Carole J. Bufford

All By Myself

Birdland Theater, NYC, November 12, 2018

Reviewed by Elizabeth Ahlfors for Cabaret Scenes

Carole J. Bufford stood still before the microphone and began the title song of her new show, “All…By…Myself….” Each word was icy and chipped. Here was a deeply resentful woman balanced on the rim of revenge against, what else, a man. Suddenly, she snapped into action, the band picked up the tempo, the volume, and the emotion. Bufford’s arm whiplashed to Ian Herman on piano, to Tom Hubbard on bass, and to Howie Gordon on drums as she strutted across the stage, her voice in rich rage to face the song’s ending. Ever so slightly, she changed Irving Berlin’s last words to emphatically vow, “I’m NOT gonna grow older/all by myself.” Hell, no! 

Bufford is one of our most commanding singer/actresses. Finally, All By Myself, her first album, whose release was celebrated at Birdland Theater, is a collection infused with passion paired with fresh contemporary authority. In “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” (Harry Warren/Al Dubin), this lithe ball of fire really worked her clingy black and gold dress in a tango worthy of an Argentine milonga. Sensuous, she turned to the TV show Nashville for “Fade Into You” (Matthew Jenkins/Trevor Rosen/Shane McNally), crooning, “’Till there’s no way to know where/You end and where I begin.”  

Although all 14 songs on the CD were included in this show, most were not victim laments. However, Bufford knows cabaret faves are songs of women who were done wrong and now seek revenge. Taking no prisoners, she turned to a honky-tonk hit, “Why Haven’t I Heard from You?” (Sandy Knox/T. W. Hale), reminding him, “There’s no problem getting’ to me/Baby you can dial.”

Listen to Bufford and her trio pound out a hardboiled “Folsom City Blues” (Johnny Cash), building to rockabilly drama. On the Peggy Lee recorded “I Love the Way You’re Breaking My Heart” (Louis Alter/Milton Drake), Bufford’s wide-eyed murmur showed a wry sarcasm. and she delivered “Cry Me a River” (Arthur Hamilton) Bufford-style, which means more Dinah Washington R&B grit than Julie London languor. In a different vein, Harry Creamer and Turner Layton wrote “After You’ve Gone” for speakeasy chanteuse Belle Baker, whose heartbreaking version speaks to the loss of her husband. Reflecting this was Bufford, whose voice filled with sobs while she stood forlorn as a waif. Again back in the 1920s, Bufford got down and dirty with a raunchy “You Got the Right Key but the Wrong Keyhole” by Eddie Green and Clarence Williams

Wrist-slasher songs are not solely for women, of course, and Bufford, who did a memorable Randy Newman tribute years ago, revisited his whiskey and cocaine-soaked “Guilty.” Even the Beatles got in the act but, again, there was a unique interpretation. Instead of imagining two lovebirds or a little girl with her dad, Bufford rethinks the care-taking changes of generations where “I Want to Hold Your Hand” (John Lennon/Paul McCartney) referred to a grown person taking her parent’s hand. It’s a poignant take on a light-hearted tune of the early ’60s. She also went back to ’50s R&B and slow dancing to “Oh! Darlin’.”

Favorites were included, like the New Orleans traditional “House of the Rising Sun” and “St. James Infirmary,” which ended the show. What Bufford never includes is self-pity. What she always delivers are fresh examinations, amazing sophistication, and free-wheeling powerhouse fun.