Podcasts

Woman Around Town’s Editor Charlene Giannetti and writers for the website talk with the women and men making news in New York, Washington, D.C., and other cities around the world. Thanks to Ian Herman for his wonderful piano introduction.

Carol Woods

Saluting Sylvia Syms

10/22/2016

“She lifted the art of life and sang to the height of excellence…” Rex Reed

Helmed by journalist/author Rex Reed, her intimate friend, Thursday’s New York Cabaret Convention salute to Sylvia Syms (1917-1992) is as illuminating as it is entertaining. The well produced event features affectionate, amusing, well balanced recollections by Reed and those appearing vocalists who knew her, as well as numbers out of Syms’s repertoire.

In 1992, Reed tells us, he was awakened by “an angry, urgent phone call” from Liza Minnelli. “We lost her,” she sobbed. Sylvia Syms had a heart attack and “dropped dead into the arms of Cy Coleman” while in performance at the Oak Room of The Algonquin Hotel. “When I go,” she told me a thousand times, “I wanna go in the middle of a standing ovation.” Our host is a terrific storyteller.

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Rex Reed

We begin with the inimitable Barbara Carroll. Syms asked the pianist to play on her first album in 1951. Discovering Carroll worked until 2 am, the recording was schedule for that hour. A piano tuner was even awakened when the studio instrument was found lacking. With Jay Leonhart on bass, Carroll plays “I Wanna Be Yours” and “You’d Be So Nice to Come Home To” making them, as she does everything, her iconoclastic own. Listen to the winking integration of classical influence, to the reflective retards, complex notations, and utter clarity.

Highlights of the evening:

“As wonderful as she was with ballads, she could also be a very funny broad…she said: If you wanna know what I sing like baby, go home and tear up a rag…I don’t care what anybody does in bed. I just wish they’d do it to me once in awhile.” Jay Leonhart’s rendition of “I Always Say Hello to A Flower” is perfect, deadpan drollery. One forgets how well the consummate bassist can sing. (Tomoko Ohno-Piano)

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Barbara Carroll; Carol Woods

Syms, it seems, liked to rescue songs. “Big Fat Heart” was cut from the musical Seesaw. Carol Woods’s version is conversational and expressive. There’s an oomph to her delivery adding geniality. Later we hear “Pick Yourself Up” from this vocalist. It’s kind of preaching, full of infectious brightness and optimism.  (Barry Levitt-Piano)

“Despite her impeccable taste in ballads, she would also swing…” At 17, Syms would be snuck into 52nd Street jazz clubs by sympathetic doormen, sequestered in hat check rooms so she could listen and observe. Reed credits her with spontaneously supplying Billie Holiday’s famous gardenia, apparently meant to cover a hole burned in her hair one evening before a show.

Nicolas King swings in with “Looking At Me”/ “That Face”/ “Look At That Face” as polished and robustly rhythmic as a full fledged member of the Rat Pack. The man gets this to his bones. In Act II, King offers “Here’s That Rainy Day” with full, rarely heard verse. The melancholy number emerges meticulously controlled, subtly modulated. A lovely interpretation. King covers the stage, drawing in his audience with awareness and flair. (Jon Weber-Piano)

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Nicolas King; Billy Stritch

Accompanied by Tedd Firth, Billy Stritch takes center stage, offering only vocal for a change. “Mountain Greenery” is jacked-up and jazzy. The understated Stritch plays with repetition, octave slides, scat, and rhythm making a virtuoso turn seem easy. Later, at the piano, he sighs “It Amazes Me” leading us to empathize with every surprised and grateful lyric. There’s no doubt the performer could’ve made a career as a vocalist if he so chose.

There are stories about Syms’s 3am telephone calls, her appreciation of gossip, uncensored, sometimes caustic opinions, terrific loyalty, generosity, and of Francis Albert Sinatra’s undying devotion.

The ever vital and savory Marilyn Maye sings “Fifty Percent” with powerful authenticity: I don’t share his name/I don’t wear his ring/There’s no piece of paper saying that he’s mine/But he says he loves me, and I believe it’s true/Doesn’t that make someone belong to you? We believe every dramatic, confessional word. Maye returns with “Anyplace I Hang My Hat is Home,” starting with unexpected a capella, launching into swing with her very own superb grace and brio. (Tedd Firth-Piano)

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Marilyn Maye; Ann Hampton Callaway

Ann Hampton Callaway is, for my money, the highpoint of the evening. When this vocalist is on stage, she becomes an additional musical instrument. An originally interpreted Fats Waller medley is propulsive, crisp, and sassy. The artist steps from side to side, shoulders slightly swaying and covers a bit of ground as if she can’t stand still. It’s Happy. Her second contribution is one of the plumiest versions of “Skylark” I’ve ever heard. Tedd Firth caresses the piano; Hampton Callaway embraces lyrical meaning-both swept away romantics. Leonhart’s bass solo is like a bird hitching a ride, backstroking on a breeze. Radiant.

Reed himself sings two heartfelt numbers. The second, “You Keep Coming Back Like a Song” reflects “how I felt about her personally and saying goodbye.” It’s moving.

Before we close, our host has the discernment to play Syms’s own voice for those who are unfamiliar and to remind others. “At the time of her passing, she was planning a new album …”  We hear an ardent “I’ll See You Again” (Noel Coward) with almost constant, quiet vibrato, lyrics exiting like smoke rings. Silvia Sym’s portrait looks on smiling.

Also featuring: Joyce Breach, Maud Hixon, Daryl Sherman, Marti Stevens, Sally Mayes, Tom Wopat, Jay Leonhart-Bass; Ray Marchica-Drums

All unattributed quotes are Rex Reed

Opening: Stephen Sorokoff; Other Photos Maryann Lopinto

The Mabel Mercer Foundation presents
Saluting Sylvia Syms
Hosted by Rex Reed
The 27th New York Cabaret Convention
Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Rose Theater
October 20, 2016

Carol Woods: Ain’t We Got Fun – The Richard Whiting Songbook

08/10/2016

Mama Morton’s been sprung. After years of brightening stages in Kander and Ebb’s Chicago, Carol Woods returns to cabaret with Ain’t We Got Fun – The Richard Whiting Songbook. A tribute to his daughter, friend and mentor, Margaret Whiting, the show features Hubert “Tex” Arnold, Margaret’s Musical Director of over 23 years. Woods doesn’t do things in half-way measures.

“Margaret, you’re humming along, and, by the way, how did you like the song?” comes from a lovely piece of special material written for the iconic vocalist. Words ostensibly spoken by her daddy preface “My Ideal” the first song Margaret ever recorded, her first gold record. (Music credit shared with Newell Chase/lyrics Leo Robin.) Woods appears to be full of ingénue hope, palms open and extend as if welcoming. Latin-tinted drums rob a bit of the sweetness, but we believe ever word.

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“Can’t Teach My Old Heart New Tricks” (lyric- Johnny Mercer) is more like a haunting than memory. By the time the arrangement slows to a Gershwinish coda, we’re as unmoored as the performer…but not for long.

“Sittin’ On the Curbstone Blues” erupts in feisty, red hot mama mode punctuated by hand gestures. There’s a fresh chicken fried/I can smell it outside/But it don’t mean a thing to me…complains an errant, locked-out lover. Bright and wry, Woods vocally shrugs, there’s lots of fish in the sea. (Lyric by and music credit shared with Haven Gillespie and Seymour Simons) This artist has known Margaret’s daughter, Debbie Whiting since she was three and distinctly remembers her wailing for fried chicken. A coincidence?

In similar vein, from the distaff side, “Somebody’s Wrong” is a vexed, hip-swingin’ honky-tonk shuffle… Nobody brings candy and things/I’m just nothing to no one it seems…how is this possible she seems to say…the world owes me a lovin’…Just for a moment, Woods assumes a Mae West stance. Don’t they know what they’re missin’?! Somebody’s wra-h-ho-ho-hong! She’s got this! The story-song is ably served by well honed acting chops. (Lyric-Raymond B. Egan/Henry I Marshall)

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Arnold tells us that one day, in a stack of old writing by her grandfather, “the keeper of the Whiting flame” (Debbie) found a song called “A Day Away From Town” (lyric-Gus Kahn). The number, in Richard’s handwriting, was so provisional, there were no chord changes. Nor was it copywritten. Arnold filled in the blanks (“melody harmonized by”) and Woods was the first to record it. The vocalist starts low and slopes up as if seeking open spaces.  It’s an easy sway, a deft soft-shoe, skylarking.

A second illuminating story reveals that lyrics for “She’s Funny That Way” – I Got a Woman Crazy for Me were originally a love letter left by Richard for his wife when he was called to Hollywood. Mrs. Whiting asked composer Neil Moret to write music and one of the great ballads was born. Woods sings it with gratitude, surprise and soul. A beautiful song just got more beautiful. Whiting, who clearly might’ve written lyrics too, penned such Hollywood classics as “On the Good ship Lollipop” and “Hooray for Hollywood.”

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“Too Marvelous For Words” (lyric-Johnny Mercer) with bass vertebrae and exuberant piano and “Beyond the Blue Horizon” (music credit shared with W. Frank Harling/ lyric- Leo Robin) swung with syncopated beat and happy anticipation bring up the mood. It’s a rendition of 1928’s “Ain’t We Got Fun”, however, that carries us bopping out into the night. Woods is an evangelist for cheer, so full of light, the room resonates with optimism against all odds. (lyric/music credit shared with Raymond B. Egan/Gus Kahn)

Though patter could use a little work, this is an extremely entertaining show. Woods delivers genuine vulnerability and carefree pleasure as well as she does husky-edged lock n’build. Scott Coulter’s Direction is deft.

Good to have you back.

Richard Whiting was a multifaceted composer of songs for vaudeville, records, and films. There are eras during which you can’t musically turn around without brushing against one of his fine tunes.

Photos by Maryann Lopinto
Opening: Carol Woods, Saadi Zain

Carol Woods: Ain’t We Got Fun- The Richard Whiting Songbook
Directed by Scott Coulter
Hubert “Tex” Arnold- MD/Piano
Saadi Zain-Bass, Steve Singer-Drums
The Metropolitan Room
34 West 22nd Street
NEXT: August 22 & August 29, 2016