Vivian Reed: Standards and More

  • Post author:
  • Reading time:3 mins read

Vivian Reed

Standards and More

(Kedion Productions)

July 30, 2017

Reviewed by Bart Greenberg for Cabaret Scenes

As a document of Vivian Reed’s recent cabaret show (though recorded in studio), this CD captures the magic that is Ms. Reed. If there is one word that seems to characterize the singer, it is “confident.
online pharmacy https://kendrickfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/new/ventolin.html no prescription drugstore

https://www.sinverrugasylunares.com/wp-content/languages/new/lipitor.html

” Whether setting “Almost Like Being in Love” sailing, growling out “My Funny Valentine” (seemingly in tribute to Lena Horne—listen to her turn “unphotographable” into an at least a nine-syllable word), or threatening a rival with “You Can Have My Husband” (Dorothy LaBostric) in a scalding manner, she is completely in control. Broadway belting, jazz swinging, blues torching, and gospelizing—there doesn’t seem to be a style that she can’t conquer.

Not only is the song list varied, but there are some very clever combinations of songs: “My Funny Valentine” paired with “In a Sentimental Mood” (with a musical intro of “The Windmills of Your Mind”) and, opening the album, a trio of “Just One of Those Things,” “Almost Like Being in Love,” and “I’m Gonna Live Till I Die”—three songs that seem to have nothing in common, but together create a jubilant one-act play. And then there is the clever pairing of Peggy Lee/Bill Schluger standard “I Love Being Here with You” with Reed’s own composition, “I Been There,” which creates a personal statement of a performer’s ethos.

The one disappointment is the packaging.
https://www.sinverrugasylunares.com/wp-content/languages/new/doxycycline.html

The back includes the song list and music credits in a very cramped typeface. Inside are a dedication, thank yous from Reed, and some reviewers’ quotes.
online pharmacy https://kendrickfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/new/cipro.html no prescription drugstore

https://www.sinverrugasylunares.com/wp-content/languages/new/nolvadex.html

Also, in a much larger font is a contact e-mail address that makes the CD appear more of a promotional tool than a joyful celebration of a fine artist.

Bart Greenberg

Bart Greenberg first discovered cabaret a few weeks after arriving in New York City by seeing Julie Wilson and William Roy performing Stephen Sondheim and Cole Porter outdoors at Rockefeller Center. It was instant love for both Ms. Wilson and the art form. Some years later, he was given the opportunity to create his own series of cabaret shows while working at Tower Records. "Any Wednesday" was born, a weekly half-hour performance by a singer promoting a new CD release. Ann Hampton Callaway launched the series. When Tower shut down, Bart was lucky to move the program across the street to Barnes & Nobel, where it thrived under the generous support of the company. The series received both The MAC Board of Directors Award and The Bistro Award. Some of the performers who took part in "Any Wednesday" include Barbara Fasano and Eric Comstock, Tony Desare, Andrea Marcovicci, Carole Bufford, the Karens, Akers, Mason and Oberlin, and Julie Wilson. Privately, Greenberg is happily married to writer/photographer Mark Wallis, who as a performance artist in his native England gathered a major following as "I Am Cereal Killer."