Nelson Aspen & Allyson Briggs: Tony Bennett: A Tribute

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Nelson Aspen & Allyson Briggs

Tony Bennett: A Tribute

The Green Room 42, NYC, July 21, 2024

Reviewed by Bart Greenberg

Nelson Aspen & Allyson Briggs

Entertainment reporter/vocalist Nelson Aspen and jazz singer Allyson Briggs joined forces to celebrate the life and career of musical icon Tony Bennett on the first anniversary of his passing. It was a suitably elegant and polished program that included many of his greatest hits. It was wisely illustrated with video clips from a profile Aspen completed some years ago that contained charming interviews with the singer himself. The musical portion of the program was backed by a skilled quartet of artists: music director/trumpeter Andy Warren, pianist James Nevin, drummer Jerry Spenner, and bassist Michael O’Brien.

The set list contained a nice mix of solos and duets for each of the singers, and there was a strong balance of ballads and up-tempo numbers. There were also nice variations such as a song in French (“La Vie en rose”; Louiguy/Edith Piaf) and a Spanish-language version of “The Way You Look Tonight” (Jerome Kern/Dorothy Fields). Aspen showed a fine connection on a touching “We’ll Be Together Again” (Frankie Laine/Carl T. Fischer), and Briggs offered a sensitive “Smile” (Charlie Chaplin/John Turner & Geoffrey Parsons). Together they tackled an exhausting medley of more than a dozen Bennett hits, starting with the inevitable “I Left My Heart in San Francisco” (George Cory/Douglass Cross) and climaxing with “The Good Life” (Sacha Distel/Jack Reardon). It was a well-designed conglomeration that picked up speed with each succeeding selection to produce a great deal of energy.

It’s true there were a few missteps along the way. Briggs’ “Being Alive” (Stephen Sondheim) had a terribly busy and inappropriate arrangement that robbed the number of its dramatic arch. But the real problem with the show was the lack of emotional connection between the performers and much of the material. A problem with many tribute shows is that the stars connect far more with the subject of their adoration than the songs. More passion was devoted to Bennett’s social and political activism— definitely worthy of respect—and his outside activities such as painting, then to “Love Is Here to Stay” (George & Ira Gershwin) or “Making Whoopee” (Warner Donaldson/Gus Kahn). This flaw didn’t make for a bad show—there was too much good music and many secure performances for that—but kept it from being the glowing success it might have been.

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 & Noble, 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."