The River Room, Jazzaret, and Upcoming Events!

Hello everyone, and happy Thursday (or happy whatever-day-you're-reading-this-on)! When I left off last week, I was preparing for my gig at The River Room and I'm pleased to report that it went very well! Honestly, with such a fantastic band behind me (Fortune Esposito on guitar, Tedd Firth on keyboard, Doug Largent on bass and Bobby Sher on drums), how could it not?! What was fun about this gig for me is that, because we were doing a few sets spanning the course of 3 hours, the normal constraints of putting on a "cabaret" were lifted and I was able to sing what I felt like singing and have fun with the band! Normally, for a 1-hour cabaret show, a lot of thought goes into the structure of that one hour - there should be an arc to the show, yada yada yada...but for a "jazz gig," there are no such limitations - I must say, it was very liberating! We went from the ridiculous to the sublime, throwing in "These Boots Are Made For Walking" in the middle of such gorgeous standards as "Time After Time" and "That's All." Fun, fun, fun...and we get to do it all over again on May 7th - so mark your calendars now!
And speaking of The River Room, I was there again last night - this time, as an audience member! Julian Yeo was the singer du jour yesterday, and as always, put on a most enjoyable show! Backed (as usual) by a fabu band, Julian wound his way through some of my favorite songs ("Anything Goes," "That Old Black Magic," and "Makin' Whoopee," to name a few), putting his own unique "retro-jazz" spin on each of them. He also allowed me to sing a few numbers (yay!) and also called Kristen Sergeant up to the mic to lend her lovely soprano to a few tunes. With the music, the amazing view of the river, and a nice glass of Sauvignon Blanc, I had myself a most enjoyable evening! I was also pleased to find out, upon arriving home, that the Yankees had won their second straight game against the White Sox (and Mussina pitched well, finally!).
Last Saturday, I headed over to the Reprise Room on 54th St. for an evening of "Jazzaret," which is the open mic that used to be held at the Triad, but has been on hiatus for a while. Hosted by Melody Breyer-Grell and Scott Barbarino, and backed by the Barry Levitt trio, the night featured a vast array of singers. I had a friend in town, visiting from L.A., so I brought him along. He'd never been to "cabaret" before, and he also hasn't heard me sing since high school, so we killed two birds with one stone - he got to hear me, and he also got a sampling of the many styles of performers who do cabaret. Besides me, other singers featured that evening were Shaynee Rainbolt, Richard Malavet, Laurie Krauz, Mary Foster Conklin, and Sharon McNight. A very fun evening, and a crash-course in cabaret singers for my friend!
On my schedule for the coming week:

Tonight (Thursday, 4/24)
On The Rocks with Danny Leary
9:30 p.m. at The Duplex
This weekly comedy variety show has been getting rave reviews all over the place and I'm very excited to finally get a chance to see it!

Tomorrow (Friday, 4/25)
Julie Wilson at 7:30 p.m. and Sharon McNight at 10 p.m.
The Metropolitan Room
Two of cabaret's most preeminent divas go back to back at my favorite club - what more could one ask for!

Monday, 4/28
Cast Party at Birdland
10 p.m. - 1 a.m.
My favorite weekly soiree - who knows, maybe Tony Bennett will show up again?!

Wednesday, 4/30
Shaynee Rainbolt at The River Room
7 p.m. - 10 p.m.
Come out and support this new venture (and then come back and see ME there on May 7th!). Only a $10 cover, whether you're there for one set or three. Enjoy music, food, drink, and the most amazing view of the Hudson River and the G.W. bridge in the city!

That's about all for now, folks - more to come soon!