Love is Just Around the Corner
The Green Room 42
May 4, 2022
In an imaginary world, the secret love child of Mel Tormé and Liza Minnelli would be … Nicolas King. Take all of Mel’s finest gifts of vocal and musical prowess and syncopated rhythm magic, and his real-life mentor Liza’s (and by extension, Judy Garland’s) show biz instincts and pizzazz, and you might wind up with this kid. (Kid? Mr. King, once a child star, is now 30!) Of course, that would not explain his warm and wonderful parental units, Erik and Christina King, who were present for tonight’s show.
Mr. King came to The Green Room 42 dressed in a somewhat conservative dark suit and tie, albeit with a sparkling white dress shirt. The singer also had a kick-ass, make that world class, trio in tow. It would be enough to have Steve Doyle on bass and Daniel Glass on drums. But Tedd Firth on piano means you’re going to get the kind voicings and vamps you rarely get even on the finest of nights in the grandest of clubs (except perhaps from the late Mike Renzi, who Nick was fortunate to work with virtually all of his adult life and even well into the pandemic, virtually).
The evening got off to a late start due to some venue issues, but it was worth the wait for the “Sweetheart of 42nd Street,” as he was announced. At a time when he is “learning contentment, Nick crooned a tune introduced by Liza Minnelli on Broadway in Flora the Red Menace, “Happy Song” (John Kander/Fred Ebb), over Steve Doyle’s walking bass. The song rose to a big finish, setting up a beautiful ballad, “Ask Yourself Why” (Michel Legrand/Alan and Marilyn Bergman). Mr. King often interpolates spoken words and cadences into his songs, something of a Liza-ism, that bring an intimate, almost conversational aspect to his delivery. He has mastered the ability to make every one of them sound the idea just popped into his head.
The young performer announced it was time for “an emotional spring-cleaning song,” really a medley, a cue for a long, spectacular vamp by Tedd Firth that earned its own ovation. “Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most” (Tommy Wolf/Fran Landesman) might have done the trick on its own, but the tonic to this gin was Cole Porter’s “Just One of Those Things.” If anyone should know from emotional spring-cleaning, it’s Cole Porter. This song is nearly always done uptempo, a la Sinatra, but here, with Firth’s sublime assistance, Mr. King sang it very slowly, creating a deep emotional connection, before returning to “Spring” for the final cleanup. Stunning.
Nick’s maternal grandmother, the delightful singer Angela Bacari, announced from the crowd, “I think you’re going to need this!” and brought a cocktail to the stage. Nick demurred, saying he couldn’t possibly drink and sing — before taking a little taste and putting the drink on a chair for an “ode to a glass.” It was a set-up, of course, and a fun one. Nick went into “A Little Taste,” the witty, Dave Frishberg jazz standard with lines like “In my condition, this is a risky proposition” and “It’s a sedation, good for a sticky situation.”
A wonderful and surprising treat was found in, of all things, “Hit Me Baby One More Time” (Max Martin). Yes, the Britney Spears debut pop hit from her first album. No, seriously! Here, Nick dismissed Tedd Firth and sat at the piano. He somehow made this piece of pop fluff into an interesting song. Better yet, after a smooth transition from the piano while Tedd slipped back onto the piano bench, he did a scat solo!
Mr. King sang “You are There”(Johnny Mandel/Dave Frishberg), a song dedicated to the late Mike Renzi, who died suddenly in September 2021.
My dearest dream is gone.
I often think there’s just one thing to do.
Pretend the dream is true, and tell myself that you … are there.
The star was visibly affected by these lyrics. It was a lovely musical eulogy.
The jazz highlight of the night was “Pick Yourself Up” (Jerome Kern/Dorothy Fields), a song introduced by Fred Astaire in Swing Time in 1936. Going for baroque, so to speak, Mr. King borrowed the entirety of Mel Tormé’s sensational arrangement Tormé created with George Shearing, including the spoken introduction of the Swing Time plot and the Bach-like fugue piano and scat parts originally improvised by Tormé. There are few singers or pianists around today who could pull this off (although, of course, John Colianni, who, like Shearing and Renzi, played the piece with Tormé for years, is still active)
To set up Songheim’s “Children Will Listen” from Into the Woods, Mr. King recited an ancient Greek proverb worth, repeating here. “A society grows great when old men plant trees in whose shade they know they shall never sit.” They just might listen, if they heard Nicolas King tell them in song. Somewhat ironically, it may have been the opening night of a two-week run of Into the Woods at City Center, along with Ken Page’s simultaneous show near that venue, that made for a sparser than usual crowd for a Nicolas King show, although it was also livestreamed to many more customers.
The evening’s ”faux finale” was the title song, “Love is Just Around the Corner,” where Mr. King let loose with an Ella Fitzgerald/Mel Tormé-like succession of countless great musical quotes.
The encore was a gorgeous, sensitive interpretation of “A Time for Love” (Johnny Mandel/Paul Francis Webster) that earned a second standing ovation for Mr. King.
Nicolas King is a terrific powerhouse of an entertainer. He makes everything look effortless, but you can trust that it takes a lot of hard work to make it look that easy.
Nicolas King
Love is Just Around the Corner
Musical director/piano: Tedd Firth
Bass: Steve Doyle
Drums: Daniel Glass
For more information about Nicolas King, visit http://www.thenicolasking.com.
For more great shows at The Green Room 42, visit https://thegreenroom42.venuetix.com