By Bart Greenberg***The radiant Renee Katz made her debut at 54Below to celebrate her new album, Renee Katz Sing Irving Berlin: Lost in His Arms. Released on the Terrarose label, both album and show offered a cornucopia of the 
works of the man cited as the center of American music, with a healthy sampling of both standards (“How Deep Is the Ocean”), anthems (“God Bless America”) and total obscurities (“Yiddisha Eskimo”). The collection is both emotionally satisfying and intellectually fulfilling for anyone with a love for popular music.
The lush musical arrangements were provided by Chirstopher Marlowe, with bassist Ritt Henn (plus additional vocals) and percussionist Rex Benincasa, providing on both stage and recording valuable contributions to the musical tapestry. Serving as director of the live presentation and album creative consultant, as well as a brief guest star, was Jeff Harnar, whose taste and skill was obvious throughout. Katz utilized the entire stage during the show, adding great visual variety, as well as well chosen projections.
Some of the musical highlights of the evening, well replicated on the album, include a shimmering “I Got Lost in His Arms,” reminiscent of Barbara Cook’s style (Katz also shares an emotional honesty and a flair for comedy with the iconic performer), a charming “Yiddisha Nightengale,” and a rendition of “God Bless America” in Yiddish that was unexpectedly moving. The singer also created a great emotional resonance with the audience by linking Berlin’s life story with that of her father’s, complete with them sharing a first name.
Some other surprising selections included the seamless blending of “How Deep Is the Ocean” with a piece by Ravel, the perfect dramatic linking of “Remember” and “Always,” and a lengthy medley of Berlin songs written for Fred Astaire. All of these gems are beautifully captured on the album, to be happily revisited for future enjoyment.
Photos by Conor Weiss
