Live Review: Larry Luger at Notaro Ristorante
(March 9, 2010)By Alex Henderson Some jazz instrumentalists
are not very proficient when it comes to interacting with singers, but that has never been a problem for New York City-based
guitarist Larry Luger. And the strong rapport he enjoys with vocalist Sandy Jordan was very much in evidence during their
March 9, 2010 appearance at Notaro Ristorante, an Italian restaurant on Manhattan’s East Side. For several years, Luger
and Jordan have been performing together on Tuesday nights at Notaro—and Luger demonstrated that he is as comfortable
in an instrumental setting as he is playing with a vocalist. Jordan has a strong cabaret/Broadway/traditional pop background,
but she is also an avowed admirer of Ella Fitzgerald and is capable of getting into more jazz-oriented endeavors; Luger’s
swinging yet melodic guitar playing, in fact, seemed to bring out more of her jazz qualities on enjoyable performances of
familiar gems ranging Jerome Kern’s “Dearly Beloved” to The Beatles’ “Yesterday” to Don
Raye & Gene dePaul’s “I Remember April.“ Jordan is by no means a jazz purist, but jazz has clearly had
a positive effect on her. When Jordan wasn’t singing, Luger excelled as a straight-ahead bop instrumentalist on well
known standards such as Ralph Rainger’s “I Wished on the Moon” and Jimmy McHugh & Dorothy Fields’
“Exactly Like You.” Another highlight of the evening was Luger’s interpretation of “Boulevard of Broken
Dreams,” which he gave an appealing Latin-flavored treatment. Rounding out Luger’s ongoing Tuesday-night trio
at Notaro are acoustic bassist Bob Arkin and the 84-year-old drummer Angelo Ferrara, who has been playing jazz since the 1930s.
Notaro is located at 635 2nd Avenue between 34th and 35th Streets.
Alex
Henderson is a veteran journalist whose work has appeared in Billboard, Spin, Creem, The L.A. Weekly, JazzTimes, Jazziz, Cash
Box, HITS, CD Review and many other well known publications. Since 1996, Henderson (http://www.alexvhenderson.com) has contributed several thousand
reviews to The
SANDY HAS BEEN SINGING WITH
THE LARRY LUGER TRIO FOR OVER 3 YEARS EVERY TUESDAY NIGHT FROM 8 - MIDNIGHT AT NOTARO RESTAURANT IN NYC.
NOTARO SECOND AVE (34TH-35TH STS) RESV 212686-3400
NOTARO ON TUESDAY NIGHTS HAS BECOME
A HANGOUT FOR NY'C SHOW BIZ CELEBS AND NUMEROUS SINGERS SHOW UP EACH WEEK AND SIT IN WITH SANDY AND THE TRIO. THE PRICE IS
RIGHT. NO COVER AND EXCELENT ITALIAN FOOD AND EXCELLENT MUSIC.
