John Pizzarelli Brings Sinatra, Cole, Jobim and Troupe to Decatur's Eddie's Attic

Mike Karn and John Pizzarelli

Like many an artist who follow a career that was trailblazed by their fathers, the guitarist John Pizzarelli will always be compared to his father, the now ninety-two-year-old and still swinging jazz guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli. The challenge-to be accepted for one’s own value- was even implied in John’s 1983 debut album titled I’m Hip (Please Don’t Tell My Father).

The now fifty-eight-year-old John Jr. has carved his own place in the world of jazz and contemporary popular music. He is in fact a very accomplished guitarist in his own right, with artful phrasing, a deft sense of time and a fluid facility on the fretboard. John’s true talent is in his vocal acumen and relaxed stage presence which was on bountiful display on Monday night at Decatur’s Eddie’s Attic.

This was the last set of the last night, of a two night gig. The previous night presumably were both sold out shows. On this Monday evening the venue was half-filled with an older crowd of fans that came to see Pizzarelli tell his stories, sing his songs and play his guitar. John was accompanied by bassist Mike Karn.

Pizzarelli was dressed in a grey pin-stripe suit and tie and projected a warm, friendly demeanor throughout the evening. He started with the tongue-in-cheek Bobby Troupe song “I’m Just a Hungry Man,” which set the tone of the evening as light and entertaining. From there he jumped into another quirky tune, written by Howard Dietz and Arthur Schwartz and made famous by the chanteuse Blossom Dearie “Rhode Island is Famous for You.”  Another Bobby Troupe composition Rte. 66 came next. Here the jazz historian and entertainer in Pizzarelli came out. He talked about his conversations with Troupe and how Bobby told him the story of pitching the song to Nat King Cole who made it one of his staples. In many respects Pizzarelli has patterned himself after Cole. While Cole was a consummate pianist it was his voice and that relaxed polish that won him legions of followers.

Pizzarelli proceeded with a marvelous medley of songs that all contained the phrase “Hey Baby” and then broke into some Hot Club of Paris, Django Reinhardt-style guitar on another tune from the Nat Cole repertoire, “Errand Boy of Rhythm.” Pizzarelli is no stranger to gypsy jazz having once been recorded with the great Stéphane Grappelli on “Live at the Blue Note” from 1995.

John Pizzarelli on Edddie's Attic Stage

Ever the storyteller, John spoke of this very day being the twenty-fifth anniversary of him opening for another of his idols, Frank Sinatra, in Berlin, Germany in 1993. His introduction to Sinatra was brief and ended with the crooner admonishing him saying  “Get something to eat kid, you look terrible." Pizzarelli likened looking into the singer’s blue eyes “like looking into a natural gas flame, they were that blue.”  Pizzarelli sang two Sinatra songs-“You Make Me Feel So Young” and  “How About You” before treating the audience to a solo instrumental version of Jerome Kern’s “The Way You Look Tonight” on his seven string custom arch-bodied guitar. You could really see how accomplished a guitarist he is on this marvelous piece. Bassist Karn returned for the SammyC ahn and Jimmy Van Heusen Song “ Ring A Ding Ding” that Sinatra sang on his inaugural record on the Reprise label.

The evening continued with “Baubles, Bangles and Beads” from the 1953 musical Kismet. A clever rendering of Cole Porter’s “I Concentrate on You” with a Tom Jobim inspired Bossa beat and Jobim’s classic “The Wave.” Being in Georgia, it was only fitting that Pizzareli included a Johnny Mercer tune in his repertoire and he chose a song about Football and music “Jamboree Jones.” The finale was a Medley ending in “I Got Rhythm” and the encore was Sinatra’s “Lady Be Good.”

It was a wonderful evening of great songs played by the fabulous talent that is John Pizzarelli. If the show was any indication of the music on John's latest album John Pizzarelli Sinatra and Jobim @50 then it should be a keeper.

The Art of Bill Frisell Live at City WInery in Atlanta

Thomas Morgan, Bill Frisell and Rudy Royston at Atlanta's City Winery

This past Wednesday night, April 4th, at Atlanta’s City Winery the world class guitarist and innovator Bill Frisell and his trio thrilled a nearly full house of faithful followers, aspiring guitarists and a few curious uninitiated listeners with an unforgettable night of music. The Winery can accommodate over three hundred in the confines of its comfortable, sonically pleasing wine cellar-like atmosphere. Frisell just released a fabulous solo album titled Music Is on the Okeh label on March 16, 2018.  On this night Frisell was joined by Thomas Morgan on upright bass and Rudy Royston on drums.

The now sixty-seven-year old Frisell has been playing his distinctive style of guitar for the better part of three decades. He signed to Manfred Eicher’s ECM label back in the early eighties and became the virtual house guitarist for the label. He has had long term associations with the eclectic experimental composer/saxophonist John Zorn from his early days in New York. In the early 2000’s he was a part of the influential drummer Paul Motian’s trio with saxophonist Joe Lovano. The list of collaborators he has worked with is a who’s who of the contemporary and avant-garde music world during the last quarter century. Along the way Frisell has developed his own unique sound- a mix of bluegrass, country, surfer rock, Americana, jazz, fusion and sophisticated electronics- that has made him one the most adventurous musicians and a sought-after collaborator. His work has been nominated for a Grammy on four occasions in 2005, 2009, 2016 and 2018 and he won once for Unspeakable in the Best Contemporary Jazz Album category for 2005.

The Guitarist Bill Frisell at Atlanta's City Winery 

Bill Frisell has the casual appearance of a disheveled, absent-minded professor, with his shock of white spiky hair, horn- rimmed glasses and his loosely fitting jacket and jeans. You could see this guy working part-time fixing motorcycles in a neighborhood garage or repairing old radios in his basement, but when he plugs in his Telecaster-style guitar and connects to  his array of electronic wizardry he becomes a master of the universe. The universe of the sound that he so deftly creates.

The guitarist started off with a series of harmonics, tones generated from his guitar that resonate with sympathetic frequencies. He is master of harnessing them to great effect and he used them to introduce the Henry Mancini classic “Moon River.”  The audience listened intently as he conjured up a delicate repeating motif on his guitar, looping it and then harmonizing to it. When the melody became apparent the crowd let out a collective sigh of acknowledgment.

One suspects that Frisell’s trio mates must have big ears to play with this man as his playing appears to be snatched from the ether, rather than firmly pre-planned. Morgan has been playing with Frisell since 2016 and they recently did a highly acclaimed duo release last year titled Small Town. Royston is a sought-after drummer whose work can be heard all over the gamut. His stylistic approach was first heard with Frisell on the guitarist’s 2010 Grammy nominated recording History Mystery. Together these three musicians showed just how empathetically connected three people can be, responding as Frisell utilized a series of surprising electronic embellishments to create cascading effects before transitioning into the familiar theme from the James Bond thriller “You Only Live Twice.”  He has a penchant for creatively using looping to allow him to create multiple layers of expression on a repeating motif.

Frisell’s repertoire often features movie soundtracks and on this evening besides the aforementioned “Moon River,” and the Bond theme “You Only Live Twice,” he later played another Bond theme from the movie “Goldfinger” to the delight of the audience. His surfer sounding guitar resonating clear, concise lines as the memorable melodies hung in the air like wisps of smoke from Bond’s lethal Beretta.  The man wastes no motion in his playing. He is a quiet leader that directs in an unobtrusive, firm but nuanced manner. Morgan’s bass is clear and resonant, and Royston is a master of delicate shading.

The group continued with a walking blues, which might have been Frisell’s “Winslow Homer,” which the guitarist played in his own fractured way, with Morgan and Royston each being featured on solos. The group went onto a more ethereal sounding piece, a rambling waltz that was reminiscent of the late John Abercrombie’s work. Interestingly Frisell was a highlight performer at a memorial concert held for the recently deceased guitarist at Brooklyn’s Roulette on March 26, 2018.

No jazz concert, although that is too restrictive of a title for Frisell's work, would be complete without at least one Thelonious Monk song. Frisell and company didn’t disappoint, doing their own take on the quirky “Epistrophy.”  Here the group was at its most intuitive, perhaps because of the familiarity of the song, but it was marvelous to watch the exquisite interplay, especially between Frisell and Royston who operates without bombast. The drummer created a jungle beat that added surprising rhythmic interest and an inherent sense of swing. Morgan had one of his most creative solos of the evening.

The real surprise of the evening  was Frisell’s marvelous take on the John McLaughlin classic “Arjen’s Bag.” Later renamed “Follow Your Heart,” from Mclaughlin’s 1969 album Extrapolation; Frisell played this on his own album, Ghost Town, from 2000. To hear Frisell’s take on this guitar classic some nearly fifty years later was a true treat, bringing me back to when guitar virtuosity was my idea of true greatness. The guitarist’s introduction cleverly hinted at the song before revealing his true intent. Royston played timely rim shots as Morgan plucked away creating the atmospheric feel of the song authentically. Frisell employed some distortion and echo to his guitar before he went into the song’s distinctive lead in. I had never heard anyone do this “live” and for me it was just so good to hear it played again with such creative energy and inspired tremolo and electronic effects.

The band continued with one of Frisell’s own compositions, this one played with phaser effects titled “it Should Have Happened A Long Time Ago” which is on his last release Small Town with Thomas Morgan. It is a song that has a nostalgic feel to it, one that you might hear coming from a guitarist, albeit a very good one, sitting on his front porch musing away the late afternoon. Frisell plays the sing-song line like the repeating verses of a melancholic nursey rhyme. His footboard of electronic wizardry produces sounds that at times mimic a harpsichord or perhaps a mandolin. Then he takes it to another level, accelerating the pace, developing it into a rhythmic jig of sorts, playing in a style that to my ears had native American elements to it, before returning to the main theme. An impressive display of what seem to be on the spot improvisation on a theme.

Transitioning into the theme from “Goldfinger,” Frisell recreated that echoed, twangy guitar on the John Barry composition that Shirley Bassey made famous. It was pure fun listening to this master explore this movie classic.

Frisell disengaged from his guitar and took to the stage, introducing his bandmates in his own inimitably folksy way. In a brief humorous interlude, he warned the audience of the excesses of eating locally made Maple Bacon ice cream, which he said gave him the sniffles.

After unrelenting applause, the band returned for an encore with what Frisell called his theme song, the Americana standard, “Oh Shenandoah.”  This poignant song, a lament from one that longs for a return to home, was the perfect vehicle for Frisell to spin his magic. His guitar took on multiple tones each one more expressive than the last as Morgan and Royston played the cadenced march like a mournful dirge. But Frisell is an optimist, and he skillfully transitioned from the somber Shenandoah into the uplifting Burt Bacharach composition “What the World Needs Now,” ending the show on an encouragingly upbeat note. The audience was completely taken by this wonderful performance. As a fellow audience member stated to me, Frisell takes you to another place.

The City Winery should be applauded for continuing to up its game, providing a comfortable, inviting and sonically pleasing venue and booking world class musicians like Bill Frisell to perform here in Atlanta. Hopefully people will respond accordingly and continue to support this premier music venue.

Emory Jazz Fest 2018: Peter Erskine, Darek Oles, Warren Wolf and Gary Motley perform at the Schwartz Center

Gary Motley, Darek Oles, Warren Wolf and Peter Erskine at Emory's Schwartz Center

On Friday February 9^th the 2018 Emory Jazz Fest presented a sophisticated quartet at the beautiful Schwartz Center featuring the world class drummer Peter Erskine, the vibraphonist Warren Wolf, the bassist Darek Oles and Emory’s own director of Jazz Studies Gary Motley on piano. The concert on Friday was the highlight of a series of master classes that professor Motley arranged with the drummer/educator Peter Erskine to conduct on Thursday for the jazz studies students. Bringing in musicians of Mr. Erskine’s caliber, to share their in-depth insight, makes the musical educational experience at Emory appreciably more vibrant and Professor Motley should be applauded for his continuing efforts in this direction. Past performers at the Emory Jazz Fest have featured an impressive array of artists including the trumpeter Nicholas Payton, the saxophonist Theodross Avery, the drummer Carl Allen, the bassist Rodney Whitaker, the clarinetist Anat Cohen, multi-reed artist Victor Goines, the violinist Regina Carter and drummer Terreon Gulley.  The Emory Jazz Alliance should also be commended for their dedication to supporting the jazz studies program at Emory by raising awareness of this admirable art form.

The concert on Friday night was a highlight open to the public. A drum clinic on Saturday morning was opened to the public and was packed with drummers who wanted to get some of the inside scoop on techniques from the jubilant Mr. Erskine. Erskine, a roundish almost jovial presence, peppered his Saturday morning clinic and demonstration with some pithy anecdotes about his career and the various characters that he has worked with over the years, from Walter Becker and Donald Fagen of Steely Dan to Joe Zawinul and Wayne Shorter from his Weather Report Days. 

Erskine’s work can be heard on over seven hundred recordings starting with the Stan Kenton Big Band,  the seminal fusion group Weather Report and the cutting edge group Steps Ahead and including his work with artists from Joni Mitchell, Diane Krall and Jaco Pastorious to Bob Mintzer and Pat Metheny. He is a drummer’s drummer.

I attended both the Friday night concert and the Saturday morning drum clinic with Mr. Erskine. I was unable to attend the Saturday performance where Mr. Erskine and Mr. Oles performed with Mr. Motley and the Emory jazz orchestra and the Emory Symphony Strings.

The Friday night concert was nearly sold out, with the audience anxious to see this talented group perform. The group started with Erskine’s own composition “Twelve” which is a swinger loosely based on Cole Porter’s “Easy to Love.” Warren Wolf, whose vibraphone was center stage, took the lead solo; a smoothly executed cascade of high register notes. Mr. Motley seated at the piano stage left, took the second solo, a brief one featuring some interesting block chording ala George Shearing. The bassist Oles (whose full name is Darek Oleszkiewicz) offered a facile, deep-toned solo of his own before Erskine ended the piece with his own rousing barrage.

“Solstice” was the next selection, a pretty melody written by Mr. Motley and featured on his fine album No Reservations Required, released in 2017, but played here at a slower more sensitive pace. Kenny Barron’s “The Traveler” became the vehicle for some nice synchronous playing between Wolf’s vibraphone and Motley’s piano. Watching Erskine was like a lesson in technique. While the drummer for the most part played very laid back, he utilized sticks, brushes, the back of his brush, mallets and every other technique to get the sound he wanted.

Mr. Wolf led the proceeding for the most part when he was on stage. His composition “Sweetbread,” an upbeat swinger, was the next selection and his work on the vibes was light and liquid. He drew upon that tubular sound of his instrument to great effect letting the ring of those metal tubes linger in the air when appropriate. Erskine started to push the proceedings along a bit and Mr. Motley seemed to respond to the prodding with his own invigorated piano work.

Mr. Wolf’s beautiful ballad “Annoyance” from his album Wolfgang was said to be inspired by an annoyingly repeated note in one of Mozart’s compositions. Mr. Wolf, who credits the vibraphonist Dave Samuels as his mentor, can be quite moving on his instrument. The talented Wolf can also play drums, marimba and piano.

Mr. Wolf then left the stage and the quartet turned into Mr. Motley’s trio. The group did a Cole Porter tune “Everything I Love.” The song started out with a call and response between Oles and Erskine. You could see the intuitive nature of these two communicating on the stand as they have worked numerous times together over the years. Being the odd man out, Motley at times during the evening seemed a bit tentative, but on this one his solo work was a fountainhead of creativity and nuance. It became obvious that it became his trio and the three musicians responded to his commanding direction.

Wolf returned, and the quartet did a Stevie Wonder composition “Knocks Me Off My Feet” from his Songs in the Key of Life for the final song. The funky arrangement featured a nice solo by Wolf.  The group took a bow and the audience stood applauding until they came back for a final encore.

The group did an encore of “You and the Night and the Music,” which featured one of Motley’s most adventurous solos of the night. Wolf was as smooth as silk. Oles kept a rock-solid tempo throughout the evening and Erskine made his nuanced drum work look like it was effortless. The drummer ended the set with a rolling tom solo that scintillated the crowd.

The group never got too out of the box but presented a very polished performance that was reminiscent of the sophisticated work of John Lewis and Milt Jackson with their seminal group the Modern Jazz Quartet. 

Guitar Wizard Charlie Hunter Brings His World Class Trio to the Red Light Cafe in Midtown Atlanta

Charlie Hunter

On Tuesday night February 6, 2018, at Atlanta’s Red Light Café, I was lucky enough to attend a performance of guitarist Charlie Hunter and his trio. To see this seven-string guitarist in action in such an intimate setting as the Red Light is a real treat, and based on the sold out audience, I was not alone in my assessment. The Red Light is located on the eastside of Piedmont Park in the Amsterdam Walk section of Midtown. A storefront location with painted concrete block walls that are loosely adorned with funky local artwork gives this bare bones listening room a homey, comfortable vibe.  The venue features roots rock, folk, bluegrass, blues and occasionally comedy and burlesque nightly. To see a jazz artist of the caliber of Hunter and his trio mates at this venue is something special.

I have been fortunate to have seen the New Jersey native previously and he did not fail to surprise and delight with his touring trio on this occasion. Hunter has mastered a mind-blowing technique on his custom seven and eight string guitars where he plays bass on the upper strings and comps himself with chording or single note bursts almost simultaneously. If you don't see him actually do this with your own eyes you would not believe it is possible. The great guitarist Joe Pass would often accompany himself with a similar technique on a six-string guitar, but Hunter has taken the technique to a more rhythmically vibrant dimension with his custom seven string instrument. Hunter is a phenom and has recorded and played with the likes of rapper Mos Def, contemporary R & B artist D’Angelo, singer Norah Jones, rocker John Mayer as well as many contemporary jazz artists. He is also one of those musicians who seems never content to sit on his laurels, always searching for new avenues of musical expression.

This tour was originally billed to be a duo with Hunter and the Mexican songstress Silvana Estrada, who Hunter met while teaching a master class at the university in Mexico City. He was so impressed with her unique musicality that he stayed on and recorded an album of songs with her and drummer Carter McClean. According to the information on Hunter’s website, despite having an authentic sound that was born in her southern Mexican Jarocho tradition, the new immigration authorities in their infinite wisdom, determined that her music wasn’t sufficiently culturally unique enough to warrant a performing visa. This is unfortunately the state of affairs in our present- hostile to immigrants- political environment fostered by the present administration. 

With his tour pre-booked Hunter had to scramble and enlisted the percussionist Keito Ogawa of Snarky Puppy fame and the singer Lucy Woodward to join him for the North American tour. In talking to Ms. Woodward between sets, she got the call and the trio had to quickly come up with a suitable repertoire for the tour.

Keita Ogawa, Charlie Hunter and Lucy Woodward at the Red Light Cafe in Atlanta

The set started with a funky version of Duke Ellington’s “Blue Pepper” with just Mr. Hunter and Mr. Ogawa playing as a duo. The two feeding off each other in sympathetic response. Hunter’s facility on full display and Ogawa making a variety of sounds from a very unconventional looking drum set that used a dried gourd as his bass drum.

Keita Ogawa's Drumset complete with three toy pigs and a gourd bass drum

The duo did a slow, slithering blues written by Hunter “(Wish I Was) Already Paid and On My Way Home” and featured on his 2016 release cleverly titled Everybody Has A Plan Until they Get Punched in the Mouth. Hunter’s dexterity and technique on full display as he played the bass lines and ripped a gutsy solo using only his thumb and forefinger and a peculiar pickless-finger style.

The group introduced vocalist Lucy Woodward to the stage and they performed the Nina Simone classic “Plain Gold Earring.”  Woodward's pedigree includes back-up singing with Rod Stewart, Chaka Khan, Joe Cocker and Snarky Puppy. Born of English-American parents, Ms.  Woodward is an attractive, thirty-something with a sensuous voice that has elements of the chanteuse Shirley Bassey in it. Her bodacious smoky delivery also reminds me of a cross between Peggy Lee and Julie London. The group dynamic was smooth and joyful as Woodward added some vocal color to the music.

Ms. Woodward seemed to become more comfortable as the night went on, especially on blues like  “Walkin’ the Line” or “I Put a Spell on You” where her husky, breathy tone added a bit of  Janis Joplin-like rasp to full effect.  Hunter continued to astound with his steady rhythmic beat and his facile finger work. Ogawa added unique sounds to the mix from his treasure chest of percussive instruments.

One of the highlights of the evening, if just for the sheer originality of it all, was when Hunter and Woodward left the stage and Keita Ogawa performed an astonishing solo using three squeaky pig toys that he said he bought at Walmart. It claims on his website that the Japanese percussionist “…can virtually play any percussion instrument and musical style with fluency and unparalleled musicality.”  Click here to see  this brief cut and see if you don’t agree.

The band did a series of songs that featured Ms. Woodward’s fetching voice including Cole Porter’s “Too Darn Hot” with a scorching solo by Hunter and Lucinda Williams “It’s Over But I Can’t Let Go” which featured some call and response between Ogawa and Woodward.

After a brief intermission- the audience given a chance to interact with the musicians and purchase some albums-the group restarted with a seething hot blues “I Don’t Know”  where Hunter played deftly on a wah pedal. Then proceeded on to  the Willie Dixon classic “Spoonful” where the guitarist had hints of Hendrix in his free flowing lines.

The set continued with “Dream,” “Making Whoopee,” and ended the evening with “I Go Insane.” The evening was a superlative event filled with funk, grit, blues, soul, jazz and swing. Mr. Hunter is a treasure of creativity, Mr. Ogawa a master of rhythm and Ms. Woodward a wonderful vocalist. The three musicians were incredible, and the crowd was on their feet at the end of the evening realizing they had seen a world class musical event in midtown Atlanta. Afterwards, a friend who I had brought gushed on about how it was one of the best concerts he had ever been to! What more could you ask for?

Here is a sample of Charlie's incredible guitar work with drummer Scott Amendola on Ellington's "Blue Pepper"

The Art of the Storyteller in Song: Kate McGarry's Trio "The Subject Tonight is Love" at the Velvet Note in Alpharetta, GA

Kate McGarry, Keith Ganz and Gary Versace The Subject Tonight is Love Binxtown Records

The songstress Kate McGarry is one of those rare performers whose heartfelt interpretation of the lyrics and earnest vocal delivery capture you in a very visceral way. She has a tonally pure voice that she employs to portray everything from innocence to sultriness, wiliness to wonder and passion to pain. But at the very heart of her musical strengths is her authenticity, a sincerity that cannot be faked. When this woman sings a song, she is not just miming the words, she has absorbed them into her being and her voice  brings you into their essence in a deeply personal way.

Kate McGarry

I have had the opportunity to see Ms. McGarry previously, at this very same venue back in July of 2016 when, at the time, she and Mr. Ganz were doing a tour as a quartet with the vocalist Tierney Sutton and the guitarist Serge Merland. You can check out that review by clicking here. I was taken by the remarkable affinity her and Mr. Ganz had when they did songs like Kenny Dorham’s “Fair Weather” and at the time I wrote “Her voice has an earnest quality that captivates the listener, spinning imagery and wonder that recalls the best qualities of a great storyteller.”

Fast forward to 2018 and McGarry is as wizened a storyteller as ever. The addition of another sympathetic voice with the keyboard work of Gary Versace just adds to the beautiful dynamic that this trio has created on their new album The Subject Tonight is Love, which was released yesterday and was the basis for much of the show that I caught.

The album was inspired by a poem from the fourteenth century Persian poet Hafez titled “The Subject Tonight is Love” and is the springboard Ms. McGarry and company used in her selection of the ten songs on her album of the same name.

On the album the trio neatly bookends the music with a prologue where Ms. McGarry speaks/sings a few words about the title poem and an epilogue where the group does an impromptu and inspiring rendering of the Beatles “All You Need is Love,” McGarry’s voice with Versace on organ and piano, Ganz on drums and Ron Miles adding his clarion trumpet to the mix.

Gary Versace, Keith Ganz and Kate McGarry 

On Friday night, I attended the late show at the Velvet Note in Alpharetta. The trio will be performing another two shows on Saturday Feb 3, 2018 at the club. My suggestion is to get yourselves over there if tickets are still available. This is a show not to be missed.

The group started out with a Ganz composition Mr. Sparkle, that morphed into the canon standard What a Difference a Day Makes, arranged by Ganz with a Bossa beat. The intuitive interplay between Mr. Ganz’s guitar and Ms. McGarry’ voice being most prominent when she vocalized in sync with his improvised guitar lines; Mr. Versace, all ears, delicately comping and interjecting his own complementary lines in response.

The program continued with a song not on the album, “It Happens All the Time in Heaven” which found McGarry at her most poignant. The singer can easily evoke innocence or pathos with a turn of a phrase. She spoke of her love of the openness of jazz and you could see that openness in action. The trio respond to her every inflection with open ears and intuitive accompaniment, following her improvised phrasing seamlessly.

What is a tribute to love without a Gershwin tune like “Love Walked In” which was originally played in the 1938 musical “The Goldwyn Follies.”  Ms. McGarry’s voice donned a cabaret lustiness for this one. Mr. Ganz picked up his acoustic bass and Mr. Versace proved how facile he was playing an electric keyboard at the same time as his grand piano. Versace’s piano solo was the epitome of tasteful restraint and space. His almost Basie-like sparseness was sprinkled with some well-placed chordal dissonance that surprised and delighted.

The under the radar guitarist Steve Cardenas, wrote the music and Ms. McGarry penned the lyrics to the gorgeous “She Always Will/ The River.” Ms. McGarry is at her story telling best with this tale of maternal love and the lasting pull of home. Her voice is achingly real and moving, just beautiful. Mr. Ganz plays a wrenchingly sensitive guitar solo and Mr. Versace’s playing is crystalline in response, the three weaving their voices into a tapestry of rare beauty.

Keith Ganz and Kate McGarry

The trio did a more contemporary folk song by the Seattle raised songwriter Paul Curreri titled “God Moves on The City.” Mr. Ganz fingerpicked this roots-based song as Mr. Versace added chords and notes from both keyboards. Ms. McGarry’s voice is amazingly pliable and she takes on the Americana feel of this tome with an authentic hominess that is deserving of these moving lyrics. McGarry told me that this beautiful song will soon be released on a forth coming album.

Mining material from all eras, the next selection of the set was from a 1928 Victor Herbert song titled “Indian Summer.” The sauntering tune is like a pleasant stroll through a park with McGarry. Ganz plays bass as Versace adds a thoughtful piano/keyboard solo. Mc Garry introduces some slippery vocal inflections that just hint at scat.

The group took a Dorothy Parker lyric and put a rhumba beat to the song “I Wished at the Moon.”

The finale was the Ganz/McGarry re-imagination of the Rogers and Hart standard “My Funny Valentine.” Before introducing the song, McGarry spoke of the challenge for a vocalist to do a song like this. A song so thoroughly identified with one artist (in this case Chet Baker), and one that has been sung by countless other artists before. As she stated in the album liner notes “I never thought I would want to sing this most abused of love songs until Keith found a new doorway for me…”  For McGarry the song became more of a vehicle to express self-love. Love for the parts of ourselves that feel somehow inadequate or unloved.  

Ganz introduces a repeating guitar line with Versace adding celeste-like tones in the background before McGarry’s voice is heard reciting the unforgettable words. The pace is liquid and not rushed.  McGarry’s clear tone is transcendent as she sings these well-worn lyrics “…is your figure less than Greek, is your mouth a little weak.”  You believe that she has come to a place of confidence where she believes in herself, flaws and all. The trio plays this one with sublime sensitivity and feeling.

I found out that the brilliant poetic argument with the spectres of her Irish ancestors titled “Climb Down,” was played at the first set, so unfortunately, I didn’t get to hear her perform it live. That bluesy delve into the ancestral ghosts of one's heritage is sure to be a nominee for one of the best original songs of the year. The album is a tour de force for this talented singer who is the modern torchbearer for lost art of the singer as storyteller. If you get a chance to see these three perform live you will not be disappointed.