Variety (Dec 1948)

44 ¥AIJDKVILLE Wednesday* December 8, 1948 N^ht Gub Reviews Terrace Room. jV. Y. j Arthur Johnson emcees and also (HOTVi KFW vnRKKR) handles a vocal chore. He snows GftXT VSct Orc?r in- a need for experience in both. «rr^ FmiJipf of '49" with Afard though he's a personable youngster BryaltXtnur^Jo^BorA^^^^ who manages to ingratiate himself rar, George Zak, Margie Le.e, James Carter, Alice Joy Rocfclin, Ruth Harrison, Chet Nelson Flor- ence and Bob Ballard; staged by Donn Arden; cover ajter 10 p.m., $1; Saturday and holiday eves, $1.50, . • The New Yorker is back to Jts Iceshow format after dropping it during the Ray McKinley band en- gagement. As usual, it'.s a pleasant session of modestly budgeted en- tertainment. The show also marks the first eastern date of Gardner Benedict's orch (Band Reviews K "Ice Fancies of "49" Is staged by to with the customers by his youthful enthusiasm. One thing that's also pertinent is that he should never wear a tropical dinner jacket with Ian iceshow; it Seems remarkably incongruous, Benedict's orch supplies the music for. both show and the cus- tomer dancing, with an unbilled orch handing the Interim periods. Kahn. Mayfair Room, Chi (BLACKSTONE HOTEL) Chicago, Dec. 3. Larry Starch, Nype & Cote, Dick LaSalle Orch (9); $3.50 minwnum, $1 coyer. made up of seven brass, five sax, three rhythm. It plays well, but shows nothing outstandmg beyond the great ability, of its leader. Its arrangements, softie in l)Op grooves and others conventional, are ordi- nary in effect. To those who appre- ciate the Rich skin-work, how-eyer, the band has a lot of lure. What Laughs have been rare at this ^ class spot since Abe Burrows ^^^^ ^.^^^ jj^g spotlight falls ■ on a drum solo more than i«?kes up for the mediocrity of the full band. ,. ; „ ,:. George Shearing, bUnd Bntjsli pianist, handles relief chores, along with drummer Kenny Clark, and bassist Oscar Pettiford. Jl s a smart-playing group. Shearmg drew b.o. impetus in this country from a recent London Record al- bum. Wood. Conacaliaua, IV. Y. (FOLLOWUP) The zanv Joe E. Lewis continues do okay in a rather deflated IS ot tne sianaara vaiieiy loi .n^^-.^,,^ a'.^ro tfiP met a «!nrt of troupes of this sort, it's Pleasant Damone 8^^^ f^^t ot diversion, especially for the out-o^ |^condarY tP/^J^ ' %\^g„.'Xse towners taking in the loca sights.; D«'^^one^^,s^the j^oung^sm^ . Among the show s mainstays are bobbysoxers and who, like the Florence and Bob Ballard, mixed gquaiiy youthful Mel Torme, is team of skating dancers, who do possessed of a strange poise and the accepted form.-! of whirls and assurance on a cafe floor, despite lifts; Chet Nelson, who does a solo fg^j ju^t 21, A natural, ♦'dance," and Alice Farrar, skating i jjinky-haircd young man,' the soloist.' 1 crooner holds this room like a vet The unit comprises all young, vvith familiar pops and ballads, performers who give the outfit a ' The real test came with "Why Was semblance of size in their doubling ; i Born?", a slow ballad, unortho- from group formation to sol oing. | dox in its spotting at the tag end i uyssell Nypo and Elizabeth Cote of his repertoire, but the hush was: project unblemished boy-girl amor spontaneous as they; gave hm) iti .gehtle, persuasive Vocal- close attention, iizing pair duets fluently in stand- There are a couple of other re- ards ■'and sflbw. tiines, with best placeriients. Dorothy Keller makes |,urikirt| in "Sunny Side of the jGbhtiinulng its policy of sirigte} attractiotasj Ciro's hgs come up with Carl Ravaisza, erstvvhile band-> leader turned single, to provide the entertainment for the next few SeSslonSi . It ;ShapeS'Up as a siiiatt .'booking.;; Despite some minor faults in de- livery, Ravazza should, be" a draw,' particularly for^a plush ropnv like Giro's. He has an easy style and a finis Voice ,;,that registei's well; Heyi^hQivs ftOW -;tp offer- ings for top interest and his ma-, terial is well selected to bring out , ;,. his vocail values. KlilbaNNy, m. Ravazza's routine ranges from Adrieiiiie, Tlic Gcrordos l2), calypso stuff to; a jazzed up ver- Sacasas and Pupi Cainpo Oi'c/is; | sion of "M'Appari." It's all taste- $3.50 minimum. . fully arranged and delivered. Best v'-.;^'' : .. . ' returns are earned on a medley The Embassy, under its new of oldies that permits him to do management. Is putting the em-; a little crooning, pliasis on the customer terps; and Backing by Phil 01iman'.s band m.oht met as wpu np ine iitMi therein lies the reason for the in-, e.vcellent and the musicrcw does ^md^^rt' nf ton comedv wrUers In I creasing click of this eastside spot, i a deft job of pleasing terpatrons. f RHtilh rpn?ise^ ^^^^^^^^ the food as .it does, plus < chuy Reyes' rhumband still Is on cinemuh cOMeotion of a c^^^^^^ rhumba bands, is the right tap to'dish the Latune stuff that nffU^vvjhTreRvets his weekend idea, and with the right exploita- grows increasingly popular here, otticei Who regieis nis wocKeim ^.^^ Embassy can pay off on " " Kap, sojurned here in October, Sue ccssive bills have lacked comics. It's not yock hunger, however, that's responsible for the optimum response drawn by Larry Storch. His personality etchings are among the sharpest seen in these parts. Young impressionist does Cary Grant, Humphrey Bogart and grist- mill celebs, but his method tran- scends the routine appi-oach. There's no heavy reliance, for ex- ample, on the gag line per se. A prosaic line takes on humor within the framework of character- ization, such as his Gary Cooper portrait in wliich shyness and plain talk add up to howls. In his carbon of a buck-toothed British thesp, Storch aspirates Rotten Row double-talk, but from the standpoint of impact his lines might just as well be the fresh ClrQ's* Hollywood .Hollywood, Dec. 1, Carl Ravazza. Phil Ohman's prcli. (9), ChttV Reyes flhitmbajid (5); $3-$3,50 minimum. will go by the board, now that a native spear has pierced his heart. Brought back three times, Storch replied with snapshots of a femme, a Gallic singer and a Cuban dance team, all for salvos. In their first Chi appearance that policy. The acts on the show are merely Incidental. Current lineup has Adrienne, the singer; the Gerardos, dance team, plus the Sacasas and Pupi Campo Latin bands. Gerardo, of the dance team* Is also the Embas- sy's official host. Both Adrienne COMEDY MATERIAL ' For All . Branchet of Theotrieob FUN-MASTER "Th« ORIGINAL Show-Biz Gag FiU" Not. 1 to 22 @ $1.00 oach ' (Order tn Sequence Only) SPECIAL: The flni 13 Filet for SB.OO ! ! I 3 DIFFERENT BOOKS OF PARODIES (10 in Each Book) SIO per Book send 10c for Hats of other comedy material, aonirM, parodies, minHtrel patter, black-outs. etc. NO C.O.D.'S PAULA SMITH tan W. Kith IStnet, New York It a good prima, registering through- Street." but, and particularly In the Cuban finale. uia. ij ^.. w.,. I Dick LaSalle's orch back ably Tern Stevens and, Sonny I and supplies prime danceables, 'Calello are the soubret and song [ dance specialists. Blended with Joe E. Lewis, whom they wouldn't let 'go, and the ever perky Douglas iCoudy revue, with its crisp cos- I turning and the Copa beauts, this I spot Is rightfully the town's out- I stander. It's a natural tourist trap, I and also bait for the regulars, Mike ' Durso and Fernando Alvares regis- ter, per always, with their show and dansapation.. ■ • , Abel. Baxt. C lique Club, N. ¥. Sarah Vaughan, Buddy Rich Orch, George Shearing Trio; ad- mission 90c., minimum $2. Afoeambo, Hollywood Hollywood, Dec. 3. Kay Starr, Gene Ba'iilos, Bobby Ramos Orch (8); minimum, $3-$4. It's been about a year since Kay and thrCerardos raHsV'in thei^ , Starr started singling a ye;^^ perfonnancesi but there's no deny^ ing that the main attractions are I: the bands. • ' It's a strictly rhumba - crowd | that's being drawn here, with the" customers coming in after dinner;! It's the sort of clubby rhumba at- ■ mosphere that used to be drawn t to La Martinique before its present i regime, only here the patrons are j neither noisy nor the rhumba de- j generates one used to ftnd at the j old La Conga. The Embassy has alw,ays been a beautiful room, and the new decor emphasizing Jffedgwood blue and I white is particularly enhancing, | Both Sacasas and Campo main- (Continued on page'4()) This new spot, on the site of the old Ebony Club, is a copy of the mode of operation of the rival Royal Roost, a few blocks down . . _ Broadway. Opened by Irving Alex- tain the high standards they've es ander and Sammy Kaye, former 52d street operators, with disk jockey Fred Bobbins (WOV, N.Y.) as m.c. and talent buyer, the Clique debuted to capacity audi- ences Thursday (2) at 90c. a head. (Kaye is not the bandleader). | Admish entitles anyone to sit in a ' "listening" .section from which no j food or drink need be ordered, while tables are provided for those f who wish to eat or Imbibe at a S2 minimum. ' Sarah Vaughan and Buddy Rich's i band are the opening lures. Neither s is exceptional. Miss Vaughan,] building a b.o. reputation via re-1 cordings, apparently has let her rising star, upset good sense. Her vocalistics are. nearer to .a legiti- i mate approach than any of her contemporary, sepia rivals; she! uses only standards and pops, trick- ing them up much in the way Frank Sinatra once did. But to get coy along with it, plus run- ning each song much too long; didn't help her opening night re-i ception. Teeing off with "Mean to Me," then her biggest disk hit. "It's Magic," and "Everything I Have Is Yours" and "I've Got a Crush on You," the singer didn't show enough to substantiate the top bill- ing. By fondling each tune too; extensively she lost hold on her audience, composed mostly of tradespeople, who are noisy any- how. . . Rich's combination is new and tablished for themselves as purvey- ors of the Latin beat. KaTin. Wally BOAG 650 Performances in YAL PARNELL'S "STARLIGHT ROOF" London Hippodromo "An Immediate faverltei pleaiant pcrienality, dancer: af ne mean talent." Performer. • lONDON: . , ;Chiirleii / Vileker AMBRICA: Mark J. l-tnlir D0UN0FF8 and MYA SISTERS BLACK ART - MYSTIFYING NOVELTY Outstanding Hit of Ed Sullivan Television Show November 21st RETURN ENGAGEMENT DECEMBER 12TH SOMETHING NEW-SOMETHING DIFFERENT SEE FOR YOURSELF OUTSTANDING H/T IN THEATRES, CAFES, HOTELS Management: AL WILSON. 1501 Broadway, New York BRyant 9-0543-^ SENOR CARLOS BALLOON SCULPTOR COMEDIAN ONLY AMERICAN APPEARANCE, FOUR WEEKS AT LaMARTINIQIJE, N.Y. Thanks to MILES INGALLS and JOE FLAUM Opening In England, December 27th in Bertram Montague's Pantomime ^^Dick Wiiittington" THANKS TO ZAHL AGENCY, BENGT STERNER AND BERTRAM MONTAGUE