Billy Stritch Sings Mel Torme at Birdland, 4/10

[Caruso]

Billy Stritch Sings Mel Torme at Birdland, 4/10#0

Posted: 4/9/06 at 8:42pm

BILLY STRITCH, one of jazz and cabaret’s brightest stars, will be performing The Mel Tormé Songbook at Birdland (315 West 44th Street) on Monday, April 10 @ 7pm. The show is part of The Spring Season @ Birdland, which features top New York performers and songwriters at the legendary music room. The series is presented by Jim Caruso, in association with TheaterMania.com. Tickets are $30 with a $10 food/drink minimum.

In his first solo club appearance in three years, Stritch pays tribute to jazz legend Mel Tormé, whom he cites as an early musical influence. "I first heard Tormé when I was a teenager and from that point on he was my favorite jazz singer," said Stritch. "One of the high points of my career was opening for him with my trio, Montgomery Plant and Stritch, at the 1988 JVC Jazz Festival at Carnegie Hall." The show will cover Tormé's entire career - from his own early compositions (“Born to Be Blue,” “A Stranger in Town”) as well his arrangements of Rodgers and Hart classics (“Mountain Greenery,” “Blue Moon”), Cole Porter (“Just One of Those Things”) and the Gershwins (“Isn't It Romantic?”). Stritch will be joined onstage by David Finck on bass and Mike Berkowitz on drums.

An award-winning composer, arranger, vocalist, and jazz pianist, Billy Stritch breathes new life into the Great American Songbook, all the while bringing an easy sense of humor and showmanship to his performances. He has arranged for, produced and performed onstage with Liza Minnelli, Christine Ebersole, Marilyn Maye and Charles Aznavour, and was guest conductor for “The Rosie O’Donnell Show.” As a composer, Stritch co-penned the 1994 Grammy Award-winning country song, “Does He Love You?,” recorded by Reba McIntire and Linda Davis, which has sold over four million copies nationwide. The song was named one of the Top Ten Country Songs of 1994. Stritch has headlined in every famed nightspot in Manhattan, including Rainbow and Stars, The Algonquin Hotel’s Oak Room, The Russian Tea Room, The Blue Note and Birdland. In Los Angeles, he’s played The Cinegrill, The Gardenia and Jazz Bakery; in London, The Ritz Hotel and Pizza On The Park. He is the winner of the Nashville Music City News Award, a BMI Song of the Year Award and four awards from the Manhattan Association of Clubs and Cabarets.

Who: Billy Stritch
What: “The Mel Tormé Songbook
Where: Birdland, 315 West 44 Street, NYC
When: Monday, April 10 @ 7pm
Cover: $30, $10 food/drink minimum
Call: 212-581-3080
Email: www.InstantSeats.com/Birdland

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