Jane Scheckter’s tribute show to Lena Horne has Musical Director Tedd Firth, bassist Tom Hubbard and drummer Peter Grant providing an instrumental intro to the show as smooth as a chilled martini, attractively paving the way for Scheckter’s entrance and her compelling rendition of  “As Long as I Live.”   

While all the selections are Horne standards, Scheckter is her own musical gal and no impersonator.  Several, such as “Push De Button” from Horne’s role in Jamaica, Vernon Duke and Ogden Nash’s “Round About,” Herbert Baker’s “I Love to Love,” or the whimsical “New Fangled Tango,” don’t often appear on cabaret song lists.  Others, such as Horne’s signature song, the “Stormy Weather” opener, are familiar indeed.  The trio and Scheckter tap tunes by Cole Porter, Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn, Fats Waller and Andy Razaf, and offer a sterling rendition of Bart Howard’s “Let Me Love You.” 

This is the vocalist’s first appearance in over a year, and she gives her listeners ample reasons to welcome her back.  Scheckter does justice to all her numbers as the show swings from slow to sizzling.  When the beat gets fast, however, the tempo tends to crowd out the interpretation. With the slower, romantic selections, as she becomes immersed in the lyrics, Scheckter’s sultry voice and sensuous “I want you” delivery reach out and entrance her listeners.

From This Moment On will be at Broadway Baby April 6 & 7, May 7 & 13 at 7:00 p.m.

Peter Leavy
Cabaret Scenes
March 31, 2008
www.cabaretscenes.org