Review: Celia Berk's FOR THE RECORD at 54 Below Offers a "Best Of" Her Albums

Only a decade ago, singer Celia Berk was a successful, if unfulfilled, executive vice president in corporate America. She took singing lessons with no intention of ever performing in front of an audience. Though she had trained classically, a singing coach convinced Berk to use “the speaking part” of her voice, rather than her lyrical soprano. With much encouragement, she eventually embarked on a new career as a cabaret artist, now with multiple awards, along with several albums and EPs to her credit.

Berk appeared at 54 Below on May 4 with her latest show, For the Record. Directed by Jeff Harner, the performance was something of a “best of” Berk’s recording output. (Her albums were included with the press kit provided before the show, assuring that nearly the entirety of Berk’s oeuvre has made it to this reviewer’s ears while writing this review. This was most pleasant.)

Berk was accompanied by music director/pianist Bálint Varga, guitarist Ethan Hack-Chabot, bassist Trevor Robertson, and drummer Anthony Di Bartolo, all fine musicians.

With no fanfare, Berk opened with “Knee Deep” (Zac Brown, Wyatt Durrette, Coy Bowles and Jeffrey Steele), from her new EP, with something of a country feel. Hack-Chabot played what sounded like a ukulele, but appeared to be a tenor guitar.

In telling her origin story, Berk displayed how she used to sing as a lyric soprano, describing the “meet-cute moment” of finding her true voice. Berk is a compelling storyteller, and Harnar’s imprint as director was deft and sure.

“I’ve Been Waiting All My Life” (Billy Godenberg/Alan and Marilyn Bergman) was the first of several highlights for Berk. In a bossa nova-like arrangement by pianist Alex Rybeck, who was in the audience with Harnar, this “hidden gem” of a song sounded like a lost Jobim tune. Rybeck deserves much credit, as more than half of the set’s arrangements were his. (He later confessed to some pre-show jitters at hearing so many of his “babies” performed by another pianist, but was quite satisfied with the results.)

Berk sounded swell in an ingenious medley of “Penthouse Serenade” (Val Burto and Will Jason) with “Stairway to the Stars” (Matt Malneck and Frank Signorelli/ Mitchell Parish). The two songs fit together perfectly, and made for an excellent choice.

For “Manhattan Madness,” an Irving Berlin rarity (from Face the Music), Rybeck had help on his arrangement from the great Vince Giordano. The tune would have felt at home in a Fred Astaire film, which might be why this reviewer wanted to get up and do a tap dance.

Berk's take on “Up On The Roof” (Gerry Goffin and Carole King) was a terrific surprise. This gem of an arrangement took an unusual approach that made it sound something like a Sondheim song in the middle of a show, along with a mid-song waltz section. Berk’s phrasing here was exquisite, and allowed her to glean a story from the lyrics more poignant than what I’d previously discerned from other recordings, including King’s.

Berk is not a true jazz singer, but she has an affinity for the genre. A pair of jazzy arrangements by pianist Tedd Firth added greatly to the evening. “Comes Love” (arranged by Firth with Sean Gough) included the quite obscure verse. Berk used her very expressive eyes to full effect on this number. On “Right as the Rain” (Harold Arlen/E.Y. Harburg), Berk sang with only Robertson’s excellent bass accompaniment - even his solo at the break was entirely solo.

Two of the biggest highlights of the night came with the assistance of Ben Schaechter, a fellow best known for his albums of Yiddish songs. His tune “Apply” (lyrics by Dan Kael) is a clever, funny song about sunscreen, which Berk carried off perfectly. After singing harmony with herself using a track for “That Sunday, That Summer” (Joe Sherman and George David Weiss), a somewhat kitschy oddity that did not quite work, she returned to Schaechter’s work with Yiddisha Nightingale,” which combined an obscure Irving Berlin tune with Puccini’s “O, mio babbino caro” - translated into Yiddish by Schaecter. Oyving Berlin and Puccini, so vunderful you could plotz!

Ann Hampton Calloway’s lovely “You Can’t Rush Spring” made for a fine closing number. Celia Berk has a warm presence and voice, with excellent storytelling skills and good humor. She surrounds herself with top-shelf musicians and arrangers. For the Record captures her essence.

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Learn more about Celia Berk and find her albums, including her new EPs Four Seasons of Song: Spring, at celiaberk.com.

For more great shows at 54 Below, visit www.54below.org.

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