Sunday (June 5, 2011) I drove only 40 miles to the world class New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, New Jersey to see Diana in her new Solo Concert. Normally she works with a jazz trio, but at the Victoria theater it was simply Diana at the piano, plus an antique horn phonograph. The concert was originally scheduled for 7pm, but on arrival the audience was informed of a thirty minute delay to 7:30pm. Diana actually appeared on stage about 15 minutes later remarking that she had a 'zipper' issue.
From our vantage point in the second row right, Diana appeared either tired or bored. She did indicate that she was short of breath after opening with Peel Me A Grape and Did You Ever See A Dream Walking, remarking that she may need to get back to the treadmill. Consequently, Diana was not in the best voice for the rest of the 90 minute program.
The real disappointment was in the program selection. Very light on classics from the time tested Great American Songbook (It's Just A Garden In The Rain, I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Write Myself A Letter, What'll I Do, and the Crosby novelty Don't Fence Me In) and very heavy on a group of obscure tunes 'she found in her Dad's collection of 78's'...there is a reason why these songs never became classics...they are simply pleasant at best.
She did do a nice feature on Fats Waller including Your Feets Too Big. Diana also included a composition "Home" that she had composed with her husband Elvis Costello, it was also just pleasant. To close the program she moved to a stool and appeared very ill at ease strumming a ukulele that she clearly has not mastered.
The awkwardness of the evening may be that we were actually viewing a dress rehearsal for the Solo Concert she will do over several days at the Montreal Jazz Festival later this month. A call to her publicist for comment or clarification went unanswered.
Back to the point about song selection, we were friends with Rosemary Clooney who had a very successful jazz career during the last half of her marvelous career. Rosie said that the best advice she had ever received was from Ella Fitzgerald..."sing only the great time tested songs....they make a good singer sound great."
Tony Bennett, who was in the same theater complex on Sunday night, is quoted as follows; " I sing in Asia and I sing in Europe, and I start singing a Cole Porter song or a Gershwin (George Gershwin) song and the whole audience starts singing it with me. They are America's greatest ambassadors. We have created the greatest popular music that has ever been written and will not be topped because it's not dated. It doesn't sound old fashioned, it's not old. The corporations will say, 'That's old music'. It's not old music, it's great music and it comes out of the United States."
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