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Jazz - The Year of the Songwriters
By James Bowman
The New York Sun
March 4, 2005
On Wednesday, Michael Feinstein held
an intimate celebration, co-starring Klea Blackhurst and Jeff
Harnar, for Jule Styne as part of his triannual concert series
at Carnegie's Zankel Hall. As outstanding a singer and pianist
as Mr. Feinstein is, what he does better than anyone is share
his love of the songbook. He talks to you like a friend and
when he discusses the great songwriters, he stresses anecdotes
from his own relationships with them. He not only makes a
song seem extremely intimate and personal; he does the same
for the facts of his subject's life.
Klea Blackhurst, best known for her long-running one-woman
show about Ethel Merman, has power, projection and charisma.
She channeled Jolson as well as Merman in big numbers from
Gypsy. Later in the show, she had two more winners up her
sleeve (and this in a sleeveless gown), both patriotic World
War II-era collaborations with Sammy Cahn, the witty "That
Ain't Hay (That's the U.S.A)" and the sentimental "I'll
Walk Alone." Ms. Blackhurst is a potentially major voice
on the songbook circuit. And that should keep her busy for
the 20 years or so she'll need to wait before she's old enough
to play Mama Rose in the next revival.
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