Bobbi Carrey
To Bring 1918-1941 Back in Song
By Susie Davidson
Advocate Correspondent
CAMBRIDGE - The historical turbulence of America which
characterized the years of 1918-1941 is captured in song by cabaret performer
Bobbi Carrey. Along with pianist and singer Tomi Hayashi, she will debut their
new CD, Between the Wars: Music from 1918 to 1941, at The Blacksmith House, 56
Brattle St., Cambridge, this Saturday at 8 p.m.
Carrey and Hayashi founded nowandthen Productions, which produces
cabaret performances combining social history with popular song. The Evolution
of American Pop Music: from Rag to Rock and Roll; Music of the 1930’s:
from Swing to Swoon; and Irving Berlin: the Voice of Everyman are current
shows. In addition, she has performed as Reno Sweeney in Anything Goes, was a
soloist with Nick Page’s Mystic Chorale, and sang in a women’s
vocal trio called The Mood Elevators. She has performed throughout New England,
including CabaretFest! in Newburyport and Provincetown, Playwright's Platform,
The Footlight Club, the Blacksmith House, the Natick Center for the Arts, Tufts
University, and at myriad private parties and events.
Born Roberta Leslie Carrey in Teaneck New Jersey, she grew up
singing and dancing, imitating Ethel Merman and Sophie Tucker. She played the
role of Bloody Mary in South Pacific in 7th grade at the Jewish Community
Center. “I sang my haftorah at my Bas Mitzvah like I was the lead in a
Broadway show,” she recalled.
“I went the theatre camp in the summer,” she
continued, “and tried to convince my parents to let me go to a college
specializing in music and/or theatre. In the 60's in Teaneck, nice Jewish girls
needed to get a liberal arts education first, so off I went to Tufts University
to become a Spanish major.”
Carrey began a career as a photographer/filmmaker and a SVP at
Fidelity Investments, but finally quit the corporate world two years ago to
sing. Her current show culminates her lifelong passion for this period of
American history, its vocal artists and defining events.
“Between the World Wars,” she said, “America was
on a wild roller coaster ride and American pop music, like all of society, was
dramatically transformed. Through songs by such writers as Irving Berlin,
Jerome Kern, the Gershwins, Sammy Fain and Johnny Mercer, Between the Wars
explores the events of the times, from the post war highs of the frenzied 20s
to the lows of the Depression, and back up the long hill to recovery and
ultimately WW II.
“The presence of Jewish producers,” she continued,
“Ziegfield composers such as Fain, Berlin, Gershwins, Porter, Kern,
Hammerstein, Rodgers and Hart, Arlen, Harburg etc., singers like Al Jolson and
Sophie Tucker and musicians such as Benny Goodman, in Tin Pan Alley, Broadway
and Hollywood during the 20s and 30s was paramount.”
The show addresses the African-American musical influence on the
period as well. CD selections will be performed, recalling an era where Sophie
Tucker, Al Jolson, Fats Waller, Rudy Vallee, Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire and
their contemporaries thrilled the country with their special talents and
contributions to the Great American Songbook. “The show traces the
evolution of pop music,” said Carrey, “from the square rhythms and
jangling player pianos of 1918 to the hot Charleston rhythms of the 20s, and on
into the Golden Years of the 30s, where they discover swing and follow it to
the smooth powerful sound of the early 40s.”
Hayashi began classical piano lessons at age four and studied
harpsichord at the New England Conservatory. He began playing professional jazz
piano in college. He served as musical director and arranger for swing/concert
group The Mood Elevators, which featured a women’s vocal trio. He is
known for his ability to perform songs true to their original styles.
The pair are certain to bring back these golden years in heartfelt
authenticity. “Even though I wasn’t born until after World War
II,” Carrey observed, “I still feel like these songs tell my story.
I’ll Be Seeing You, What’ll I Do, Ain’t Misbehavin –
they are truly timeless.”
Tickets are $10. For reservations and information, please call
617-876-7468 or email info@bobbicarrey.com.
CD RELEASE CONCERT for BETWEEN THE WARS Music from 1918 to 1941
Bobbi Carrey & Tomi Hayashi | December 7, 2002 at 8:00 pm |
The Blacksmith House | 56 Brattle Street Harvard Square Cambridge |