Annie Ross
Elizabeth Alfors
Cabaret Scenes
August 2005
Fun to be Fooled (Gershwin, Harburg and
Arlen) launches Annie Ross’s cabaret show, Let Me Sing,
at
Danny’s Skylight Room. From there, it’s all a musical adventure with a
discerning selection of standards to reflect the humor and heartbreak
of love. While this legendary jazz stylist’s voice is no longer the
bright, versatile tone of the early days, she still signs with her own
vibrant signature, stressing the Fun in the lyric like the punch line
of a private joke.
Annie Ross is an
accomplished and experienced
actress as well as singer; her enunciation is clear, the stress and
phrasing acute, and with her easy charm, the package is complete. She
dives deep into the lyrics and brings out the core with a sure sense of
rhythm, stress, and savvy so personal you’ll feel you’re hearing her
soul. Let your imagination roam and zoom back to World War II London
with her affectionate memory of when, A Nightingale Sang in
Berkeley Square (Sherman/Maschwitz); you’ll feel the pain of
Strayhorn’s Lush Life and share pleasant
remembrances during a
train ride with, I Thought About You (Van Heusen
and Mercer).
Instead of swinging Accentuate the Positive (Mercer
and Arlen)
into an inspirational call-to-arms, Ross delivers the feel of
hard-earned lessons. Alone Together (Dietz and
Schwartz) cries
with yearning; she takes the Gershwins’ Isn’t It a Pity
and
phrases it without pity but bittersweet irony.
One sweet selection pairs a
couple of oldies, Kiss
Me Again and Indian Summer, saluting
Victor Herbert, so
touching only a curmudgeon wouldn’t reach for the hankie. Ross’s one
jazz presentation is her vocalese classic, Twisted,
(Wardell
Gray’s tune).
Ross is backed by Tardo
Hammer on piano and
drummer Jimmy Wormworth. On opening night, trumpet extraordinaire,
Warren Vache, added his inimitable obbligato behind her. What a treat.
Born in England, Annie Ross
made her name in
jazz when she spent several years as member of the trio, Lambert,
Hendricks and Ross. Make your reservation to listen, and feel, Let
Me Sing, at Danny’s. This is a show you don’t want to miss.