Joan Morris and Bill Bolcom perform American classics


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Mezzo-soprano Joan Morris and pianist/composer Bill Bolcom both have substantial careers on their own. Morris teaches on the music faculty at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and has a substantial stage and concert background. Bolcom is a highly-respected composer of what, for lack of a better word, is generally referred to as "classical" music as well as musical theatre, cabaret songs, and even piano rags. Together, however, they're Morris and Bolcom (or Bolcom and Morris, as the program now reads) and for the last 23 years they've toured the world with a program of classic American popular songs, done in a style that's somewhere between lieder recital and cabaret (well, maybe a bit closer to cabaret) and delighting audiences every time.

Bolcom and Morris made one of their rare appearances here in St. Louis on Sunday, April 30th (at the St. Louis Symphony Community Music School), and I'm happy to report that while they're both a bit grayer than they were when I last saw them several years ago (but then, who isn't?) they're every bit as charming, witty, and entertaining now as they were then. Bolcom is a formidable presence on the piano, and his between-songs commentary was as informative and dryly witty as always. This was particularly apparent during a brief solo set immediately following intermission, consisting of two quirky waltzes by Palacios and his own "Graceful Ghost" rag (one of a set of three "ghost" rags from around 1970).

Joan Morris' range as a singer is just as impressive. Whether she's delivering a tender ballad such as Vincent Youmans' "More Than You'll Ever Know", a sentimental chestnut like "Little Annie Rooney", or a raucous comic gem like Peter Winkler's "Tamara, Queen of the Nile", she's always in character and always a joy to watch. She's a pretty snappy dresser, too.

Their program is always an object lesson in the stunning variety of American popular music, of course - with just a touch of British, in this case. This is best illustrated by a partial list of the program, which apparently changes from night to night: Berlin's "I Love a Piano", Gershwin's "I Was Doing All Right", Rogers and Hart's "Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered" (from Pal Joey, in an arrangement that combines both the wistful original and the downbeat reprise versions), the slyly suggestive Porter/Coward collaboration "Let's Fall in Love", Eubie Blake's "Blues, Why Don't You Leave Me Alone", two very different Lieber and Stoller songs ("Is That All There Is?" and "Poison Ivy"), an affecting rendition of the Kern/Wodehouse "Just My Bill", a Charles Ives songs written as a reply to "Little Annie Rooney", and a quirky Rogers and Hart rarity entitled "Plant You Now, Dig You Later".

The audience loved it, but two hours and four encores later all good things came to an end. I have no idea whether or not Bolcom and Morris will be appearing in your town any time soon, but if they do, don't miss them. Meanwhile, at least some of their sixteen albums are still in print - Nonesuch has re-released their first album, "After the Ball", on CD, along with some selections from their second, "Vaudeville", and some of the others may still be with us. Check your local vendor of musical software for their work - it's pretty much unique on the contemporary scene, and well worth the effort.


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