By Andrew Poretz***The young Canadian singer David Marino has a pure, gorgeous voice. In his late 20s, the classically-trained Marino has a velvety, rich tenor, excellent pitch and breath control, and the precise diction of someone who cares deeply about the lyrics. Marino appeared at Birdland Jazz for a sold-out concert of songs by French composer Michel Legrand. Marino was backed by pianist Tedd Firth, bassist 
David Finck and drummer Mark McLean, along with trumpeter Ian Cleaver.
Legrand was a perfect choice for Marino, whose first language is French, which gave him some intriguing options. While his English is excellent and accent-free, French has such a beautiful lyrical quality to it. Marino has a great capacity for connecting with the emotional impact of the material, with the ability to induce tears even in listeners who don’t understand the language.
Marino opened with a bouncy French tune, “Quand ça balance” (Eddy Marnay). Since Marino’s last appearance at Birdland, he’s picked up some jazz skills, adding a touch of scat later in the song. He stunned with “You Must Believe in Spring” (Jacques Demy), singing only the French lyrics. “What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life” (Alan and Marilyn Bergman) held special significance for Marino, who found the love of his life during his recent year-long residency in Paris. Firth’s gentle arrangement was piano-only for half the song, with a sweet trumpet solo by Cleaver. Its denouement was especially powerful, fueled by Marino’s passion for 
his new love. Cleaver later wowed with his work on “The Summer Knows” (Alan and Marilyn Bergman), supplying obbligatos with a Chet Baker-like feel while Marino sang a cappella.
Rising star Kate Kortum, the winner of 2025 Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition, joined Marino for a cute duet on “Sweet Gingerbread Man” (Alan and Marilyn Bergman) that made for a swell palate cleanser. The high point of the set came with a medley, which Firth opened with a Rachmaninoff concerto from the show Marino performed in Paris. This led to a slowed-down “The Windmills of Your Mind”, with Marino singing first the English (Alan and Marilyn Bergman) and then the French lyrics (Eddy Marnay). This eventually morphed into a delicate music-box arrangement of “I Will Wait for You” (French lyrics by Jacques Demy, English lyrics by Norman Gimbel) with only Marino and Firth caressing the tune. Marino’s operatic ending garnered rapturous applause.
Marino closed the set with a terrific version of “How Do You Keep the Music Playing?” (Alan and Marilyn Bergman), which he learned from Tony Bennett’s recording. He evoked Bennett with a perfectly-executed, one-breath glissando. For a well-deserved encore, Marino and Firth reprised “You Must Believe in Spring,” now with the Bergmans’ English lyrics. This was an excellent performance by Marino. He is sweetly confident and charismatic, with a chef’s kiss of a voice, top notch material, solid arrangements and fine playing by the quartet.
Photos by Andrew Poretz
