Christmas at Birdland: Freddy Cole with Deborah Silver, Veronica Swift & James Torme, Eric Comstock & Barbara Fasano - New York City Article

Christmas at Birdland
Freddy Cole with Deborah Silver
Veronica Swift & James Torme, “Mel and Ella Holiday Show”
Eric Comstock & Barbara Fasano
Birdland
315 West 44th St
Through Saturday December 8

This holiday week, no less than three of the great icons of American music and jazz will be evoked in a holiday mood: downstairs in the Birdland Theater, Veronica Swift and James Torme celebrate the seasonal legacy of Mel Torme (composer of “The Christmas Song” as well as a jazz legend), via his son, James, and Ella Fitzgerald (whose Swinging Christmas is probably the single best holiday album by a jazz singer), courtesy of the remarkable 25-year-old jazz phenom Veronica Swift. Meanwhile, upstairs, as always the formidable veteran (88 years young) Freddy Cole honors the considerable Christmas repertoire of his late brother, Nat King Cole (whose centennial celebrations are still ongoing) in songs like “Cradle in Bethlehem” and “The Christmas Song” (but of course!) but also his own “Jingles The Christmas Cat” and other memorable holiday hits from his 1995 album I Want a Smile for Christmas. For the first time in memory, Freddy will be joined by a guest vocalist, the talented, energetic and highly irresistible Deborah Silver, a Florida-based jazz-pop entertainer making a welcome appearance up North. In all, it’s a standout Holiday double-feature (involving no less than four artists) well worth catching. (And as that weren’t enough, on Saturday, the remarkable Eric Comstock and Barbara Fasano open up the evening proceedings at 5:30PM.)

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