OpeningNight.Online Theater Logo

Wendy Moten at Birdland

Wendy Moten at the Nashville Hall of Fame Museum. Photo from wendymoten.com
Wendy Moten at the Nashville Hall of Fame Museum. Photo from wendymoten.com
Search by review category
Rating
4.6/5

Wendy Moten ascended to the Birdland stage with a smile and charm that lit up the room. From her first words and the comfortable swing tempo of her first song, All of Me, Moten emerged as a poised, expressive, and consummate artist. She conveyed her passionate insights with a beautiful, clear voice and through her ability to command any genre she desired. Moten was accompanied by world-class musicians Andy Ezrin on piano, David M. Santos on electric bass, Graham Hawthorne on drums, and Paul Livant on guitar. It was an evening of R & B country, jazz, the American Songbook, pop, rock, and ineffable beauty.

 

L-R Andy Ezrin, Wendy Moten, David M Santos and Paul Livant. Photo credit: Edward Kliszus
L-R Andy Ezrin, Wendy Moten, David M Santos and Paul Livant. Photo credit: Edward Kliszus

Moten explained that tonight was a musical journey. Through her words and song, she unfolded her story of nostalgia, perseverance, and the wisdom garnered from a life well lived. More than that, we discovered that each song embodied Moten’s self-effacing tributes to the artistry of other musical greats.

Moten’s artistic line-up was varied and fabulous. She continued with a richly expressive romantic rendition of Nature Boy of Nat King Cole fame that segued into a gentle rumba beat and guitar solo. Next was Ain’t No Way , as memorialized by Aretha Franklin, and Someone to Watch Over Me, in which Moten honored the flawless artistry and vocal purity of Ella Fitzgerald.

Diverging from the American songbook and reminding us of her Nashville roots, Moten delivered Bobby Gentry’s 1967 country blues tune Ode to Billy Joe. And, “Do you watch Saturday Night Live? she asked.” Yes, because there Paul Simon performed his Still Crazy After All These Years. Moten treated us similarly, with Andy Ezrin sliding from his grand piano to his synthesizer. As many closed their eyes, Moten transported us into 1975 with Janis Ian’s poetic and insightful At Seventeen.

 The delectation of classic, beautiful songs continued in an arc of chiaroscuro musical settings, including Richard Whiting’s I Can’t Escape From You, Whitney Houston’s  I Will Always Love You, Arethra Franklin’s Since You’ve Been Gone, and Moten’s Patti LaBelle inspired version of Over the Rainbow. Moten’s performance of her own 90s hit Come In Out Of The Rain was fabulous and showed how an audience could groove from their seats.

 

Andy Ezrin and Wendy Moten at Birdland. Photo credit: Edward Kliszus
Andy Ezrin and Wendy Moten at Birdland. Photo credit: Edward Kliszus

Moten’s gentle unpretentiousness was a bright and unexpected gentle light in the world of popular music. We may see her as a diva, but it’s in her own charming way. You may recall her most recent venture in NBC’s The Voice 2021. Many are also aware of her incredible emergence in the 90s and recordings with fellow luminaries like Michael McDonald, Julio Iglesias, Kirk Whalum, Peabo Bryson, Vince Gill, Keb’ Mo’, Buddy Guy, Paul Brown, John Oates, and Blake Shelton.

Of special note was Moten’s exquisite, heart-rendering performance of Someone to Watch Over Me. Andy Ezrin’s piano introduction and accompaniment characterized an expressive apotheosis as if exploring introspective elements drawn from the psyche of pianist Bill Evans. The pairing of the singer and accompanist was perfect. As Bill Evans once noted, “Music should enrich the soul; it should teach spirituality by showing a person a portion of himself that he would not discover otherwise.” This and more took place tonight.

Wendy Moten at Birdland

Andy Ezrin on piano

David M. Santos on bass

Graham Hawthorne on drums

Paul Livant on guitar.

Birdland

315 West 44th Street (between 8th and 9th Avenues)

New York, NY 10036

For reservations call (212) 581-3080

For information or tickets, go to www.BirdlandJazz.com.

Readers may also enjoy our reviews of the Ben Wendel Quartet at the Village Vanguard, David Jackson at 54Below, Trombonist Marshall Gilkes, and Insomnia.

More to explore...

The Company of the 2021-2022 national tour of CATS. Photo by Matt Matthew, Murphymade.

CATS at the Mayo Performing Arts Center

There are so many beautiful songs in the first and second acts, too many to list. Still, song after song and with mindboggling dance presentations, the theatergoers waited in anticipation to hear Grizabella’s full performance of Memory, and it didn’t disappoint. It was so powerful that everyone in the theater held their breath momentarily.

In a scene of The Conductor at The Theater for the New City. Above: Brian Simmons as Warren Chipp. Below: Imran Javaid as Shashi Parmar. Photo by Jonathan Slaff.

The Conductor at the Theater for the New City

The Conductor celebrated emotionally charged discourse governed by mutual respect, intellectual rigor, and passionate argument without the hostility, recriminations, and violence sometimes seen in today’s national debate. As with any well-crafted, intellectually fueled discourse, Reed’s work evoked exciting questions and ideas for viewers desiring continued debate.

Tyce Green in Turn the Beat Around at 54 Below. Photo by Gloria Alvarado

Turn the Beat Around at 54 Below

The thrill of the disco era returned to 54 Below on March 1 for an exciting night as the famous and glamorous nightclub opened the dance floor to all who came to participate in two sold-out shows of Turn the Beat Around.

COMMENTS

Wendy Moten at Birdland

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x