John Bucchino is well known today in theater circles for his music and lyrics to Broadway’s A Catered Affair. New York cabaret-goers, however, have long followed John’s solo works: his musing, often first-person lyrics of love and loss, his gentle melodies, his slightly raspy delivery, and his dexterity, self-taught, accompanying himself at the piano. It was this familiar “cabaret Bucchino” who filled Birdland for a warmly personal one-night engagement on November 3. Greeted enthusiastically by his audience, he sat down at the piano, to begin with his popular “Sweet Dreams” – delivering it in a strangely shaky voice. As he finished, he admitted his nervousness as a solo performer, quickly recovered his ease, and proceeded to deliver a generous program. His song inspirations, often realized through long, loping lyric lines, rise from personal sources and observations, such as recovering from an appendectomy, watching water drain from a bathtub, the grandfather he adored, successful romances, broken ones, and the arcs of life. Explained John, “you mine the gold where you can.” Included were two selections from A Catered Affair. Other writers may dazzle with snappy, ultra-rhyming lyrics; with John Bucchino, the joy is hearing songs that speak from one warm, shy heart to others that are happy to meet him halfway and to accompany him on his journey.

Peter Haas
Cabaret Scenes
November 3, 2008
www.cabaretscenes.org