The Singer/Songwriters

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It’s a testament to the breadth of singer/songwriter John Wallowitch’s sumptuously creative output that he can open his show at Danny’s Skylight Room with one of his greatest compositions, “This Moment,” and yet there is no drop off in quality thereafter. Well, there is one exception late in the show, when he offers a brief sequence of songs that he did not write himself. Otherwise, the evening is sublime. Wallowitch performs about 20 of his own tunes and they are are by turns whimsical, satirical, nostalgic, and touching — but always smart. Most importantly, he is a delightful, playful performer who sells his songs through his charm as much as through his voice.

A modern-day Noël Coward, Wallowitch is dangerously sophisticated. For instance, his series of songs about the destruction of the English language begins innocently enough with a short sendup of the word “like” in a song of the same name that pokes fun at our inarticulate youth. At the end this song arc, he sings — without a wink — an elaborate, lush love ballad in which the words “ask” and “asking” are changed to “ax” and “axing.” The song is so cleverly constructed and so deliciously delivered that the sheer brilliance of its satire sweeps us along.

Wallowitch writes and performs in what we might call “the cabaret idiom.” The style is very supper-clubby but, if you listen closely, you’ll notice that there are times when this dapper man in a tuxedo and bow tie evokes comedy in the tradition of Tom Lehrer. A song such as “If Only the French Were Polite” would have worked in a 1960s coffeehouse just as readily as it breaks up an audience now. And speaking of songs that are timeless, there is Wallowitch’s comic classic “Bruce,” which has been performed by the likes of Blossom Dearie since, it seems, the days of the pyramids (or at least the $25,000 Pyramid). Although Wallowitch is known for his sly humor, that aspect of his art only puts his straightforward ballads into sharper relief. “The Summer When I Was Seventeen” will break your heart, as will “Taking Things For Granted.”

The place is Danny’s Skylight Room. The show is John Wallowitch, His Piano, His Songs — and, happily, its run has been extended through mid-October. Wallowitch performs every Saturday at 7pm and every Sunday at 6:15pm. The entire run is dedicated to his late partner, Bertram Ross.

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John Bucchino delivers his patter with an air of effortless intimacy. He’s extremely likeable. Curiously, when singing his often intensely personal songs, he performs them with a sense of distance. When he talks, he talks to us; when he sings, he often communicates with the piano and the microphone.

Some of Bucchino’s songs are so extraordinary that it doesn’t matter if they’re not sung directly to us; modern-day masterpieces like “Sweet Dreams” and “Temporary” impale us upon their dark truths. Musically rich and lyrically complex, they are this composer’s stepping stones to greatness. Unfortunately, when Bucchino performs his merely good songs (as opposed to his great songs), they don’t have the impact that they might. For example, a witty number called “Painting My Kitchen” is set up beautifully by the composer’s patter but is sung with, perhaps, too much verve. If Bucchino were to arrange the song with more variations in its tempo, slowing it down from time to time and singing it — and acting it — as directly and honestly as he delivers his patter, he could turn it into a show-stopper.

Bucchino’s recently concluded run at The Duplex featured a great many songs he had written earlier in his career. Some might have been better left in the trunk but others are rediscovered gems, such as “The Artist at 40” and “My Alligator and Me,” the latter a charmer that he did sing directly to the audience. (They loved it.) We would love to see a revue of John Bucchino’s songs performed by a troupe of singers who would do them full justice. Bucchino might be a part of that troupe, but it would be exciting to hear all of his songs as they deserve to be sung.

Coming up in early September are NYC cabaret performances by singer/songwriters Ricky Ian Gordon (The Duplex) and Jason Robert Brown (The King Kong Room). The trend continues.