Renee Katz: Renee Katz Sings Irving Berlin: Lost in His Arms

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Renee Katz

Renee Katz Sings Irving Berlin: Lost in His Arms

(Terrarose)

October 19, 2025

Reviewed by Jacqueline Parker

One might never imagine that listening to music that is over a century old could be as rewarding as Renee Katz’s new CD proves it to be. As the title says, she does get lost in the arms, so to speak, of Irving Berlin, and every listener is bound to as well.

Renee Katz is the ideal singer to capture the tenderness and sincerity of a Berlin number. Her voice is sweet and loving and her phrasing is warm and sincere, sounding at times like an echo right out of the years during which many of these tunes were written. She is often compared, rightly so, to Barbara Cook, who also could deliver a song into the recesses of your heart where it would live forever.

Berlin’s tunes are timeless, as relevant today as they were in the past century. Katz’s gorgeous soprano presents the repertoire beautifully, whether it be ballad or up-tune, and especially in the case of “God Bless America.” There is much that is familiar here along with and a few tunes that will likely be new to many listeners. Berlin wrote over 2,000 songs, so it is not surprising that there will be some forgotten gems, such as “Yiddisha Eskimo” (originally written for, but not performed by, Fanny Brice).

Katz covers the full range of Berlin’s musical accomplishments from Broadway, Hollywood, ballad, comic, and counterpoint/duet to songs that were simply popular when they were written and continue to endure. Certain selections benefit from their juxtaposition: “Remember” and “Always” complement each other perfectly and allow Katz to deliver the conflicting emotions of the two ballads effectively. Her creative consultant on this project, Jeff Harnar, joins her in a duet on one of the most popular of Berlin’s counterpoints, “Play a Simple Melody.”

In a medley created by music director Christopher Marlowe and the late Nancy LaMott, Katz sings some of the numbers brought to life by Fred Astaire on film. Most notable is her rendition of “Puttin’ on the Ritz”; by not racing through it she assures that every lyric can be heard and appreciated. Katz includes the verse of many of these numbers; their beauty of which is highlighted given that Berlin, the least educated of all the major song composers, truly spoke from his heart.

We live in a time when people communicate via emojis and text, seemingly eschewing the personal touch of a phone call. This CD reminds the listener how powerful a few words can be, whether spoken or sung. It could be subtitled “Music to Escape the Commercialism of the Season By.” From beginning to end, this hour spent with Katz and Berlin is heartwarming and restorative; enjoy it on a quiet evening when you are feeling a bit reflective.

Just in time for the holidays, there’s a surprise gift for Berlin lovers on this CD. In her exhaustive research on Berlin, Katz found a lyric fragment written at age 98 for which Christopher Marlowe provided music. “Till This Crazy World Is Sane Again” illustrates just how prescient Berlin was. Irving Berlin and Renee Katz—the gift that keeps on giving! Available at reneekatzmusic.com, this is a perfect gift for any lover of Irving Berlin and the American Songbook.

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Jacqueline Parker

Like Ethel Merman, lifelong New Yorker Jacqueline Parker began her career as a stenographer. She spent more than two decades at the city's premier public agency, progressing through positions of increased responsibility after earning her BA in English from New York University (3.5 GPA/Dean’s List). She won national awards for her work in public relations and communication and had the privilege of working in the House of Commons for Stephen Ross, later Lord Ross of Newport. In the second half of her career, Jacqueline brought her innate organizational skills and creative talents to a variety of positions. While distinguishing herself in executive search, she also gave her talents to publishing, politics, writing, radio broadcasting and Delmonico's Restaurant. Most recently, she hosted Anything Goes! a radio show that paid homage to Cole Porter and by extension the world of Broadway musicals and the Great American Songbook. Other features of the show were New York living, classical music, books, restaurants, architecture and politics. This show highlighted the current Broadway scene, both in New York and around the country through performances and interviews with luminaries including Len Cariou, Charles Strouse, Laura Osnes, Steve Ross and Joan Copeland. Her pandemic project was immersion into the life, times and work of Alfred Hitchcock, about whom she has written a soon-to-be-published article. Jacqueline has been involved in a myriad of charitable causes, most notably the Walt Frazier Youth Foundation, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Sisters of Life, York Theatre, and the New Jersey Shakespeare Festival. She is a proud Founder of Hidden Water. Her greatest accomplishment is the parenting of her son, a lawyer specializing in mediation. She has many pretend grandchildren, nieces and nephews, on whom she dotes shamelessly, as well as a large circle of friends to whom she is devoted. Her interests in addition to theater and cabaret are cooking, entertaining, reading, and spending time on Queen Mary 2.