Anaïs Reno

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Anaïs Reno

Birdland Theater, NYC, May 2, 2022

Reviewed by Ron Forman

Anaïs Reno

I have been following the trajectory of the 18-year-old Anaïs Reno for more than three years. Even at 15, the precocious vocalist had the poise and the sound of a seasoned cabaret veteran. Somehow, when she sang, you forgot about her age and just enjoyed her ability to interpret the Great American Songbook. In this SRO show at Birdland Theater, backed by three jazz musicians, she showed off her ability as a jazz singer. She also performed two numbers that allowed her to display her beautiful sound on classic songs from the Songbook. She allowed each of her musicians to have lengthy solos throughout the show.

She opened with a swinging “I’ll Remember April” that started slowly and then sped up, building to a big climax. This was followed by a swinging, very stylized rendition of Cole Porter’s “I Love You.” She began her beautifully performed “Autumn Leaves” in French and ended with Johnny Mercer’s English lyrics. She recently recorded a CD of Duke Ellington songs, Lonesome Thing, and she performed a haunting version of Juan Tizol’s “Caravan” from that disc,which included dynamic solos on piano and drums, ending with her humming the last few bars of music. She paid tribute to Carmen McRae with “Round Midnight,” Reno returned to Ellington for her closing number, “I Ain’t Got Nothin’ but the Blues” (lyrics by Don George). After walking off stage to great applause, she returned for her encore, singing the verse of “Stardust” softly and slowly and then concluding the song by displaying her wonderful sound and interpretive skill on the chorus.

Ron Forman

Ron Forman has been a Mathematics Professor at Kingsborough Community College for 45 years. In that time, he has managed to branch out in many different areas. From 1977 to 1994 he was co-owner of Comics Unlimited, the third largest comic book distribution company in the USA. In 1999,after a lifetime of secretly wanting to do a radio program, he began his weekly Sweet Sounds program on WKRB 90.3 FM, dedicated to keeping the music of the Great American Songbook alive and accessible. This introduced him to the world of cabaret, which led to his position as a reviewer for Cabaret Scenes.