Rave Reviews for Sunday In New York by Christine Ebersole & Billy Stritch
Christine Ebersole & Billy Stritch have earned rave reviews for their new CD, 'Sunday In New York'. Howard Kissel of The New York Daily News said “it is sensational," and Steven Suskin of Playbill praised it as “an irrepressible ride." NY Blade said that Ebersole has “more interpretive power than just about any other singer I can bring to mind. Wow." Talkin' Broadway buzzed: “There's infectious joy in the snazzy, crackling duets..."
Two upcoming appearances have been confirmed to celebrate the album's recent release on Ghostlight Records:
WHEN:
Tuesday, June 17 @ 7pm
WHERE:
Barnes & Noble Lincoln Triangle
1972 Broadway @ 66th Street, NYC
WHAT:
Christine Ebersole & Billy Stritch perform songs from their new recording, Sunday in New York, and sign CDs.
HOW:
Just show up! This event is free, but show up early, as space is limited.
WHEN:
Monday, June 30 @ 7pm
WHERE:
Birdland
315 W 44th Street, NYC
WHAT:
Jim Caruso's Cast Party hosts a concert celebrating the release of Christine Ebersole & Billy Stritch's new recording, Sunday in New York as part of the Broadway at Birdland series.
HOW:
For tickets ($40/$60 VIP + $10 food/drink minimum)
call 212-581-3080 or go online at birdlandjazz.com .
NY DAILY NEWS Howard Kissel - On My Turntable
The other disc I listen to over and over is “Sunday In New York," with Christine Ebersole and Billy Stritch. It is based on the act they did at the Metropolitan Room, and it is sensational. I have admired Stritch since, many years ago, he was the pianist and arranger for a trio called Montgomery, Plant and Stritch. The two women and Stritch used to perform in the Oak Room of the Algonquin. The piece de resistance of their act was an arrangement he did of the great Rumble from “West Side Story," where the three voices and the piano managed to convey all the musical lines of the huge cast and the orchestra in the first act finale of that show. Here they do a great range of songs. He does an infectious vocal of the old standard “When My Baby Walks Down the Street" and a haunting piano solo on “I Only Have Eyes For You." The two bring enormous verve to “My Favorite Things" and “Hit That Jive." As for Ebersole, she has never been more impressive -- which is saying quite a lot. She finds all the power in “What'll I Do?", she brings great sensuousness to “The Surrey With the Fringe On Top" and does a searing “Lullaby of Broadway." No one has ever sung two Sondheim songs, “So Many People" and “Not While I'm Around," more eloquently. In some ways, though, the most dazzling cut is a simple song from “Grey Gardens." In the show it was used mainly to evoke nostalgia. In Stritch's arrangement she turns it into an emotional powerhouse. Music has always been my main drug. Both these discs get me high every time I hear them.
PLAYBILL - ON THE RECORD: Ebersole and Stritch Celebrate “Sunday in New York" By Steven Suskin
This week's column discusses Christine Ebersole and Billy Stritch's nightclub act transformed to CD, under the title “Sunday in New York..." Playbill Review - SUNDAY IN NEW YORK [Ghostlight 8-3310] Christine Ebersole and Billy Stritch come out a-swinging on “Sunday in New York," their new CD, and hardly ever let up. An irrepressible ride they give us, and one that'll brighten both your sun days and those with a few clouds in the skies. Ebersole and Stritch first joined together while pounding the beat of 42nd Street. 42nd Street the revival, that is, where Stritch served as onstage accompanist to Ebersole's Dorothy Brock way back in 2001. Ms. Ebersole took her first Tony Award, which by now has expanded to two (and deservedly so) thanks to her little performance in Grey Gardens. But all through the decade, it seems, Christine and Billy have found time to ply their wares, turning up anyplace they could find a tuned piano. “Sunday in New York" has something of a '50s feel to it, at least in terms of the cover art (with Ebersole in strapless white gown atop a grand while Stritch sits at the keys -- both of them sporting a full mouth of impossibly pearly whites). The CD more or less follows the show the pair presented in 2007 at the Metropolitan Room, and quite a set it is. Things get off to a fast start with “Haven't Got a Worry" (by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans, from the 1953 movie “The Stars Are Singing") and “Sunday in New York" (by Carroll Coates and Peter Nero, written for the 1962 film version of the Broadway comedy). Next come a fast-paced “My Favorite Things," which is very good, followed by a nifty “Surrey with the Fringe on Top." A change of pace is offered in “So Many People," and it makes that early Sondheim tune from Saturday Night sound exceptionally good. Stritch -- who does a considerable amount of singing on the CD -- gives us “Give Me the Simple Life" combined with “Tea for Two." “Tea for Two" we are familiar with, especially those who caught Nanette at Encores recently, but Rube Bloom's “Give Me the Simple Life" is one of those wonderful songs we rarely hear and can't get enough of. I needn't step through each and every song, but I can't see clear to leave out any of my favorite tracks (of which there are way too many). There's a wild '40s-era mix of “Hit That Jive, Jack" (Johnny Alston-Skeets Tolbert) and Nat King Cole's “Errand Girl for Rhythm"; a deliciously mellow “Walkin' in New York" (by Brenda Russell, one of the Color Purple songwriters); and renditions of “Lullaby of Broadway" (from 42nd Street) and “Will You?" (from Grey Gardens). Not to mention an especially special setting of Sondheim's “Not While I'm Around." Is Ms. Ebersole on tap to come out and play Mrs. Lovett in the 2014 revival of you know what? Without tuba, hopefully.
NY BLADE -- By Jonathan Warman SUNDAY IN NEW YORK
People only familiar with the fabulous Christine Ebersole from her Tony-winning turns in “42nd Street" and “Grey Gardens" may not be aware that she's also an astonishingly good cabaret performer, who can sing jazz with the same elegant power she brings to musical theater. On “Sunday in New York," her jazzy new vocal album produced by Grammy Award winner Russ Titelman, Christine and pianist-vocalist Billy Stritch--her favorite partner in supper club crime--truly outdo themselves. The collection was culled from the pair's recent sold-out run at The Metropolitan Room. I was lucky enough to see that run, and was particularly moved by her passionate take on Irving Berlin's “What'll I Do." That's here, not as passionate as I remember, but just as gorgeously and sensitively sung. The big showstopper is her breathtaking version of “Will You" one of her big ballads from “Grey Gardens." It's a complete reinvention: She intensifies all of this towering ballad's contrasting colors, effortlessly displaying more interpretive power than just about any other singer I can bring to mind. Wow. (Ghostlight Records)
NEXT MAGAZINE by David Hurst
Containing the material from their recent smash engagement at The Metropolitan Room, Christine Ebersole and Billy Stritch make an irrepressible and intoxicating team on Sunday in New York. Filled with terrific pop songs and show tunes, all brilliantly arranged by Stritch, Sunday in New York is sensational any day of the week.
BACKSTAGE - 'BLOGSTAGE' Entry, by Executive Editor David Sheward
As I write this I'm listening to “Sunday in New York," the new CD by Christine Ebersole and Billy Stritch and absolutely loving it. It's jazzy and varied, not just show tunes, but all kinds of stuff. My favorite cuts are “Hit That Jive, Jack/Errand Girl for Rhythm" (it makes me wanna dance, daddy)and an unexpectedly soulful rendition of “Lullaby of Broadway."
Talkin' Broadway
If you dared me not to smile while listening to Sunday in New York, I'd lose the bet very quickly, no matter which of the 13 tracks on the CD came up. There's infectious joy in the snazzy, crackling duets of Christine Ebersole and Billy Stritch; her solo ballads bring smiles of satisfaction in appreciation of the loveliness and uncluttered sincerity of the singing. This album, based on their live act that won a Nightlife Award, is pleasure from beginning to end - that beginning being a song expressing the attitude of their fun-fests, “Haven't Got a Worry." The Broadway leading lady has five solos; two are no-frills, no-fuss renditions of Stephen Sondheim works: “So Many People" and “Not While I'm Around." Billy takes just two vocal solo tracks, a breezy “Walking My Baby Back Home" and a rip-roaring celebrational, bursting-with-ebullience medley of an old movie song, “Give Me the Simple Life" and No, No Nanette's old chestnut “Tea for Two." There's some familiar territory here from past recordings. The sprightly title song, a duet here, is also on Billy's accomplished recent solo album, Billy Stritch Sings Mel Torme. Christine also provides a new, rich reading of “Will You?", her tender song from Grey Gardens. This CD also repeats two items from their duet album from a few years ago: “The Surrey with the Fringe on Top" and Christine's simmering, slowed-down version of “Lullaby of Broadway" from 42nd Street (Christine and Billy crossed theatrical paths when both were in the cast of the Broadway revival of that stage musical about a stage musical - she playing the diva and he played, as he coyly says in their live show, “the small but pivotal role of Oscar, the rehearsal pianist"). Here, Billy provides a thoughtful piano solo with the romantic “I Only Have Eyes for You" before “Lullaby of Broadway." The two are given shared credit for the album's arrangements, and Billy's piano accompaniment throughout is full of flair and care and affectionate flourishes that suit the old songs' sensibilities while keeping them fresh. Their several very fleet jazz romps are packed with cheer and charm, both sounding very hip and sure-footed. It is in these playful duets, like a swinging and corn-free “My Favorite Things," where their chemistry and camaraderie really come through and let us in on the feel-good spirits. More good news is that two top New York musicians are also on hand: drummer Tony Tedesco and bass player Steve Doyle (he adds some back-up vocals, too), who regularly is onstage with Billy for Birdland's popular Cast Party on Monday nights. Billy is a busy recording artist these days - in addition to his solo album, he also has a duet album with Klea Blackhurst due on Ghostlight next month, featuring Hoagy Carmichael material.
ALL MUSIC (3 & 1/2 Star) review - excerpts by Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr.
The title, Sunday in New York, conjures up a quiet day in the city, the perfect time for a lazy afternoon filled with one's favorite show tunes. In fact, it is not unlike the show one might have heard from singer Christine Ebersole and pianist-vocalist Billy Stritch at the Metropolitan Room. These performances, in fact, provided the material and simple approach to Sunday in New York, an album with a heavy emphasis on the classic songbook. As one might expect, the team delivers a version of “Sunday in New York," and keeping with this theme, also add “Walkin' in New York." There are selections from musical favorites like “My Favorite Things," “Surrey With the Fringe on Top," and “Will You?" (from Grey Gardens). The arrangements, piano, bass, and drums, are low key, and Ebersole and Stritch explore a number of variations on the duo form, from adding no more than supporting harmony on the choruses to full-blown duets....
About 'Sunday in New York': Released May 13th release on Ghostlight Records, the jazzy new vocal album was produced by Grammy Award winner Russ Titelman (Steve Winwood, Eric Clapton, Paul Simon,) and features 13 tracks ranging from Rodgers & Hammerstein's “Surrey With The Fringe On Top" to Stephen Sondheim's “Not While I'm Around." The collection was culled from the pair's recent sold out run at The Metropolitan Room. In a recent review of their performance at Lincoln Center, The New York Times' Stephen Holden commented: “Ms. Ebersole, a bright, zany soprano and ebullient clown, can whirl on a dime and in a show like “Grey Gardens" evoke an inexpressible sorrow under a facade of garrulous pluck. When she adds a spinning vibrato to her lemony voice, she can turn into a playful latter- day Kathryn Grayson or Jeanette MacDonald, which she began to do on Friday during “The Surrey With the Fringe on Top." Mr. Stritch, a pop-jazz pianist, gifted arranger and Liza Minnelli protg with a photographic musical memory...is a solid exponent of the gregarious, swinging Las Vegas style epitomized by Steve Lawrence."
SUNDAY IN NEW YORK - TRACK LISTING:
For more information contact Seth Cohen PR.
