Gina Zollman: Anywhere with You

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Gina Zollman

Anywhere with You

Catalina Jazz Club, Hollywood, CA, March 22, 2023

Reviewed by Clifford Bell

Gina Zollman

One of my favorite things about the nightclub stage is that it provides an environment for reinvention, for retrospection, and for rebirth. Gina Zollman took full advantage of the stage at Catalina Jazz Club, Los Angeles’ premiere listening room, to launch her debut CD, Anywhere with You. Putting her best foot forward, Zollman surrounded herself with the cream of the crop of the West Coast’s most acclaimed musicians: Bill Cantos (piano), Jennifer Leitham (bass), Dave Tull (drums), Marek Szpakiewicz (cello), and sharing piano duties, Steven Applegate.

To begin the evening, Zollman quipped that the show was a combination of the themes, “Lost Love” and “What I Weighed,” offhandedly adding “two shows for the prices of one.” For better or worse, she was absolutely true to her word. On one hand, the evening offered a beautifully realized set of adult contemporary music and the Great American Songbook, artfully arranged by either Steve Rawlins or Steven Applegate. Zollman’s warm, conversational alto was perfectly presented in an exceptionally classy production. Her sincere and heartfelt delivery particularly shined on several haunting ballads, including “I’ll Never Find Another You,” “Small Day Tomorrow,” and the title track of her new CD. Less successful were the anecdotes related to weight gain and/or weight loss from her childhood to the present. I mentioned the power of the nightclub stage to reinvent because I’m aware of Zollman’s long presence in the Los Angeles music community. 

Gian Zollman & Tod Macofsky

Before her long-awaited debut CD appeared, she was primarily known for her cabaret performances and her one-woman shows which featured more comedy and self-deprecating humor. As a veteran performer, she is skilled and intelligent. However, I felt that this particular phase of her evolution amounted to an awkward combination of sophisticated song stylist, which she is, and jokey, distracting, storyteller. I think there’s an audience for either of these, but the two genres sat very uncomfortably next to each other. All in all, Gina Zollman offered us a first-class production, with amazing musicians and gorgeous arrangements. It also featured an excellent guest performer, Tod Macofsky, who is a handsome, genial charmer and who had the audience swooning with his two solo numbers: “The Best Is Yet to Come” and “You Don’t Know What Love Is.”

Clifford Bell

Clifford Bell, known affectionately as "Lawrence of Cabarabia," is one of the leading directors and producers in the fields of cabaret, concerts, and one-person shows. As a 40-year veteran of show business, Clifford has worked in venues large and small. He has written and directed variety performances featuring icons like Walter Cronkite, Colin Powell, and Michael Eisner at the Arrowhead Pond in Anaheim, California, and toured with television icon Katey Sagal and her band. With his frequent collaborator Lara Teeter (Tony Nominee, On Your Toes), Clifford also co-created the successful touring show Direct from Broadway, starring Tony Award winners Debbie Gravitte (Jerome Robbins' Broadway) and Michael Maguire (Les Misérables). As one of the most prominent figures in the West Coast cabaret community, Clifford hosts "Cabarabia The Podcast," focused on "Live Entertainment in Intimate Settings." Clifford is particularly well known for his variety evenings and showcase presentations, often for charitable causes. One of Clifford's most anticipated efforts is Our Name Is Barbra, the annual celebration of Barbra Streisand's birthday, which has been raising funds and awareness for Clifford's beloved charity Project Angel Food for the past 24 years and counting! In 2023, Clifford will be featured (alongside Chita Rivera, Bruce Vilanch, and Sam Harris) in Marc Saltarelli's documentary "Studio One Forever."