SAVING MONEY,
LOSING MAGIC

A great voice deserves
live accompaniment

A talented, long-careered singer put on a long show that was very long on talk. The audience at City Winery NYC can’t say that Patti Austin didn’t give them a heads-up. Unlike most acts, hers didn’t start with a burst of song. She made a speech in which she said it would be a lengthy evening, cheekily comparing it to the Broadway production of The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, the adaptation of the Charles Dickens novel that took up eight and a half hours of stage time. And she advised that there would be plenty of detailed stories and observations (in retrospect, some would characterize it as “venting”), later remarking that she’s been called “Chatty Patti.” This event on Feb. 11 on Eleventh Avenue didn’t quite feel like it lasted eleven hours, but it did go on and on—with some greatness and some grousing. Beginning about 15 minutes past the announced 7:30 PM start, the intermission-less program ended several minutes after 10:00.

Reflecting her genre-spanning career, the repertoire included R&B, disco-adjacent dance music, pop, and standards (including classics from her 1988 album The Real Me) and jazz. The good news is that the years have treated her voice well; she sounded terrific as she revisited material—and music celebrities—she’s been associated with.

Apparently, Patti Austin doesn’t suffer fools gladly. On the one hand, she’s down to earth and self-deprecating. On the other hand, there’s some snark. And it doesn’t take a trained medical expert to notice that there may be a chip on her shoulder; she has survivor’s scars from being through the mill in the music biz. The frank seen-it-all behind-the-scenes stories can be seen as dishy, disillusioning, or disrespectful—or some combination thereof. There was a story about a record’s hit status achieved by payola rather than appreciated talent, luck, or pluck. Recollections of rehearsals for singing at the Academy Awards included waiting in vain for time to go through her song while others involved in the show were seriously injured on stage and rushed to the hospital.

Names that pop up in talking about pop music are the prominent producer Quincy Jones (her beloved godfather, she tells the fans), those with whom she shared stages and tours (Stevie Wonder), or songwriters she did projects with (Cy Coleman, Marilyn & Alan Bergman) and recorded duets (James Ingram). She imitates the distinctively wispy speaking voice of Michael Jackson and the French-accented singing of Michel Legrand, demonstrating the lyrics of the Bergmans on the movie ballad “How Do You Keep the Music Playing?”—and hearing it in Patti Austin’s own rich voice was pure pleasure. But, alas, and alarmingly, the way this event had to “keep the music playing” was by playing pre-recorded instrumental tracks (ugh!) for every song. You heard that right—while there was a manned, keyboard-equipped device on stage, allowing perhaps for some live music in the multi-layered mix, the vocalist sang to piped-in canned accompaniment with swaths of sound from synthesized and acoustic instruments and disembodied voices of background singers. That would not be a big deal if used for just a couple of selections to nostalgically create the 1980s recording studio multi-layered gloss, but plush can be mush when the overall feel resembles karaoke.

Why this choice of not securing a live band? Unabashedly, the star answers: “Because I want to make some fucking money.” Is there a need for an Austin Austerity Budget? She regales in the use and sound of the ‘F’ word, even asking the audience to scream it in unison and belittling anyone who might find it offensive. Other crass words are sprinkled through the spoken spots about delights and disappointments. Speaking of disappointments, that feeling is justified when an audience member is paying up to $80 per ticket and gets pre-recorded tracks that largely kill spontaneity and sparkle. It’s insulting. Granted, some folks are less concerned and want the performance to sound as much as possible like a fondly-remembered album cut (and reviewers get free tickets).

This vital veteran began her solo recording career in the year that the USA celebrated its bicentennial, and she’s experienced styles, stardom, strife, and strengths up to this year, when the country celebrates its semiquincentennial. (You do the math.) Oh, and at the very beginning and near the end of the show, she had plenty to say from her soapbox about the current state of the United States. Attorney General Pam Bondi’s televised appearance before Congress earlier that day cued strong remarks, reaction, and recoiling. And then there was the tale of her time performing in Russia, where she encountered its leader, Vladimir Putin, seated next to her at an event. He asked her how she viewed Donald Trump (of whom she is not a fan). Being direct rather than diplomatic, she didn’t hesitate to point to Putin’s power of manipulation over the president of her home country. And, she told the audience, he liked her answer.

The evening ended with a plea and hope that better and more caring times are ahead for America if cooler heads prevail—kind of the way Patti Austin and the music business have prevailed through ups and downs.

✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦

Patti Austin: An Intimate Evening
City Winery New York City
25 11th Ave. in New York City
2½ hours without intermission
reviewed February 11, 2026
for tickets and upcoming events, call 646.751.6033 or visit City Winery

✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦