Sally Kellerman was celebrating more than her birthday during her two-night late show run in San Francisco. There was cake presented and served, and Sally went into the seats to deliver candy during a rendition of ‘I’ve Got a Crush On You.” She’s celebrating a lifetime of her love of music and fine lyrics, a fact often obscured by her stellar acting career. A Kellerman show is always loose and relaxed, in what she terms an “anti-show,” where it’s OK to start and stop a song after a phrase is misplaced. The set list is often made up on the spot, with the multi-talented arranger/songwriter/ keyboardist Chris Caswell often left to follow Sally’s meandering lead.

For these shows Sally concentrated on her two Bs, blues and ballads, both of which she delivers with her unique signature vocal and playful passion. “Sugar in My Bowl” and “Do I Wanna Make Love to You” get Sally’s trademark drawl and sensuousness. Two Caswell numbers, “Every Night Is a Blue Night” and “Somebody Call the Cops,” are blues shuffles given a humorous take in Kellerman’s capable hands.

The balance of her sets were filled with spellbinding ballads. Mervyn Warren’s  bitterweet  “Say It Isn’t So” and Caswell’s  languid “By Heart” are tailor-made for Kellerman’s style. Culling a few numbers from the Great American Songbook, set highlights were her delivery of “It Could Happen to You” and Billy Hill’s much recorded “The Glory of Love.” A should-be new addition to the GAS is her sensational rendition of “The Time of Your Life” from her last CD, Sally. Add in a duet with local singer RJ Ross of the Diane Warren/Aerosmith power ballad “Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing,” and the evening couldn’t have gone better for Sally or her fans.

Steve Murray
Cabaret Scenes
June 4, 2010
www.cabaretscenes.org