By Marilyn Lester***The Friends of Alec Wilder’s 40th annual concert celebrating the life and music of Alec Wilder once again offered a solid program, produced by Mark Walter, dedicated to their subject with a stellar cast and plenty of heart. Wilder (1907-1980) was an intensely prolific composer 
of diverse music from operas to orchestral pieces to jazz and popular tunes.
Thematically, this year’s concert focused on Wilder’s friendship with Frank Sinatra, via host Chuck Granata, music producer, radio host, noted Sinatra authority and author of such books as Sessions with Sinatra: Frank Sinatra and the Art of Recording and Frank Sinatra: The Artist and His Music, co-authored with Nancy Sinatra. One of Wilder’s most enduring friendships was with Sinatra, extending beyond professional collaboration. At the keys was music director, Jed Distler, known particularly in the classical world as well as a contributor to Gramophone magazine, and an artist who is an advocate for and expert on Wilder’s work.
Beginning with two mainstay vocalists of cabaret, Marissa Mulder and Jeff Harnar, nine songs were presented, most of them falling into the category of “torch songs.” Mulder handled her numbers with the deep dive into emotional interpretation she’s noted for. Among them were two tunes with music by Cy Walter (Mark’s father) and lyrics by Wilder: “The Next Time Around” and “Time and Tide.” She returned to end the program with three more numbers, the last of which, “It’s So Peaceful in the Country,” was sung beautifully and perfectly to a track of Cy Walter playing the tune.
Jeff Harnar offered five Wilder numbers with his trademark animation and application of fine acting skills, bringing the lyrics to life. He’s also a master of nuance and of the wry; his delivery of “S’Gonna Be a Cold Cold Day” (lyrics by Loonis McGlohon) was priceless. Among the collection presented by the two singers, Harnar also offered one of Wilder’s best-known songs (and a Sinatra favorite), “I’ll Be Around.” This tune was, as is traditional at these concerts, the closer, sung by all members of the audience.
As for instrumental music, Distler played the eccentric “House Detective Registers,” a short piece with a ragtime undertone. A second short work, “Walking Home in Spring” was astutely identified by Distler as “if Ellington and Gershwin had a baby.” And, indeed the head of the tune could have easily been taken as a Duke Ellington intro. Tenor saxophonist David Dempsey was on hand for “A Long Night,” with the arrangement by Stan Getz (Getz’s discography includes many Wilder songs). Dempsey, who’s a Professor of Music at William Paterson University in jazz studies, captured the essence of the composition with a superbly warm tone on his instrument.
Steve Ross, The Crown Prince of Cabaret, was also on hand with four Wilder 
tunes: a sophisticate singing the songs of a fellow sophisticate, with a deep understanding of origin, meaning and execution. Standing by the piano and accompanied by Distler, he was especially touching with the wistful “Did You Ever Cross Over to Sneden’s” and then taking his place at the piano for his fourth song, delivered the second of Wilder’s most well-known numbers, the lilting “While We’re Young” (Wilder and Morty Palitz, Bill Engvick).
Congratulations are due to Mark Walter (who works through the Cy Walter Foundation to keep alive his father’s legacy) and to The Friends of Alec Wilder for another beautifully-crafted concert of Wilder’s work.
