At Birdland, the Party Hosts a New Cast of Characters

For the last 23 years at Birdland, producer and host Jim Caruso has launched every edition of “Cast Party” by reciting a list of all the musical genres welcome at this Monday nightsoirée. He starts with jazz and Broadway, then continues through opera and Zarzuela, and then soon enough, gets to polka and mambo. Eventually he reaches the lower depths of “ventrioloquial” and “didgeridoo.” The mention of each style is followed by a drumbeat played by the entire “Cast Party” Symphony Orchestra, which usually consists of pianist Billy Stritch, bassist Tom Hubbard or Michael O’Brien, and percussionist Daniel Glass. Yes, I have heard at least one ventriloquist there at the Jazz Corner of the World since 2003, which will be good news for all of my fellow fans of Charlie McCarthy, Jerry Mahoney, and Mortimer Snerd. However, I must also admit that not once have I heard a virtuoso who specializes in Aboriginal drone music.One person, however, who has never performed at “Cast Party” is, well, me — despite the myriad requests from my multitudes of fans. Fear not, it will never happen. In fact, there’s not enough alcohol in the entire world to make that happen.Still, I do have something of a history with this iconic series. Around 2009, when “Cast Party” had only been running for about five years at Birdland, I did a big feature story on the series for The Wall Street Journal in which I dubbed it, with some accuracy, “The gold standard of open mic nights.” The late 2000s were something of a boom moment for open mic in Manhattan. Inspired by Mr. Caruso’s success, other venues, like the Iguana and the Broadway Comedy Club, also launched their own such series that were largely in the “Cast Party” mold.Ava Lochnar performs at ‘Cast Party.’ Kevin AlveyTo this day that quote continues to flash on the neon sign in Birdland main’s window. More recently, in 2023, I did a feature here at The New York Sun to mark the 20th anniversary of the series. Now in its 23rd year, “Cast Party” has evolved considerably. Lately, each Monday seems tighter and more compact. As always, it starts at 9:30 p.m., and while I have memories from the 2000s of still being at Birdland as late as 1:00 a.m., these days Mr. Caruso makes every effort to rein it in at 11:30 p.m.For years “Cast Party” had a completely random feeling to it, the next act could have been Liza Minnelli — yes, I saw her there more than once — or Marilyn Maye who still shows up with regularity. It was more likely to be a perky 19-year-old musical theater majorette belting “Don’t Rain on My Parade,” or some undergrad who has just discovered Sinatra and “New York, New York” — although lately “Fly Me to the Moon” has been the primary culprit — and whose voice seems to be literally changing in front of us. Equally likely, it was some grisly rando who seemed to have wandered in from West 44th St and whose parade has already been rained on. In the two-hour format, “Cast Party” has evolved into a much more carefully curated experience. There’s less surprise and more control; less edge but more focus. The last few times I attended there was no one who inspired me to attend the call of nature and the men’s room; a major change, this. Clearly, this is no longer your parents’ “Cast Party.”Lately, there are some forthright talents whom you can depend upon to hear with regularity, most of whom are very young, including two twenty-something ladies named Ava, diminutive Ava Nicole Francis and towering Ava Lochnar, and, meanwhile at the opposite end of the spectrum, there’s the ever-reliable eighty-something Jane Scheckter, blessed with chops and exquisite taste in songs and arrangements, and, who, having been around the block as many times as you can go in 80 years, understands well the value of understatement. Recently she sang “Rules of the Road” by Cy Coleman, which whetted my appetite for her Coleman songbook show at Pangea on September 30th.At another recent CP, I was also knocked out by one Rowan Darling, who gave us a one-man duet on “People Will Say We’re in Love,” somehow singing both parts, soprano and basso, perfectly on-key. Another welcome face, and voice, is that of Debbie Wileman, a bright young Englishwoman who specializes in a recreation of Judy Garland that is — for once — blessedly free of irony. Two additional “Cast Party” regulars have caught my attention lately, both young men, not only for their talent but for their youthful wisdom in concentrating on genres of music that have not been done to death. In fact, when Mr. Caruso rattles off his patented laundry list at the start of each week, he does not mention either the Great International Songbook or the snappy-peppy jazz-and-novelty numbers of the Roaring Twenties.Lucas Beltrán performs at ‘Cast Party.’ Via Kevin AlveyMany is the time that fine young baritone from Peru (not Indiana) named Lucas Beltrán has alighted the stage at Birdland. A few Mondays ago, he delivered unto us the the classic Mexican ballad “Besame Mucho,” a song with a storied career that has inspired interpreters as far afield as Nat King Cole and the Beatles. He immediately reminded all of us Birdlanders that there’s more to music than spreading the news or having one’s parade being rained on. Señor Beltrán impressed me so much that I was moved to catch his solo show last week at 54 Below, in which he celebrated his 21st birthday by drinking his first-ever adult beverage (or so he informs us) in full view of the crowd. He whisked us from the Americas to Europe. His French and Italian songs were fine, especially the Hollywood chanson “Mam”selle,” and so too were the opener, Leslie Bricusse’s “Fabulous Places,” from “Dr. Dolittle,” and the closer, the rarely-performed Sinatra / Sammy Cahn / Jimmy Van Heusen “It’s So Nice to Go Trav’ling.” Still, the Spanish and Portuguese boleros were the meat of the matter, especially the traditional waltz “Cielito Lindo.” I have heard few of any age who are better at crooning the great musica romantica.Jim Caruso at ‘Cast Party.’ Kevin AlveyWhen Mr. Caruso and Mr. Stritch first began doing “Cast Party,” even before the series graduated to Birdland, their idea, as the name indicates, was to spotlight established Broadway artists on their night off. Did they conceive of it as a vehicle to launch new talent? It would be hard to quantify the number of breakout stars who have graduated to prime time over the last 23 years, such as Mr. Beltrán and the two Avas, including at least a few who, like Lucas, were not even born when the run started in 2003.Perhaps one of the most versatile, even at the advanced age of 26, is the redoubtable Bryce Edwards, who plays every string instrument known to man (banjo, ukulele, mandolin, and a rather small guitar) and also seemingly knows every song ever written at least prior to World War II. His feature last Monday was a 1925 opus delineating the joys of “Hot Coffee” and as with many songs of the Jazz Age, the heat referred to of the titular beverage was also a reference to the temperature of the music itself. Mr. Edwards is returning to the club on Monday September 14 for the latest installment of what he calls his “Frivolity Hour,” which indeed is as fun and frivolous as the title portends. Bryce Edwards performs at ‘Cast Party.’ Kevin AlveyL. P. Hartley famously told us that the past is a foreign country. Indeed it is. It has its own customs and its own language; unique among latter day troubadours, Mr. Edwards fully understands those customs and speaks that language. Like Mr. Beltrán singing the songs of his native Central America, Mr. Edwards croons, scats, whistles, moans, and eefs this music of the cultural past as if he had been born and raised there.I’m sure I shall be back at “Cast Party” soon enough. Of course, the recurring difficulty is that I am far too modest. Last time I attended, my legions of devotees were demanding that I sing both the “Soliloquy” from “Carousel” and the “Quando me’n vo” from “La Bohème.” But do not worry. As always, I shall respectfully decline.

At Birdland, the Party Hosts a New Cast of Characters

At Birdland, the Party Hosts a New Cast of Characters

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