May/June 2004 Issue 268 Free 30th Anniversary Year www.jazz-blues.com Cookin’ at the Cookery The Music & Times of Alberta Hunter May/June 2004 • Issue 268 Cookin i at the Cookery: The Music and Times of Alberta Hunter Published by Martin Wahl Communications The Final Production of The Cleveland Playhouse’s 88th Season Editor & Founder Bill Wahl Layout & Design Bill Wahl The much anticipated Marion J. revues: This Joint is Jumping; Puttin’ on Operations Jim Martin Caffey bio play Cookin’ at the Cook- the Ritz; Gershwin and Friends; and Billie Pilar Martin ery: the Music and Times of Alberta Holiday, Remembered. She was a guest artist and hostess for the annual India- Contributors Hunter will close out the 88th season Michael Braxton, Mark Cole, Chris of The Cleveland Playhouse, It is cur- napolis Christmas Yuletide Extrava- Hovan, Nancy Ann Lee, David rently running and will continue ganza, and remains a popular guest en- McPherson, Peanuts, Mark through May 30 in the Drury Theatre. tertainer on Holland American, Smith, Duane Verh and Ron Mr. Caffey will stage The Cleveland Seabourn, and Raddison Cruise Lines. Weinstock. Play House regional premiere of this A graduate of Oberlin College, with a co-production with Geva Theatre. Master’s from New England Conserva- Check out our new, updated web Before Billie Holiday, Etta James, tory, Ms. Nelson was a member of the page. Now you can search for CD Koko Taylor, Janis Joplin or Bonnie Metropolitan Opera Studio, and an Art- Reviews by artists, Titles, Record Raitt, there was Alberta Hunter. Though ist-in-Residence with Affiliate Artists, Inc. Labels or JBR Writers. Twelve years overshadowed by her contemporary, She is married to pianist-arranger, Mu- of reviews are up and we’ll be going Bessie Smith, Alberta made it big in sical Supervisor of this production, all the way back to 1974! Chicago, New York, and Paris. Her ca- Danny Holgate. reer was on the fast track, performing Address all Correspondence to.... CARLA WOODS (The Narrator) Jazz & Blues Report with Louis Armstrong and Paul most recently appeared in Smokey Joe’s 19885 Detroit Road # 320 Robeson in the original Broadway cast CafÈ at the Westchester Broadway The- Rocky River, Ohio 44116 of Show Boat when she decided to quit ater. She appeared in Playhouse on the Main Office ...... 216.651.0626 music to become a nurse. When op- Green’s production of Ain’t Misbehavin, Editor's Desk ... 440.331.1930 portunity knocked again, Ms. Hunter which received a Connecticut Critics made a big splash when she performed Circle Award for Best Ensemble. Ms. [email protected] at the Cookery in New York City, at the Woods originated the role of Rose in the Web .................. www.jazz-blues.com tender age of 82. This retrospective tale Off-Broadway production of Abie’s Is- Copyright © 2004 Martin-Wahl Communications Inc. celebrates the life and the music of one land Rose, performed at the Jewish Rep- No portion of this publication may be of the “First Ladies of Blues.” ertory Theater, as well as the Hollywood reproduced without written permission GAIL NELSON (Alberta Hunter) Playhouse. She has been seen three from the publisher. All rights Reserved. hails from North Carolina and Mary- times at the York Theatre Company per- Jazz Report was founded in Buffalo New land and is equally at home with Op- forming in New Girl in Town, Carmen York in March of 1974 and began in era, Broadway, Theater and Clubs. She Jones, and Wish You Were Here. Other Cleveland in April of 1978. We are subsi- has appeared on Broadway in The Tap credits include Merrily We Roll Along dized solely through advertisement and Dance Kid; Applause; Hello, Dolly; On (Guthrie Theater), Blues In The Night ask that you support our advertisers. the Town; Eubie; Music, Music!; By (Virginia Stage), Mary Magdelene in a W division of Strouse; The World of Carl Sandberg; Jesus Christ Superstar, and Lizzie in artin-Wahl c o m m u n i c a t i o n s Beyond Measure; Love Letters; and Baby. Ms. Woods hosted the talk show Radio City Music Hall’s The Ginger “The Chat Zone” for HBO, and per- Rogers Special. She toured with Bub- formed on the Disney Magic as the On The Cover bling Brown Sugar; the Houston Grand “Circle of Life” finale soloist, a Muse and Gail Nelson as the 82-year-old blues Opera’s revival of Porgy and Bess; even a sword-fighting pirate. singer Alberta Hunter during her 1977 Funny, You Don’t Look Like a Grand- The production’s creative team comeback performance at The Cook- mother; and Lady Day at Emerson’s earned multiple awards from the NAACP ery Club in New York City in The Bar and Grill. Ms. Nelson also appeared for their work on COOKIN’ AT THE Cleveland Play House production of as Coretta Scott King in the musical COOKERY, including: Mr. Caffey for Best Marion J. Caffey’s Cookin’ at the King, by Maya Angelou, for the presi- Playwright (Equity), Best Choreography Cookery: The Music and Times of dential inauguration of Bill Clinton, and (Equity), Best Director (Equity) and Best Alberta Hunter in the Drury Theatre. birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Photo By Roger Mastroianni Director of a Musical (Equity); Danny Ms. Nelson continues to perform in the Holgate for Best Music Director (Equity); PAGE TWO May/June 2004 • Issue 268 Dale F. Jordan for Best Set Design (Eq- the country. In addition to his prolific Sat. Matinee/Evening 4:00/8:00 p.m. uity) and Marilyn A. Wall for Best Cos- theatre work, Mr. Holgate was the con- Sunday Matinee 2:00 p.m. tumes (Equity). ductor and arranger for the legendary Thursday, May 6 1:30 p.m. MARION J. CAFFEY (Playwright, Cab Calloway. In a career spanning over Tuesday, May 18 7:00 p.m. Director-Choreographer) wrote and di- 40 years, his renowned talent has taken No evening performances May 11 – 13; rected the World Premiere of his musi- him from theatre, to radio, to record- No performance May 25. cal Cookin’ at the Cookery: The Music ing, and far beyond. Prices: Tue-Thu. Previews $32.00 and Times of Alberta Hunter, which has WILLIAM FOSTER MCDANIEL Tue-Thu; Sat./Sun. Matinees $40.00 been produced at many prestigious re- (Musical Director, Conductor, Pianist) Fri./Sat. Evenings $47.50 gional theatres, as well as Off-Broad- began his musical theatre career as pia- “Under 25” tickets $12.00 with proper ID way. Mr. Caffey began his career as a nist-conductor for the New York pro- Single Tickets On Sale Now: “song-and-dance man,” working in the duction of The Fantasticks. He has since Call the Ticket Office, (216) 795-7000, ext. United States and around the world. conducted Timbuktu!, Bubblin’ Brown 4, or visit www.clevelandplayhouse.com Now he dedicates himself to concep- Sugar, Sophisticated Ladies, House Of Groups of 10 or More: Call Peter tion, writing, directing and choreogra- Flowers, Once On This Island, Big River, Mahoney, Audience Development/ phy. This marks his first writing effort, Stringbean, Fiddler On The Roof, Group Sales, (216) 795-7000, ext. 235 for which he was nominated for the Nunsense II, Lady Day At Emerson’s The Cleveland Play House grate- 2001 Barrymore Award for Best Direc- Bar & Grill, Guys and Dolls, A Funny fully acknowledges Cookin’ at the Cook- tor, the 1998 Arkansas Travelers Award, Thing Happened On The Way To The ery sponsors KeyBank and Baker & the 1996 Carbonell Award for Best Cho- Forum, Hello Dolly, Dream Girls, Damn Hostetler, LLP reographer, and an honorable mention Yankees, Showboat, Dinah Was, Will for Best Director and Best Musical. Mr. Rogers Follies, Crazy For You, Storyville, Caffey has served as Director and/or Smokey Joe’s Cafe, A Wonderful Life, Eagle Vision Presents Choreographer for Blackbirds of Broad- Always...Patsy Cline, Call The Children Montreux Jazz Festival way, Chicago, Forever Plaid, Jelly Roll: Home and the Broadway and National Eagle Vision has announced a deal The Music and the Man, Little Shop of Touring companies of Ain’t to represent the Montreux Sounds cata- Horrors, Tintypes, All Night Strut, Ain’t Misbehavin’. Mr. McDaniel’s classical logue. Montreux Sounds is the label Misbehavin’, Purlie Victorious, Ruthless, compositions have been performedby which controls the archive of the cel- Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill, the Philharmonia of Greensboro, the ebrated Montreux Jazz Festival, which Spunk, The Colored Museum, and Savannah Symphony Orchestra, the is now preparing for its 38th edition 1940’s Radio Hour. He has produced Mozart Society Orchestra at Harvard from July 3-18. Cookin’ at the Cookery, Three Mo’ Ten- and the Brooklyn Philharmonic. He is Founded in 1967 by Claude Nobs, ors and Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and a graduate of Capital and Boston Uni- who continues as its CEO today, the Grill. Most recently he completed Sun- versities, and was a Fulbright Scholar Montreux Jazz Festival has established set and the Mockingbird, starring Tsidii in Paris. itself as one of the most prestigious Le Loka, and a national tour of Bowfire. The play will be at The Drury The- annual music events in the world. atre, The Cleveland Play House, 8500 DANNY HOLGATE (Musical Super- The list of artists who have per- Euclid Avenue. Closing night is Sun- vision and Arrangements) served as formed at the festival over the years is day, May 30. Musical Director and Arranger on extraordinary. A random sampling in- Broadway for Don’t Bother Me, I Can’t Cast: cludes David Bowie, Paul Simon, Cope; Bubbling Brown Sugar; Eubie; Alberta Hunter-Gail Nelson Jamiroquai, Isaac Hayes, Basement Guys and Dolls (revival); Rainbow The Narrator-Carla Woods Jaxx, David Gray, George Benson, Jones; and Odyssey, starring Yul Creative Team: Diana Krall, Deep Purple, R.E.M., Pat Brynner.