Log In | Register
THE VETERAN CABARET PERFORMER PAYS HIS ANNUAL VISIT TO THE ALGONQUIN HOTEL'S OAK ROOM
By HENRY EDWARDS
New York may be having its roughest winter in memory, but thanks to the genius of singer and pianist Steve Ross, the Algonquin Hotel’s fabled Oak Room Supper Club (59 W. 44th St.) is aglow with pleasure and warmth.
Ross titles his new songfest, “Rhythm and Romance,” and love in its myriad forms is the subject of his musical disquisition.
"Music everywhere, feet are pattin', Puttin' tempo in Old Manhattan," Ross sings, launching the program with a jaunty rendition of "Spreadin' Rhythm Around," a 1935 Ted Koehler/Jimmy McHugh tune that conjures up the vitality and confidence of the Harlem Renaissance.
An impassioned advocate of the Great American Songbook, Ross goes on to deliver a spellbinding three-song Cole Porter medley featuring a touchingly rueful rendition of the despairing, world-weary Porter classic, "Down in the Depths (On the Ninetieth Floor)." Later, he presents a medley by Rodgers and Hart ("Falling in Love With Love," "Glad to Be Unhappy" and "You Took Advantage of Me") that crystallizes the heartbreak and sadness underpinning Hart’s observant and ingenious lyrics.
Known as the supreme American interpreter of the Noël Coward songbook, he also dishes up a trio of Coward tunes with his customary perfection, the delicious "A Bar on the Piccola Marina" followed by the affecting "Someday I'll Find You" and "I'll See You Again."
Those performances would be more than enough to qualify “Rhythm and Romance” as vintage Steve Ross. But what really makes this particular show so special is the way the performer has chosen to pour a lifetime of wisdom and experience into the reflective selections that punctuate the evening.
Twenty years ago, Ross deservedly earned the sobriquet "the crown prince of cabaret," and the title has stuck. However, in common with any other great artist, he has refused to rest on this laurels, continuing to dig deeper and deeper into his material in order to reveal the heart and soul of each song he chooses to sing. In this show, Ross has never been so deep, so pure and so truthful.
In an especially revealing moment, he turns his attention to “one of his ten favorite songs,” the great standard, "These Foolish Things," which debuted in 1936.
As the story goes, during a Hollywood stay, British musical-theatre writer Eric Maschwitz became romantically linked to the Chinese-American movie star Anna May Wong. (Maschwitz happened to be married to Hermione Gingold at the time!). Returning to London (and married life), the saddened writer went on to write the lyric for what was destined to become one of the classic “list songs" of all time, each item on the list evoking memories of his beloved Wong.
Since then "These Foolish Things" has been recorded by everyone from Billie Holliday to Bryan Ferry and Michael Bublé, and everyone has heard it countless times. And yet, when Ross sings it, his performance is so intimate and his communicative skills are so pure he makes the song brand new. What a stunning experience!
Steve Ross is a great artist at the top of his game. He holds court in the Oak Room through Feb. 12
