Aside from Chita Rivera and Gwen Verdon, performance thoughts of John Kander and Fred Ebb inevitably land on Karen Mason. History with the material is only part of the reason. This is an artist who exudes ardor without overstating and sass without seeming corny. New arrangements dispense with the unessential. Tandem songs seamlessly and emotionally braid. Mason’s familiarly lucid vocals seem freshly open-throated. They fan out.
“Kander and Ebb were the soundtrack of my life when theater music was written for sopranos. Here were people writing for me– the loud middle child,” Mason tells us grinning. Tonight we hear selections from the CD as well as others of her favorites.
“All That Jazz,” or JA-aaz, arrives with subtle shimmy, punctuating hip bump, and a touch of growl. Lyrics arc and insinuate. “Wilkommen,” sashaying on a vamp of four repeated notes, segues into “Life of the Party.” Hearing this with only piano is something of a revelation. (The recording is also just instrument and vocal. Mason and MD Christoper Denny have been working together 33 years.) Shoulders rise and fall, left hand encompasses. Pleasure is infectious.
“Maybe This Time” emerges entreaty. Piano tiptoes. The performer mines swelling intensity eschewing volume. Vocal control seems effortless. She has nothing to prove. “What made Kander and Ebb ideal collaborators was that Fred was the king of special material; John wrote these beautiful melodies and fabulous vamps.” Denny plays the well known vamps to Cabaret, Chicago and Zorba.
“It took me forever to get to New York. I had gone about as `fer’ as I could go in Chicago. As I packed I heard this song on the radio,” prefaces “New York, New York.” These are not just good lyrics. Mason IS hopeful, anxious, excited. She vibrates. “All I Need is One Good Break” …and mister, watch my speed weaves in organically. “…Gimme, gimme a chance/Gimme, gimme a boost/Gimme, gimme a break,
New York, New York.” Also deftly intertwined, “On Broadway” and “Broadway Baby” surface unusually quiet and persuasive as if sheer will might conjure opportunity.
Along the way we hear about where selections slotted into her life. Mason is expansive on stage, loose- limbed tonight. She punctuates the air with a free arm. Eyes flash. The song is enough. There are no fillers, no “oh yeah” or “uh huh” taking up space. Focus is maintained as if there were back-stories. “Fred died in 2004, but at 97, John Kander is still going strong.”
A rendition of the iconic “Cabaret” with bespoke verse by Barry Kleinbort was first performed at Mason’s MAC Lifetime Achievement Award. It’s personal and HAPPY: I grew up in the middle of suburbia/Where lack of live performance would disturb ya/A night club was a place that might be raided/And cabaret was a film that Joel Grey did…
Hand behind her back, “Love and Love Alone” is a sharing of wisdom. Cottony piano creates embroidered moments. “Make each day your own” rises from depth. “Love…” her head tilts back as if savoring, “…la da da da dum…and love alone.” ‘A wafting note lingers. The evening and CD both end with rapt versions of “A Quiet Thing.” Just beautiful.
Among those only on the CD: “Colored Lights” and “But the World Goes Round” offer particularly dramatic phrasing. The latter reverberates exultant. Mason inhabits the moment. Denny ebbs and flows with her breathing. “Married” vibrates like an old music box. How the artist holds notes so delicately is a wonder. “Is she pretty?/Or let me put it this way,/ Do you love her?” begins “Sorry I Asked.” A touching scene in one….
Though live is always preferable, the disc offers talent and spark at your leisure.
Photos by Alix Cohen
Karen Mason: And All That Jazz Album Release and Concert
Director – Barry Kleinbort
Music Director – Christopher Denny
Arrangements Christopher Denny and Barry Kleinbort
The CD is Produced by Paul Rolnick
54 Below
254 West 54th Street
