By Bart Greenberg***Actually, the classic jazz artist Jane Scheckter felt a lot of songs coming on, all of them written by Dorothy Fields and Cy Coleman, together and separately. At Pangea, she wove a major spell by exploring a long list of numbers by two masters of the Golden
Age Songbook who broke many traditions along the way. Some of the works were presented complete in themselves, some were part of very clever thematically-based medleys. But they were all offered with wit and deep emotion, making for a sparkling evening.
Naturally, Scheckter’s chosen musicians added to the fun, and here she had three of the best: Tedd Firth (piano), Jay Leonhart (bass) and Peter Grant (drums). The fine arrangements were 50 percent by Firth and the other 50 percent by the legendary Mike Renzi, who passed away somewhat expectantly in 2021. All sounded fresh and supported Scheckter wonderfully. But it was her taste and talent that remained front and center.
There were great stories about a telephone encounter with Peggy Lee (two songs created by Lee and Coleman highlighted the show: “I’m in Love Again” and “Then Was Then”), as well as biographical tales about the two musicians being celebrated in the program. There were also some lovely surprises such as the classic “Exactly Like You” (Fields with Jimmy McHugh) delivered with a Latin beat, a
nd a more-than-usual deeply emotional “I Walk a Little Faster” by the same team. Noting that Fields had a propensity for writing about faces, the singer presented a trio of “Just Let Me Look at You” (with Jerome Kern), “It’s a Nice Face” (Coleman) and “You Couldn’t Be Cuter” (Kern), the last of which also provided a great spotlight opportunity for drummer Grant.
Other highlights, of many, included a salute to the two songwriters’ last collaboration (Fields died in July 1974), the 1973 Broadway musical, Seesaw, with a trio of songs: the title tune, “Poor Everybody Else” and the highly-dramatic “I’m Way Ahead.” Each was addressed with an understanding of the central characters and the emotional arc of the piece—about an intense but failed romance. Another trio of numbers, all joyful tales of love, by Fields, with three different composers, from three different Broadway musicals, formed a delightful uplifting end to the evening: “You Kissed Me” (Morton Gould, Arms and the Girl), “Look Who’s in Love” (Albert Hague, Redhead) and “This Is It!” (Arthur Schwartz, Stars in Your Eyes). Scheckter’s taste, intelligence and pure joy of performing made for a great show. Let’s hope for more.
Photos by Marilyn Lester
