening, songs like “I’ve Got A Crush On You” and “Embraceable You” - appropriate, for hers is one of the most romantic voices in the business.  The texture and timbre of her instrument is rich and resonant, filled with an array of colors that showcase her own artistic capabilities while preserving that which the Gershwins originally wrote - it is wildly important for an interpreter to interpret, but it’s also important to observe the author’s original intent, especially with Gershwin.  Enter Linda Purl.  Listening to Linda is an experience overcome with the five senses, as one is reminded of the most sensual things in the world, like the feel of sea wind on the face, the glow of brandy in a crystal snifter, the taste of chocolate mousse (dark chocolate!) - all experiences of sensory recall just from listening to one luxurious voice as it presents these classics from The Great American Songbook.  Unbeatable.

Add to the mix the Puckish and playful Mr. King, he of the bounce and the pep and the swing in his step.  With his performances of “Let’s Take A Walk Around The Block” and “They Can’t Take That Away From Me,” Nicolas kept the proceedings bright and genial, jaunty and sophisticated, but let it not go unsaid that the gentleman knows his way around a ballad, for his “Isn’t It A Pity?” is one of the most soulful and visceral ever performed.  It’s no wonder Deborah Grace Winer’s introduction of King included her admission that he is her favorite jazz singer - he should be everyone's favorite boy singer, he certainly is mine.  So imagine the greatness of King and Purl together, which we got when they did a duet of “Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off” - yes, it was as fantastic as one would imagine.  The twosome is truly terrific, so much so that one couldn’t help but think, “I could do with an hour of this.”  Where’s our Linda Purl Nicolas King show?  It’s something to dream about…

And speaking of dreams.  Imani Rousselle.  Write it down.  Memorize it.  It is a name you will want to know.  Set a Google alert, and when she sings, be there.  This was my introduction to Ms. Rousselle and I couldn’t have asked for a better way to have this light brought into my life.  With the perfect setting provided by Winer and her co-stars (all five of them), Ms. Rousselle took our collective breath away.  Starting with “A Foggy Day” before moving to “Someone To Watch Over Me” and finishing with “Summertime,” Imani Rousselle worked the ultimate Progression of Perfection, besting her last performance with her next one, and proving that she belongs on the stage at Jazz At Lincoln Center, and any other stage that would be lucky enough to have her.  I cannot say enough good about Ms. Rousselle - I will simply confine myself to saying that hers is a name that will be listed among the other great female vocalists who have created art of the musical variety.  Don’t just watch for her: go out and find her.  Wherever she is working.

As is usually the case with a Songbook Sundays performance, Deborah Grace Winer was kind enough (smart enough!) to feature the band on a number all their own - a stunning jazz treatment of “Strike Up The Band” that featured just a flavoring of “Rhapsody In Blue” right out of the gate that got the crowd grinning from ear to ear.  It was electrifying and satisfying, and yet one more reason to love Songbook Sundays, right up there with the oratory contributions made by Ms. Winer, herself.  As the hostess of these shows, Deborah has a duty to display her knowledge of the music and the music makers, which she always does, with grace (see what I did there?), but this time there was a little something extra.  You see, Deborah Grace Winer knew Frances “Frankie” Gershwin Godowsky.  She was friends with George and Ira’s sister.  So Deb wasn’t just sharing factoids and histories that she learned from college or books - she was recounting reminiscences told to her from the lady herself.  Deb Winer told the tales told to her while sitting in homes that Gershwins had inhabited.  This wasn’t just a script Deb was reciting - it was life she was reliving; and that always adds a flare, a personal touch, an accessibility that makes a moment special.  This was a special moment, all of it, from lights down to lights up.  Would that it would come again.  But sometimes all the pieces fit together just right, and only for a moment.  This was one of those moments.  I’m so happy I was there for this one.

Find great shows to see on the Jazz At Lincoln Center website HERE.

The Dizzy's Club page of the JALC website is HERE.

Visit the websites for:

Linda Purl HERE.

Nicolas King HERE.

Imani Rousselle HERE.

Ted Rosenthal HERE.

Noriko Ueda HERE.

Tim Horner HERE.

Erena Terakubo HERE.

Photos by Stephen Mosher