Jersey City Magazine

Danny Bacher holds forth at Edward’s Steakhouse, wowing the crowd with his soprano sax and jazz vocals. He says he’s worked hard to get a “great sound” out of his soprano sax, which sets him apart from the more popular alto and tenor saxes.

Though Bacher is only 33, he loves the American Songbook, which includes standards by Harold Arlen, Cole Porter, and George Gershwin. He works in the mode of Bucky and John Pizzarelli, John Feinstein, Ella Fitzgerald, and Muchael Buble.

“Edward’s has a super club kind of feel, and there are sophisticated vibes,” both of which fit well with his style of music. “Edward’s has a 1940’s feel with abanquettes,” he says. “I play in front of a big red curtain, and there are pictures of great musicians like Duke Ellington, Lena Horne, Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basic, Frank Sinatra, and Dean Martin.”

Bacher says that on any given night, he’ll play to 20 somethings and 60 somethings. “The music I do is very much appreciated by all ages,” he says, “It’s timeless.”

“What’s so intriguiing about music of that caliber are the wonderful lyrics and positive message,” he says. He gets requets for “Misty”, “Girl from Ipanema,” but he bulks at Sinatra’s “My Way.”

“I’m a young guy,” he says “and that should be sung by someone in the twilight of his years.”

Bacher, who is from Wayne, NJ, has been making a living as a musician since college. When he was growing up in the 1980s he couldn’t get into Def Leopard and heavy metal like Black Sabbath. He was listening to Cab Calloway.

“The jazz idiom, that’s what interests me.” he says.

“Edward’s is unique.” he says. “It has great atmosphere, great food, and great music if I do say so myself. I fell lucky and proud to be able to express myself on a nightly basis as an artist.”