Variety (December 1953)

lTedflciiJayi December 30, 1953 PSSlETf Coeasniit Clr§v®9 I» A* --T- Los -Angele»rDec. 22. Freddy Martini Orch (16), Jana Mason, Les Charlivels (3), BUI Curtis; $2 *2. 50 cover . ■ Freddy Martin has spent a good many of his passional-years, fair urey for the grinning apes in the naims. in Joe Hoenig’s Cocoanut Grove. On and off he has been coming around for the past 13 vpars at one time an unbroken run of two years, and he’ll be back Wain in A pril. An opening night turnouTIast Wednesday (23) gaye him a tumultuous 'Welcome and tak- ing off on the Lurline mag ads, it must’ve made him feel like it did the ringsiders, “Martin IS the Grove.’’: For entertainment and dancing right through the middle for these -cover - lifters, the. Martin Men (there are 16 of ’em) can lilt the ear and agitate the nethers at one and the same time. Few bandmen can claim as many hits that first caught the public fancy from their live renditions and recordings and these were cavalcaded in a senti- mental segment down memory lane. Each number was applauded and a big whoop went up for “our gon g”—“Tonight We Love.’’ The palms will sway and the floor groan for the four weeks of the current stand. Freddy the saxman, the modern counterpart Of the pied-piper, Will keep the payees coming, in long lines down past Michael’s, stand atop the staircase. On the singing side are Jana Mason', a sexcat new to these parts, and Bill . Curtis, of. the Martin crew, in a musical history of the man called Bing. This gives the room a tuneful atmosphere but there’s another act to be reckoned with in the receptive sense—Les Charlivels, spinners, tumblers and whirlers supreme, who throw their chassis around with the speed and agility of desert dervishes. They’re 'tops in their class and still rate big despite being around on the teletubes. For Miss Mason it was an embar- rassing evening. In her nervousness she forgot the lyrics twice, had to start over again and finally made it under prompting by the com- posers, Donald O’Connor and Sid NIGHT CLUB REVIEWS 53 “Ballin' the Jack" opener and closes with a very special choreo & ^lem Nocturne," featuring Christina Carson up on toes and describing some expert blues theming Via legwork. > Miss Faye runs away with the show. Nitery vet is very strong here in co-headline bill with Col- lins, and makes the room sizzle with her ditties. At the spinet, she carves “Darktown Strutters Ball,’’ “Sorrento" and “Gypsy in My Soul, but sends entire, house with carbon of Capitol disk. VDummv Song," After "Boogie Woogie Irish Washerwoman," the fey Faye pounds out and shouts “Shimmy Like My Sister Kate,” bringing on Hackett, McGarrity and Dansations for whopping finale. A1 Jahns orch is great assist to jgoingson. Will. . _: Black Orchid, Clil r . .. Chicago, Dec. 22. Josh White, Yonely, Rita Dimi- tri, Ken. Sweet Trio; $4 minimum. For the first anniversary of this intimery, boniface Al Greenfield repeats his leadoff headliner for six weeks and maybe more. And Josh White's following here is great enough to keep the rafters bulging throughout his tenure, jj his appearance here a year ago is any indication. Supporting acts, booked for a shorter stay, are sat- isfying supper club attractions, though unknown in these parts. With guitar propped on his knee, White takes dominion of the room at once, delivering 25 min- utes worth of . spirituals, work- songs, lowdown blues and English folk ballads. Sensitive pipes, art- ful nuances and. the usual impec- cable phrasing help him : resell wellknowns and the more offbeat numbers. With Benny Dunn, house emcee who kicks in the re- peat lines from the wings, he es- says an amusing “Green Grass Grows All Around” for. laughs. Guitar intros and overtones are strong, and at least half his num- bers are requests by an audience that won’t be surfeited. He begs off, 61 course. Whimsical music spoofer, Yone- ly, lends the comic relief midway in the lineup. Offbeat purveyor of hey Miller. She’s not _ quTte _ ready'Umart - srapstick squeezes chuckles for a solo spot, in the Grove but will be coming along and heard fiom in another year.. She has presence and good vocal equipment but lacks the finesse of a styling she tries for, O’Connor also got into the act with the three little Frenchies for am acrobatic turn. Grove has undergone a change into winter regalia, with the palms snowy white and the backdrop the replica of a village at night. ' Helm. Thunderblrd, Las Vegas Las Vegas, Dec. 23. Al (Jazzbo ) Collins ,' Frances Faye , Bobby Hackett, Big Lou Mc- Garrity, Wingy Manone, Kathryn Duffy Dansations (8), Christine Carson, Al Jahns Orch (12); no cover or minimum. It the hipster’s Xmas greeting circa 1953 is “Keep cool this Yule,’’ then Al ‘‘Jazzbo Collins is avant- garding this square haven with the message.”. And if Collins is cool, then it’s Frances Faye that warms up the room with her nitery know- how. The Capitoi packet is a canny booking by Hal Braudis to bridge the slow period, and should bring in surprising returns. . Collins, with fire-red shirt, sport- lug a goatee and black hornrimmed specs, brings strange gab from the hind of “Oobladee,” where his Purple Grotto” is obviously the niopster and bopster haven. Dee- jay from Gotham’s WNEW, and tapuol pa-ctce for some hip-talk- ing platters, Collins is out of hab- uat on a nitery floor. As emcee, is—borrowing a cool phrase— pf*: a e* fjis retelling of “Little Red ml? 1 ;? 8 Hood,” from the disk, is 0 u 8 an( * should be knifed to !L ■ s current environment, ls n ,° srotto although neat lic £'m ound set pieces' try to estab- hwod. It’s all above the g ®hcrally, of Thunderbirders with ^• lntros musical specialists "ith hip-garble. has a very mel- “I °T»/r^?'y in S fin ^ trumpet to To ofJI J*« S1C ' a .nd “Love Is Here is riicni \ evy httle showmanship seem c ?I a ^ ed ’ *5# Hackett’s horn Lou sufficient for big mitts. alon^ cGamt y slides his trombone bye ” g of a rock lng '‘Good- beat i2 e £’- *Jl® n returns for two- John<» ' Xlth * Hackett and Al ble ” S Muskrat Ram- Marinni 1 * 1 ui’ the unbilled Wingy vocal n J r „ an l e / out to stand by for Blues gr °c °/followup “Basin St. “Bill * t»V r r,® 4 rompjs out with «d heavy i>aims CoTnil “,*“*»*, presided over by Dansatin M f 9 e as * h « Kathryn Duffy ations to illustrate upbeat CJro’a, -Hollywood • • . Hollywood, Dec. 23. WillMastm Trio, starrtng Sammy Davis Jr.; Dick Stabile Orch (8), Bobby Ramos Rhum band (5); $2 cover. ./Anyone can do business New Year’s Eve, but these couple of weeks look to be New Year’s Eve every night with Sammy Davis Jr. providing the lure for Herman Hover’s Sunset Strip plushery. Al- ways a favorite here* the Will Mas- out of. every gimmick, squirting water from his eyes, oiling the mike and effortlvsly churning out genuine music from miniature in- struments. Reception is good to stunts and sly wit both. Rita Dimitri, a classy redhead in a silverish gown, is billed as a Greek chantoosie but her output is mostly French. Gal has fine pipes and stylizes nicely but misses somewhat in projection. As a re- sult, her plaudits are. largely per- functory.- Whole segment has a heavy Continental, accent, with French and Spanish medleys, and “Miserlou” sung in Greek, com- prising the bulk of her songalog. An offbeat American blues carries well, With some hip work helping, and suggests a need for more of the same. , , Pianist Rudy Kerpays backs Miss Dimitri and Yonely, with bassist Al -Poskonka assisting all three acts. Ken Sweet plays the interlude keys. ‘ Les. Macayo, Santa Monica *Santa Monica, Dec.^23. Gene Nash: Carlos Romero Dancers (4); Eddie Gomez Orch (6); $1.50 minimum, $2 weekends. Basically a restaurant rather than a nitery. the Macayo is one of the few Santa Monica spots offering anything like production in entertainment. Current layout is a little different than anything the spot hns tried before, but it should pass muster with the regu- J arS Headline billing goes to Gene Nash, who. fills a fast 15 minutes with song-and-dance stuff. Hoofing is his forte and he gets good re- sponse from some, loose-limbed routining and some acroantics in- cluding flying splits. On the song side, he sticks to the usual show- casing of such tunes as “Stranger in Paradise” and “You’re Breaking My Heart.” But his vocalizing is merely okay and since there, are plenty of better singers around the nitery circuit, he’d do 'Veil to confine his singing to special material stuff which would give him an edge. , Production numbers are by Car- los Romero* long identified with precision lines in the east. He $ done an excellent job of .cutting■ the high-kick stuff down to size for a four-femme line and the limited confines of the floor area here. There’s more than a trace of nostalgia about the routines and in another spot, or in other hands, they might verge on the cornbaii. Showbacking and dance stuff are in the hands of the Eddie Gomez orch, with the maestro warbling One ^production number. • tune. to. ke tt er previous business with this tint, which is the apt’s best yet. This, time around, Uncle Will Mastin and Davis Sr, stay more in the background to let Sammy take over. He’s on solo for about 40 minutes of their 45-minute turn; stops the show cold at least twice, and provides the socko en- tertainment that brings constant palm-pounding. With some fine new material by Sid Kuller, Davis proves. that he’s the finest single all-around entertainer now on the bistro beat. First of his show-stopping num- bers is “It’s Hard To Be Me,” a song framework for Carbonings of James Cagney, Edward G. Robin- son, Mel Tonne, Cary Grant, James Stewart, Nat (King) Cole, Billy Eckstine and Danny Kaye, among others. Each is a gemlike characterization that wins solid plaudits. He wraps up the shbw again with his acid-dipped etch- ings of Mario Lanza and. Johnnie Ray and provides a larruping finale with a skin-beating session that is as fine a bit of jazz drumming as ever showcased in a nitery. Senior members of the act now work only in a dance routine warm- up for young Davis’ talents, pro- viding background effect for - the remainder of the turn. Arranger Marty Stevens is now traveling with the turn, working as conduc- tor and getting the most out of the Dick Stabile band. Latter, of course, continues to share .terp chores with the Bobby Ramos La- tune crew. Kap. Last Frontier, Las Vegas Las Vegas, Dec, 23. | —Mary--Kaye —Trio— tipith—Frankr Ludec ), Buddy Lester, Senor Wences, Jean Devlyn Dancers (10), Dick Gregory * Bob Peoples, Garicood Van Orch (10); no cover or minimum. Triumvirate of Mary Kaye Trio, Buddy Lester and: Senor Wences would ordinarily be a solid comer hither in Vegas, but in these cock- eyed days the Ramona Room two- framer will Only have average at- tendance. Battle for stratospheric names and ditto paychecks for those worthies goes on in a couple of Strip palaces, leaving some of • the bistros holding half-filled moneybags. Of such is the current kingdom of Vegas. Alary Kaye, with her brother Norman, Frank Rose and drummer Frank Ludec, have been dynamite for many months in this spa’s Gay 90’s Bar, playing to capacity late- hour gangs. Doubling now between the lounge and main nitery room could be jeopardy for some units, but strength of this combo over- rides a possible surfeit. Buddy Lester is a very funny man, with his fast-jabbing liners consistent yock-makers. in this room. He’s a sharpie with much of his quipping and his hat routine scores as well as his trumpet non- sense and battle with Garwood Van's hornman on “Carnival in Venice.” Senor Wences will hold this fort for a month. His ventro noduling has no peer around the circuits as lie shoots gab with hand doll John- nie, revealing great voice-box tricks. Threeway throwing of the boxed Pedro head, telephone and Johnnie wins top admiration and applause. Keeps this going while spinning, balancing tray on slender poles for sock finish. Jean Devlyn Dancers dress up holdovers with new wardrobe, in- finitely more striking for the 10 glanimer dolls. Fronting the “Con- tinental” steppery, Dick Gregory shows zip during solos and work with sexy Judy Brent aiid Irene Bolton. Bob Peoples does okay with, background vocals, and GarWood Van not only batons his orchestras well, but gets in the Lester act many times with competent straighting. Will. Hally wood Tea Revue Chicago, Dec, 25. Arthur M. Wirtz presentation of ice revue in two acts 1 17 scenes). Stars Barbara Ann Scott; features Jacqueline du Bief, Bobby Blake, Karen, Jack Raff toer & Jerry Mapes, Peter Firstbrook , Freddie Trenkler, Skippy Baxter, Susan it Tommu. La vonne,- Three Bruises. (Geoffe Stevens, Sid Spaulding, Monty. Scott). Assistant producer,. William H. Burke; choreography, and staging by Carl Littlefield/ costumes, Groce. Houston; musical director, Paul , Vaii Loan; At Chicago Sta- dium, Chicago, Dec. 25; $4 top. Again Arthur Wirtz and company have whipped together an attrac- tive ice display, sumptuous in cos- tume and production, with plenty of dash and diversity throughout. This 19th edition of‘ the series ap- pears to have enough durability to meet the expanded itinerary of 15 cities, more oh slate than in any previous year. Spread leaves here on Jan: 12 for its eastern leg, with this nightclub. Her good musicom- edy voice, which aired in “South Pacific” and “Inside USA,” still hasn't tempered that legit hall strength that makes amplification a hindrance in closer quarters, but her stylizing with offkey interpola- tions lands pleasantly, and she does have the proper amount of charm. Overall reception. is good. Roger Perry's Chez week* his prize for bagging top honors on TV’s - "Talent Showcase,” loosens what might have been a snug for- mat but otherwise does no serious harm. He delivers three numbers of selfsame tempo from the piano midway in the show, j Kirby Stone unit, a socko four- some held over, definitely is of headline calibre. Cutups rock the room with guffaws throughout their segment and they go off amid cries for more. Johnny Conrpd and His Dancers, also carried over, have lost some of. the enthusiasm of their last opening night — and consequently some of the gloss—but still get plenty of mitting for productions that depend as much upon sex ap- peal as terpability. Brian Farnon orch continues to showback ca : pably. Les. Vleux Cetombier. Paris Paris, Dec. 21. Albert Nicholas Bio Chief Rus- sell Moore, Claude Lutcr (7) It Andre Reveliotty *6) Orchs. Latin Bop Stars (4>; $2.50 minimum. Choz Paree* Chi (FOLLOWUP) Chicago, Dec. 23. Christmas week brings in blond thrush Estelle Loring to replace the Coast-committed De Castro Sisters, hoists the Kirby Stone Four to the headline spot, and adds five minutes’ worth of Roger Perry. It’s still a cheerful layout. Miss Loring, a lovely chirp nicer ly displayed In i white spangled gown, is playing her first date at This cellar club, off St.-Ger- main-Des-Pres is still the hot jazz spot for the younger Gallic and U. S. set, and the oldsters who. can take a heavy decibel belting around the ears for the sake of some good jazz and smoky atmos- phere. Club has the membership format at $2.50 for the year, and biz is packed. Now topping the show is the fine liquid clarineting of Albert Nicholas and the less subtle blar^ ing of the trombone of Big Chief Russell Moore. Nicholas is backed by the Andre Reveliotty orch (6». a neat French combo, and Moore by Claude Luter orch 1 7), the lead- ing Gallic exponent of New Or- leans jazz. ^Though French like^ their jazz at ear-cracking pitch, Nicholas gets them quelled into neat jazz flights with “Black and Blue” and “When The Saints Come Marching In." Moore then does his more rabid stint, with some fine low-done blaring and chanting that goes big with the aud. Combos back well. Atmosphere is filled out by the Latin Bop Stars, four young- sters who spend all their time here in a frenzied French version of the U. S. Lindy hop and other steps. Kids are frenetic and easy on the eyes and it could be pack- aged into a nice act for vauderies or TV slotting. Mosk. nine more cities to play, beginning with New York. Featured bast lias as many new- comers as repeats* with Barbara Ann Scott, of the latter group, headlined. Lovely, blond is femi- ninely fluent on the blades and sparks her solo' moments with sprightly leaps, glissades and pro- longed spins and, of course, figur- ing in the heaviest applause. Spot- lighted in the three preeminent scenes, she appears only once in the first act arid thrice in the sec- ond, suggesting a need for slight' revamping of the order, ., Her primer entrance occurs in the final scene of the first segment, .at that, in a Goldilocks... fantasy : whose appeal is broad and in which she dances the “Black Swan” pas- de-deux with Feter Firstbrook, who is making his first appearance with the group this term. In the second act, she’s the charming cap- tive princess trying to elude the properly menacing Tartars, enact- ed by Jack Raffloer and Jerry Mapes;' As Conchiia in the Carib- bean spectacle, she wriggles ap- pealingly in calypso and colorful primitive blade numbers: Ice en- thusiasts here receive her warmly, and her following appears to be growing; Other repeaters land their cus- tomary enormous response, among them the swift Skippy Baxter* who provokes a unison gasp for his backward flip performed at top- speed; dynamic adagio team of Susan & Tommy La Vonne in a slick acrobatical apache stint, and the riotous Three Bruises, who kick in their wellknown slapstick scrubwoman antics for firstrate comic relief. Naturally,, the greater bulk of ‘ comedy chores are .handled by vet- eran Freddie Trenkler, whose fol- lowing in these revues — since - Sonja Henie’s departure—is great- er perhaps than that of any other performer. In tWo whimsical sit- uations, one in each half of the show, be appears as the trouble- some tramp, once eluding and out-, witting a policeman and again in a parallel plot with four Navy ath- letes. In the first act. he races at the seats from the farthest end of the rink, coming to a dead stop at the very brink,, but in the second, without breaking speed, he plunges headlong into stands. Both turns erupt paroxysms, Johnny Farris continues as his j very capable stooge. Aside from the agile figure- skater. Peter Firstbrook, and preci- sion team of Jack • Raffloer and Jern 1 Mapes, Wirtz has brought in several other new faces for this year’s issue. Brisk Bobby Blake delights with a lively terp sessiori in the George AL Cohan idiom arid reappears later to partner with Miss Scott in the Caribbean epi- sode. Too little is seen of Parisian beauty Jacqueline du Bief, who has a solo early in . the format and doesn’t appear thereafter. Her bal- let and acros are delivered neatly and with ease, and the mitting is enthusiastic. Chorus of 48 makes seven exu- berant appearances, but the best of their output is the f Juke Box Saturday Night” scene, wherein (heir precision terpology is best demonstrated. It’s a socko corps, youthful and rehearsed nearly to perfection, but the weight of mere costume effects in some of their numbers is to be quarreled with. "Resplendence,” for one. is an ad- venture in overlush (and extrane- ously expensive) drapings. Sole effect of this scene is the wonder how the gals can move, much less dance, under all the glittering but ponderous trappings. As a matter of fact, they’re able to do very' little of either, and the refreshing- ly quick pace of the show is very nearly halted as a result. Lighting effects are often bril- liant and always on cue, and Paul Van Loan’s orchestra is firstrate, as are the vocals of Tom Barry, Hilde Henke, Archie Lang and Jo Ann Richards. Les:. Hotel RadtasOn, Mpls. Minneapolis, Dec. 27. Jerome Courtland, Don McGranc Orch (8); $2.50 minimum. Tall, good-looking and giving out a boyish charm to augment a superior set of baritone pipes, Jerome Courtland sets himself well witli this fashionable boite’s customers on his Minneapolis bow. At show caught, all of his well- chosen and pace-changing contri- butions clicked. There were un- obtrusive verbal Introductions, but no monkey.shine.s-just the pleasant business of singing as he stuck to his vocal knitting. Backing up the singer and play- ing .for customer—limbshaking, Don McGrane orch hit its usual high standard. Rees. Roy Rogers Set For Bow in Britain Feb. 15 Glasgow, Dec. 22, Roy Rogers, cowboy Star,-.-’.will make his bow in British vaude at the Empire Theatre here Feb. J5. He will be acompanied by his wife, Dale Evans, “Trigger” and western acts. Advance interest in the book- ing is already immense, mainly from youngsters. Rogers is ex- pected to make a triumphant entry into Glasgow if given police per- mission. When Tom Mix rode into town in pre-war days, a minor stampede held up traffic. The Rogers unit will tour key provincial cities of Great Britain. Nat “King” Cole is pacted for a .laten__appearance—at.,the-Empire. vaudery, which again will feature American acts in its schedule.