Hi! I'm Matt Howe, and I created this site. Thanks for dropping by!Barbra Archives Reviews “ONE NIGHT ONLY: BARBRA STREISAND & QUARTET AT THE VILLAGE VANGUARD” DVD
Here are links to Amazon.com for purchasing this concert DVD, which will be released on May 4, 2010:
—“One Night Only” Village Vanguard CD + DVD
DVD Credits:
Executive Producers: Barbra Streisand & Martin Erlichman
Produced by: Richard Jay-Alexander & Scott Lochmus
Directed by: Scott Lochmus
Co-Producer: Elyse Katz
Supervising Producers: J.J. Erlichman & Richard J. Alcock
Music Supervisor: Jay Landers
Recorded & Mixed by: David Reitzas
Director of Photography: Roger Grange
Editors: Joe Beshenkovsky & Pablo Piriz
Lighting Designer: Peter Morse
“Dedicated to my dear friend Gareth Wigan”
Review by Matt Howe
On September 26, 2009, Barbra Streisand stepped onto the very small stage of the Village Vanguard to perform a one-night-only gig for approximately 123 people, backed only by a quartet of amazing musicians (Tamir Hendelman on keys; Jeff Carney playing bass; Brian Koonin on guitar; Ray Marchica on drums).
Director Scott Lochmus captured the 90-minute show on hi-def video, which was also simulcast to the Waldorf-Astoria's Louis XVI room, where everyone else who couldn't fit inside the small club was gathered.
Streisand approved the video for commercial release, and now all Streisand fans can enjoy One Night Only: Barbra Streisand & Quartet at the Village Vanguard on DVD and Blu-Ray disc.
The entire show takes on a nostalgic glow as Barbra is introduced by people who were there over 40 years ago when she was just starting out. Richard Jay-Alexander acts as M.C. and introduces the club's owner, Lorraine Gordon. Rick Edelstein is next—he was a waiter at the club back then. Edelstein is a great story-teller and regales us with a couple of stories about when he was studying acting with Streisand and how he got her an audition at the club. Finally, Marty Erlichman (Barbra's longtime manager) speaks warmly about how he flew to Detroit and negotiated Barbra's pay at the Caucus Club. And for the first time ever, Erlichman introduces the “girl singer” he's managed all these years.
Streisand is relaxed and warm for the entire performance. The cameras capture the Vanguard audience, all snugly packed into the small room. Barbra's husband, Jim Brolin, is front and center, watching his wife sing. Sarah Jessica Parker is all smiles on the front row and can be seen wiping tears from her eyes after Barbra sings “The Way We Were”.
I love Barbra's rendition of “Gentle Rain” that evening. She asks pianist Tamir Hendelman if she's singing the right words then admits to the audience that she hasn't sung since January—she's very “real” in this show! Later, Streisand walks off the stage a song too early and realizes it when she comes back and Hendelman starts playing the introduction to “Some Other Time.” Streisand laughs it off—I can't tell you how much fun it is to see Barbra take everything in stride. At one point, while introducing “If You Go Away”, a fan screams when Barbra mentions Jacques Brel. Barbra does a funny double-take toward the fan and asks, “Was it something I said?”
“If You Go Away”, by the way, is the standout song on the DVD. Barbra was awarded a standing ovation that night. To see it in closeup is amazing. Barbra— the actress/singer—thrills on this song. I also enjoyed Barbra's sensitive performances of “Where Do You Start” and “Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most.”
It's nostalgic and fun to hear Streisand sing three 1960s standards (“Nobody's Heart”, “My Funny Valentine”, and “Bewitched”).
And I much prefer the quality of Barbra's voice live—her vocals on some of the Love is the Answer songs that she sang that night are much more dynamic and robust than the studio versions from the 2009 album.
Mostly, Barbra Streisand & Quartet at the Village Vanguard succeeds because the intimacy of the evening very much comes across on the DVD. Producers Scott Lochmus and Richard Jay-Alexander have said it was very important that the video be a simple recording of what Streisand did on stage that night—no fancy edits or extravagant video production! (Barbra even points out the cord on the microphone at one point ... it's all retro!) Lochmus does insert some close-ups of the sheet music, which is a great (but low-tech) way of identifying some of the songs Barbra is singing.
For those who couldn't be there last September, Barbra Streisand & Quartet at the Village Vanguard is a wonderful capture of what it must have been like to see Streisand up-close-and-personal when she was just a girl singer performing at supper clubs in the 1960s.
She was (and is) amazing.
End.
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