Pianist and singer Steve Ross presents his new evening Finding Words for Spring on Monday, May 20 at 7:00 PM. Ross will celebrate the optimism of the season as well as the more mellow and reflective moods it evokes, including a salute to Michel Legrand and the Bergmans (“You Must Believe in Spring”). Other songs will include “Some Other Spring” (Herzog and Kitchings), “It Might as Well Be Spring” (Rodgers and Hammerstein) and “Spring Isn’t Everything” (Blane and Warren), in addition to songbook favorites by Jerome Kern and the Gershwins.
Ross was raised in Washington, DC, and heard a lot of music at home, some from his mother who played piano. In due course, he studied piano himself and by the time he had attended Georgetown University and served in the US Army, he had become an accomplished pianist, drawing his repertoire from the Great American Songbook. In the early ‘70s he settled in New York City where he soon became well known on the cabaret scene. Ted Hook, owner of Backstage, a piano bar in midtown, hired him. The association was successful and in 1979 Hook opened a new club, Onstage, especially to showcase Ross’ talents. In 1981, Ross was booked into the Oak Room at the Algonquin Hotel where he played a considerable part in establishing the room as a perennial favorite. He would find himself accompanying leading entertainers who happened to be in the audience, among them Liza Minnelli and Ginger Rogers.
He has played many festivals, including Perth in Australia, Spoleto in Italy, and Hong Kong. Other international venues include seasons at London’s Ritz Hotel and Pizza on the Park. In 1989, he hosted a live series for BBC Television, and back in America was host of “New York Cabaret Nights” for National Public Radio. Ross maintained his popularity and high standards through the ‘90s and into the early ‘00s. In the winter of 1996, he appeared in a revival of Noël Coward’s Present Laughter at the Walter Kerr Theatre; the show, starring Frank Langella. Ross’ repertoire draws from the work of songwriters past and present, such as George Gershwin, Cole Porter, with whose work he has a special affinity, Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, and Stephen Sondheim. He has appeared with pianist Judy Carmichael, performing the show entitled “Style Meets Stride,” featuring the music of Porter and Fats Waller. Ross sings in a light baritone voice, playing the piano with verve. For several years, he has been referred to as ‘the Crown Prince of New York Cabaret,” an unofficial but merited title.
There is a $40 music charge and a $20 food and beverage minimum. Reservations: please call (212) 581-3080 or visit www.BirdlandJazz.com.
Bird land is located at 315 West 44th Street (between 8th and 9th Avenues) in Manhattan.
