A DIZZYING ARRAY OF
SONGWRITERS AT DIZZY’S

A playful look back at a Cole Porter salute
sets the stage for Songbook Sundays’ upcoming
celebration of Kander and Ebb on October 4

Songbook Sundays at Dizzy’s Club in 2025 (photo by Stephen Sorokoff)

A review of Songbook Sundays’ It’s All Right with Cole Porter on April 12 at Dizzy’s begins in the form of three sets of original lyrics fitted to three very familiar melodies. Do they remind you of any?

#1:
You’ll get a kick from these shows
If songs from Broadway can thrill you at all
Believe me, I know that it’s true:
That you’ll get a kick from them, too

#2:
Come on, then, and hear some Broadway songs
With all that jazz
It’s Songbook Sundays, where those songs belong
With real pizzazz

#3:
There’s no series like this series, like no series and so,
Why not meet curator/host Deb Winer?
Why not spend some time and spend some dough?
Few can do salutes that are much finer.
The songs aren’t minor;
They’re hits you’ll know.

If you recognize the songs from the hints supplied by a few key words in each sample, and are also on target in naming the men who wrote them, then you are the target audience for the Songbook Sundays series. With apologies to the tunesmiths whose Broadway material you may have just hummed, the answers are:

#1 is set to Cole Porter’s “I Get a Kick Out of You”; #2 matches John Kander and Fred Ebb’s “All That Jazz”; and #3 can be sung to the tune of Irving Berlin’s “There’s No Business Like Show Business.” These writers are among the most prominent people who crafted American standard popular songs and whose material was chosen for full-show spotlight treatments this calendar year: Porter last April, Kander and Ebb coming up on October 4, and then Irving Berlin on December 6.

Matthew Scott (photo supplied by artist)

The Kander and Ebb program will have the terrific Jon Weber as pianist/music director, joined by singers Karen Ziemba, Matthew Scott, and Vanisha Gould, plus Jay Leonhart (bass and vocals), Mark McLean (drums), and Sam Chess (trombone). As always, hosting and history will be provided by author Deborah Grace Winer, bringing context, information, and smiles.

Karen Ziemba (photo supplied by artist)

While the set list has not been revealed yet, we can expect samples from such Kander and Ebb stage works as Cabaret and the ones Ziemba was in (Steel Pier, Curtains, Chicago, The World Goes ’Round). And might there be something associated with or introduced by Liza Minnelli? Yes, maybe this time there’ll be a thing to sing happy or a quiet thing at this venue in New York, NY, since that lucky lady had that honor more than anyone. There’s no shortage of terrific numbers by this team (like the half dozen whose titles were—ahem—semi-cleverly worked into the previous sentence). The set lists for these events strongly favor better-known material rather than the “deep cuts,” cut songs, or other obscurities that would be discoveries for casual fans. There may be an instrumental to showcase the band, and while most selections are vocal solos, typically there is a finale with all hands on deck.

Aisha de Haas (photo by Kevin Alvey)

The Cole Porter night back on April 12 was a treat. It was called It’s All Right with Cole Porter and included the song referenced by that title, “It’s All Right with Me,” delivered with style by Aisha de Haas, who also did well finding some welcome subtlety in “So in Love,” whose declaration often becomes torrid and tortured to the extreme. The 1934 number that inspired parody #1 above, “I Get a Kick Out of You,” was kicked into gear with Porter’s witty words sung by Declan Cashman, who switched to appropriate yearning and loneliness for “Why Shouldn’t I?”

Songbook Sundays’ It’s All Right with Cole Porter on April 12 (photo by Sean Katz)

A particular favorite of mine in this series (and elsewhere), the standout was the jazzy and savvy Karrin Allyson, who not only sang but took a turn accompanying herself on the piano. She performed the sly “All of You” and the heartfelt “Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye.” By its title alone, you might think that would be picked as the full-group finale, but it’s a teary farewell, and these programs like to send the audience home on a happy note, so instead they decided to say goodbye with “From This Moment On,” used more often in some shows of this ilk as a mood-setting opener; go figure. I guess it was just one of those things—which reminds me, “Just One of Those Things” was one of those things reserved just for the band. And what a fine band it was: Tedd Firth (music director/piano), Jay Sawyer (drums), Mary Ann McSweeney (bass), and Summer Camargo (trumpet).

Karrin Allyson (photo supplied by artist)

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Songbook Sundays
Jazz at Lincoln Center
Dizzy’s Club, Broadway at 60th Street in New York
It’s All Right with Cole Porter played April 12, 2026
Life Is Kander and Ebb: October 4, 2026, at 5 & 7:30
Songbook Sundays: Irving Berlin: December 6, 2026, at 5 & 7:30
for tickets ($60; $30 students), call 212.721.6500 or visit Jazz at Lincoln Center
$25 food/drink minimum
to find Dizzy’s Club, enter at Columbus Circle (60th & Broadway), take the Jazz elevators to the 5th floor

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