“The best songs are stories; and the best singers storytellers. Great singers can make you care about what they’re feeling. You have a sense of knowing them.” —Steve Ross
He said this year’s program is especially interesting because the trio have all worked together in other venues.
“KT and Judy have collaborated with Steve,” said Cassler. “So they all have a connection.”
Judy is a Grammy-nominated pianist and is one of the world’s leading interpreters of stride piano and swing. Nicknamed “Stride” by Count Basie for her absolute command of the form and by which she is able to play the technically and physically demanding jazz piano style.
“She sings, tells jokes and is quite entertaining,” said Cassler, who himself has performed with legendary greats such as Barbra Streisand and Luciano Pavarotti. “She has a jazz-inspired performance.”
KT, who worked with Steve in London, is a Cabaret singer with an impressive career. The New Yorker said of the artist: “[She is] as vocally, comically and theatrically assured as contemporary cabaret performers get.”
KT recently has appeared at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. with Brian Stokes Mitchell in Broadway Today, at the Humanities Festival in Chicago with Dave Frishberg and at Carnegie’s Zankel Hall with Michael Feinstein.
Her Broadway credits include the leading role as Lorelei Lee in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and she toured nationally as Dolly Tate in Annie Get Your Gun and as Carrie Pipperidge in Carousel.
“She also worked with Sting in Three Penny Opera,” said Cassel. “KT’s shows are similar to a three-act play—she is wonderful.”
Known as “The Crown Prince of the Cabaret,” Steve has performed around the world in every kind of venue, from cabarets, to theaters, to Carnegie Hall. He sings and plays piano in symphony halls, festivals and intimate theaters such as the Spa Little Theater.
Articulate and with a keen knowledge of popular American music and its history, Steve has hosted radio series and outdoor concerts.
“All of them have been on Prairie Home Companion,” said Cassel, who will also be performing with KT during her show. “They each have a wide array of music styles.”
Each show runs about 90 minutes and seats are $25 and $45 each. For the Friday evening performances, guests are invited after the show to the Gideon Putnam for a meet and greet.
“The audience loves it,” said Cassel, admitting his favorite types of venue are the small, intimate stages such as Spa Little Theater. “Many stay for quite a while and get to chat with the performers.”
Steve Ross performs Friday, July 19 at 8 p.m. and again on Saturday, July 20 at 2:15 p.m. and will be singing the Weimar/American Songbook; Judy Carmichael’s performance is Friday, July 26 at 8 p.m. and Saturday, July 27 at 2:15 p.m. She will be presenting “Swing Time” swinging music, sultry vocals and sassy humor; and KT Sullivan’s performances are Friday, August 2 at 8 p.m. and Saturday, August 3 at 2:15 with Cabaret at its glorious best in “Colored Lights.”
For more information, call (518) 587-3330. For pre-show dining at Gideon Putnam, call (866) 890-1171.
