Jon Weber Accompanist
Feinstein’s / 54 Below on October 24th
Song listing:
Old Black Magic
Fools Rush In
Blues in the Night
Skylark
Goody Goody/Too Marvelous
One for My Baby
I’m Old Fashioned
Laura/Dream
Rain or Shine: Andrew and Rose
This Time The Dreams Are On Me: Andrew
Day In Day Out: Andrew
Summer Wind Andrew
Autumn Leaves: Rose
I Wanna Be Around: Rose
Moon River/ Days of Wine and Roses: Rose
Rose Kingsley has the rare ability to sing jazz and opera so you can imagine how phenomenal her renditions of Mercer songs were. She sang with operetic intensity mixed with cheerful charm articulating each word and using her expressive hands to emphasize the emotions of the familiar tunes.
She totally energized the room with her good vibes the minute she started singing with “Old Black Magic” and she gleefully sang “Blues in the Night”.
What made this show a cut above the rest were her various anecdotes connected to each number.For instance Johnny Mercer loved Chinese food, especially Moo Goo Gai Pan which he turned into the song “Goody Goody”.
One of the most classic of Frank Sinatra songs, “One For My Baby” was inspired by of all things his tortured love affair with the love of his life, Judy Garland when he was 35 and she was 18.
Towards the end she brought in Andrew Poretz who was the perfect foil as he has that Frank Sinatra zing to his singing . But then he launched into this tour de force of conjuring other singers to sing “Summer Wind”: Elvis, Sammy Davis, Tony Bennett,Al Jolson, Jimmy Durante, Anthony Newley, Eddie Cantor.He’s a wonderful mimic. Christina Bianco has some competition.
Did you know that Anthony Perkins had a singing career in France. Johnny Mercer penned “This Time The Dream’s On Me” which Anthony Perkins sang and it was Mr. Poretz’s Mom’s favorite.
It ended with Rose Kingsley doing a mash-up and singalong of “Moon River”/ “Days of Wine and Roses” that surprisingly moved me.
Don’t miss an opportunity to catch either Rose Kingsley or Andrew Poretz in concert.
They are just “Too Marvelous” for words.
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