Award-winning singer/songwriter Sue Matsuki celebrates the life and music of jazz icon and American treasure, Irene Kral, with musical director Gregory Toroian on piano, Tom Hubbard on bass, and David Silliman on drums. Kral performed from the late 1950s to the late 1970s, until she passed at the age of 46, just one year after the release of her last album. She was known for collaborating with songwriters such as Fran Landesman & Tommy Wolf, Bob Dorough, Dave Frishberg, and Steve Allen, as well as singing songs of Cole Porter, Oscar Hammerstein, Jerome Kern, Jay Livingston & Ray Evans, and more! Additionally, award-winning duo Matsuki & Toroian celebrate Kral’s older brother, Roy Kral, with select Jackie & Roy duets. “Matsuki’s style is in the good region of the unaffected vocals of Irene Kral. Like Irene, her approach to a song is dead on whether blues, ballad, or rhythm…She can turn on a dime.” ~ Art Hilgart, The Journal of International Association of Jazz Record Collectors Sue Matsuki is an award-winning singer and songwriter who has played every club in New York as well as Carnegie Hall and The Metropolitan Opera. Matsuki has over 400 songs in her repertoire including jazz, blues, show tunes, American Songbook and country. She is the first recipient of the Julie Wilson Award, chosen personally by Julie, and a Bistro Award Winner for Outstanding Collaboration with her long-time Musical Director, Gregory Toroian. She has received MAC Awards for Jazz Vocalist, Original Song and Jazz Duo. Lovingly referred to as “The Godmother of Cabaret,” Matsuki is co-author of the book So You Want to Sing Cabaret (Rowman & Littlefield, 2020) and a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS). Friday, May 2, 7:00 PM (Seating from 6:15 PM) Don’t Tell Mama, 343 W 46th Street, donttellmamanyc.com $30 cover ($25 MAC Members) + $20 minimum (must include 2 drinks) Food menu available. CASH ONLY. No credit cards. TICKETS: https://shows.donttellmamanyc.com/8907-sue-matsuki-kral-space-celebrating-irene-kral-5-2-25
Cast and Creative team for Sue Matsuki: Kral Space...Celebrating Irene Kral at Don't Tell Mama
Cast
Sue Matsuki
Vocalist
Sue Matsuki is an award-winning singer and songwriter who has played every club in New York as well as Carnegie Hall and The Metropolitan Opera. Matsuki has over 400 songs in her repertoire including jazz, blues, show tunes, American Songbook and country. She is the first recipient of the Julie Wilson Award, chosen personally by Julie, and a Bistro Award Winner for Outstanding Collaboration with her long-time Musical Director, Gregory Toroian. She has received MAC Awards for Jazz Vocalist, Original Song and Jazz Duo. Lovingly referred to as “The Godmother of Cabaret,” Matsuki is co-author of the book So You Want to Sing Cabaret (Rowman & Littlefield, 2020) and a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS).
Gregory Toroian
Musical Director/Arranger/Piano
Gregory Toroian is a musical director, arranger, jazz pianist, vocalist, songwriter, and educator. He has been featured in Cabaret Scenes magazine and was the 2020 Bistro Award winner for Outstanding Collaboration with Sue Matsuki, with whom he had also won a MAC award for Best Duo Production. In addition to working with such artists as Tony Bennett, Jon Hendricks, Cab Calloway, Donna Summer, Melissa Errico, Marilyn Maye, Karen Mason, and Jane Olivor, he has appeared in almost every jazz club and cabaret (major and minor) in New York. He has toured with principal dancers from the New York City Ballet and has made numerous radio and television appearances including the Today Show and Maury Povich. His recording work includes the recent debut CD of Suzanna Ross, the debut CD of award-winning cabaret artist Sue Matsuki, for which he was arranger, producer, and pianist, and seven CDs with cabaret singer Nancy Stearns. Toroian’s vocal arrangements have been featured on a series of albums in the US and Japan, by the vocal group String of Pearls. He currently offers an array of performance workshops.
Tom Hubbard
Bass
Tom Hubbard is a bassist who lives and works in New York City. He studied with Arthur Gold and George Stahl of the Minnesota Orchestra and renowned jazz bassists Richard Davis and Dave Holland. He has performed with instrumentalists Kenny Barron, Jay McShann, Charlie Rouse, Dewey Redman, Dannie Richmond and Dave Stryker among others. Tom has accompanied a long list of singers including Joe Williams, Jon Hendricks, Mose Allison, Freddy Cole, Chris Connor, Sheila Jordan, Liza Minnelli, Michael Feinstein, Marilyn Maye, Stacey Kent and Martha Reeves and the Vandellas. He has performed in some of the top venues worldwide including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, The Academy of Music (Philadelphia), The Sydney Opera House, NHK Hall (Tokyo) and Frankfurt’s Alte Oper. He is a two-time MAC Award winner for best ensemble instrumentalist.
David Silliman
Drums
David Silliman…Drummer and percussionist. David's middle name should be “versatility”. Whether accompanying song stylists such as Mariah Carey, Cassandra Wilson, and Blossom Dearie or playing with Colombian Harpist Edmar Castaneda, David's exciting rhythmic energies add color and mood to any musical performance. He's also comfortable playing in the pit of a Broadway show or with the New Jersey Symphony. David has over 20 years of experience. His performances have taken him to concerts and festivals in Italy, Vienna, Berlin, the North Sea, Monterey, Uruguay and Lithuania. David was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, where he was exposed to a wide variety of music. David's first studies were in the Classical field, studying snare drum, xylophone and timpani. Later studies exposed him to Jazz, Latin Jazz, Brazilian and Funk music.“ I love living in NY because it gives me the opportunity to play and perform with so many diverse artists, across all styles of music!”
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Don't Tell Mama is at 343 W 46th Street, New York, NY.
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