CHICAGO - MIDWEST CABARET REVIEWS

Puttin' on the Nitz ....
and
Daryl Nitz Joins the Jeff Hedberg Trio at DAVENPORT'S

Reviewed by Carla Gordon

Daryl Nitz is a very funny cabaret performer. For years he has regaled cabaretgoers in the front room of DAVENPORT'S in Chicago. At 10:00 pm on weekends Daryl usually holds court in the piano bar catapulting his over-the-top musical impersonations of luminaries including Carol Channing and Jean Stapleton (of Edith Bunker fame.) He works the room like Robin Williams on uppers, slithering his feather boa around the neck of abashed audience members who laugh the whole time. When you are in the mood for the outrageous, join Daryl and his collaborator George Howe in Davenport's piano bar.

However, when I heard that Daryl was going to sing with a jazz combo, namely the Jeff Hedberg trio, I admit to raising an eyebrow. Daryl's performances tend to be more focused on comedy than music. Good shtick can be satisfying like a hearty chili dog, but most of us expect jazz to be cool and smooth like that dry martini. Nevertheless, in a remarkable fusion of cabaret and jazz, Daryl and the Jeff Hedberg Trio made it all come together.

When Daryl gooses up the weekend crowds, one may forget what a truly fine vocalist he is. Hearing him sing simply in his resonant baritone was the first delightful surprise of the night. A syncopated and simply delivered Bye, Bye, Blackbird brought the audience into the spirit of the evening early in the program. The show, called "Jazz Legends Alive," is an homage to well known jazz vocalists ranging from Sarah Vaughn, to Billy Eckstein to Billie Holliday. Rather than presenting broad impersonations of those performers, Nitz captured their essences. The audience was clearly enthralled. In cabaret comedy, it is usually about the laughs, but in jazz, it's about the music. Daryl did not disappoint, finding the throatiness of Sarah, wistfulness of Billie and the elegant resonance of Mr. Eckstein.

In the second set Daryl captures both the gravel and the honey of the incomparable Louis Armstrong in a blissfully understated rendition of What a Wonderful World. Daryl certainly got it: with jazz, less can be a whole lot more.

The Jeff Hedberg Trio radiates the jazz feel. Hedberg himself is a helluva horn player, particularly on the deliciously named flugelhorn. He sings fine, but scatting is where he especially shines. Jeff is obviously one of those rarities who probably scatted before he walked. In a "dueling scat" with Daryl, these gentlemen proved that white men can scat. Moving quickly from horn to vocals then back again, Hedberg demonstrated that voice and instrument are indeed the extension of each other.

Completing the trio are Ken Spurr on piano and Josh Shapiro on bass. In short solos, these gentlemen demonstrated how they could move gracefully from jazz to cabaret interpretations. It would have been good to hear them featured more. Most numbers were horn and vocal. There is a world to explore with combinations of piano, bass and vocal as well.

A medley shared among the trio and Daryl and Jeff as vocalists blended Jule Styne's Make Someone Happy and Michel Le Grand's Watch What Happens offered an effective combination of baritone and tenor, rhythm and lyric, jazz and cabaret. Arguably, it was the evening's highlight.

Jazz Legends Alive will be playing at DAVENPORT'S on Wednesdays starting in mid-April and running through June. Check it out.

DAVENPORT'S is located at 1383 North Milwaukee Avenue, Chicago, IL - 773-278-1830 - http://www.davenportspianobar.com/

Copyright, 2005 by Carla Gordon

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