THE BLOOM IS ON THE ROSEMARY
Midway into her cabaret show, girlSINGER, A Celebration of Rosemary Clooney, Carolyn Montgomery explains the meaning of the show’s name. When Clooney dropped out of high school to begin her career touring with the big bands, such women were called “girl singers,” no matter what their age.
Back in the 1940s, Clooney was still a girl, but she soon became a household name, singing with such notables as Al Hirt, Bing Crosby and Marlene Dietrich, although she eventually appeared in numerous films as well, most notably White Christmas.
Clooney might have been more accurately called a troubadour, as most of her songs are about love, although not necessarily courtly. Clooney often adopted the persona of a sophisticated woman who knows better or should have known better, as in “The Masquerade Is Over” or “Love, You Didn’t Do Right by Me.” But there was also a quirky side to Clooney. How else to explain all those pseudo–Latin songs Montgomery had so much fun with: ‘Mango” “Mambo Italiano,” “Botch-A-Me.”
Montgomery, a MAC, BackStage Bistro and Nightlife award-winning concert and cabaret performer, has a rich, plaintive voice well-suited to Clooney’s repertoire. She also has Clooney’s sense of perfect timing.
But Montgomery was not immediately drawn to Clooney’s story. In fact, she said she had to read Clooney’s autobiography, Girl Singer, three times before she could relate. Eventually, Montgomery realized both she and Clooney had both spent a good part of their lives “trying to be everything to everybody” until finally discovering “it doesn’t work, and it’s exhausting.”
Montgomery is backed by a band featuring music director Tedd Firth and director Sally Mayes (see our review of Mayes’s own recent cabaret). Also featured: Warren Vaché on trumpet — a long standing member of Clooney’s ensemble — as well as Sherrie Maricle (drums), Matt Scharfglass (bass), and Jonathan Kantor (saxophone and clarinet). They all work together to deliver the swinging, soulful sound that made Rosemary Clooney one of the greatest jazz and pop singers of the 20th century.
photos of Carolyn Montgomery and Tedd Firth by Conor Weiss
Carolyn Montgomery:
girlSINGER, A Celebration of Rosemary Clooney
reviewed on May 22, 2024 at 54 Below, 54 West 54 St
for more info, visit Carolyn Montgomery and CM on Facebook