JAM: February/March 2004 Issue: Marilyn Maye

Marilyn Maye
Returns for Nine Nights at Jardine's

Marilyn Maye

A lot of musicians can light up a stage with their presence. Vocalist Marilyn Maye lights up a room.

“I don't just stand in front of the mike, close my eyes and sing,” says the veteran singer. “Not that that's right or wrong—it just is not the way I work.”

Indeed, Marilyn Maye is a ball of energy with sophistication. From the moment she steps foot on the stage she has captured the audience with her sassy style of song, story and humor.

“I talk to people. I sing to them,” she explains.

“I tell the story of every song. That's my job,” she says. “It's a little piece of theater.”

In other words, she puts on a show.

From Easter Sunday on April 11 to Tuesday, April 20, Marilyn will be performing two shows per night at Jardine's, 4536 Main , (excluding Saturday, April 17). Reservations are required.

She will be appearing with saxophonist Hal Melia, her pianist Billy Stritch , her drummer of 30 years Jim Eklof, and her bassist Andy Hall who will switch at times with local bassist Gerald Spaits.

The theme of this nine-night engagement is “Theater of Jazz.”

“I will showcase a lot of the Broadway show tunes that have become jazz standards,” she explains. “People will say ‘I didn't know that came from a Broadway show.'”

She uses the jazz standard “Have You Met Miss Jones” as an example. The song originated in the 1937 Broadway play I'd Rather Be Right starring George M. Cohan. “Not too many people know that,” Marilyn says. (Incidentally, the song was sung in that performance by Joy Hodges, Marilyn's cousin.)

The other reason Marilyn chose the theme is because of her own presentation style.

“I work theatrically,” say Marilyn. “It's a presentation. We rehearse. We have a stage manager plus light and sound technicians.”

“It's scripted,” she adds. Then laughs. “Not what I say. Never what I say!”

But although the show is rehearsed, her style is pure improvisation. She sings the songs her way, such as “Over the Rainbow” in a jazzy waltz tempo or a yodeling jazz version of “Your Cheatin' Heart.”

“It's going to be fun,” she says.

Marilyn hasn't performed here in a long club engagement since her days with the Colony Steakhouse in the 50s and 60s, where she sang for 11 years.

During that time she was discovered by Steve Allen. “He heard a record, just called and said he wanted me to do his show,” she remembers. Before she knew it, she was flying to Los Angeles to perform regularly on the Steve Allen Show before a national audience and traveling back to sing at the Colony Steakhouse. That continued for two years while her daughter attended school in Kansas City .

Eventually an RCA executive saw her on the Allen Show and signed her for a contract. She released seven albums and 34 singles, including the hits “Cabaret,” “If My Friends Could See Me Now,” “Misty,” and “Step to the Rear (And Let a Winner Lead the Way).”

Marilyn is best known for her record number of appearances on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson—76 in all, more than any other singer. With each performance, Carson would quip, “And there, young singers, is the way it's done.” Doc Severinsen proclaimed her his “favorite girl singer.”

Marilyn has been traveling and performing before packed crowds since those glory days. But, as John Wooley of the Tulsa World discovered recently, not much has changed.

“Her voice may have gotten more smoky and mature since her days as a near-regular on Tonight With Johnny Carson, but she's lost nothing as a result,” he wrote. In regards to her concert appearance there he says, “[She] carried the sizzle of her celebrity and the steak of a meaty performance.”

Marilyn is glad to be back in a club setting. “The audience doesn't have to go someplace else to have dinner and drinks before going to a theater,” she says. “We will bring the theater to the club.” To make reservations or to get more information, call 816-561-6480. Seating is limited.

-- Kathy Feist Vescovi