“For Those We Love” jazz concert was produced by Louise Rogers and Peter Eldridge to benefit the Alzheimer’s Association, New York City Chapter and featured the Louise Rogers/Rick Strong Duo, Jane Monheit, Paquito D’Rivera and New York Voices on April 12th at The Kaye Playhouse. The concert was hosted by Ron Claiborne of ABC News Good Morning America.

Following Ron Claiborne’s ominous statistics and brief exposé on the ravages, present and future, caused by Alzheimer’s disease, the Kaye auditorium was filled with the pathos of the cause and the uplifting and joyful music that regaled a very enthusiastic audience for nearly two hours.

The concert started with the ineffable and multi-talented husband-and-wife team of vocalist Louise Rogers and bassist/guitarist Rick Strong. They opened the set with Les Hooper’s “Bass-ically Speaking,” instantly highlighting the songstress’s crystalline voice, innate sense of scatting, and Strong’s empathetic and well constructed soloing abilities. This was followed by a Maineri/Rogers/McBride composition entitled “Islands,” its soft samba rhythm unwittingly hinting at the Latin American atmosphere that would prevail for a great part of the evening. Percussionist Ben Wittman’s understated yet pulsating accompaniment and Strong’s effective bass lines expertly highlighted Ms. Rogers’ gift at delivering a song with aplomb, sincerity and professionalism. This was segued by Strong’s lovely guitar introduction to Richard Hundley’s poignant “Come Ready and See Me.” Ms. Rogers’ talent at singing the “lyrics” instead of the “notes” rendered her performance of the song even more endearing. This song was a preview to the singer’s forthcoming CD bearing the same title.

Lastly “Be My Baby,” penned by Rogers and Strong, showed off the team’s great sense of swing, Ms. Roger’s impressive talent at singing a capella, Wittman’s firm yet unobtrusive brushwork, and the perfect fusion of voice and bass performing in unison.

This engaging set was segued by singer Jane Monheit, backed by a sympatico quintet made up of the artist’s father-in-law, Rick Montalbano, Sr. on piano, her husband, Rick Montalbano, Jr. on drums, Neil Miner on bass, and Ari Ambrose on saxophone. Ms. Monheit amply demonstrated her vocal versatility with a repertoire that covered pop songs, standards, and especially the Bossa Nova Song Book. Her ubiquitous vocal talents covered the gamut, from Streisand-like high vocal reaches to the show-stopping qualities of Linda Eder and the eclecticism of Karen Allyson. Monheit’s satin voice was at its most seductive when performing slow Bossa Novas, especially Jobim’s “So Tinha De Ser Come Voce” which had the audience under a spell. The soft support of Ari Ambrose’s breathy tenor (à la Ben Webster) was most effective in bringing forth the lush and dreamy Brazilian rhythms. Daring to reconstruct Harold Arlen’s “Over the Rainbow” and give Stevie Wonder’s “Overjoyed” a lilting samba treatment, Ms. Monheit showed the full control of her craftsmanship and wide vocal palette. Her duet with mentor Peter Eldridge on piano, aptly titled “Around Us” stood out of the set by its sheer simplicity and straight-from-the-heart approach.

Another high point of the evening was the combined forces of Paquito D’Rivera and the stellar New York Voices. Their upbeat performance turned the venue from Concert Hall to Carnival Hall! The joy, happiness and fun they exuded over the six songs performed was almost contagious. The place was set on fire from the very first piece, D’Rivera’s “Snow Samba” (interspersed with the composer’s witty quotes from “Mona Lisa”), to a version of Jobim’s “Retrato Em Branco E Prêto” that made the New York Voices sound like a large choir, with D’Rivera's clarinet weaving in, out, and almost in between the four fabulous voices. His inimitable sense of humor was well evident in the verbal repartees between songs! To wit, his definition of Brazilian music and the vocal quartet as a “mixture of black beans and Sushi”!!! What a “swinging” recipe! The audience was left hungry for more!

Apart from their immense vocal talents and harmonic gifts, one would be remiss not to mention the “instrumental” acumen of saxophonist Darmon Meader and trombonist Jay Ashby and their skillful blending of horns and vocals in the right place and at the right time. Their version of “Corcovado” would have made Jobim proud.

Bringing down the pace a notch, D’Rivera performed another Jobim piece, “Meu Amigo,” this time on clarinet, with Alon Yavnai on piano, Paul Nowinski on bass and New York Voices, of course! It had all the ingredients of a Bach Cantata, four-part harmony, and all! Of course, the artist could not resist implanting a musical quotation into the song, this time drawn from “Stranger from Paradise”!

This was followed by a piano and clarinet duet performing a fast-paced, rousing and boisterous Choro, sort of “Brazilian Rag” with combined Joplinesque and fast samba rhythmic patterns!

Capping the evening, the D’Rivera and New York Voices “one night” partnership performed a rousing version of Dizzy Gillespie’s “Night in Tunisia,” imparting the tune with an exciting and raucous salsa beat, as the vocal quartet gently played around with dynamics and tempo and switched from singing in unison with the band to a capella vocalises performed with the ease and sensitivity it is known for. Lauren Kinhan, Kim Nazarian, Darmon Meader and Peter Eldridge’s vocal “chops” were especially astounding in this finale piece.

Not content with treating its audience with an evening oozing with love, warmth, and talent from beginning to end, the event artists invited everybody to a post-show reception in situ, with an abundant array of fine food and drinks. This social gathering also gave a chance to the galvanized audience to mingle with all the talented performers and socialize with the other patrons.

“For Those We Love” was heralded as the first of a yearly concert series to benefit the Alzheimer’s Association, NYC Chapter and its noble work. One can only look forward with much excitement to 2008 and beyond!

— Gilbert Mathieu

clockwise, left to right: Concert host Ron Claiborne & Paquito D’Rivera. Rick Strong & Louise Rogers. Paquito D’RIvera. Jane Monheit, Rick Montalbano, Jr., and Ari Ambrose. New York Voices.
Click here to view our entire "For Those We Love" Jazz Benefit Concert and other Chapter event photographs.

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