Todd Schroeder, the accompanist in the black porkpie hat who’s usually on the back bench while the spotlight’s on the singer, moved into the spotlight himself at Tom Rolla’s Gardenia in only his second-ever solo show and proved to be a strong- and bluesy-voiced singer as well as a stellar piano player.

During An Evening with Todd Schroeder the performer demonstrated his command of the keyboard on flawless instrumentals (a heartfelt “Autumn Leaves” by Joseph Kosta and a vigorous “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen) as well as his powerful vocal prowess in a variety of styles, including an exuberant version of Marc Cohn’s “Walking in Memphis;” a warm, gentle “Play Me” by Neil Diamond; and a rousing tribute to his idol Ray Charles on Charles’ “What’d I Say.”

Schroeder also told a sweet story about his meeting with the man himself and then shared with his audience the song he played for Charles — “No One Sings ‘Georgia’ Like Ray” — lingering over the word “Georgia” at the end to sound very much like Charles himself.

The show also included other Schroeder compositions, including “Mischievous,” about the games people play, which featured an audience sing-a-long every time the title word came up; plus a trio of songs he wrote with a pair of former roommates — David Carey Foster and Thomas Lauifi — who showed up to sing with him.

While much of the show was devoted exclusively to Schroeder’s solos —accompanied by what he called his “10-finger band” — he reverted at times to his more familiar role as accompanist.  Besides playing for his former roommates, he also played for Keri Kelsey as she sang Nancy Heisler’s “Nothing I Wouldn’t Do,” followed by one of the evening’s high points: Kelsey singing Schroeder’s “You’re Free,” about a woman letting her lover go, followed by Schroeder singing Elton John’s “Sorry,” about a lover trying to get back an ex-lover, then both singing the two songs in counterpoint.

The evening also included an impromptu appearance by comedian Henry Phillips playing piano and singing two of his own songs:  “Standing on the Shoulders of Freaks” and “San Vicente Boulevard.”

Closing out the set was Schroeder accompanying Mary Jo Mundy on Ken Hirsch’s life-affirming “One More Time.”

The only regret about the set was not hearing more from Schroeder alone, whose singing style varied to fit each different song and whose minimal patter set up each song beautifully.

Elliot Zwiebach
Cabaret Scenes
October 3, 2008
www.cabaretscenes.org