© Copyright 2013, East
Valley Tribune, Tempe, AZ.
A Division of 10/13
Communications
Performance
Posted:
Thursday, June 13, 2013 12:00 pm
Posted by
Bob Leeper
Just yesterday, I went over to the Red Hats Society’s
Monthly Lunch in Mesa to catch Ira Kandell in concert at Crackers & Co
which provides entertainment in their 1200 seat theater. I knew their
reputation for great service, superb food and catering. But I have to admit I
have been missing their shows over the past year. Since Kandell received so much
advanced publicity on the radio, I decided to give it a try.
The house was filled with the ladies wearing their now
famous red hats, people of all ages and backgrounds. Although they were there
for their meeting, I don’t think they expected to see a truly superb Broadway
concert of songs. Ira Kandell got them up on their feet to give him standing
ovations. His voice soars with an incredible range of classic standards,
beautifully sung from what appears to be a spontaneous set of inexhaustible numbers
from the treasure chest of older musicals. Ira Kandell does not sing anything
from today’s time. He reaches all the back to over a hundred years ago when
Alexander’s Rag Time Band was written, just one of his many miracles.
He can belt them out, one after another, with humor
sometimes, heartbreak other times. He carefully chose to first sing fast quick showstoppers,
immediately followed by the romantic and dramatic. His well-trained tenor sound
easily reaches notes in the heavens when he tackles Younger than Springtime, I
Have Dreamed, What Now My Love, and all the rest. Each song follows other ones with humor; one
of them was Zing Went The Strings Of My Heart, an old chestnut revitalized with
power and strength. And the audience laughed when he pointed to audience members.
One of his best sets was I Love A Piano, where Phillip
Rapa, a superb local pianist, seemingly interrupted Kandell with some classical
music during the song. While it all looks unrehearsed, underneath I could sense
that Kandell is acting the part for the benefit of an appreciative audience.
Right after this joyous humor, he moved to The Impossible Dream, a song heard
hundreds of times, recorded by every possible singer. The trick is to make you
think this song is brand new, and Kandell treats us to a fresh version, sung
slowly against the tempo, changing the key. By the time the ending showed up,
we all knew what was going to happen, and it does. He reaches for an incredible
ending, sung with the power of a professional. He literally stopped the show,
and I saw it right in front of me. The audience just loved it.
There are very few singers of his ability. I advise
you, dear readers, to catch Ira Kandell at Talking Sticks Casino when he
arrives there starting July 4th weekend.
And all the hype he gets on the radio looks deserved.
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