Jason Danieley's 2009 show at Birdland was actually a repeat of his 2008 show, Love: A Work in Progress. The "progress" has moved this work on to a smooth finished product, yet happily held on to its eclectic Americana roots. Not to repeat last year's review, here are a few more comments about Jason Danieley.

Danieley obviously loves the tradition of the blue-grass, Mississippi riverboat, gospel music, as well as his extended family who gathered around on Sunday nights for a home-cooked jam session. From the opening knee-slapper, "Sold (The Grundy County Auction Incident)" to his encore, "Spread a Little Love Around" (Harley Allen/John Wiggins), Danieley expressed the open country spirit he inherited. Different interpretations of familiar songs, like "Be My Love" (Cahn/Brodszky), "As Long as She Needs Me" (Lionel Bart), and "All of Me" also reflected Danieley's blue-grass vibrancy. He chatted about the pop music tradition in this country that stretched back to Stephen Foster and how this music formed the soundtrack of his life. Included in his family's musical repertoire, however, were also Broadway tunes.

Danieley's guest on this show was his wife, Tony nominee (Kiss Me Kate), Marin Mazzie. Together they sang "July," a new work by Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens, reflecting the full liberating bloom of summer joy. Mazzie soloed with “Silent,” a song inspired by a photograph taken by Ahren's father of a willow tree in Central Park.

Backed by the lively country snap of his band, The Frontier Heroes, Danieley shows a casual stage presence and a pleasing round tenor with a full vibrato that lends a distinctive touch to every tune. Instead of introducing The Frontier Heroes at the end of the show, Danieley selected one player at a time, read from a card where he had noted his favorite album and other bits of trivia, and smoothly moved into the song. It was a unique way of personalizing his musical buddies who add so much to the spirit of this show. They include musical director/pianist Dan Lipton, Michael Aarons on banjo, bassist Mark Vanderpoel, percussionist Damien Bassman, Christian Hegel on violin and Theresa McCarthy with back-up vocals.

This was an upbeat, effervescent show that is worth a few repeats. The only downside was a strong push for CDs on sale at the counter.

Elizabeth Ahlfors
Cabaret Scenes
February 23, 2009
www.cabaretscenes.org