Despite his three Academy Awards and three Tony Awards, Alan Jay Lerner is not the lyricist who comes to mind when one thinks of urbane and witty lyrics. But with I Remember Him Well: The Songs of Alan Jay Lerner, Steve Ross reminds us we should not underestimate the talent behind such well known songs as “I Could Have Danced All Night” and “If Ever I Would Leave You.”
As Ross points out, Lerner not only married eight times he also worked with eight composers, including Kurt Weill, Burton Lane and of course, Frederick Loewe. His wives may not be remembered. But the songs he wrote with those composers are unforgettable.
Lerner’s lyrics capture romantic moments with poetic beauty: “Your hair streaked with sunlight/Your lips red as flame/Your face with a lustre/That puts gold to shame!”
Steve Ross (Peter Ligeti)
His lists can rival those of Cole Porter: “You’re like Paris in April and May/You’re New York on a silvery day/A Swiss Alp as the sun grows fainter/You’re Loch Lomond when autumn is the painter.”
He can be sly and nostalgic at the same time: “We met at 9/We met at 8/I was on time/No, you were late/Ah yes/I remember it well.” Here Ross sang both parts, made iconic by the great Maurice Chevalier and Hermione Gingold in the 1958 film, Gigi.
And Lerner can be downright hilarious: “Punch me and jail me, stamp me and mail me/But get me to the church, get me to the church/Pete’s sakes, get me to the church on time.”
Accompanying himself on the piano at Birdland on Aug. 19, Ross sang many of the songs from Lerner’s best-known musicals, My Fair Lady, Camelot, and Brigadoon (with Loewe). But he also sang lesser-known songs from Love Life (Weill) and Carmelina (Lane). Ross’s style is soft, thoughtful, but at times deeply emotional. Ross knows how to tickle the ivories, but he never overplays his hand.
Ross also knows when to stir things up a bit. And that’s when he brought in the remarkable Maria E. Lane, whose rafter-shaking voice provided a nice contrast to Ross’s subtle presentation.
Rose ended the show with an audience singalong. And it was all quite loverly.
I Remember Him Well: The Songs of Alan Jay Lerner
Steve Ross
reviewed on August 19, 2024, at Birdland, 315 West 44th Street in New York
