Variety (Nov 1941)

Wednefidaf. November 26, 1941 REVIEWS 5S Night Club Reviews RAINBOW ROOM, N. Y. Mofty MoIn«ck Orch <8), Ruth Pace & Benflev Stone, Mibkai/o, nSSsell Stoanti, Velero Siifers Rhum- b^and (8). i)r. 5«dn€U Ross; $2.75 JS'iXttm dinner, $1 and »2 mtpper coper Safurdov. New show at the Rainbow Room is mod- good for the class room and for mass appreclaUon.. Managing director John Roy continues mata- taSiing a neat batting average by imearUilng new personalities who, darfng as the idea may be, seemingly .ustam his Judgment handsomely. hM been partial, ol late, to ex- S?P^ from the ballet, and in RuUi P^/e & BenUey Stone, lor example he haT a novelty (New Acts) that cin Play other 'kindred type cafes. They're the new highlight of the room. Also new is Milskaya. one of those Continental chanteuses who looks Ukra trailer for 'Oh-Chi-Chprma.' but mixes it up with a 'Petite Chapeaii' (French). Latin and oUier numbers. Her cowl-gown looks okay. Russell Swann is the highlight of the show, his second time back here. Swann is making much progress and. at this pace, will become an attrac- tion and not lust a good solid act. He reminds of people like Fields, Hope, MacMurray, KcaUng, et ■ al. who started as jugglers, straight vaudevilllans, musicians or magi- cians but who, through combination of personality and capability of smaU-talk and delivery, graduated Into faster company as out-and-out comedians. . Swann's pacing -proves that, much so, bis magico almost now be- „mes mcidental. He frequently, skirts the edges when working with customers, but knows how to pick his audience-stooges, seemingly; and particularly is good judgment re- quired when he does the Chinese head-chopping trick—the China Clip- per he calls It. That calls for a man from the audience kneeling on the ground, his head through the Orien- tal torture wrack, etc., out he makes much of every opportunity without distressing or disturbing his unofU' dal stooge.' ' Otherwise, Matty Malneck and Velero Sisters are returners, respcc tively helming the main and Latin bands. Business appears to be good. The Rainbow Room's tariffs, menu end wine cellar, prove anew that the nicer the place the more moderate seems to be the rap. It's the big. more raucous spots that charge more for less; the nicer environments en courage steady returners by judl' clous cataloging of their wares. In short, the $2.75-and-up prix flxe din. ner here, with the show. etc. (or the SI and $2 supper cover, latter on Sat.) gives you more lor the money than you get in less discriminating restaurant-cafes. Abel. Kitty Davis Airliner (MIAMI BEACH) Miami Beach, Now. 22. DeSt/ltia Ttoiiis, Reld Jaynes, Eden Tioins, Billy Young, Roympn. Mar- tini & Lee, Marion Joyce, Johnny Silvers Orch (8); $1 minimum. Under the able management of Charley Hoover, this soaring saloon has' during the summer been the beach's No. 1 nocturnal retreat. Its clientele Is drawn from a wide strata, and while its priority will no doubt be suspended with the opening of the larger boites. it should cpntinue to attract a sizeable share of the p.m. trade. Under the Hoover regime the waiters are better mannered, the dance floor has been elevated and atmosphere of the spot is consider- ably more rarifled. As for the current divertlsement, while minus any name value, it is nevertheless a good buy for the $1 minimum and sufficiently entertain- ing to please most sip and sup sit- tees. Room has dispensed with cus- tomary gal line for the present, but show Is still overlong. running 60 minutes, and climaxing in hurley opera finale that could stand tight- ening. Unusual situation is presented in spotting two twin hoofing combina- tions on the same bill. Turns, how- ever, don't overlap each other. The DcSylva Twins are ace delineators of Afro-Cuban terpology and register neatly. Pair are above most bacardi bump proponents in that their rou- tines are executed with greater finesse and Imagination. More sea- soning should qualify this duo as a class cafe attraction. Second twin combine are the Sdens. two luscious looking lemmes, who,, though offering nothing start, ling in esthetic legology. atone in full by diverting display ol pulchritude. With smart routines these gals could go places, but minus the maribu leathers which are attached to their costumes. A single. Reld Jaynes is a solid beat-me-daddy exponent ol a boogie woogie pihno. Slightly selfrcon- ■clous, he nevertheless has a terrific left hand, and lairly causes the paint on the piano to blister with his light- ning keyboard capers. Warbling nictie is occupied by Marion Joyce, who, though well re- ceived, has little technically to rec- ommend her. She's a digit-snapping, hey-hey, sock singer who appears to experience" difficulty in deciding whether to give a la Martha Raye, Mary Martin or Frances Faye, and whose piece de resistance is 'Dinah.' Gal must Bpply her makeup with a towel. Raymon, Martini and Lee are hard, working zanies, but woelully lacking in socko material. Boys sing, hoof and pound each other black and blue, but just miss the boat for any really solid guffaw returns. Frankie Lee was formerly one of the Three Racketeers. He's a comical chap, but his two foils fall down on the feed. Billy Young remains as the general factotum, calling the turns and ap- pearing in the finale. He formerly played straight to Wally 'Vernon. . Johnny Silver's eight-man combo is a fixture and dispenses its usually solid dansapation. Leslie. CHEZ PAREE, CHI COQ ROUGE, N. Y. Laura Deane Dutton, James Copp III. Nelson & Hartt, Ntcfc D'Amico orch (6); $2.75 dinner, $1.50 and $2 (Saturday) supper minimum. Smart east 96lh street Le Coq Rouge, one of the nicer dine-dance spots, has always yenned for some of the supper club gravy and. apart from the spell when socialite song stress. Ann Francine enjoyed a fair draw, after-theatre business has been spotty. Hence the supper club pol- icy, in a new 'Vernon McFarlane decor, with Nick D'Amico's zingy sextet for the dansapation aug- mented by three intime acts. Two of them will suffice, both un- der New Acts, respectively the open- ing and closing turn, Laura Deane Dutton. songstress from the Rainbow Room, and Nelson & Hartt. satirists, last at LaMartinique. In between is James Copp III with his. wacky and somewhat weird wordage et the piano or celeste. He's an as-you- like-it type of act. not as boffo as Dwight Fiske but reminding a bit of him. His lyrics are in the Salvador Dall Idiom of futuristic and cubistic phraseology. Some of it Is not with- out its moments, but in the main his zany, phrases sound like a lyrical hangover. Which gives an idea. Premiere was for the benefit of American Flying Services Founda- tion, Inc., to a $2.50 tap which in- cluded supper, but the room has no minimum or cover and caters to a discriminating following, presided over by Frank Bonaccinl. Abel. Chicago, Nov. 19. Lou HoRz, Ethel Shutta. Rossili- anos (2). 6 Willys, Lois Harper, Lou Breese Orch (16), Bobby Ramos Orch (10); $2.50-$3.50 Minimum. Mike Fritzel and Joey Jacobson's newly redecorated nitery has a standard show headed by two stand- ard names in Lou Holtz and Ethel Shutta. Holtz and Miss Shutta are vet troupers of the Chez Paree. and their every appearance here is solid jackson. Holtz remains an outstandhig story-teller and the oft-repeated yarns continue to be bright and funny through his punch and sales- manship. He brings no new jokes with him. and whether that is harm- ful remains highly problematical; the audience here kept asking for the old ones. Miss Shutta has a lot of new songs. She looks great and handles this mob with shrewdness. 'Vet singer Is gracious and suave, and sells her songs with sound showmanship. Lois Harper is a little dancer with okay appearance and a lot of action in her work. Six Willys are stand- ard jugglers from vaudeville and their club tossing was well received. Femme jugglers continue to need the aid ol a costumer. In the center production number are the Polish ballroom dancers, the Rossilianos. They are a flashy dance team with nifty costuming and nov. elty. With ballroom dancing being generally standardized with waltzes, rhumas and tangoes, the Rossilianos have a big advantage with the nov- elty effect of their polka work. Fred Evans turned out three good production niunbers. Lou Breese orchestra is still outstanding tor playing a floor show. He also has bang-up dance music. Bobby Ramos does a good warbling job and handles the rhumba band with quiet distinction. Gold. out a nice evening of entertainment. Their mimlcing ol gome of the greats of jazr- in a novelty tune, ^hatcha Gonna Do When There Ain't No More Swing?', scored heavily. Muriel Byrd garnered her share of palmpounding tor her work at the piano during the intervals the band is off the stand. Liuzza. College Rhythm {Continued from page 44^ BEACHCOMBER, N. Y« Walter Long, Be* Kalmus, Sonntf Tu/fs, Toy & Wing, Shadrach Boy* (2), Pupy, Michale & Bastita Co. (6), Line (6); Machito & Lee Kuhn orch«| $2 minimum toeekends. The New Beachcomber comes up with a nifty show, staged by Benny Da-vis, with Davis and Sammy Stept also contributing three original songs th!<t suit the purpose. This spot has been doing good businesi line " ■ ■ Crista!, Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, Now. 8. Barry Moral Orch (12), JuHeta Moral. S. OleuisJcy. Jorge del Prado. Jacha Reim. Spotted right in the center of B.A.'s Broadway—Calle Lavalle— where film houses run a solid three blocks, this after-darker has picked up considerably this season by toss- ing out long-time favorite tango groups and installing a U.S. jazz unit. It's still strictly a listening proposish for the customers, as in many of the 'conflterias' here, but even though terping must be limited to foot- tapping, the jive makes 'em ante up the pesos, which is all that matters tor the management In either Amer- ica. It's not that dancing wouldn't bring in more customers but that under local law dance licenses are about eight times as steep as places without swing space. Current headliner is Barry Moral, a good looking Argentine lad who once sang with Eduardo Armani's top-ranking local swing outfit. Morel has a 12-man outfit that beats out a very creditable brand ol U.S. jive and can also turn its hands to a superior assortment of Brazilian sambas and Cuban rhumbas a^d congas. Stuff is a little bit too stand- ardized for the real jive fans here who manage to keep up with doings on 52d street via discs and the short- wave, but the average filmgoer who likes a bit of entertainment after the show finds it ok. Julleta Moral, warbler with the crew, has a good soprano which she manages to handle with a fresh, appealing man- ner. Her English lyrics arc more than passable. To balance the show, the Cristal has three other featured names—S. Olewsky, European violinist; Jorge del Prado, singer, and Jacha Reim, handling a spotlighted ivory spot. Of the three Reim drew the biggest hand on night caught. He can switch from swing to .symph and back with hardly a Tipple, and style, while more English than American. Is defi- nitely llstenablei Roy. DRUM ROOM, K. C. (HOTEL PBESIDENT) Kansas City. Not>. 16. Juan Malcula's Conga Band with Jeanntta & 'Zora; no cover or mini- mum. The conga and rhumba trade, in headquartering in the Drum Room, has a° variation In its rhythms with Juan Makula'5 group. Ensemble was brought in to furnish the Latin rhythms, and fulfills on this count, but offerings are highly spiced with Gypsy beats as leader is himself of Spanish-Gypsy descent Book In- cludes numerous selections reflecting the background. -Versatility Is a prominent factor with this musical group, as it Is with most of those appearing here, Ma- kula augments his fiddling to a trio with Zora, featured on the accordion and doubling in strings, and Jiminy Mroczek. regular stringbass thumper, stepping out front with a violin. 'Vo- cals are handled capably by Jean- nita, called in when illness detained Juliana, regular songstress. Jeannita takes her turn on English, Spanish and Gypsy lyrics,' sometimes working with Zora as. duo. Leader's firstrate fiddling, string trio, accordion offerings and vocal work provide an evening lof varied music for the patrons considering Makula's arrangements and Slavic rhythms. QuIti, BLUE ROOM, N. O. (HOTEL BOOSEVELT) New Orleans- Nov. 20. Christine Forsythe, The Albins, Will & Gladys Ahem, Muriel Byrd, Smoothies, Neil Bondshu Orch; $2 minimum Saturdays. New band and show is certain to keep the customers happy, having plenty of variety and good, solid talent There's something for ievery- body's tastes. Topping is Neil Bondshu's orches- tra, making Its first appearance here. Not only is the pleasant, talented and personally contagious Bondshu a wiz at the ivories, but his band 'meets the ear just as easy and melodically as his highly skilled pianoing. Dominating In the Bondshu music, of course, is the Bondshu piano, which is as it should be, but those reed, violin end brass sections speak with the same authority. So does 'Vickl Lane, the Bondshu vocalist, who has a voice as well as looks. Floor show Is made up of a quar- tet of acts. Opening is. Christine Forsythe. a tall looker with a nice figure and a fine tap-dancing style. The Albins contribute a ballroom burlesque that's nifty, too. Will and Gladys Ahem, present an amusing rope-spinning, dancing, singing, and patter turn. It's entertaining, but could be improved a bit if Will would quit trying to be a Will Rogers and shorten his line of chat- ter during his ropesplnning. Topping the floor acts are the Smoothies, two boys and a girl, who come up with songs needed to round southern temperament or what you will, but when a guest band really blasts out. everybody looks very po- lite and claps In genuine apprecia- tion, but It's seldom you find the front-of-the-band gyrator. Before we switch over to the bands who didn't make the list and. a glance at the record situation, let's note that Papa Paul and his White- men convened on campus last year at the same time as a state-wide meet and set up some kind of a record. The jig was in the jack, pack- ing the auditorium with nearly 5,000 people, many of whom, however, probably were older persons than-the- average college crowd. And Johnny Long-has recently surprised by puU ing the popularity rabbit out of the hat. Possibly his recording of 'Yea Alabama.' the Capstone's lusty origi- nal, has something to do with it As for those who didn^t win a men. tion, Benny Goodman wasn't named (not even as a candidate for the sym- phony series next spring). But the Cioodman potentialities are there as far as 'Bama popularity goes. One hefty arrangement would put him back In the running, and he can still pack our auditorium. any time he likes. Tommy Tucker seems to have missed the bus because his tlck-tock didn't keep the right time lor a long enough time. As lor Orrin, we haven't heard enough ol his latest as yet to notice any perceptible beat- ing ol the <}rums lor his rhythm. Dosky Faves Not a shady mark appeared on any ol the ballots-tor Cab Calloway, Earl Hines, Erskine Hawkins or any ol the boys in this branch. But they have their lollowlngs at the private jukeboxes; partlciilarly Hawkins, who Is considered somewhat ol a local boy with his Birmingham back, ground and his Tuxedo Junction.' Slipping in a plug lor the local boys, we'll never lorget (the late) Hal Kemp's danoe here two years ago. Hal—^from Greensboro, Ale.— observed that It was great to be back and, judging Irom receipts, Hal was mighty welcome. Pastor's popularity has climbed to high C since the announcement he would play lor the Commerce-Arts. Science hop next month, altfaough'he was unmentioned in the poll taken a week prior to the buildup. All ot which Indicates the fickleness ot. the college tans. Being one ot the most cosmopolitan universities in the country, with nearly hall ol its denl. zen» coming from any one ol the 47 other states, as well as Canada, Alas, ka and several South American coimtries, 'Bama's musical tastes can be called as consistently inconsistent as that ol the average American. Bay Paige Liked For example. 'Night and Day' as played by Raymond Paige, turned out to be the current lavorlte in side survey we made ol the tavorlta discs ot 30 Iraternltles—a total'upset, because we thought Miller's 'Chat- tanooga Choo-Choo' had the nod Swinging over lor a final look at record tavorites. Dorsey, James, MIL ler and J. Dorsey platters seem to be the tavorites—in that order—at the Capstone now. And. ol course, the Andrews Sisters and Boswell vocals always sell consistently good. But the record scene rapidly changes, and by the time this is pub. llshed. Miller's 'Cho-Choo.' Dorsey's 'This Love ot Mine,' Jimmy's 'Jim,' will probably have passed as quick, ly as the revival ot 'Jeanie With- So. with the current sellers, we'll pass on.. .but with this observation ...'Bamian's like It almost any way .. .swung out or wrung out. .but this goes mostly lor listening.. .and tor dances the bands do best who keep their notes on the soft side, with enough groove-grapplers to please a pretty large balcony barrage and not top many feature acts or solos.. .be- cause we still get there an hour late tor a tour-hour dance. (Next week: C. ot California) since its reopening by a new syndi- cate a few weeks ago, and the cur* rent entetrtainment is quite lavish tor a nitery of such limited capacity. This is a distinct Improvement over the opening layout, in talent, lacing of the show and dance rou- :incs for the six-girl ensemble, this time conceived by Al White, Jr. Acts are all top-rate. Including Walter Long's expert hoofing. Bee Kalmus' roBust singing. Toy and Wing's cute ballroomology. and the colored Shadrach Boys (2) (New Acts) In their high-scoring zaney song-piano- Ibg along the lines of ofay Oshina and Lessy. latter now split up. For added measure, there are Sonny Tufts husky baritone, and Pupy, Michale. Batista Co. (6). rhumba fit- Jterbugs. also covered- under New Acts. Show moves fast from the opening gong, which has Long fronting the line s first ot three routines, all well- danced and nicely costumed. Tha Latin - American jitterbugs tollow, and then Miss Kalmus clicks with 'Kiss The Boys (Joodbye,' 'I'm No- body's Baby,' 'You're a Lucky Fel- low Mr. Smith' and finally one of tho new Davis-Stept tunes, 'When' which just about gets by. Other new songs are "Rio Rhythm' and 'The Gaucho with a Black Moustache.' both lair. Toy and Wing's two routines, to 'Beguine' and 'Kicking That Gong Around.' the Oriental femme work- ing the latter on her toes, drew a near showstop at this catching. Sonny Tults, who also m.cs. spots a breather here with 'Donkey Seren- ade' and then Long's sparkling hoot- ing whams. Shadrach Boys close, and for good reason. It would havs been difficult for any ot the acta to toUow them. Machito's rhumba band plays th» show and doesn't do badly, consider- 'Ing the tact, the most ot the tempo isn't Latin. For the rhumba hoofing, however. Machito's crew rates with the best. Alternating tor the fox- trots is Lee Kuhn's five-piece crew. Scho. Artie Shaw vacations tor two weeks beginning Jan. 1. and Benny Goodman lays off last two weeks in January for rest at Miami. Latter hasn't been well lately. He took two days off from New Yorker hotel bandstand last week (17-18). Century Room, Dallas (HOTEL ADOLPHUS) • Dallas, Nov. 23. The Maxellos (5), Glen Pop*, Bums ft White, Dorothy Byton Dancers (6), Herman Waldman Orch (11), Cover, $1.50 couple, din- ners, $1.75 VP. Novelty in, manner of presentation and first-rate talent make the new Hotel Adolphus Century Boom show extremely diverting. Billed as 'Cir- cus Time,' layout combines the work ol three acta plus the smartly trained Dorothy Byton Dancers. Circus posters, balloons and sim- ilar decorations bear out the big- top motll in the room itself, and tha show carries it on with an extreme- ly clever opening number through to a whirlwind finale by the Five Maxellos. breathtaking, comedy-acro- batic team. Somewhat unusual is an aero combination on a stage as small as the Century Room floor allows, but the Maxellos carry it off in fine fashion. Plenty of foot-to-foot stuff, midair changes, double flips and loops which sometimes have three twirling as a unit It's a fast, per- fectly timed routine which can worit close to an audience, as here, where the stage is a raised dance floor sur- rounded on three sides by tables. Maxellos spice the act by Inviting customers to come up for a bit ox kicking around; it's good lor screams. Sharing honors on palm-thumping was Glen Pope, glib hand-is-qulcker- than-the-eye-gent with fast and amusing patter. He displays mitt- click sleight-of-hand work. Al- though he does bird-cage and clg* aret teata tor flash-effect, his real forte is in coin-card legerdemain. In which he has a brilliant touch. He's the best from the local entertain- ment angle since Russell Swann brightened up the after-dark scene here last year. Burns and -White are a mixed team, versatile In softshoe, tap' and acro- batic. The platinum blonde part- ner Is highly talented and decora- tive, capably handled by the mala in some novel and intricate aero tricks. The gal does a takeoff ot a farmer's daughter stripping at Min- sky's, with latter not too strong at this time, with the public's taste turned against burlesque. Other routines were heavily mitted. The Byton Dancers, six comely girls, are used in a production scheme having a circus theme. They dress In costumes simulating lions, tigers and other animals. Music Is dispensed capably by Her> man Waldman's orchestra. Wald* man, who retired from the band business tor several years, fronta a group ot locals who dish out rhythms as well as many of the names which Save appCfired here. Berg.