Billy Stritch: Music With Style!

All Photos:  Alan Mercer  Lighting:  Eric V.

An award-winning composer, arranger, vocalist, and jazz pianist of extraordinary range and sophistication, Billy Stritch breathes new life into the Great American Songbook, all the while bringing an easy sense of humor and showmanship to his performances.

Pianist and singer Billy Stritch was born and raised in Sugar Land, Texas, but now calls New York City his home.  Billy has performed all over the United States and internationally in such famed venues as 'Rainbow and Stars,' 'The Russian Tea Room,' 'The Palais de Congres' in Paris, 'The Municipale' in Rio de Janeiro, 'The Russiya' in Moscow, 'NHK Hall' in Tokyo and 'The Royal Albert Hall' in London.

Billy and Sandy Knox wrote the 1994 Grammy Award winning country song, 'Does He Love You?,' recorded by Reba McEntire and Linda Davis, which has sold over four million copies nationwide. The song was also named one of the Top Ten Country Songs of 1994 by the readers of Music City News. The song also appears on Patti LaBelle's album, 'Flame.' Other recording appearances include The Benny Carter Songbook and music from The Life by Cy Coleman. Billy's first solo album 'Billy Stritch' received critical acclaim.

Billy served as musical supervisor and vocal arranger for 'Liza Live from Radio City Music Hall,' and writes arrangements for Liza Minnelli and Charles Aznavour's joint concert appearances worldwide. He acted as associate producer, pianist and arranger for Minnelli's 'Gently,' which earned two 1996 Grammy nominations.

In 2001, a new door opened in the professional life of Billy Stritch. He was cast in the role of Oscar, the piano-playing crooner in the Broadway revival of “42nd Street” which starred Christine Ebersole. Their show-stopping number together, "I Only Have Eyes For You", led to television spots on 'The Rosie O’Donnell Show' and 'CBS This Morning.'

Other television appearances include 'Sondheim: A Celebration at Carnegie Hall,' 'The Today Show,' 'The Charlie Rose Show' and 'The Oprah Winfrey Show.'

I have seen Billy perform up close and personal a few times now and I can say he is magnificent in a way that you have to experience first hand.  I met with Billy and Jim Caruso the last time they were in Los Angeles with their show 'Cast Party' at the Magic Castle for some fun and casual shots.   

AM:  It's so wonderful to have you and Jim coming here routinely with 'Cast Party' at the Magic Castle!  How did that happen?

BS:  Actually Jim got in touch with the people at the Magic Castle about a year ago.  This is the sixth time we've come out.  It's so great to have a routine and come out here regularly, not only to do the Magic Castle but to hang out with friends and see people I don't normally see.  It's like a free trip so it works out great! 

AM:  Yes you get in town, have some fun and get out!

BS:  We have such a good time at the shows. 

AM:  Those shows are something else!!!  You guys are all so great!  Aren't you from Texas?

BS:  Yes, from Sugarland, Texas. 

AM:  I lived in Dallas for a long time.

BS:  Jim grew up in Pittsburg but lived in Dallas too.  That's where we met.

AM:  How does one get from Sugarland, Texas to the jet-set world of New York Cabaret?

BS:  Oh I've been doing it for so long now.  I've been working in nightclubs for thirty years. 

AM:  You must have been a child.

BS:  I started when I was seventeen.  Houston in the 80's was a boom time.  There were lots of places to work.  I worked with a vocal group called 'Montgomery, Plant & Stritch' for almost eight years.  We worked all over Houston.  There were so many different venues. 

AM:  Did you only work in Houston?

BS:  We also worked in New York and around the world too, but when the group broke up in 1990 I changed my home base to New York.  Up until then I'd been based out of Houston, but twenty years ago I started working the clubs in New York.  I'd already played for lots of people and had seen so many clubs open and close.  It's a great life.  Most of my work is not in New York at this time.  It's all over!

AM:  What's the secret to your success?

BS:  I think one of the things I'm in tune with is accompanying other singers.  Being a singer myself I really know how to intuitively follow and not lead the singer.  I'm a good collaborator and a good accompanist, a good friend and confidant, all the things that make a really successful partnership. 

AM:  One of the most famous partnerships is with Liza Minnelli!  How did you meet?

BS:  We celebrated the twentieth anniversary of the night we met in New York City, just the other day!  

AM:  Did she see you perform somewhere?

BS:  It was right after I'd broken up with the group.  I was trying to figure out what the next move was going to be.  I was putting together some solo shows at a club called 'Eighty-Eight' but before that I was working in a piano bar named 'Bobo's' that was owned by a mutual friend of ours.  That's where she first heard me.

AM:  She must have not only been impressed with your skills.

BS:  We hit it off that night. It was like we kind of knew each other.  She was so easy to be with and get to know.  She was really interested in my opinions and musicality.  At that time she was putting together her show at Radio City Music Hall.  She brought me on board as part of the creative team.  She totally embraced me from the night we met.  She put me to work and we've been working together and being close friends ever since. 

AM:  Working with Liza has brought you other opportunities to work with other people hasn't it?

BS:  Oh yes I work with Christine Ebersole and I work with Linda Lavin who just released a CD we worked on.  I work with Marilyn Maye, who is a terrific jazz singer.  I've actually worked with Marilyn longer than anybody.  I first worked with Marilyn thirty years ago.  She was working a lot in Houston at that point and I was living there.  I met her when I was nineteen and we've worked together off and on all these years.  She's terrific!  I split my time between a bunch of different singers and work on my own shows. 

AM:  How do you find time to do your own thing?

BS:  I just pray that everything works into the calendar.  I really do have to make time to do my own things because between all the obligations I have with other people, my thing kind of gets pushed aside sometimes.  I have three shows in Ft. Lauderdale and in May I go to Indianapolis to play for three nights.  I do my best to keep my own stuff in there so I don't get pigeon-holed as only an accompanist.  My ego needs that.

AM:  Well more than your ego.  You have some CD's to promote and you have to do your own shows!

BS:  Yeah I'm lucky I can do all those things. 

AM:  Well you're so multi-talented.  Is there anything you haven't done that you want to do?

BS:  Yes I would love at some point, to write for the theater, to find the right story with the right collaborators and create a theater piece.

AM:  Haven't you been on Broadway?

BS:  I have.  I performed in the revival of '42nd Street' in 2001.  I was the on stage pianist and I had a few lines. 

AM:  Did you enjoy that?

BS:  I enjoyed it very much.  What I really enjoyed was the camaraderie with the cast and all the friendships that I made.  I enjoyed the steadiness of it.  It allowed me to be in New York for a year and a half without having to travel.  I enjoyed all the things that went with that weekly paycheck like insurance.  That stability was really nice. I never got tired of the music.  It's a wonderful show.  There is a great catalog of songs in the score.  I would go into the Theatre some nights and be dragging and not want to be there and I would get into my dressing room and hear the orchestra play the overture and I would immediately get picked up.  The show would fly by.  I would welcome the chance to do that again if it was the right situation.   

AM: I bet you'll have that opportunity again.

BS:  I hope so.  What's great about Cast Party, especially out here in LA when we only come out here every three months, we get some celebs in here and I get the chance to play for a lot of people that I normally wouldn't cross paths with.  I love playing for our dear Sally Kellerman.  Carol Channing came the last time.  I've met a lot of wonderful people and I've had the chance to share the stage with them in a small way.  That keeps everything fresh and interesting.  It's not bland, it's going to be fun every night for different reasons.

 To learn more about Billy Stritch check out the web site http://www.billystritch.com/

Jim Caruso Can Really Swing It!

All Photos:  Alan Mercer    Lighting: Eric V.

For the past eight years Jim Caruso has hosted a weekly Monday night show called 'Jim Caruso's Cast Party.'  This brought him a New York Nightlife Award, a MAC Award and a Sydney Meyer Award. 

He made his Broadway debut alongside Liza Minnelli in the smash hit 'Liza's At The Palace!' singing, dancing and celebrating the music and arrangements of the late, great Kay Thompson and the Williams Brothers.  The show was honored with a 2009 Tony Award for Best Special Event and the recording was nominated for a Grammy.

For his nightclub work, Jim Caruso has won six MAC Awards and two BackStage Magazine Bistro Awards for sold-out shows at Birdland, Arci’s Place, The Oak Room at the Algonquin Hotel, and The Russian Tea Room.  He has also performed in runs at the Cinegrill and Gardenia in Los Angeles, as well as countless other venues across the country.

Jim guest-hosted "Broadway On Broadway 2000" in Times Square for a crowd of 100,000 theater fans, hosted the 2000 MAC Awards at Town Hall in Manhattan and co-hosted the 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006 Drama Desk Award webcasts.

Jim’s newest CD on the Yellow Sound Label, “The Swing Set,” is a collection of wryly re-imagined standards and eye-popping new tunes, featuring Michael Feinstein, Bucky Pizzarelli, Hilary Kole, Stephanie J. Block, and Aaron Weinstein, and is available online.

He was featured in a Tribute to Kander & Ebb, backed by the New York Pops at Carnegie Hall, and performed a Tribute to Hope & Crosby in an evening hosted by Michael Feinstein at Zankel Hall.

On the small screen, Jim was seen co-starring with Kathie Lee Gifford on Showtime Television in “Personal Assistant,” which was written and directed by Charles Busch.  He also co-starred on the Nostalgia Network variety sitcom, “Café DuArt” for two seasons.

Caruso was the founding member of the nationally acclaimed, award-winning jazz vocal and comedy trio,'Wiseguys.'  After performing in an all-star Inaugural extravaganza, they were invited to sing at President Clinton’s First State Dinner at the White House in an evening hosted by Lauren Bacall.  The trio performed in concert at the Weill Recital Hall in Carnegie Hall, and in "the big room" with Rosemary Clooney.

As a writer, Jim has contributed to InStyle Magazine, Theatermania and InTheater Magazine  He has produced and booked television talk and entertainment programs like "Jim J. & Tammy Faye" and "Fox After Breakfast," and was a Field Producer for E! Entertainment Television, working on "Celebrity Profiles" and covering the Tony Awards.

Jim Caruso is such a stand out performer and host!  I adore his new album 'The Swing Set' featuring great renditions of some well known and lesser known material.  I have also seen Jim perform a few times and he never disappoints. 

JC:  Alan I love your shot of Tammy Faye!  I worked on that show with Tammy and Jim J. Bullock.  The first time I met her she was wearing all leopard.  A leopard pantsuit, leopard boots and earrings.  I said, "You are Miss Leopard!"  and she said, "Leopard is my favorite color!"

AM:  Well leopard never goes out of style.

JC:  She was very serious about loving leopard. 

AM:  Are you the brain child of 'Cast Party?'

JC:  Well.....yes but I don't think I could have ever done it without unbelievably talented people like Billy Stritch at the piano, Ted Firth who plays a lot of piano, Steve Doyle on bass and a room like Birdland.  They have supported us every single Monday for the past eight years.  I could produce and present as much as I want but if I don't have the support of all the people around me to make it the best that it can be.... 

AM:  Did 'Cast Party' exceed your expectations?

JC:  I never thought I'd be hosting an open mike night for a living and it's kind of what I've ended up doing.  Now we are doing it on the road as we are doing it in LA and Chicago coming up as well as Pittsburg and Austin.  

AM:  Does this give you an opportunity to promote your own work and your new CD?

JC:  It kind of does.  It's an outlet and it puts me in front of amazingly talented people and people who love to watch talented people.  I would say that I spent all those years as a singer hawking my wares but the second I moved the spotlight to other people, they found me a little bit more interesting so I wish someone would have told me that a long time ago. 

AM:  Will you sing a song off your CD at the shows?

JC:  I don't know what we're going to sing until the show but I probably will.  Billy and I always do a big opening number and then I probably will sing something from the album. 

AM:  I love the first cut 'I've Got My Fingers Crossed.'

JC:  That's a real swinger isn't it? 

AM:  You really created a timeless recording here.

JC:  I wanted it to sound like a wonderful Fred Astaire album he did with a very small jazz band.  It sounds off the cuff and natural, like we're overhearing something at a party, just Fred sitting in with a band.  That's the vibe that I wanted.  My producer Aaron Weinstein, who's this brilliant, young jazz violinist really understood that concept.  

AM:  Oh I love the violin song too!

JC:  Oh 'I Love A Violin' that's a song by Kay Thompson.  Billy and I were on the road for three years with Liza celebrating the music and arrangements of Kay Thompson who was Liza's Godmother and Judy Garland's vocal coach. 

AM:  I'm glad you recorded lesser known songs for your CD instead of the same old tired ones that most people do.  Was that on purpose?

JC:  No I really didn't do it like that.  I wouldn't want to perform anything that seems tired.  My taste has always been a little bit off the beaten path.  While I wanted to record a few songs that people know, because it does help sell a record, I didn't want to do something that seemed boring to me. 

AM:  I enjoy learning new songs.

JC:  Me too.  When I go to a show and people sing new songs I'm enthralled for the most part. 

AM:  I love the title of your CD as well.

JC:  I couldn't believe there had never been a 'Swing Set' album title before.  That was a shocker.  I thought of it in the shower and went to google it right away to see how many thousands of albums were called 'The Swing Set' and I couldn't find any!   

AM:  That's awesome!

JC: That was a piece of good luck. 

AM:  You must be happy with the way it turned out.

JC:  I'm just delighted!  I'm thrilled to have a product that people are enjoying.

AM:  Are you going to do more recording?

JC:  I hope so.  I hope it sells to a lot of people.  It's getting some decent press.  It was such a fun project to work with iconic musicians.  Bucky Pizzarelli, who was Sinatra's player, on guitar.  He also played for Rosemary Clooney.  Some of these guys are my heroes and it was thrilling to be in the studio with them. 

AM:  I know you lived in Dallas at the same time I did.  How did you end up in New York?

JC:  I had a vocal group called 'Wiseguys' and we were working a lot in New York.  I finally decided New York is where I gotta be!  I wanted to live in New York since I was a little boy and saw it in the movies. 

AM:  You are a New Yorker even though you weren't born and raised there.

JC:  I think some people are.  I knew where I was before I even knew where I was!  I would get out of the subway and know which way to walk.  I just always had a second sense about the city and it is absolutely where I should be.  I hope I can be there forever. 

AM:  I'm sure you will be, but I hope you comeback to Los Angeles a lot.

JC:  This is the best because we get to celebrate local talent all over the country now.  I feel like Ed Sullivan.

AM: You are enjoying Facebook as well aren't you?

JC:  Facebook has been an amazing selling tool for me.  It absolutely helps.  I don't know what I would have done without it.  I'm trying to get into tweeting but I don't love it yet!!!

To learn more about Jim Caruso check out the website http://jim-caruso.com/ and http://castpartynyc.com/