Peggy King: Metropolitan Room
Peggy King
Metropolitan Room, NYC, April 4, 2015
Reviewed by Rob Lester for Cabaret Scenes
Among the many, many “girl singers” of yore who prettily purred, sweetly singing and swinging in now-gone colorful nightclubs, black-and-white TV screens of the 1950s, and on shiny black vinyl discs, there was Peggy King. There still is. Not rocking/writing/rolling like Carole King, not sultry-jazzy like Morgana King, no lost relative of the corny King Family, Peggy—on the comeback trail as a senior—is gently hip, classy, and elegant. More tales of the past would be great, rather than teasing tiny tidbits.
A Grade A trio—pianist Andy Kahn and two Bruces: bassist Kaminsky and drummer Klauber—open with a set and get generous mid-song solos. King sings with solid musicality, not the frailty of age come-a-creepin’. While understated, non-hefty, tone is clear and crisp, phrasing is wonderfully natural. Damn the decades, she opens with “While We’re Young,” making it work. Graceful and unfussy in presentation, she sings mostly standards. They don’t sound tired when she intones them with such conviction and connection. She treats songs—and the audience—like old friends. “How About You?” becomes a conversation as we nod our agreement to liking “New York in June,” etc. Welcome back, Peggy King and keep crooning “a Gershwin tune”…or any other.
Category: Cabaret Reviews, New York City, New York City Cabaret Reviews
