Jan. 5-16

SANDY STEWART & BILL CHARLAP RETURN TO THE OAK ROOM
IN LIMITED TWO WEEK ENGAGEMENT JANUARY 5-16

“Together, they make the kind of music you hear about once every 10 years…
if you’re lucky.”Rex Reed, NY Observer

The nonpareil duo of vocalist Sandy Stewart and jazz pianist Bill Charlap are certain to chase the post-holiday blues away with their new Oak Room show, “Somebody Loves Me,” in a limited two week run January 5-16. The pair--who happen also to be mother and son--will perform “Little Girl Blue,” “I’m Old Fashioned,” “In Love in Vain,” “Isn’t It A Pity,” “Who Cares,” “Autumn in New York” and other gems from the Great American Songbook.  Bill’s solos will be different for each show.   Shows are Tuesday through Thursday at 8:30 and Friday and Saturday at 8:30 and 11.  There is a $60 cover charge per person plus either a $30 food and beverage minimum or a $60 prix fixe menu.  Reservations: 212 419 9331 or bmcgurn@algonquinhotel.com
            Sandy Stewart is best known for the Grammy-nominated song, “My Coloring Book” (she lost to Ella Fitzgerald’s “Mack the Knife”).  She began her performing career at 15 in her native Philadelphia and soon moved to New York for a variety of television gigs with Merv Griffin, Dick Van Dyke, and as a regular with the Perry Como show while also touring with Benny Goodman.  After marrying Broadway composer Moose Charlap, she retired to rear sons Bill and Tom.  Later, she resumed singing in clubs and on recordings and voiceovers.  Sandy’s recent CD with Bill, “Love Is Here to Stay,” for Blue Note, was greeted with universal acclaim.
            Bill Charlap began playing piano at age three.   He later studied classical music but remained most interested in jazz, and worked with Gerry Mulligan, Benny Carter and Tony Bennett, among others.  In a crowded field Bill is considered one of the world’s best jazz pianists.  With Peter Washington (bass) and Kenny Washington (drums) he has recorded six albums as a leader for the Blue Note label, including two Grammy-nominated CDs: “Somewhere,” featuring the music of Leonard Bernstein and “The Bill Charlap Trio: Live at the Village Vanguard.”  He is Artistic Director of New York’s 92nd Street Y “Jazz in July” series, and in 2008 toured worldwide on behalf of Blue Note’s 70th anniversary.

Jan. 19-Feb. 6

STEVE ROSS WILL BE “PUTTIN’ ON THE RITZ”
IN A SALUTE TO FRED ASTAIRE JANUARY 19-FEBRUARY 6

 “Of how many other performers can it be said that unadorned voice and piano make for a complete and completely engrossing show?”…Stephen Holden, The New York Times

            His most recent Oak Room triumphs have celebrated the creative genius of Stephen Sondheim and Alan Jay Lerner.  In his new show, “Puttin’ on the Ritz,” from January 19th thru February 6,  Steve Ross will focus on one of the great interpretive artists of the 20th century, the sublime Fred Astaire.  While performing   “Night and Day,” “Stepping Out With My Baby,” “A Foggy Day,” “’S Wonderful” and other classic standards,   Steve will explore Astaire’s appeal to the great songwriters of Broadway and Hollywood, among them Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern and Johnny Mercer.       
Shows are Tuesday through Thursday at 8:30 and Friday and Saturday at 8:30 and 11, with a $50 cover charge per person plus either a $30 minimum or  $60 prix fixe dinner.  Reservations: 212 419 9331 or bmcgurn@algonquinhotel.com
            Steve Ross is today’s leading interpreter of the words and music of Cole Porter and Noel Coward, and he has helped sustain their popularity in such venues as the Ritz in London and Paris, the Imperial in Tokyo, and festivals in Hong Kong, Perth and Spoleto.  He has hosted radio series for BBC and NPR, and has appeared in celebrated concert series at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the 92nd Street Y.  He made his Broadway debut in 1997 in the acclaimed revival of Noel Coward’s Present Laughter at the keyboard and as Fred, the Cockney valet, opposite Frank Langella.  He anchors  the Oak Room’s annual Noel Coward Birthday Celebration, which features performances by Broadway actors and popular singers.     
Fred Astaire’s first dancing partner was his sister Adele, beginning in vaudeville where they were bonafide stars in their teens with smash hits on New York and London stages.  When Adele left to marry a British nobleman in the early 30s, Fred set out on his own, scoring a major success on Broadway in The Gay Divorce.  Soon Hollywood claimed him, and thus began his illustrious film career that included such partners as Ginger Rogers in Flying Down to Rio and eight other classic 30s musicals; Eleanor Powell,  arguably the best dancer of all his partners,  and Rita Hayworth, inarguably the sexiest.  Among his countless awards are an Honorary Academy Award, three Emmy Awards, Dance Magazine and Capezio Award (of which Nureyev was co-recipient) and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement  Award.   He was the first recipient of Kennedy Center Honors in 1978.

Jan. 31-June 20

Barbara Carroll – Sunday Jazz Brunch

Feb. 9-Mar. 6

ERIC COMSTOCK & BARBARA FASANO CELEBRATE OAK ROOM’S VALENTINE SHOW, “THIS THING CALLED LOVE” FEBRUARY 9-MARCH 6

“[They] are turning the neighborhood into a hotbed of pleasure.”
…Stephen Holden, The New York Times

“They’re hot on their way to becoming the foremost husband and wife
cabaret team.”…David Finkle, VOICE

Just named winners of the prestigious 2010 Nightlife Award as “outstanding cabaret duo,” Eric Comstock and Barbara Fasano will make their first joint appearance at the legendary Oak Room Supper Club in a special Valentine show, “This Thing Called Love,” from February 9th through March 6th.  Modern romance--expressed through such classic standards as “Last Night When We Were Young,” “Old Devil Moon,” “Isn’t It A Pity,” “In the Still of the Night” and “But Beautiful”—will be explored with humor,  tenderness and insight. They will be joined by Sean Smith on bass.   Shows are Tuesday through Thursday at 8:30 and Friday and Saturday at 8:30 and 11:00, with a $50 cover charge per person plus either a $30 food and beverage minimum or a $60 prix fixe dinner.   Reservations: 212 419 9331 or bmcgurn@algonquinhotel.com.
Although they’ve been compared to Nick and Nora, Fred and Ginger and Lunt and Fontanne, Comstock and Fasano’s unique combination of wit and sensuality is all their own.  Eric Comstock, one of the most admired performers and preservers of the American songbook, created and starred in the hit revues “Singing Astaire,” “Made for the Movies” and “Our Sinatra” (over 1300 performances off-Broadway).    The acclaimed singer and pianist headlined Lincoln Center’s American Songbook salutes to Jule Styne and Charles Strouse.  His recent CD, “No One Knows,” received unanimous praise for his jazz interpretations of the songs of Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn to Johnny Mercer and E. Y. Harburg.    
Barbara Fasano, hailed as one of the most stunning and soulful performers of the American Songbook, balances dramatic intensity  with solid musicianship.  She has appeared in musical theatre productions ranging from “Wonderful Town” and “Grease” to “Side by Side by Sondheim.”   In addition to her two MAC Awards, Barbara has received three Back Stage Bistro Awards including Record of the Year for her 2007 Harold Arlen Songbook, “Written in the Stars,”  the same award she won for her debut CD, “The Girls of Summer, based on her one-woman show. 

Feb. 14

Avery Brooks
Click Here for Bio

VALENTINE’S DAY, SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2010
AN EVENING WITH AVERY BROOKS
PRODUCED BY JILL NEWMAN PRODUCTIONS

Dinner Show
Doors open at 6:00 pm
Performance at 7:30 pm
 
Second Show
Doors open at 9:30 pm
Performance at 10:30 pm
 
Music Charge: $75.00 per person
 
Dinner Show:  food and beverage minimum: $50.00
Second Show: food and beverage minimum: $30.00
 
Reservations: 212-419-9331

Feb. 20

THE OAK ROOM PRESENTS YOUNG JAZZ VIOLIN VIRTUOSO
AARON WEINSTEIN IN “HAVE STRINGS, WILL SWING”
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 20TH AT 8:30

“…so fierily invigorating that you have to move to his music.”
…Nat Hentoff, Wall Street Journal
“The Groucho of violin.”…Tony Bennett

Named “a rising star violinist” by Downbeat magazine, Aaron Weinstein is quickly earning a reputation as one of the finest jazz violinists of his generation.  Aaron and his trio—Russ Kassoff on piano and Tom Hubbard on bass—will make their Oak Room debut at 8:30 Saturday February 20th in a new show entitled “Have Strings, Will Swing.”  Selections from the show include “I Won’t Dance,” “Someone To Watch Over Me,” “A Sleepin’ Bee” and “Cheek to Cheek.” 
There is a $50 cover charge plus either a $30 food and beverage minimum or a $60 prix fixe dinner (seating at 7) per person.  Reservations: (212) 419 9331 or bmcgurn@algonquinhotel.com.
Aaron is a recent graduate of the famed Berklee College of Music, where he was
awarded a full four-year talent-based scholarship.   As a featured soloist, he has performed at Jazz at Lincoln Center, Wolftrap, the Blue Note, Birdland, Iridium, Carnegie Hall and abroad at festivals in England, France, Switzerland and Israel.  He has performed with an array of jazz icons, including Les Paul, Bucky Pizzarelli (who calls Aaron “a perfect musician”), John Pizzarelli, Scott Hamilton and Dick Hyman, as well as the late NY Pops founder/conductor Skitch  Henderson.
With the release of his Arbors Record debut, A Handful of Stars (called “the rebirth of hot jazz violin” by Hentoff), Aaron became the youngest jazz musician to have recorded as leader for this prestigious traditional jazz label.  His newest release,
Blue Too, is a duo with John Pizzarelli.  
(Eric Comstock and Barbara Fasano, whom Aaron replaces for this show only,
resume their 2/9-3/6 engagement, “This Thing Called Love,”  at the late show 2/20.) 

Mar. 9-Apr. 10

KT SULLIVAN & MARK NADLER DECLARE “GERSHWIN…

HERE TO STAY” IN NEW OAK ROOM SHOW MARCH 9-APRIL10

“Ms. Sullivan and Mr. Nadler suggest a ripened Botticelli Venus

squired by Danny Kaye, freshly incarnated as a  hyperkinetic piano man visiting

from vaudeville heaven.”…Stephen Holden, The New York Times.

Having triumphed in their recent Oak Room salute to Cole Porter (“oo la la! C’est magnifique!”…NY Times)…KT Sullivan and Mark Nadler now turn their considerable talents to two more greats of the musical pantheon, George and Ira Gershwin.   From March 9^th through April 10^th in their new Oak Room show—GERSHWIN…HERE TO STAY—KT and Mark will lend their unique vocal and pianistic interpretations to such classic tunes as “Of Thee I Sing,” “Do It Again!,” “I’ll Build A Stairway to Paradise,” “Embraceable You,” “But Not For Me” and “Swanee.”

Chicago jazz pianist Jon Weber will make a special guest appearance. 

Shows are Tuesday through Thursday at 8:30 and Friday and Saturday at 8:30 and 11:00, with a $50 cover charge per person plus either a $30 food and beverage minimum or a $60 prix fixe menu.   Reservations: 212 419 9331 or bmcgurn@algonquinhotel.com

KT Sullivan’s Broadway shows include George Abbott’s Broadway, Threepenny Opera with Sting and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.  She appeared in the national company of Annie Get Your Gun and has received numerous awards, most recently the prestigious Mabel Mercer Award.  Regionally she appeared at the Old Globe Theatre, the Hartford Stage Company, Municipal Opera in St. Louis, Goodspeed Opera House and Carnegie Hall with Michael Feinstein.   Among her many CDs is “Swell Party…R.s.v.p. Cole Porter,” the recorded version of her Oak Room show with Mark Nadler and her just-released “Timeless Tunes.”

Mark Nadler has performed at Carnegie Hall with the New York Pops and has been a soloist with the Baltimore Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony and Oregon Symphony.  He has played at Lincoln Center and at almost every major nightclub in New York, Los Angles, Chicago, San Francisco and London.  His off-Broadway Gershwin revue, American Rhapsody, was nominated for Drama  Desk and Lucille Lortel Awards.  Broadway credits include Dame  Edna: The Royal Tour and The Sheik of Avenue B.   His new CD, “Beyond Words: Lyrics by Ira Gershwin,” will be released during his Oak Room run. 

Apr. 13-May 8

Maude Maggart

May 11-June 19

TBA

Sept. 7-18

TBA

Sept. 19-Dec. 19

Barbara Carroll – Sunday Jazz Brunch

Sept. 21-Oct. 23

Karen Akers

“Akers Sings Hart and Rodgers, Too!”  

Oct. 26-Nov. 13

TBA

Nov. 16-Dec. 25

Andrea Marcovicci  - “Blue Champagne”