LIFE IS A CABARET OLD FRIEND !  What a wonderful joyous evening we shared with a sold out crowd on Friday Night February 25th!  Sammons Center For The Arts was celebrating their successful Cabaret Series launched in the spring of 2012.

Musical artist- vocalists of varying styles have graced the stage for Sammons Cabaret during the past 10 years.  After exiting my wonderful career in retailing in 2008 and pursuing music as a professional vocalist, I’ve had the great honor to perform my many shows for this wonderful cabaret series.   Cabaret is an up close and personal type of show for listening!

The first show in 2012 was certainly a special one as it honored my mother as a pianist with music directly from her era and her piano bench!

Then came 2014 with Johnny…Mercer that is…and wow, with lyrics to over 1500 songs someone could spend the rest of their musical life just singing his songs.  I do have loads of them in my repertoire!  He was just great.

Of course being a jazz gal, I love the music of pianist- singer- composer, Bobby Troup and definitely his wife    Julie London.  In 2017  I sang their  songs for cabaret.

While some people might think she didn’t have a great voice, I say she used her voice to her advantage and boy what a sultry diva she was and it totally worked for her.  I love her album covers!  Sexy for sure … yes… it was the 50’s and 60’s !  

Hooray For the Girls in December 2019 , the show name taken from a 1914 composition, allowed me to celebrate some of our most beloved female composers and lyricists of all genres.  I featured my musical director, pianist and oh so talented friend, Rebeca Cordes, on piano with our (RIP) bassist Jeffry Eckels.

This cemented the idea for an all female jazz group,The Satin Dolls Band and also tied back in to a famous Johnny Mercer song Satin Doll.

 I’m excited to be working on a new themed show  called “Nightclub” ! Inspired by little known vocalist Ethel Ennis.  I don’t want to give too much away yet, but, it will honor the many women singers who made the nightclubs hum and the songs famous.

All of this to say how very fortunate I have been in my musical career and to be affiliated in many ways with this wonderful  organization supporting the arts!  

Till we meet again, I’ll just keep on singing!   Carolyn