Ella Mae Dixon
I’m Old Fashioned
Birdland Theater, NYC, March 21, 2023
Reviewed by Bart Greenberg

Photo: Christopher Boudewyns
Ella Mae Dixon made her solo cabaret debut at NYC’s Birdland Theater. She is charming, she is blessed with a solid soprano that has some very interesting undertones, and she is very young—very young. To be specific, 19, and for her age, she has an amazing sense of self-possession and a command of the stage. She also demonstrated a strong knowledge of the history of popular music by citing the names of Ella Mae Morse, Shirley Horn, and Blossom Dearie. Another distinctive aspect of her show was that she eschewed a piano as part of her backup; instead she relied on music director/guitarist Sean Harkness, who played a valued part of the evening and offered several thrilling solos. She was also backed by drummer Rob Mitzner and bassist Dmitry Ishenko, both of whom contributed excellent support.
All of the songs selected for the evening were written before the 1960s. “Goody, Goody” dating to the 1930s was the oldest. Dixon even teased her guitarist by mention that it had been written before he was born. Of course, that didn’t keep her from having a great time with this novelty tune. She thrived on up tempo numbers. She kicked off the evening with “If My Friends Could See Me Now” and sang some special lyrics that were appropriate to the setting. She also demonstrated a slight kink in her voice reminiscent of Teresa Brewer that was endearing. Other highlights included such delights as “Cow Cow Boogie” and “Where the Boys Are,” and she offered a truly exciting version of “Teach Me Tonight.”
The only flaw, and it’s a minor one, is that her youth hasn’t prepared her for some of the lyrics she chose to sing. “You’ll Never Know” was musically excellent but lacked depth, and “Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most” was simply beyond her maturity at this time.
It will be exciting to see what she can do with it 10 years down the line. But her very personal interpretation of the title song, “I’m Old Fashioned,” was a wonderful fit (she was even wearing a lovely thrift-shop vintage dress) that seemed to reflect her perspective perfectly.) Her encore, “Tennessee Waltz” was an exceedingly moving version in its simplicity and purity. Dixon may be old-fashioned, but it will be exciting to see what the future holds for this thrilling new member of the cabaret community.