Variety (March 1958)

86 NIGHT CLUB REVIEWS PfihiEft Wednesday, March 19, 1958 Waldorf-Astoria, X. Y. Varel & Bailly with Les Chan - f eurs de Paris (7), Emil Coleman ind Bela Babai Orchs; $3-$4 c Over. Unlike England’s angry young men, France has sent over a group of happy young men in the person of i Andre) Varel & (Charly) Bailly with Les Chanteurs de Paris. The presence of this talented assem¬ blage should provide a joyous feel¬ ing for visitors td the Waldorf’s Empire Room, for the team, as it presents its Unique repertoire of Gallic, tunes, is the essence of joie is his vacillation between his pre¬ tensions to eggheadedness and the vulgarities pf his origins as a sa¬ loon entertainer. He keeps looking back; as if he weren’t sure of him¬ self. Of course he can sing, dance, iriugg, tell a joke, play a cornet and burlesque other entertainers and do some of these things supremely well, but' he’s still a teenager’s Grimaldi. Many kids who got in to the Chi Chi with their parents, split their sides at his antics, blit, his blue material isn’t for them/ Or even for him any longer. Show; was well publicized. for weeks. With Lewis garbed in all It‘s' evident... they’re enjoying.j sorts , of freak costumes. For the what they r re doing and this feeling is dramatically conveyed to the audience. Varel & Bailly are com¬ posers and lyricists as well as en¬ tertainers. With Bailly. a pixie-like French Russel Nype at the piano, and Varel/a handsomer Fernandel fronting the seven Chanteurs, there, is an outpouring Of choralistics and! Show, however.; he stuck to a con¬ ventional tux with red silk lining. ^His. dancing duels with Dick Humphries are still a delight to see and hear, but the dialog of his Japanese 6l.o, riling could be cleaned lip and not cost him a cus¬ tomer. ; Among the crowd on his second musicianship that leaves a trernen- - night were Mike Todd and Eliza- dous impact. ’ i beth Taylor, Arlene Dahl and Fer- There’s not a clinker in the 12-. : nando Lamas, Mr. and Mrs; Kirk song, 45-minute stint. With Varel j Douglas; Claudette Colbert, Jack Sc Bailly in black tuxes and the \ Warner and Bill Goetz. But the chanteurs in white tails and with j customers who forced tables to be the movements excellently chbrep- i jammed together and; caused SRO graphed, the pictorial impression is were new to niteries in the main, as effective as the precision articu- J and the sad part is they won’t be lation and the sound of the blended back, unless much of this aind the voices. ‘.material of other comics is cleaned Out of the 12-tune presentation, up, a total of 10 are the handiwork ofPeg Leg Bates.Opened the show Fontainebleau, M.B’ch . Miami Beach, March 15. Frank Sinatra, Maria Neglia, Sa- casas Orch; $5-$7.50 minimum. Varel & Bailly. who in addition to their performing chores, are per¬ haps France's best-known song¬ writing team. For the most part. and danced up. to his: best- He graciously asked the audience not to toss money on the stage “be¬ cause Mr.. Schuman pays me very the. frontmen and Les Chanteurs! well. 7 ’ Besides, he could break stick to their native language, di-! his neck if his peg leg caught a grossing only once or twice to offer coin arid he skidded, ari English translation in a strong- j Lou Brown’s orch was loud and Iv French-accented manner. The: backed up Lewis’ versatile talents “ ■ ' - Hill A lovorwlai-'c eT/lo' tunesmiths,. who have written for Lena Horne. Edith Piaf, Jacqueline Francois, Patachou and others, are perhaps best known in the UJS: for “Le Ciel” (The Sky), which, of course, is among their Waldorf Of¬ ferings, Their program is varied— encompassing ballads as well as jump tunes in the-Gallic tradit on. At their previous Waldorf in¬ adequately. Bill Alexander’s side: men limited their, playing to the dancers.: Scul . . nnds, l J as Vegas Las Vegas, March 18. Nat King Cole, Allen & DeWood, Texas Capa Girls (12), Antonio Mprelli Orch 117); produced by pearance. the group ^picked .up ; j ack EntTa tter; $3 minimum, for tv appearances on the Ed bui-i .. . • , . livan and Garry Moore shows and j „ _ r _, is hapk the it won’t come as surprise if there ! JNdt . K 4ng L-oie Js-.DacK - m.tne is strong video bidding for its ; CoPR Roqm/where^e* ^ays been services during the current U.S..a big draw, and-this time he plays t 0UF fto better effect than ever before. The French tuues, as transla^d. j His smooth., gimmickless, turn con- included “Let’s Be Friends,” “All sists of a homogenized repertoire My Life.” “Let’s Wipe the Slate | that is embellished with a fine bit Clean.” “You’re Kidding Me,” j 0 f emo ti n g on two- numbers, “Lul- 'omnn'o nthprs Thp - ir -r. ^ j..—. pt.’i - Frank Sinatra’s impact on this jaded-with-Stars town can be summed up in seven lucky words: Total estimated gross for one week: |$130,00Q. There’s never been a week like this for any cafe in the area. The bigwigs fought for tables. Some, with their parties insisting on stay¬ ing for two shows, willingly paid the . minimums assessed. The hy¬ draulic Stage was kept level with the floor., and used for an expanded set of ringside tables, with Sinatra working from a bandstand exten¬ sion that could be called an apron. And. for every show, he could do no wrong.; From dramatic entrance a la his tv shows, hat on head, coat carelessly tossed around the shoulders, weaving his way through the audience as. the spot followed, he spurred pounding that neared pandemonium, among the males as well as the femmes, until he mounted the stage. From that mo¬ ment on it wound into a 60-minute- plus concert. of every tune he’s been associated with, an album of every platter click and pix scores, plus a round of newies, plus re¬ quests he hadn’t counted oh and had no/ arrangements for but ad libbed anyway. To top it all, his vocal equipment was strong-toned, the adrOit feel for a lyric line and trick Of interpolating added word- age without breaking the beat, al¬ ways present. The fablers, took it all : and kept demanding more. . That femme contingent that swooned With him during his Para¬ mount Theatre days have grown older and are much more expen¬ sively and immaculately groomed now, but they still gave out with the yelps and the cries as he worked out his varied song book. .He. did three,shows—his own idea, to help build the gross in .the. 550- sCater—for the Weekend. He could have done that Cxera one every night, and still had scores of turn- aways. ■Hotel proxy Ben Novak had to move the expensive furniture of the lobby, lane leading to the club. Even the staid dowagers who flocked in wanted souvenirs, of any kind. When the Sinatra pix dis¬ plays were torn out of settings and the furniture began to go, Novack had to get .extra security men to control the niiobs. From opening: fective in...a Tommy Dorsey med¬ ley of “Opus One,” “Green Eyes’’ and “Sunny Side of Street.” Gal got off after. 15 minutes to solid palming. First-rate backing, per usual, from the Marx & Frigo threesome. Lee Wylie and the Kingston ,Trlo are due in March 24 for a pair. Pit Ritz Carlton, Montreal .- Montreal, March 11. Doretta Morrow (With Augie Lamont & Joe Moon), Johnny Gal¬ lant, Paul Notar Trio;. $2-$2.50 cover: “What a Ball!” among others. The j jaby of Broadway,” and ‘‘Just One' night the toppers around town f half-century-plus-five of entertain- arrangements^ -re . lopnotch ana i 0 f Those Things.” With dramatic, tried to make it for every show ing, she finally “made” the Wil- there s a dramatm impact m^eacn , ii g hting on both, he leaves the stage] and pulled every trick to get a ** rimdenng Among^the^h^ndsome.j with ; kody and f ac | a i expressions j table.. This, reviewer caught the that - c: — .s' Af -fho wun- ooay ana racial, expressions tame.. . inis, reviewer caugni ine : re-UrjCpair^Snatra^eUs. aiul The petite and stylish Doretta Morrow returns to the Ritz Cafe, for her second appearance within the year and thrush garners better than usual plaudits for her fine piping. A handsome brunet. Miss Mor¬ row has more of a straightforward nitery offering this time around as compared with her cafe bid which she broke in a year ago at the Ritz. Although the difference within the past months is slight, there seemed to be more of a show¬ case on first viewing which took her out of the usual chariteuse groove. However, overall experi¬ ence, inherent show savvy and a better than average voice with solid legit overtones combine to make a pleasing act for any of the better boites. Songs ; vary in tempo and lan¬ guage and Miss Morrow is perhaps first in Montreal to sing anything from Leonard Bernstein’s score for “West Side Story” which is usually ignored by the routine chirper. An Italian group is well received and numbers from “Kismet” and “King and I,” in which she appeared, make good clinchers. Miss Morrow gets okay support from guitarist Augie Lamont and 88’er Joe Moon and part of the Notar group. Be¬ tween shows, house pianist Johnny Gallant and Paul Notar’s. combo split dance sessions for the cus¬ tomers. Newt. St. Regis, JY. Y: Ginny Simms, Milt Shaw and Ray Bari Orchs; $2-$3 coper. Ambassador, L A. Los Angeles, March 14. Sophie ' Tucker, Ted Shapiro, Francis Brunn, Freddy Martin Orch (14); $2-$2.50 cover. - Not some of these days or any other time will Sophie Tucker cherish more her opening night at the Cocoanut Grove. In . her lyric tenor stands out. The great-.^ , - - est impact made by the team, how-, warded with hefty mitting. ever is the transference of an* A special nod should go to flutist overflowing feeling of joy, a .qual-j Ralph Gaii for the neat assistance ity frequently lacking. in most nitr! on -‘The"Party’s. Over.” Other ery acts. /■„' ; songs include “Thou Swell ” “But .Vs per usual, the Emil. Coleman j Not. . For Me,’/ “Night ^Lights,” ciew provides standout backstop- “stardust,” ‘St. Louis Blues.’’ and ping and alternates with the Bela ! “j oe Turners Blues.” .Cole’s own Babai aggregation• for customer j musicians, John Collins on guitar; dansapation. . ffo'Il.. riii l hi; Palm Springs Palni Springs. March 11: Jerry Leicis Show, with Dick Humphries,. Hal Bell, Peg Leg Bates. Lou Brown Orch, .Bill Alexander Orch 15); $2.50 cover. Lent and other downbeat biz trends to the Contrary, Jerry Lewis b >;<' all weekend records for the CV (’hi Starlite room and looks like a solid sellout for the Whole 16 days his package is booked into Sehuman’s swank bierstube. . Second showing,, the bane of the boite de huit. has finally found an after - midnight audience, though opening night deuce show was not the best. Scheduled to start at 11:45, Lou Brown’s brassy band didn’t blast off till 12:30, and it took three aiidience appeals of rliythmic clapping and stamping to get him off the. ground even then. Lewis’ outfit of 25 had flown in from Florida the ‘day before and the show and crew were .obviously over or under-rehearsed. Cracks of the comic like “Who’s handling the lights—Hope?” and ‘‘Take the spot off that guy, he’s not in the show!” got laughs of course, but they’re rather on the intra-trade side and therefore self-limiting. His ribald material also got lim¬ ited laughs, and to much of the house that knew him only in pix and on tv ; embarrassing. His grandpa-who-turned-out-to-be- grandma is not material; for this town. Neither is there much hu¬ morous content in his blue li m -| “Blue Swing/ a disked collection ericks or puns like “Did. you ever I Ibe less hectic standards, see a Jew Jitsu—well I did.” Much of his “new” material was tried out here last spring, including audience participation of “Shine On Harvest Moon.” By now it. looks as if -He has squeezed • more dough out of the song than Jack Norworth and Nora Bayes did in their whole show biz careers. » defgqt, a c jop ( goqijc,! Charles Harris, bass, : and Lee. Young, drums, give strong support to the orch (17). expertly batoned by Antoriio Morelli. - Jack Entratter. brings comedians Marty Allen & Mitch DeWocd into the Sands for their initial effort^ and- their act. though following a. familiar pattern, is punctuated with yock-pulling m a f e r i a 1. ; Straightman ..DeWood scores With impreshes of Don Cornell and Louis Armstrong, and is a good balancer for Allen, who has the face and '’oice/of an offbeat comic. Allen’s bits in Which he portrays, ‘ with costume, a Japanese prisoner-of- war, a Los Angeles Dodger, and a bullfighter, get especially big laughs. •/ Ingenious production numbers featuring the Texas Copa Girls and the. grandiloquent songology of Bob Kaye fiU out the package skedded through April 3. Duke. Ofiawa House, Hull ■ Hull, Que , March 15 Eileen Rodgers, Canadian. Jazz Quartet; 75c. admission. Eileen Rodgers totes along an aura of professional slickness in both sight and sound* that gets her loud customer kudos in the Circus Lounge of the Ottawa House. Gal’s competent piping avoids newer tunes but gives a fresh handling to oldies, standouts including “Lone¬ some Road” and “Sunday,” latter frem her new Columbia album. Blue Swinff r a 2 Besides the w.k. tunes. Miss Rodgers, whose thrushing arid looks belong on the musical stage plus disk, gives socko presentation to a few special bits such as a hat-tip to Garland, Tucker, Jolson—no im-^ preshing, just affectioriate homage. Backipg by the house’s boffo Cana¬ dian Jazz Quartet is, as always, - M - as xy Gprmr., dropped in later in week, to check for reaction.... It was like. opening night at every show tabbed. Maria Neglia opened the show; that she got. some, measure of at¬ tention for her trick violiriings is to her credit: Jimmy Durante & Co. follows, with Sinatra / skedded to pop into his opening shovV for-laughs. It should be quite a session. Lory. Mister Relly r s, f 'lii Chicago, March 11. Kaye Ballard l with Len Berge) Lynn Roberts, Marx & Frigo Trio, $2:50 minimum on beverages only Mister Kelly’s is back on the comedy beairi with plenty. of cam dlepower. to spare with its current layout* a two-week session that’s also .libido-aimed via a glamor chirper in peekaboo gown. Hard-working, impish-eyed Kaye Ballard is a fresh gust of comedic wind that often blows into an out- front howl. Her pace is fast, her delivery sharp and on target. Show caught (10) had the yocks leap¬ frogging. Comedierine, working on her back atop the Steinway, grabs the crowd early with “Midtown Waltz,” a; wacky ode to tranquility/ Her “Where or When” is a piercing thrush with hiccups, and her im- presb of an egocentric film siren with ; no talent Is a riotous bur¬ lesque, A diandy bit of sophisticated riorisense is the “Teeny Tiny” num¬ ber, tale of a vindictive woman in a Lilliputian world, which the comedienne illustrates with her fingers/ IFs perhaps the most im¬ aginative item in her catalog. If act has a guffaw peak, it’s reached in “Park Ave. Xmas,” with Miss Ballard cocktail-toasting her risirig stocks, viz: “Everything’s go¬ ing according to plan with my American Can/’.. She also makes points en route, with borne very funny so-called “hand jokes.” Len Berge is . at the piano with stout support for the turn. Singer Lynn Roberts is a blonde looker with capable pipes and a fluent style who shows the benefit of several semesters with big bands. Voice sometimes gets lost for her plunging decolletage With skin- tinted mesh that leaves, little for speculation/ Her soiigaiog is wi^hj >t ipost« fi ri shire bistro but it was on the sen¬ timental side that a packed room paid her a tribute reserved only for a. show biz great. She was 70 and the standing ovaton would have drowned out Meredith Willson’s 76 trombones. It was not an ordinary drop-in crowd or a Tanrier tour that red¬ dened their paws with applause as bouquet after, bouquet of red roses was brought to the stand. She was so deeply touched aind emo¬ tionally moved that her eyes be¬ came dewy and her lips com¬ pressed beyond utterance. Wheri she could finally speak, she said, “I shall never forget this reception. In my 55 years of wonderful open¬ ings, tonight surpasses them all. At 70 I have earned your love and I’m a little sad/*^ Nor will the Hollywood gay blades and their stylish ladies forget the tribute. Surely no entertainer in the his¬ tory of the Grove was ever so tu¬ multuously received and heart- warmly praised as “the last of the red hot mamas.” Those who saw Soph in Vegas say her act has changed little. She still gets around like a filly arid to prove that the years haven’t slowed her step or debilitated her spirit, she practiced around like a pony decked out in gold pants in a calypso spin. Her material is still very special arid edged with in¬ nuendo. Her “Entertaining Papa” number is a gerri of vocal carica¬ ture with a smokehouse flavor. She may crowd the line of prop¬ riety but she never crosses it. The inevitable “Some of These Days” was given a novel twist, with the singer imploring the sit¬ ters, ‘Tve sung it to you for 47 years, now you sing it for me” Sheldon Brooks, composer of “Days,” took a bow from a ringside table. Ted Shapiro is still at the 88 ’s and wears a mike to trade persiflage with the performer who must hold the record for longest and continuous unbroken headlin¬ ing In every facet of show business. Francis Brunn is billed as the world’s fastest juggler and takes the show off to a sizzling start. Freddy Martin's crew booms “Holi¬ day For Trombones” and fills the floor with shufflers. After the show, Sophie took her stand at the Grove to sell her book and record¬ ings to aid the cause of charity. So far in her career she has turned over $2,500,000 to charities. Show in for two weeks filled out ^lp. SQ Ginny Simms, she should pardon, the expression, is an oldtiraer, hav¬ ing been in the spotlight as the top- featured vocalist with Kay Kyser's orchestra in the prewar years, and is now out giving the plush nitery circuit a whirl. Her show business longevity must indeed be cited, for Miss Simms ought to know a class spot like the- Maisonette deiriands some amount of “production.” This she doesn’t offer. Miss Simms has an affable man¬ ner. She comes smiling through on a song in a way that reveals adequate vocalistic talent and pro¬ jects a pleasing personality. But the tipoff on the overall turn was much in evidence opening night (13). Maitre d’August had a full house (catered to with marked efficiency^ by the way) but the en-. thusiasm for Miss Simms was lim¬ ited to the apparerit partisans. Her display of a little tenseness might well. be overlooked; not so, though, her abserice of a genuine act. There was some mild palaver with the audience plus novelty ma¬ terial concerriing Hollywood’s Os- ' cars that reflected but modest showmanly savvy. Add to that a half hour’s succession of tunes of the memory-lane type, which Miss Simms handles well. These : in¬ cluded “I Got a Crush on You/* Cuddle Up a Little Closer,” “Long Ago and Far Away,” “Thanks for the Memories,” “April in Paris’* and “In the Still of the Night.” Miss Simms’ turn, in for three weeks, needs some fixin*. Her ap¬ proach is simply not sufficiently exterisive and/or intensive to reach across the tables. Milt Shaw orch. does ari expert job of backstopping and sharing the customer dancing chores with Ray Bari. Gene, Hotel Miaehlebach, K. C. Kansas City, March 14.. The Harfnonicats (3), Carl Sands Orch (9); $1-$1.50 cover. Longtime favorites here, the Harmonicats are back in the Ter¬ race Grill and good as ever. This is their third stand at the rate of about one a year, and biz looks good on the basis of opening night. Their former stands have been buxom for Grill business. . Carl Sands gives.. the show a sendoff with a bit of special treat-, ment on “Ain’t We Got Fun,” play¬ ing the banjo along with unusual brass trio of mellophone, alto horn and valve trombone. Then the Cats. come on and make 32 minutes. zip away. They wrap up 10 numbers with Jerry Murad on the melody, Don Les on the bass and Bob Herndon temporarily on the chord hairnon- ica in place of recuperating A1 Fiore. There’s variety from “Sabre Dance” to “Around the World” and “Perfidia” and back to “Twelfth Street Rag.” Among others, there’* “Sentimental SiHy,” a pretty ballad just written by Les arid out on the Mercury label, and, of course, their hit “Peg O’ My Heart.” Closer is “Harmonica Rock Boogie,” as fast as they come and rousing the house to cheers. They look solid for their stand through March 27. Quin. Embers, Y. Y. Bernie Nerow Trio, Johnny Costa Trio; $3.50 minimum. The jazz glow continues at the Embers despite continual rise of opposition music rooms along New York’s eastside: The Embers ha* become an established hangout for the music buffs arid pulls ’em in even when the marquee values of its tootlers have been heretofore untested. Case in point Is 21 - year - old pianist Bernie Nerow who’s mak¬ ing his how in the room. He’s done some previous keyboard doodling out Vegas Way and on the indie Mode label but he’s not yet estab¬ lished as a jazz name. Room, how¬ ever, has been doing solid hiz and is giving Nerow a chance to show that he’s a comer. Surrounded by bass and drums, Nerow, although not a flashy 88’er, is a surefire attention-grabber. He knows how to. push the pop stand¬ ards into new musical areas that enhances composers’ original straight melody lines. It’s done with clean, precise strokes that could be understood by alL Hi* showpieces come when he start* toying with the classics, and here, too, imaginative and. fresh ap¬ proach to music oome to the fore. Johnny Costa, a keyboarder out Pittsburgh, has made stops at the Embers before. His style con- ttDues to have a neat and pleasing hit that’s just right for the Embew atmosphere of dining and/or tip- pling. Hi s book is mainly out of