Adding a jazz rhythm to a Sondheim song is probably not a bad idea.  But while it may add something instrumentally, it may also alter the meaning of a song lyrically.

That was the case in Sondheim Swings: An Unconventional Look at a Great Broadway Composer as presented by Jeffrey Gimble and Dolores Scozzesi — both noted cabaret performers in their own rights who decided they wanted to perform together.

The numbers that worked best lyrically were those that swung less and stuck closer to the melody more.

Scozzesi has a deep-throated, powerful voice, reminiscent of Karen Morrow’s, and an easy stage presence.  Gimble has a strong voice, though his delivery sometimes came across as a bit too earnest, gesturing too broadly with his hands and facial expressions.  He was better when he kept his hands at his side and opted to sing in a gentler tone with fewer histrionics.

They were backed by a strong combo — Richard Berent on piano, Dave Bass on saxophone and drums, Tim Emmons on bass and Yvette M. Deveraux on violin — which opened the show with “Comedy Tonight” and added strong instrumental breaks during several numbers.  Bass scored particularly well as he moved through the audience playing the sax during Scozzesi’s “Sooner or Later,” which was one of her best songs.

She also shone on passionate versions of “I Wish I Could Forget You,” from Passion, and also “Move On,” from Sunday in the Park with George and she made the over-done “Send in the Clowns” more interesting by singing more of the harmony than the melody line, with Deveraux’s violin helping to boost the appeal of the song.

Gimble excelled on “Uptown/Downtown,” a song cut from Follies, and he sounded good on “Too Many Mornings” from the same show. But his up-tempo version of “Being Alive” made a song about a desire for serious commitment seem frivolous, while speeding up the tempo of “Pretty Women” from Sweeney Todd removed most of that song’s delicate beauty.

Together they performed agreeable versions of “Do I Hear a Waltz?” (written with Richard Rodgers), “I Like You” from A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and “The Little Things You Do Together.”  They closed the show with a smooth arrangement of “Old Friends” from Merrily We Roll Along.

Elliot Zwiebach
Cabaret Scenes
April 11, 2009
www.cabaretscenes.org