By Andrew Poretz . . .
Danny Bacher died on December 16, 2024, but I don’t have to believe it if I don’t want to. (With apologies to John O’Hara.)
New Jersey-born jazz singer and soprano saxophonist Danny Bacher, a favorite with audiences everywhere, died suddenly on December 16.
This one hurts. Danny Bacher was – to even say “was” is painful – a showman, a terrific musician, funny as hell, a loving husband to wife Erin, and a mensch who brightened up every room he walked into. He was a pal, a friend, a brother to almost everyone who knew him. He was a newly minted best-selling author two weeks ago. And just like that, Danny is gone, a month shy of his 47th birthday, with so much left to live and to give.
Danny Bacher was perhaps the most impeccable man I’ve had the privilege to know. An excellent musician, Danny was the consummate professional. He dressed in colorful “show biz” outfits that belied his almost nerdy good looks, and always with a “just-pressed” appearance. Not a strand of his coiffed head of hair was ever out of place. When we rehearsed a couple of numbers in his New Jersey apartment, it was impossible not to notice how immaculate the place was kept. Most impressively, his collection of Laurel and Hardy memorabilia, housed in the couple’s second bedroom, was curated and maintained as if it were an exhibit at a fine museum. His terrific “coffee table” book, “Collecting Laurel and Hardy,” was released only a week before his death, and his book-signing event in Fort Lee was a smashing success.
As an entertainer, Danny could riff with the best of them, whether singing scat, providing a tasteful and improvised sax obligato, or with his superfast wit. He was an old soul, with the comic sensibilities of someone who grew up on Laurel and Hardy and the Marx Brothers, and who would have fit in quite well with the best “tummlers” of the Catskill’s glory days.
Danny’s professional accomplishments were significant, with awards from Jazz Times as a top male vocalist, a Bistro Award for outstanding achievement as a singer and instrumentalist, and the American Song Association’s Margaret Whiting Award. He recorded three studio albums. He had a busy touring schedule, and was always in demand as an entertainer. Still, Danny made time for his friends, and was remarkably generous with his gifts, readily joining many performers for a song or two on stage and on recordings.
Photo: Melissa Griegel
I had the privilege of performing with Danny on a number of occasions. He joined me for duets on two songs, including “Save the Bones for Henry Jones,” at the “Uke-a-Palooza” show I produced and performed in at The Green Room 42 for the American Popular Song Society in 2019. (After the event, he became a fellow board member, and we collaborated on a holiday show for it in 2022.) In 2020, when I co-produced “The Green Room 42 Swings Sinatra” with Will Friedwald, he readily agreed to perform, and joined me on “Lean Baby.” In 2021, we collaborated for a show on public domain music for the APSS, for which he provided the very clever title, “Masters of Our Public Domain.” Most recently, at Sandi Durell’s funeral in October, with no rehearsal, he graciously provided tasteful obligato riffs on “My Foolish Heart,” while I sang and played guitar.
Danny Bacher left behind his beautiful wife, Erin Bernard-Bacher, his wonderful parents Jane and Joel Bacher, and his brother Josh. Theater Pizzazz joins the entire cabaret and jazz community in expressing our deepest condolences to the Bacher family and to the countless people who adored Danny.