Gold Standard of Open Mics

Wow!  The entertainment talent of New York City continues to amaze us, and tonight was especially fun.

Antsy to go somewhere, we decided to try Birdland, a jazz club in Midtown.  Birdland has been around since 1949 and most of the historical jazz greats have played there.

Monday nights offer Jim Caruso’s Cast Party, open mic night.   Sounded like it could have potential.  As it turned out, it was way more than that.

The lights dimmed, and the house band filled the room with an engaging jazz combo.  It was Billy Stitch on piano, Steve Doyle on bass and Daniel Glass on drums.  The room responded, and each band member took their turn owning the moment.  In jazz jargon, they were showing their chops.  These guys were beyond good.

Bounding onto the stage, Jim Caruso, the host and MC kicked off the evening with a show tune.  Jim is a seasoned pro quick with an improvisation and talented in his own right. Witty, quick, funny, talented…just a few of the words to describe him.

Then parade of acts began.  The entertainers were called to the stage, handed their music to the band, bantered with Jim for a few minutes  then rolled into their acts.  From the cast of the evening, we found three to be particularly memorable..

• Natalie Douglas, a regular who brings tribute shows to Birdland as diverse as Ella Fitzgerald and Elvis.
• Nicole Z, knocked us out with “I love you, a latte’!” a tribute to Starbucks  and her husband, who accompanied her on the drums.
• Liam Forde, an award winning actor/singer tickled us with “Ode to Eloise at the Plaza”.

Excellent show, excellent venue, excellent food, excellent night.  A night that left us saying… Wow!