Harold Sanditen’s Open Mic Highlights: Harps, Hips and Jazz

Harold Sanditen’s Open Mic Highlights

Harps, Hips and Jazz

Live at Zédel at Crazy Coqs, London, U.K., June 12, 2017

Reviewed by Thanasis Kalantzis for Cabaret Scenes

(L-R) Sachin Zodgekar,
Michelle Paris, Harold Sanditen, Stephen Morallee,
Bernadine Pritchett
Photo: Johnny Ng

Last Monday, Harold Sanditen’s Open Mic Highlights, displayed four more artists handpicked from his monthly Open Mic Night. The title of that evening was Harps, Hips and Jazz. There was a harp, lots of swaying hips, and plenty of jazz to go around the packed room.

The four participants and Sanditen kick-started the evening with a beautiful medley (arranged by Michael Roulston) of the hopeful “Somewhere” (Sondheim/Bernstein) and “I Know a Place” (Tony Hatch), setting the right mood for the many surprises to follow.   

First to take center stage was the very entertaining Stephen Morallee, an Anglo-Egyptian painter, photographer and performer who has lived around  the world and, as a Reiki master, has developed his own technique of body work called Deetell. He started with “Fever” (John Davenport and Eddie Coolie/Peggy Lee) ,with his interpretation raising the temperature in the room to dangerous levels, and continued with “Saving All My Love for You” (Gerry Goffin/Michael Masser), delivered with a comic twist. He finally came “clean and out of the closet” with his real love by singing “Me and Mr. Jones” and brought the house to its knees with laughter.

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Morallee’s voice is smooth and velvety, full of mellow undertones, yet strong in the delivery of the high notes —and his diction is just superb. His chat was well thought out, his timing spot on, and his gestures and hip-work sexy, full of pathos and drama, gestures that could have been immortalized in a cabaret scene in any of Almodovar’s movies. 

The multi-lingual Maltese Michelle Paris, the second performer to come on to the stage, has lived her life surrounded by music. In 2003-4 she was selected to participate in a Maltese TV talent show, she consequently studied and worked in Italy and, in 2010, with a guitarist, she formed the Mimi Paris Duo. In 2015 she won the Malta International Jazz Festival competition for best vocalist. She plays the piano, but on this evening, she gave us some really beautiful strokes on her harp. She first sang “Caravan” (Juan Rizol/Duke Ellington) and, continued with a rendition, half in French, half in English, of “Autumn Leaves” (French lyrics by Jacques Prevert; English lyrics by Johnny Mercer; music by Joseph Kosma). She finished with a simply inspired medley of “What’s Up”/”Sweet Child o’ Mine” (words and music by Linda Perry/words and music by W. Axl Rose/Slash/Izzy Stradlin’/Duff McKagan/Steven Adler; arranged by Michelle Paris). Paris has a strong, lyrical voice and a friendly personality, but part of her appeal faded in her attempt to read almost all the lyrics. She also read all her chat from her notes, something that detracted from her performance, distanced her from the audience and created the impression that she simply was not prepared well enough for the evening.  

The India-born Sachin Zodgekar arrived in London via the United States and New Zealand, where he spent most of his early years. He was exposed to jazz, blues, and soul from a very young age, played the drums, and formed a rock band with his mates that was featured on national television in New Zealand. By day, he practices law and, in the evenings, the aspiring songwriter and singer, who has appeared in many of London’s venues, tries to fulfill his dream performing. His choices of songs were close to his early influences. He started with the always difficult to deliver “Moanin’” (Jon Hendricks/Bobby Timmons), and continued with “Water Under the Bridges” (Gregory Porter), an interpretation that, I thought, lacked the depth and substance it deserves. He wrapped up with the lighter “I Can’t Help It” (Stevie Wonder and Susaye Greene).  Zodgekar has a nice, smokey tone to his voice with some really good curves and a guy-next-door type of presence on stage, but, I’m afraid he wasn’t able to fully contain the extended notes and round them up as to fully present the context of the songs. Despite his musical abilities, he needs to work on his tuning.

The last of the participants, Bernadine Pritchett, is an accomplished singer in her own right. She has performed in The Phantom of the Opera, Carousel, Beauty and the Beast, Show Boat, and many others. She has even performed at the Royal Albert Hall for the Sondheim at 80, and has sold out Ronnie Scott’s, London’s most famous jazz club. She is now looking into exploring the world of cabaret and all the goods it has to offer—and I can see why. Apart from a simply amazing and highly educated voice, Pritchett has a way and comfort on stage, and seemed to enjoy every minute the immediate interaction with the audience cabaret has to offer. She gave us a just amazing rendition of “I’m in Love with a Boy” (Fred Silver), even if she had to admit that the boy was gay, brought the house to a standstill with “He’s No Good” (Ira Gasman/Cy Coleman), and brought the house down with the hilarious “Everybody’s Girl” (John Kander/Fred Ebb). Pritchett has the lot. She possesses the vocal chops of a professional singer and the bubbly, funny, easy-going personality that is sought after in a cabaret environment. It’s obvious, she has absolute control of her guns, allowing her to interpret the full depth of her material, and her vibrato is smooth and fully confident. This is an artist we should all pay attention to, for her future is bright on London’s stages.

The evening closed with Sanditen inviting all the singers on stage to perform “Let Me Sing and I’m Happy” (Irving Berlin), perfectly encapsulating the nature of the evening. As for myself and, from what I could tell by the reaction of the audience, the rest of the room, we could not be happier!

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  Really, there is some raw talent out there and all they need is a nurturing environment to make them shine and show off to the world what they have to offer. Kudos to all of them!

The evening was superbly supported by Robert Rickenberg on double bass and Jamie Safir who played a mean piano and gave us some memorable solos.

Thanasis Kalantzis

Thanasis started reviewing for Cabaret Scenes in 2012. He started by reviewing primarily jazz and cabaret artists visiting from the U.S., but these days, he concentrates on British talent. Recently, he added covering musical theater to his duties. He was born in the heart of rural Greece in 1967. He studied Archaeology at the University of Thessaloniki, worked as an excavator in the prehistoric town of Akrotiri, Santorini, and then spent two years on the beautiful island of Crete excavating a Roman village, among other sites. In 1991 he moved to London to study for his MA in Archaeology at University College London thinking that, upon completion, he’d return to Greece and continue with his excavation work. Nevertheless, he gave this amazingly diverse city a go, and started working with various companies, including the Horniman Museum, Sotheby’s and, most recently, the Big Lottery Fund, the organization that allocates lottery funds to arts and charities. His been in London for 26 years, and is happily married to his husband and runs a small, successful business.