Metropolitan Room (New York City, NY)
From Tin Pan Alley to Motown, Dane Vannatter will present a new cabaret and jazz show, Alone Together: A Tony Bennett Album at the Metropolitan Room. Directed by Lennie Watts, the evening will feature songs from the Bennett album including "Alone Together," "Poor Butterfly," "It's Magic" and a rarely sung Bart Howard song "Walk in the Country."
Event summary prepared by the Goldstar Editorial Team.
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The last date listed for Alone Together: A Tony Bennett Album was Saturday September 27, 2008 / 10:00pm. (view all dates)
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High-end cabaret and jazz club the Metropolitan Room brings the best in live music to New York City. Fabulous performers take the stage in an atmosphere reminiscent of the golden age of cabaret. See event details for each night's line-up. Learn More
I'm glad to have caught the final (of four performances) of Dane Vannatter's shows at The Metropolitan Room Saturday night. He's always a pleasure to hear and see, but this show obviously had special meaning to him, mainly because he was offering songs from an album in his father's extensive collection: Tony Bennett's "Alone Together" (oddly not available on CD). He mentions that as a teenager, he usually listened only to the music of his own generation, but once he heard Bennett's album he decided he wanted to become a singer himself.
Stylistically, about the only comparison Vannatter has to Bennett is that they both are comfortable in jazz arrangements, have perfect pitch and employ great phrasing. There is no obvious imitation, intended or otherwise; just wonderful singing of fine American standards, beginning with the title tune by Dietz and Schwartz, done with a smooth Latin rhythm, long drawn lines, and remarkable playing from a his trio: Enrique Haneine on piano, Thomson Kneeland on bass and George Farrell on drums. For some reason, his September Saturday evening shows seemed to have occurred at a time of hurricanes (both Hannah and Ike), wind and rain, (including this night), and oddly several of the tunes mention the weather: "I'm Always Chasing Rainbow" (Carroll/McCarthy) began with a walking bass and was sung in a loose tempo, "It's Magic" (Styne/Cahn) - "explain those rainbows when there isn't rain" - done extremely slow, with great personal emotion; and "Gone With the Wind" (Wrubel/Magidson) which he punched out, displaying his jazz chops.
Some of the center section of the set was perhaps a little too ballad heavy, but he completely put his own stylistic stamp on each song, and his lyrical interpretation cannot be questioned. Arlen's "Out of This World" and "Poor Butterfly" (Hubbell/Golden) were both powerfully sung, with broad, dramatic drawn-out lines. Vannatter is very generous in sharing the stage, recognizing his excellent musicians, particularly the exceptional playing of Enrique Haneine. What a great player this young man is. I hope to hear more of him.
Vannatter mentions that he grew up in rural Muncie, Indiana, so when first listening to Bennett's album, he hadn't been fond of Bart Howard's "A Walk in the Country" because he said he found it a bit corny. However, he sang this rarely performed piece beautifully, melding it with the more popular Howard tuner "In Other Words," which began very slowly with the verse before picking up steam in the chorus. Haneine's work at the Yamaha was particularly fine here. "After You've Gone" (Creamer/Layton) provided worthy solos by all, with a particular nod to Kneeland on bass.
Hats off to this Hoosier crooner, now Boston-based, in his salute to our own Astoria crooner.
~ Gregg Culling, NYC
The show was excellent!!! Dane Vannatter is a truly wonderful singer. He is passionate about his music. I would HIGHLY recommend this show to anyone interested in The Great American Songbook.
The Metropolitan Room is housed in a landmark 1898 building. This vintage space now plays host to an updated take on the idea of a music club, combining state-of-the-art sound and lighting systems with old-world charm and style. Similar to the high-end equipment used in concert halls, these systems fill the room with crisp, clear sound to generate unparalleled cabaret and jazz performances.
"Alone Together: A Tony Bennett Album, follows the course of Vannatter's own singing career by way of an album that was in his father's record collection when he was growing up. Alone Together is the album that made him want to be a singer.
Joining Dane Vannatter will be: Bill Duffy on piano; Thomson Kneeland on bass; George Farrell on drums. Dane Vannatter and his ensemble have performed to sold out audiences throughout New England and New York.
Vannatter's distinctive swinging and soulful sound to songs by songwriters such as Harold Arlen, Rodgers & Hart, Stevie Wonder and Craig Carnelia has garnered him the 2006 Bistro Award for Outstanding Vocalist and the 2000 Bistro Award for Outstanding CD for his second recording, "Flight." He has been nominated for four MAC awards and is a 2007 Nightlife Award finalist. Dane has performed for several years at the annual Mabel Mercer Cabaret Convention at Town Hall and has also performed at the legendary Sardi's and Danny's Skylight Room in New York as well as venues in Boston, San Francisco and Newport.
