Natalie Douglas: A Tribute to Nat King Cole, Stevie Wonder, Joe Williams and Sammy Davis, Jr.

Ron Forman | March 1, 2017

Natalie Douglas

A Tribute to Nat King Cole, Stevie Wonder,
Joe Williams and Sammy Davis, Jr.

Lorenzo’s, Staten Island, NY, February 24, 2017

Reviewed by Ron Forman for Cabaret Scenes

Last year, Natalie Douglas appeared at the elegant Staten Island cabaret Lorenzo’s for Black History Month. Last year, she paid tribute to Billie Holiday, Lena Horne, Abbey Lincoln and Nina Simone. This year, she changed gender—no, not hers—but of the four performers she paid tribute to: Nat King Cole, Sammy Davis, Jr., Joe Williams and Stevie Wonder. The change of gender worked well for the always-entertaining Douglas, who proved equally adept at paying tribute to males as she did when I saw her last year. She was backed by a seven-piece orchestra and a carefully chosen set list, with almost every song having an interesting back story. Douglas’ remarkable range allowed her to use different voices for each performer. Her stage presence is always pleasantly casual. She has the ability to make everyone in the audience feel that she is talking to him or her.

She opened with “For Once in My Life,” followed by a story of having her parents taking her to see the Count Basie Orchestra at age 4, and seeing Joe Williams perform her next number, “Something to Live For.” A delightful tale of her childhood neighbor, Jerry Livingston, teaching her the lyrics to his and writing partner’s Ray Evans’ “Mona Lisa” led into a particularly beautiful performance of it. Douglas dazzled by performing the Cole hit “L-O-V-E” in six languages. A moving tribute to the civil rights activists of the 1960s added meaning to her very-different-from-Sammy-Davis’ “Once in a Lifetime.” She displayed her ability to connect emotionally with the audience with “Mr. Bojangles.” Two perfectly sung Cole classics, “Somewhere Along the Way” and “Unforgettable,” were next to closing. An amusing story about coming face to face with Joe Williams towards the end of his career led into her closing number, “Here’s to Life.” The encore, “Ol’ Man River,” began softly and built to a thrilling climax.

Tags: Abbey Lincoln, American Songbook, Billie Holiday, Black History month, Broadway, Broadway Musicals, Cabaret, Cabaret Reviews, Cabaret Scenes, CD, Clubs, Composers, Count Basie Orchestra, For Once in My Life, Great American Songbook, Here’s to Life, Jazz, Jazz Singers, Jazz Vocalists, Joe Williams, L.O.V.E, Lena Horne, Lorenzo’s, lyricists, Mona Lisa, Mr. Bojangles, Musicals, Musicians, Natalie Douglas, Nightclubs, Nina Simone, NY, Ol’ Man River, Once in a Lifetime, Popular Song, Ray Evans, Revues, Ron Forman, Sammy Davis Jr., Show Tunes, Singers, Something to Live For, Somewhere Along the Way, Songbook, Standards, Staten Island, Stevie Wonder, Supper Clubs, Unforgettable, Venues, Vocalists