With her opening number, the wistful “Long Before I Knew You,” I’m reminded how treasured a musical partnership is Wesla Whitfield and husband/arranger/ pianist Mike Greensill. And there are many reasons, chief among them: her exquisite phrasing, the accentuation of their smartly chosen lyrics, her sharp sardonic wit, their knack for selecting seldom-performed chestnuts and the smart arrangements that develop and bubble with charm and sophistication. Wesla’s shows are loaded heavily with sentiment and romance. She can chirp the sweetness of “You Make Me Feel So Young,” flirt youthfully through Rodgers & Hart’s “I Didn’t Know What Time It Was” and dig down deep to wring the emotion out of “My Foolish Heart.” Whitfield joked about the need for a theme to the show, remarking how the great ladies of song she’s seen (McRae, Wilson, Vaughan) through the years never had one, didn’t need one. Wesla chose as her statement: “As Time Goes By.” Perhaps feeling a little nostalgic, her closer, the heartfelt Lennon/McCartney tune “In My Life” perfectly summed up her sense of passing time and relationships. It’s always a distinct pleasure to spend some quality time with old friends Wesla and Mike.

Steve Murray
Cabaret Scenes
May 26, 2009
www.cabaretscenes.org