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Published on 04/21/1999 All articles from this issue

Whitfield performs Rodgers and Hart for Morning Forum

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By Laura Brown

Special to the Town Crier

Weslia Whitfield, who has generally been acclaimed as one of the best cabaret singers in America, performed songs by Rodgers and Hart for the Morning Forum of Los Altos on April 6.

** missed drop char **Whitfield is particularly fond of Hart's lyrics, noting lyricists are important because "if it weren't for them, I'd be up here humming."

With her husband/musical arranger Michael Greensill on piano and Ken Miller on bass, Whitfield opened the Morning Forum show with a soulful rendition of "My Romance," then swung into a gutsy "Poor Johnny One-Note."

The collaboration of Whitfield and Greensill, a well-known jazz pianist, results in a unique blend of popular show tunes from "The Great American Songbook," and jazz riffs and rhythms shared by the singer, pianist and bassist.

Whitfield has a classically-trained voice and earned a music degree from San Francisco State University.

Greensill, who graduated from Leeds College of Music in England, says that her classical training and his jazz background have combined to "make us both so much better."

Whitfield and Greensill, who live in San Francisco, spend several months each year in New York City, performing at the Oak Room in the famed Algonquin Hotel.

Their audience there includes such celebrity fans as Eartha Kitt, Liza Minnelli, and Tony Bennett.

Whitfield and Greensill have performed at the White House, Avery Fisher Hall, the London Palladium, and Carnegie Hall. The New York Times called Whitfield's rendition of "How Deep is the Ocean?" at the Carnegie Hall tribute to Frank Sinatra "the concert's single most compelling moment."

Whitfield also has performed as the soloist in concert appearances with the San Francisco Symphony, as well as the Omaha, San Jose, Stockton, Santa Rosa, Sacramento and California symphony orchestras.

In concert at the Morning Forum, Whitfield's pure voice and amazing breath control enhanced the love songs such as "Easy to Remember," and "You are Too Beautiful," while her dry wit set the stage for "Thou Swell," "The Lady is a Tramp," and "Must You Bury the Tune?"

She closed with "I'm in Love With a Wonderful Guy."

She sang "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" as an encore after receiving a standing ovation.

The Morning Forum is a members-only lecture series held at the United Methodist Church of Los Altos. Membership is closed for this year. To be placed on the membership waiting list , write to: Morning Forum, P.O. Box 274, Los Altos 94023-0274.