Eric Comstock & Barbara Fasano: This Thing Called Love

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Eric Comstock & Barbara Fasano
This Thing Called Love
 
Not a moment too soon, the husband-and-wife team of Eric Comstock & Barbara Fasano have officially become New York’s premiere cabaret couple with their new show at The Oak Room, This Thing Called Love. Their first extended engagement together at this legendary watering hole, …Love boasts a witty and stylish set list featuring classics rendered with a fresh twist, such as “Tonight” and “Old Devil Moon,” as well as more obscure fare performed in a classic manner, like “The Great City” (by Curtis R. Lewis) and “Cactus Tree” (by Joni Mitchell).
 
 
Celebrating their fifth anniversary this year, Comstock & Fasano have grown enormously as musicians, performers and raconteurs thanks to their on- and off-stage collaboration. Long a skilled jazz pianist with a greatly underrated lyric baritone that he uses to great effect in all genres of music, Mr. Comstock is more relaxed than ever with Fasano, playing with a confident abandon that’s both intoxicating and keenly intellectual. His vocals remain an introspective delight. For her part, Ms. Fasano’s growth as an artist is nothing short of a revelation. A gorgeous dream of a chanteuse in a sexy red satin and chiffon gown for this Valentine’s engagement, Fasano now has the moxie, the poise and the jazz chops to go with her beauty in creating a formidable singer who can pull off “The Surrey with the Fringe on Top” as easily as she can “In the Still of the Night.”
 
 
Together, their vocal pairing on such eclectic fare as Frank Loesser’s “Guys and Dolls,” Kenny Rankin & Ruth Batchelor’s “Haven’t We Met?” and the late, great John Wallowitch’s “Come a Little Closer” (which they own at this point) is like a sparkling glass of champagne: fizzy and sweet, but with a little bite, too. Recalling the great husband-and-wife cabaret team of Jackie Cain & Roy Kral in their effortless charm and dazzling personalities, Comstock & Fasano are the latest word in nightlife sophistication. Treat yourself to their magic soon.
 
 
Eric Comstock & Barbara Fasano in This Thing Called Love plays through March 6 at The Oak Room @ The Algonquin Hotel (59 W 44th St, 212-419-9331). Visit EricComstock.net for more info.