In his astute liner notes, Broadway’s Hal Prince makes several references to the astounding collab-orators involved in com-piling this debut disc by the luminous Kate Burton, whom he refers to as a “protean talent at the beginning of a spectacular career.” Sounding like a youthful mix of Barbara Cook and Shirley Jones, Kate Burton’s soprano is expressive and lyrical in a way that makes one press the repeat button on whatever device one is listening to this stunning collection on. As Prince also notes, the songs go under the “umbrella title” of Songs of Lane & Harburg—which is a misnomer as only four of the fifteen tracks here are collaborations of these two esteemed gentlemen. The remaining tracks represent the work Lane and Harburg did with other songwriters.

Regardless of who wrote what, Ms. Burton’s crystalline voice and perfect pitch bring new meaning to traditional musical values and vocal technique with every note. “That Something Special” (Styne/Harburg) and “He Wasn’t You” (Lane/Lerner) have never sounded better. For musical comedy fun, Baldwin offers clever readings of “Come Back to Me” (Lane/Lerner) and the rarity “Have Feet Will Dance” (Lane/Fields) from Junior Miss. Currently co-starring in the revival of Finian’s Rainbow, a flawless “How Are Things in Glocca Morra?” (Lane/Harburg) is about as good as it gets from this future musical theater superstar. For now, let’s see what happens.

John Hoglund
Cabaret Scenes
January/February 2010
www.cabaretscenes.org