IN HARNAR’S WAY
Sammy Cahn was born on the Lower East Side, the only son of Jewish immigrants Abraham and Elka Reiss Cohen. He attended Seward Park High School, and, after learning the violin, his first professional gigs were playing in Bar Mitzvah bands and burlesque houses. His side jobs included working at a meat-packing plant and serving as a movie-house usher, tinsmith, freight-elevator operator and restaurant cashier.
However, despite these humble beginnings, Cahn wrote some of the most sophisticated lyrics in the American songbooks, lyrics every bit as witty and urbane as those of Cole Porter, a man born into a wealthy Indiana family. Cahn collaborated with such notable composers as Jule Styne and Jimmy Van Heusen. When asked which came first, the words of the music, according to Jeff Harnar, his answer was “the phone call.”
Jeff Harnar
Twenty-four years ago, Harnar recorded an album of Cahn’s songs called Sammy Cahn – All the Way. For many years, the album was out of print, until PS Classics produced a new, remixed and reimagined edition of the album, now called Jeff Harnar Sings Sammy Cahn: The Second Time Around. Harnar celebrated the release with two concerts at New York City’s 54 Below on July 26 and 27.
Eric Comstock and Jeff Harnar
The new tracks feature not only Harnar, an award-winning cabaret, concert and recording artist who has previously paid tribute to Cole Porter and Noël Coward, but also special guest artists for the Saturday night performance (Sally Mayes joined Harnar on Friday night). Clint Holmes helped Harnar reproduce the Rat Pat ambience in “Come Dance with Me/I Like to Lead When I Dance”. The Kenyan vocal trio MOIPEI gave new spirit to “Bei Mir Bist du Schön.” And jazz singer Nicole Zuraitis complemented “Come Fly with Me” with some tremendous scat.
Jeff Harnar and MOIPEI
Harnar is a seasoned performer who can bring to life Cahn’s most notable songs, from the searing “I’ll Only Miss Him When I Think of Him” to the bubbly “My Kind of Town.” His voice caresses each word with the same love he gives each note.
Cahn is a master of the love ballad. But he can also swing. No wonder that other master of ballad and swing, Frank Sinatra, was so fond of Cahn’s songs. As Harnar said, “Cahn put more words into Sinatra’s mouth than any other writer.”
Frank Sinatra is no longer with us. But happily we have Jeff Harnar.
photos by Conor Weiss
Jeff Harner Sings Sammy Cahn: The Second Time Around
54 Below, 54 E 54 St
reviewed on July 27, 2024
for more info, visit Jeff Harnar
