Reading past reviews of Marilyn Maye led me to one inexorable question: why hadn't I seen this powerhouse entertainer before? Or owned every CD? Or followed her tours like a giddy Grateful Dead fan? Well, there must always be a first time, and Maye's current engagement, her first at the Rrazz Room, is what I've been hoping for for quite some time.  There are great cabaret performers all with their own particular gifts, be it a great voice, sparkling wit, electric stage presence, or stunning credentials, but there are few who combine them all into a performance that makes me feel yes, this is it. Maye is exactly what my heart and my senses yearn for: a vocalist who digs deep within a lyric and melody to extract their very essence, a stage performer who draws you into her own involvement and interest in the material, and creates something new and exciting with each show.

Her loving tributes to Steve Allen ("This Could Be the Start of Something Big," "I Love You Today"), Cole Porter ("I Concentrate on You," "It's All Right With Me," "Just One of Those Things") and Johnny Mercer ("The Summer Wind," with Hans Bradtke & Henry Mayer; "Drinking Again," with Doris Tauber; "One for My Baby (And One More for the Road)" with Harold Arlen are all done in Maye's inimitable jazz and swing style tinged with Midwestern down home sincerity. Her phrasing and timing are impeccable, raising Mercer/Arlen's "Any Place I Hang My Hat Is Home," and André/Dory Previn's "You're Gonna Hear from Me'" into show- stopping anthems. The Ray Charles hit, "Just for a Thrill," flashed with brilliance and solidifies Maye's hold as the queen of the nightclub circuit. Her version of "Guess Who I Saw Today," like Garland's "The Man That Got Away," defines the torch song with its strength and bitter resolve. Ella Fitzgerald called her the greatest white female singer in the world and I can't disagree. Backed by two child prodigies (Tedd Firth on piano and Dan Feiszli on bass) and her longtime drummer of 47 years, Jim Eklof, even her band fused the abandon and joy of youth with the wisdom and tradition of well-seasoned veterans.

I don't remember writing many notes during Maye's set, I was so absorbed in the moment. But I do remember how she made me feel the music, and it was pure joy.  At 81, Maye is the mold that great vocalists are cast from, and she sets the bar high. Every singer, whether seasoned or aspiring, could benefit from a master class from this expert. Closing her show with the James Taylor's sweetly sentimental "The Secret o' Life," it appears Maye has grasped its message of "enjoying the passage of time, try not to try too hard, it's just a lovely ride".  And lovely Maye is.

Steve Murray
Cabaret Scenes
September 14, 2009
www.cabaretscenes.org