Category: News & Press

Danny Bacher is having a moment right now, and it’s one that is certainly well-earned and well-deserved. The bell-voiced singer with a knack for swing spent the last year presenting his brand of virtual concert through Metropolitan Zoom and, from the onset, he fit into the medium with finesse and flair. With his gift for crooning and his master at the tenor sax, he has been able to continue entertaining the multitudes of fans he has picked up during his years in the clubs and concert halls, even reaching the fans who can’t catch live shows regularly, due to living out of town. On top of the success of his virtual shows, earlier this month Danny was named one of the Best Male Vocalists in the jazz industry in the JazzTimes 2020 Readers’ Poll. This should surprise no one. Mr. Bacher is an entertainer of unsurpassed charm and wide-ranging talents, whether he’s making music with his woodwind or his vocal cords, preserving the music of the past or writing music for the present, or even performing as an actor or comic. The man has flair and finesse, and when you add that to talent, you win fans and awards.

Voting conducted via an online survey posted on our website

Male Vocalist
Gregory Porter
Kurt Elling
Danny Bacher
Tony Bennett

Pianist
Chick Corea
Keith Jarrett*
Brad Mehldau*
Herbie Hancock
Fred Hersch

Keyboardist
Herbie Hancock
Chick Corea
Craig Taborn
Hiromi

Organist
Joey DeFrancesco
Dr. Lonnie Smith
Larry Goldings*
John Medeski*
Cory Henry

Guitarist
Bill Frisell
John Pizzarelli
Pat Metheny
Peter Bernstein

Acoustic Bassist
Christian McBride
Esperanza Spalding
Ron Carter
Dave Holland

Electric Bassist
Esperanza Spalding
Marcus Miller
Steve Swallow
Victor Wooten

Vibraphonist
Joel Ross
Stefon Harris
Warren Wolf
Sasha Berliner

Percussionist
Zakir Hussain
Marilyn Mazur
Airto Moreira
Poncho Sanchez

Drummer
Jack DeJohnette
Brian Blade
Antonio Sánchez
Terri Lyne Carrington

Female Vocalist
Angela Verbrugge
Cécile McLorin Salvant
Diana Krall
Veronica Swift

Composer
Daniel Hersog
Maria Schneider
Wayne Shorter
Carla Bley

Arranger
Maria Schneider
Daniel Hersog
Wynton Marsalis
Carla Bley

Misc. Instrumentalist
Béla Fleck (banjo)
Anja Lechner (cello)
Tomeka Reid (cello)
Ben Rosenblum (accordion)

Vocal Group
Manhattan Transfer
Take 6
The Royal Bopsters
New York Voices

When in quarantine, these performers cut their suit to fit their cloth.

by Stephen Mosher Nov. 21, 2020

In March, when the show business industry of Manhattan shut down, artists of the cabaret and concert industry discovered, relatively quickly, that there was an audience online. Through Facebook and Instagram live posts, artists could reach the public, have a chance to perform, and raise money through virtual tip jars. Then artists discovered Zoom and a world (literally) of performance possibilities opened up to them.

With the presentation of his show through MetropolitanZoom, Danny Bacher has taken online performing to a place that is, at once, completely new and thoroughly comfortable for him. It necessitated a little grunt work around the house for the gifted jazz musician to make the leap to the internet airwaves, but it was well worth it for him and for his audience. When the audience for Danny Bacher IN THE HOUSE logged in to the Zoom Room provided by MetropolitanZoom they had no vision of Mr. Bacher sitting in his living room or his office, playing his saxophone in front of the fireplace of french doors – they got their favorite jazz crooner parked in front of a microphone with a shimmery curtain behind him, all lit up with brightly colored lamps, just like he was on the stage at The Beach Cafe. For 90 minutes the crowd of family and fans watched Mr. Bacher put on an extremely enjoyable act filled with stellar singing and stunning sax playing. So much does Bacher excel at the two skills that make up his occupation that it is difficult to say which is more entertaining – suffice it to say, when Danny Bacher puts on a show, the audience is twice blessed.

When Danny Bacher sings “I Love Being Here with You” (Peggy Lee/William Schluger/additional lyrics Danny Bacher) he really means it. Few artists exude such palpable pleasure in performing. High spirited ease makes him as welcome as an old family friend.

The Green Room 42
570 Tenth Ave
4th Floor inside YOTEL
Friday February 21
For information and reservations, please click here

Posted on November 2, 2019 by Alix Cohen in Playing Around on https://www.womanaroundtown.com/sections/playing-around/frank-loesser-heart-and-soul/

Frank Henry Loesser (1910-1969) learned piano by ear. He held a wide variety of jobs in order to contribute to family income, including literally singing for his supper, then secured music contracts with several publishers in Tin Pan Alley. Loesser wrote for Hollywood – notably “See What the Boys in The Back Room Will Have” (music-Friedrich Hollaender) – the ridiculously ‘me-too’ contested “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” and the charming songs of Hans Christian Anderson.

By Myra Chanin – Originally published at https://www.theaterpizzazz.com/cabaret-convention-celebrates-frank-loesser-second-night/

Frank Loesser is considered one of the most versatile of all Broadway composers. He started out writing lyrics for Hollywood movies and ended up writing complete scores for Tony winning musicals. He was born in the summer of 1929 when men were lighting cigars with $10 bills and before he was six months old, the same guys were paupers, flinging themselves out of windows.

Thursday, November 14 at 7:30 PM

College of Saint Elizabeth’s Annunciation Center – Morristown

Singer, saxophonist, and entertainer Danny Bacher will be joined by the iconic Marilyn Maye and popular saxophonist Harry Allen with the swinging Pat Longo’s Hollywood East Coast Big Band at the Annunciation Center’s Dolan Hall on the campus of the College of Saint Elizabeth. New signage will make it easy to find this comfortable, accessible concert hall.

NJJS Members will enjoy a special low advanced sale ticket price of only $20.00 with the discount code: NJJSDANNY.

Go to www.LKSarts.org for more information and tickets or call the box office at 800-838-3006, Ext. 1.

June 25, 2019
The Laurie Beechman Theatre, NYC

The Laurie Beechman Theatre was the site of the first annual ASA (American Songbook Association) Margaret Whiting Award. Sponsored by the ASA and underwritten by Debbi Bush Whiting and My Ideal Music, the 2019 award was presented to singer-tenor saxophonist-songwriter Danny Bacher. The evening featured performances by past winners of the Award (when it was sponsored by the Mabel Mercer Foundation) Celia Berk, Natalie Douglas, Eric Yves Garcia, and Josephine Sanges. Tex Arnold, who was Margaret’s music director, was the MD for the night, and Saadi Zain was on bass. As the audience arrived, they were treated to the vocals of Margaret Whiting over the sound system. As the musicians took the stage, Marilyn Lester, Executive Director of the ASA, greeted the crowd and introduced the first performer. The performers told a brief story about Margaret between their two songs. Frank Dain, treasurer of the ASA and editor of Cabaret Scenes magazine, invited Danny to the stage and read a letter from Todd Murray, another previous winner who could not be there. Frank introduced Debbi who presented the award to Danny. After his very funny thank yous, including a site gag that loses its impact in words, he performed two songs. He was then joined by Celia, Debbi, Natalie, and Josephine for a lovely version of “Time After Time.” Before they sang, Debbi explained that Margaret was thrilled to learn that her version of the song was used in the film Julie & Julia.

See the full article and more images at http://cabaretscenes.org/2019/06/27/2019-asa-margaret-whiting-award/

by Marilyn Lester

Last autumn, jazz singer and soprano sax player Danny Bacher released his second CD, Still Happy. That he is. Bacher is a purveyor of happiness, born under a lucky star. He’s a Renaissance man, a polymath of talent––a saxophonist, vocalist, composer, educator, actor, writer/playwright, and comedian––who’s a master of all trades and on a mission to spread joy. Now at that mid-life point where the road behind and the road ahead are more or less equal, he’s got a solid perspective of the elements of his life that have informed his “now” and the direction he’d like to travel in.

By Marilyn Lester

Each May the Mabel Mercer Foundation (MMF) salutes the work of a great American songbook composer at a fête in NYC’s Weill Recital Hall. It’s always a happy, festive affair, as a bevy of cabaret artists take the stage to interpret the work of the honoree. This year’s tribute to Jerome Kern was no less a celebratory success. An excellent cast highlighted the work of the man most noted for the classic musical, Showboat, but who also wrote many of the great standards we know and prize. As always, MMF Artistic Director and cabaret doyenne, KT Sullivan, hosted with gracious aplomb, herself offering the comically infused “Just Let Me Look at You” and “Bungalow in Quogue” as well as a heartfelt “The Last Time I Saw Paris.”