Steve Washington
Steve Washington
Metropolitan Room, NYC, October 10, 2016
Reviewed by Ron Forman for Cabaret Scenes
Steve Washington
In the 1940s and early 1950s romantic baritone voices filled the Billboard charts and the radio air waves. These days in the world of cabaret, such voices are rare. So, it was indeed a pleasure to hear the romantic and dramatic voice of Steve Washington. He is a jazz singer in the great tradition of Billy Eckstine, Johnny Hartman and Joe Williams. In addition, he has an engaging personality, an excellent flair for humor, and it does not hurt that he really is a great-looking guy. Washington was backed in this Metropolitan Room appearance by a swinging jazz quartet led by his arranger, trumpeter Thad Wilson.
Washington opened with an up-tempo “Fly Me to the Moon,” followed by amusing introductory patter that lead into “Corcovado,” featuring a nice solo on flugelhorn by Wilson. Showing off his vocal versatility, Washington followed the bossa nova number with Van Morrison’s “Moondance.” He then really rocked the house with “Let the Good Times Roll.” He channeled his romantic Johnny Hartman side with a soft and beautiful “The Lamp Is Low” before bringing out his Joe Williams side with “Alright, Okay, You Win.” He led into a sincere performance of “I Was Telling Her About You” by saying this was the response to the song “Guess Who I Saw Today.” After he finished, he asked the audience whether they would have believed him. Amusingly, the males voted YES, the females NO. A very dramatic rendition of only the chorus of “MacArthur Park” was next to closing, followed by a bombastic “Caravan” featuring an amazing drum solo by Greg Joseph. Before Washington’s encore, “The Right to Love,” he recounted most movingly the Supreme Court case Loving v Virginia, which prohibited states from passing laws against racial inter-marriage.
Category: Cabaret Reviews, New York City, New York City Cabaret Reviews, Regional
