Early in their recent show at the Metropolitan Room, Mary Foster Conklin and John DiPinto related that among the venues they play in New York as a vocal duet are various fire escapes off the popular Highline (with the Renegade Cabaret) as the “Lady in the Red Dress” and “The Man in the Hat.” Funky locations seem ideal for this duo because, whether outdoors or indoors, their jazzy, eclectic act has a comfortable, languid, kick-back-with-a-cocktail-and-enjoy feel—a soothing show for a sultry summer night.

Conklin and DiPinto have been performing together for two decades and their chemistry was obvious right from the opening number, a calypso-sounding arrangement with tight harmonies on Lennon and McCartney’s “If I Fell.” As with almost all the songs in the set, DiPinto punted on using the piano and relied on the jauntiness of an accordion, which was especially effective (as was Tony Romano’s guitar break) on the relatively obscure old Spanky and Our Gang tune “Without Rhyme or Reason,” written by the late Fran Landesman and Bob Dorough, who was in the audience for the show. In a classy touch, Conklin called Dorough (a jazz pianist and composer who wrote, conducted and played much of the music for the old TV show Schoolhouse Rock) “one of my favorite composers.”

As a soloist, DiPinto’s vocals are merely average, but when he blends with Conklin for some vocalese arrangements of such jazzy songs as “Two for the Blues” (Neal Hefti/Jon Hendricks) and the show’s title song (Freddie Green/Jon Hendricks), they produce a sound akin to The Manhattan Transfer. Conklin possesses an endearing and smooth, deep alto to mezzo reminiscent of an FM radio disc jockey, and as she proved in this set, she’s adept at delivering a variety of song styles and genres. When she finally got to offer a solo about halfway through the set, Conklin showed off her deeper and sensual range and some higher register riffing on “Crazy Eyes” (David Cantor), from her 2008 CD of the same name. The show’s only downside was that the arrangements didn’t showcase Conklin’s vocals even more.

Some other highlights included a nice swing groove—featuring DiPinto’s only piano solo of the night— on “Louisiana” (JC Johnson/Andy Razaf), from the 1930s musical Trav’lin, the duo going a cappella on The Bobs’ cheeky “Share a Load” (“I can see you only have a small amount of laundry/Why don't we both share a load/No, but thanks I've got too many colors/And I wouldn't want your underwear to turn all pink”), during which DiPinto did a fun vocal bass riff, and “Phase II,” an Elissa Harvey poem for which DiPinto composed a jazzy, midtempo ballad, featuring fine work on bass from Skip Ward.

The duo closed the show in fine form, pushing the Motown tempo (thanks to DiPinto’s accordion) on Smokey Robinson’s “You Really Got a Hold on Me,” and nailing a clever and fun mash up of two cheesy 1966 pop songs: “Music to Watch the Girls By (Sid Ramin/Tony Velona) and “A Man and a Woman” (Francis Lai/ Pierre Barouh), with standout percussion from Willie Martinez. Conklin and DiPinto produce a solidly professional show where you can relax and watch two talented musicians enjoying each other and the songs they love.

Stephen Hanks
Cabaret Scenes
August 16, 2012
www.cabaretscenes.org