Close your eyes and imagine a time in a smoke-filled, sexy jazz club, looking dreamily into your lover’s eyes and listening to the soft, smooth, lilting vocals of a quality jazz singer. You might think he sounds like Mel Torme, but Boston’s Dane Vannatter has a distinctive style all his own. In this latest New York run at the Metropolitan Room, he has put together a well-crafted show, the result of a lifetime of admiration for singer Tony Bennett. Credit Dane’s Dad and his record collection, including Bennett’s album Alone Together, as the inspiration.

Silky sounds abound on almost every song. From the opening Schwartz/Dietz “Alone Together” thru Styne/Cahn’s “It’s Magic,” Vannatter moves through the lyrics with ease, leaving his own trademark.  Although he has a tendency to sometimes get lost in his own reverie, forgetting about his audience, he delivers songs like “Poor Butterfly” (Hubbell/Golden) and “For Heaven’s Sake” (Bretton/Edwards/Meyer) with intense feeling, presenting with a fluidity that engages.

Swing and Latin rhythm tunes, like Arlen/Mercer’s “Out of This World,” Layton/Creamer’s “After You’ve Gone” and “That’s All” (Haymes/Brandt) are strong suits, commanding attention. Dane has all the right vocal moves but one senses some discomfort in his stage presence. Maybe it was the pouring rains or maybe it was following Marilyn Maye whose show preceded his.  He works with top musicians including pianist Enrique Haneine as well as bassist Thomson Kneeland and drummer George Farrell.  The show is directed by Lennie Watts.

Dane Vannatter can be seen on Saturdays September 13, 20 and 27 at 10:00 p.m.

Sandi Durell
Cabaret Scenes
September 6, 2008
www.cabaretscenes.org