Rafael Castillo-Halvorssen: Yes, And!

Post author:Bart Greenberg
Post published:December 19, 2024
Reading time:3 mins read

Rafael Castillo-Halvorssen

Yes, And!

Don’t Tell Mama, NYC, December 8, 2024

Reviewed by Bart Greenberg

Rafael Castillo-Halvorssen may have been the one who was top-billed in his show Yes, And! at Don’t Tell Mama, but this delightful show was very much a trio affair. The excellent singer and trumpeter was joined by jazz vocalist Edith Hazel and pianist extraordinaire Jon Weber. In a series of solos, duets, and trios, the entertainers presented a casual collection of numbers that charmed the audience. The songlist included selections from the Great American Songbook, some jazz standards, and some enticing numbers from other countries. Hazel especially excelled in singing in a number of languages. Overall, the performers kept the afternoon fresh and constantly surprising.

The show kicked off with the classic “Moonglow” (Will Hudson/Irving Mills & Eddie DeLange); it featured gorgeous close harmony by the singers and a hot piano solo by Weber. It also promised a great deal to come, and then happily delivered. Castillo-Halvorssen showed his versatility with “The Song Is You” (Jerome Kern/Oscar Hammerstein II), which he delivered first in traditional Broadway style and then as a swinging jazz number. His take on “It’s Not Easy Being Green” (Joe Raposo) was the epitome of simplicity and honest emotion.

Hazel showed her impressive dexterity with foreign languages and her ability to evoke the culture the songs came from. With “A Felicidade” (Antonio Carlos Jobim/Vinicius de Moraes), she captured the seductive rhythms of the melody as well as the melancholy message of the lyrics: “sadness has no end, but happiness does.” In honor of the tenth anniversary of her mother’s passing, she offered her mom’s favorite, “Si tu vols ma mère” (Sidney Bechet with Jean Broussole). It was enhanced by Castillo-Halvorssen’s bittersweet trumpet solo that elevated the mood she created. From an earlier time and in a quite different genre, she offered “Masculine Women, Feminine Men” (Edgar Leslie/James Monaco) and “Prove It on Me Blues” (Gertrude “Ma” Rainey) and showed a delightful falir as she delivered these comments on the LGBT community.

Weber, a fine musician, was consistently involved in the program, not only as a pianist and as an encouraging and supporting presence for the newer performers on the stage. Of course he had his own moments to shine, such as in the playful battle on “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?” (Frank Loesser) between piano and trumpet. He also masterfully took his moments in other numbers throughout the show. When the three performers joined together to close the show with “The Best Things in Life Are Free” (Buddy DeSylva/Lew Brown & Ray Henderson), they sent the audience out on a delightful high.

Tags: Nightclubs, CD, Masculine Women Feminine Men, Great American Songbook, Buddy DeSylva, Musicals, American Songbook Association, Singer, Prove It on Me Blues, Broadway, Eddie DeLange, Jazz Vocalist, ASA, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Gertrue Ma Rainey, Cabaret, James Monaco, Lyricist, Don’t Tell Mama, Cabaret Reviews, Broadway Musicals, Moonglow, Jerome Kern, What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?, CD Reviews, Bart Greenberg, NYC, Rafael Castillo-Halvorssen, Ray Henderson, Frank Loesser, Will Hudson, Pianist, Yes And!, Lew Brown, Jon Weber, It’s Not Easy Being Green, Oscar Hammerstein II, Edith Hazel, Clubs, Irving Mills, Sidney Bechet, songwriter, A Felicidade, Cabaret Scenes, The Song Is You, American Songbook, Edgar Leslie, The Best Things in Life Are Free, Si Tu Vols Ma Mere, composer, LGBT, Joe Raposo, Vocalists, Jean Broussole, Vinicius de Moraes

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."