The Kander & Ebb Album
Varèse Sarabande continues its valuable Spotlight series, allowing Broadway veterans to record solo albums covering the catalogs of musical theater's best songwriters. The oeuvre of Kander and Ebb is given to Brent Barrett, and it's a good match considering his role as Billy Flynn in Broadway'sChicago. (His résumé also includes studio recordings and the Maltby and Shire revueCloser Than Ever.) You won't find "New York, New York" or "Wilkommen" here, but you will get a tasty blend of songs ranging from brassy swing to gorgeous ballads to crooners, all rendered in Barrett's versatile tenor--which at its sweetest brings to mind a less affectedMandy Patinkin.Chicagois represented by one song Barrett sings every night, "All I Care About," and one he doesn't, "All That Jazz."Ally McBeal's Jane Krakowski is on hand for "Wet" fromSteel Pier, whileChicagocostarRuthie Henshalljoins Barrett for "Why Should I Wake Up," a lovely duet cut from the Broadway revivals ofCabaret. John Kander himself accompanies on piano for "A Quiet Thing," fromFlora, the Red Menace. A very nice album, from beginning to end.--David Horiuchi