Terry Waldo and his Gotham City Band with Tatiana Eva-Marie

Post author:Jacqueline Parker
Post published: November 5, 2026
Reading time:4 mins read

Terry Waldo
and his Gotham City Band
with Tatiana Eva-Marie

The Pocket, NYC, October 21, 2026

Reviewed by Jacqueline Parker

Pianist Terry Waldo began his show with the familiar “Maple Leaf Rag” by Scott Joplin, saying that this was the less serious side of the jazz world. He began it as a piano solo, then was subtly joined by Jay Lepley on drums. Finally the entire band joined in to deliver a rousing and memorable rendition of this popular and beloved piece. The group joined in with some singing on the next number, “Oh By Jingo! (Oh, By Gee! You’re the Only Girl for Me),” a novelty song from 1919 by Albert Von Tilzer and Lew Brown. At that point the performance felt like a private party with friends—the musicians were having as good a time as we were!

About midway through the program, the vocal star for the evening, Tatiana Eva-Marie, joined the merry band of players and began this segment with “Baby, Won’t You Please Come Home,” a Bessie Smith song from 1919 written by Charles Warfield and Clarence Williams. Her sense of the song and the yearning she conveyed were almost palpable. Her next selection was “I Double Dare You,” a popular 1937 swing and jazz standard by Jimmy Eaton and Terry Shand. She imbued that number with the same seductive quality that I believe is her trademark, to the delight of the audience, all the while kibitzing with the band. Waldo, who toured with Eubie Blake, paid tribute to him with his classic “Memories of You,” which he played alone before the band joined in to give it a distinctive delivery.

Tatiana returned with the dreamy “Stardust” (Hoagy Carmichael/Mitchell Parish) and then went into “Runnin’ Wild” from 1922, written by Arthur Harrington Gibbs with lyrics by Joe Grey and Leo Wood. It’s a song that was made unforgettable by Marilyn Monroe in Some Like It Hot.

Waldo is a man of few words, and I found most of them wry and funny: “If you don’t have a good time, it’s not worth listening.” “These songs are from the Not-So-Great American Songbook.”

It’s rare to have an evening where one feels privileged to be able to stay for the second set. Rarer still is feeling that the band is in a partnership of sorts with the audience to deliver an evening beyond expectation. There was such a bond with this group of artists, among themselves and with the audience, that they all felt like friends. In addition to Waldo on piano and Lelpley on drums, the band included the talents of Jim Fryer on trombone, Gavin Rice on saxophone, and Konstantin Gevondyan on cornet. There is nary a week that Waldo and his crew are not performing somewhere in Manhattan; wisit https://terrywaldo.com.

The Pocket is located at 140 West 46 Street and is still in its infancy, of sorts. One enters through an unmarked door, walks down a dark hallway, and then descends into the bowels of the Muse Hotel. There one finds a gorgeous room, with wood paneling and baize green upholstered banquettes, with all the tables dressed in white tablecloths and candles. After descending a few flights, it is surprising to find a room as elegant as the old Rainbow and Stars. It has great sightlines and holds 170. Even the cocktail glasses were stylish. Pictures of jazz greats adorn the walls, as well as posters from famous jazz festivals. It has a vibe somewhere between The Carlyle and 54 Below and is well worth a visit. The menu is impressive, and the onion rings are superlative. An interesting assembly of cocktails rounds out the culinary offerings.

Tags: Gotham City Band, Some Like It Hot, Jimmy Eaton, Terry Shand, American Songbook Association, Scott Joplin, Maple Leaf Rag, ASA, Jacqueline Parker, Tatiana-Eva Marie, Jay Lepley, Gavin Rice, Terry Waldo, Mitchell Parish, The Pocket, Oh By Jingo! (Oh, By Gee! You're the Only Girl for Me), Baby Won't You Please Come Home, Charles Warfield, I Double Dare You, Arthur Harrington Gibbs, Joe Grey, Leo Wood, Jim Fryer, Konstantin Gevondyan, Muse Hotel, The Carlyle, Clarence Williams, Cabaret Scenes, 54 Below, Broadway, Hoagy Carmichael, stardust, Cabaret, Broadway Musicals, Bessie Smith, American Songbook, Lyricist, NYC, CD, Reviews, Cabaret Reviews, Lew Brown, Marilyn Monroe, Clubs, Memories of You, composer, Eubie Blake, Runnin' Wild, Albert Von Tilzer

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.