Cabaret Review by Andrew Poretz . . .
The Brick Room at Don’t Tell Mama was entirely sold out for Juliet Ewing’s second encore performance of her George Gershwin show, Rise Up Singing – The Music of George Gershwin, on November 11. The blonde vocalist and musical theater actress is an appealing performer with a good voice and stage presence, and excellent command of the material. Of course, with Gershwin, it’s hard to go wrong.
Ewing was backed by music director and pianist Ron Drotos , bassist Michael O’Brien, and drummer Daniel Glass, three excellent musicians who elevated the music greatly.
Ewing arrived to the stage wearing a stylish gown, and opened with “Things Are Looking Up,” a rhythm number associated with Fred Astaire, with some scatting on the break. (For all songs mentioned, Ira Gershwin wrote the lyrics, except where indicated.) The more interesting “Slap That Bass,” singing much of the song with just O’Brien’s thumping bass accompaniment.
For “But Not for Me,” Ewing sang the rubato verse as if she were speaking directly to the persons addressed in the lyric – “Old Man Sunshine” and “Beatrice Fairfax” – before getting to the shuffle swing of the main tune. The vocal sound is an interesting mix of “classically trained” with the looseness of “jazz singing,” which might explain the musically accurate but somewhat rote affect in her scat singing. The trio underpinned Ewing’s vocals with a tight, traditional jazz sound.
Ewing did some of her best singing on “Embraceable You,” on which she included the very rarely performed verse. Her wordless obligato vocalese over the break was quite effective. She turned up the heat on a terrific arrangement of “How Long Has This Been Going On?” that turned the ballad into a “bringing home the bacon” blues, along with what appeared to be special lyrics. Interestingly, on the bridge to “Lady Be Good,” Ewing provided a note-for-note vocalese match of Drotos’s piano solo that created a minuet effect.
After a sexy, playful “Naughty Baby” (lyrics by Ira Gershwin and Desmond Carter), Broadway performer Patrick Boyd came up for a fun duet on “’Swonderful” and “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off,” in which the two traded scat riffs (despite Boyd’s initial declaration that he does not scat). They had delightful repartee and good harmonies, along with some special lyrics.
After a pair of sweet ballads, Ewing took a strange stab at “Summertime” (lyrics by Du Bose Heyward). The arrangement’s alternative voicings seemed to transform this lullaby into a 1970s power pop song. She seemed to be singing a different melody, though the lyrics were unchanged. When she ultimately did sing the familiar melody, the accompaniment sounded like a different song. For this reviewer, the experiment was unsuccessful, and perhaps an unnecessary, head-scratching sacrilege. Still, the audience responded with tremendous enthusiasm.
Ewing redeemed herself with a finale of “I Got Rhythm” and an encore of “They Can’t Take That Away From Me.”
Overall, it was a very good set, with warm, engaging patter to introduce each song. For more information about Juliet Ewing, visit www.julietewing.com.
Rise Up Singing – The Music of George Gershwin played at Don’t Tell Mama on November 17 at Don’t Tell Mama, 343 West 46th Street, NYC (.
