Terese Genecco Live!: Press

GENECCO AND LITTLE BIG BAND BRING LOUNGE-ACT MAGIC TO RRAZZ ROOM IN S.F.
Somewhere in the two-drink-minimum section of heaven, Louis Prima is grinning. The king of that ol' lounge magic is smiling because Terese Genecco & her Little Big Band are carrying on the tradition of high-energy musical excitement that Prima and his gang for years created to electrify the wee hours in Nevada lounges.

OK, Genecco and her group go on at 10:30 Saturday nights in San Francisco's Rrazz Room, and that's hardly the wee hours. But in a city where entertainment, particularly for slightly older audiences, shuts down before TV's prime time drops into the abyss of the 11 o'clock news, it's a welcome addition to the downtown music scene.

The Little Big Band follows whatever act is playing the Rrazz Room Saturday night, offering continued entertainment to cabaret fans who stick around, or people who drop by after a late dinner or a show for a jolt of music before heading home.

And a jolt is exactly what Genecco offers. Early on, she announces the show has a two-drink minimum and a two-ballad maximum. And she delivers just that with a sizzling bongos-and-brass (including the killer saxophone wielded by the remarkable Jean Fineberg) series of arrangements that sends you energized into the night.

Song selection is mostly from the Great American Songbook, but even the familiar old standards get a new sound from the group. Genecco also peppers the act with tunes by Billy Joel and some Rat pack staples such as Dean Martin's "Ain't That A Kick In The Head," written by James Van Heusen, which is a charmer.

The act especially shines when arrangements and presentation are surprising and unexpected, as they are with the Gershwins' "The Man I Love" and an astonishingly good version of "Unchain My Heart," by Bobby Sharp

"Don't miss this fabulous singer in performance...run - don't walk - to catch her live!"

TERESE GENECCO SWINGS S.F. LIKE IT'S VEGAS!

Terese Genecco doesn't mess around, boy.

She and her "little big band" are playing most Saturdays through May at San Francisco's Hotel Nikko in a rollicking retro show titled "Last Call," but it might as well be named "Party Time."

Genecco's sheer personality lights up the stage as much as her vocals in a Las Vegas-style performance that amusingly has a two-ballad limit.

More is more with Genecco, who reprises some tunes from "Drunk With Love: A Tribute To Frances Faye," her 2005 cabaret act at the New Conservatory Theatre Center.

Between fun banter on opening night - she schmoozed with friends and local cabaret insiders in the audience - Genecco fit in swinging interpretations of everything from the Beatles ("A Hard Day's Night," "Yesterday") to Cole Porter ("Night And Day," "What Is This Thing Called Love") to Bacharach ("The Look of Love") and Lieber and Stoller ("Kansas City").

Her appropriately-named band of awesome local musicians includes pianist Mike Greensill, saxophonists Fil Lorenz and Tony Malfatti, trumpter Rich Armstrong, bassist Daniel Fabricant, trombonist Max Perkoff, drummer Randy Odell, and, last Saturday, special guest percussionist "Mr. bongo" Jack Costanzo, who played on cult favorite/nightclub singer Faye's 1958 live album "Caught In The Act."

When Genecco breezily describes herself as Judy Garland and Dean Martin's love child, she gives an excellent impression of what she's all about.

Cabaret lovers won't want to miss her "Last Call."

Terese Genecco Brings the Best of Vegas to San Francisco In “Last Call!”

With a big, belting voice, a tight 7-piece band, and all the sass and sound of a late-night Vegas nightclub act, Terese Genecco rocks San Francisco’s Rrazz Room with her almost-every-Saturday-night show, “Last Call.” From the first downbeat, this show blasts off like a rocket and never slows down. Genecco takes her audience on a high-octane ride of rhythm-driven, foot-stomping songs, edgy humor, and playful banter. Her message is clear: “Last Call” has a strict 2-ballad maximum policy. This show is designed to keep you rocking all night long.

Dressed in a tailored suit and white dress shirt, Genecco opened the show with her signature “good evening” vamp, a la Frances Faye, acknowledging and welcoming her audience in a friendly, playful way. And since Genecco’s audiences are often filled with other singers, musicians, actors and comedians, it’s fun to hear her drop a few names as she sings “Good evening” to comedians Judy Gold and Danny Leary, who were in the audience the night I was reviewing the show, as well as Kim Nalley, local jazz singer soon to be starring in Duke Ellington’s “Queenie Pie.”

With her audience properly acknowledged, Genecco tears into a driving, up-tempo arrangement of “What Is This thing Called Love,” followed by “Love is Just Around the Corner.” The usually sweet and charming tune, “Out Of This World” and the often haunting “You’re My Thrill” are transformed into high-powered, vocally demanding show-stoppers. Song after song, Genecco never lets up on her full-throttle energy or her powerful, turbo-charged voice.

“I’ve been told that I could be the love child of Judy Garland and Dean Martin,” Genecco jokes just before she jumps into the Judy Garland arrangement of “Come Rain or Come Shine,” featuring her percussionist, Jacob Lawlor. At first, Genecco dials it back a bit, showing a softer, more tender side of her voice, allowing a bit more vibrato into her sound. But as the song builds, she lets loose a fire hose of sound, belting higher and higher, as the song rips through the room like a musical typhoon, leaving the audience dazed, delighted and gasping for breath.

When she’s not singing with every neuron of her body, Genecco plays with her audience, teases her bandmates and indulges in a little sexually-suggestive, late-night humor. It’s obvious that she’s not here to simply sing an endless string of uptempo songs; she’s here to entertain and make sure her audience is having fun.

“Last Call” is never the same twice. Each show features a different set of songs, jokes, banter, unexpected surprises and special guest artists. The band configuration changes, too, though the horn section usually features Tony Malfatti on saxophone, Max Perkoff on trombone and Rich Armstrong on trumpet. The rest of the band often includes bass player, Daniel Fabricant, pianists Mike Greensill or Barry Lloyd, percussionist Jacob Lawlor and Kelly (“Animal”) Park on drums.

Genecco often features a guest singer who happens to be in town that week. On the night I was there, she invited New York jazz singer Shaynee Rainbolt to sit in and sing “Come Home Again,” a beautiful Russell Garcia ballad that will be on Rainbolt’s new CD. Local jazz singer, Kim Nalley also sat in, singing, “Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans.” Since Genecco’s 2-ballad maximum was filled by her guest artists, she had only one option: to keep powering through her lineup of fast, hard-driving tunes.

Genecco reprised the “greatest hits” from her “Drunk With Love” show, such as the Frances Faye arrangements of “Night and Day,” “ The Man I Love,” and what may become Genecco’s signature song, “Unchain My Heart.” The pinnacle song of the evening was the Russell Garcia arrangement of “Frankie and Johnny,” in which Genecco showed off the more subtle nuances and textures of her infallible voice. Her ability to create characters and build the arc of a story turned this familiar tune into a melodramatic blues-operetta, with Genecco playing all the parts…including the chorus!

She finished the show with yet another hard rockin’ tune, “Kansas City,” giving it everything she had yet sounding like she had plenty more. Finally, being called back by a standing ovation from the audience, Genecco gave us her one and only ballad, the darkly beautiful, “Drunk With Love,” which she sang with such restrained melancholy and regret that you couldn’t help but wish she had sung a whole show of ballads.

“Last Call” continues every Saturday night at the Rrazz Room in San Francisco until the end of May. The show starts at 10:30pm, but you won’t notice the hour as you listen to Terese Genecco sing with enough raw power to launch a N.A.S.A. space shuttle. She and her stellar band are sure to take you on a racy, raucous ride of hard driving music, engaging humor and all-out fun.

LINK TO TERESE's LISTING IN THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE'S DATE LINES SECTION.

"Here’s a recipe for a perfect Saturday night: go see a play, but make sure it gets out around 10, and then head to the Rrazz Room in the Hotel Nikko and see Terese Genecco and her Little Big Band’s Last Call show.

I had the perfect Saturday night when I saw Shining City, a ripping Irish ghost story, at SF Playhouse, then sauntered a few blocks to see Genecco’s show.

If you don’t know Genecco, you should. She’s a pint-sized dynamo and one of the Bay Area’s more recent contributions to the cabaret world. She’s neither precious nor twee – both conditions that too often afflict cabaret folk – but rather vivacious, funny and gifted with the need to swing in a big, bold way.

Genecco and her Little Big Band (a septet of piano, bass, drums, bongos, saxophone, trumpet and trombone) are in residence late Saturday nights at the Rrazz Room and if there’s a better way to turn Saturday into Sunday, I don’t know it.

On a recent Saturday night, Genecco was an unstoppable force as she grabbed hold of songs such as ” A Lot of Livin’ to Do,” “Ain’t That a Kick in the Head” and “You’re My Thrill” and wouldn’t let go until everyone in the place was at the very least tapping a toe.

Genecco’s sharp sense of swing emanates from the sense of joy she brings to her material. She clearly loves what she’s doing, and she communicates that joy through every crisply sung note and judiciously snapped finger.

With arrangements by bassist Daniel Fabricant and hot, hot sax man Tony Malfatti, Genecco never makes a misstep. She truly catches fire on an incendiary “Come Rain or Come Shine” – highlighted by the mad bongos of Jacob Lawlor – and then outdoes herself on “Unchain My Heart.

The horns – Malfatti is joined by Max Perkoff on trombone and the amazing Rich Armstrong on trumpet – are, in every sense, a blast. Such a brassy burst of excitement could easily overwhelm a singer, but not Genecco. She feeds off the horns and their bright, blaring sensuality.

Pianist Barry Lloyd, drummer Randy Odell and bassist Fabricant also provide solid support and get into the good-time groove that Genecco initiates.

The generous Genecco aims to share her Rrazz Room roost with various guests, and last Saturday that spot was filled by Russ Lorenson (who has his formal Rrazz Room debut, Standard Time, on Sunday, Oct. 12 – visit www.russlorenson.com for info), another local who should be getting more attention for his powerful pipes and keen sense of crooner-style rhythm.

Genecco reclaimed the stage with a fantastic “Drunk with Love” and even made time for a ballad (Maria Gentile’s aching, emotionally complex “If I Was a Boy”) before surrendering to the beguiling blare of the show-ending “St. James Infirmary” and “Kansas City.”

It’s a gloomy world out there, but with Terese Genecco and her Little Big Band in the house, it’s a whole lot brighter."

TERESE GENECCO: Cabaret's Class 4 Hurricane! Jan/Feb 2008

She's hot. She's brassy. She's bold, and sexy. Terese Genecco (pronounced "Teh-REECE Jeh-NECK-oh") continues to attract critical acclaim and new audiences wherever she performes - whether it's San Francisco, Hollywood or New York City. She gives her horn section nicknames like "Stinky, Spitty, and Slide." Her energy is prodigious, and her banter between tunes is like jazz; a loose script, different every night.

Whether in her solo shows or on stage at new York's Mabel Mercer Cabaret Convention, Genecco wows the audience. Her tribute to Kate Smith at the 2007 Convention brought down the house. The applause had scarcely ended when she headed forty blocks south to offer her "Drunk With Love: The Sequel" to a late-night audience at The Metropolitan Room. As she'd done at the Convention, she captivated the audience with her vocal power, artistry and pure joy of performing.

Genecco has enjoyed a dazzling amount of attention in the scant three years since the debut of her first solo show, "Drunk With Love: A Tribute To Frances Faye!" The show's five week run in San Francisco was followed by a stand at New York City's encore Room and her appearance at the Cabaret Convention that October. She was nominated as a MAC Award contender for best female debut, and earned an invitation to be the second act, sandwiched between Billy Stritch and Karen Mason, to help inaugurate New York's then-newest nightclub, the Metropolitan Room, in the spring of 2006. And that brought Genecco a 2007 Backstage Bistro Award plus a spot on Time Out New York magazine's Top Ten Best Cabaret shows.

Who is this tempest of a performer, band leader, vocalist, and musician who is knocking everyone's socks off from coast to coast? Originally from an idyllic little town nestled into the Bristol Hills at the northern tip of Canandaigua Lake in upstate New York, she grew up with an older brother and surrounded by 12 close cousins and an extended italian family. Her mother, Susan Genecco, noticed that at five years old, Terese was relentlessly plunking out melodies on the family piano in the living room, and convinced the local piano teacher to break her minimum-age rule and let the youngster begin lessons.

Terese was a natural, and in addition to the piano, eventually learned to play the guitar, cello, saxophone, drums, and percussion. Throughout her high school years she played and sang in every school band, orchestra, chorus and ensemble available, and studied dance, acting, and music theory. one summer she was at the Fred Waring Choral Worksho and the next at the Carnegie-Mellon pre-college musical theater training program. There followed enrollment in and then graduation from Syracuse University's Drama Department, with a major in musical theater.

Canandaigua Lake may have been home to her, but it offered little to hold an aspiring singer-actress. It was ither New York City or Hollywood, and Genecco concluded her deliberations with a three-week journey, crossing the country California-bound on a motorcycle that was four hundred pounds heavier than her petite five-foot, 105-pound frame. "It was the coolest thing I've ever done," she says, "and I'm glad I got it out of my system at an early age. I've only crossed the country by land four times since then, and non of them on a motorcycle."

While waiting for the big break, Genecco's day job took over her life, and a handful of years down the road, she was enjoying success in as workaday field as one could find, commercial insurance. She'd build an impressive roster of clients, and had a beautiful home high in the Oakland Hills with the family piano in the living room. The music career was on longterm hold, until a meeting with Broadway legend Barbara Cook finally set those musical wheels back in motion.

"I'd first met Barbara Cook in London during my final year of college, immersed in a semester of music and theater studies overseas. A group of fellow students and I waited for Ms. Cook outside the Palladium after her performance, hoping to get her autograph. Instead of an autograph, we were invited home with Barbara and her long-time musical director, Wally Harper, where we gathered around the piano and sang with them until the wee hours of the morning! She was gracious, and beautiful, and encouraging to each of us. It was a magical night. I sang 'Chain Of Love,' which I had been rehearsing for an audition. it never occurred to me that I should be intimidated to sing a song that Barbara Cook had originated on Broadway. I truly just wanted her adivce on how to make my version better! Ah, the blissful ignorance of youth!" Genecco laughs.

I met Barbara and Wally again in San Francisco on New Year's Eve 2000, and to my great surprise and pleasure, not only did they remember that night in London, but told me they had often commented on it to each other over the years and agreed that it was one of their fondest show business memories. Then they asked me if I was still singing and I told them no, I was too busy selling insurance. Barbara gave me a look and said, 'What are you waiting for?'"

Genecco resolved then and there to resume her dormant singing career. A cabaret class was offered twice a year at A.C.T. in san Francisco, but with the winter/spring session already begun, she planned to take the class in the fall. Before she could, disaster struck. One sunny spring morning while Genecco was at the office, her house in the Oakland Hills caught fire, disrupting all her plans. Yet another New Year rolled around before she wa back in her restored home, considering a return to her musical ambitions.

While Genecco was seeking a seasoned accompanist for her first cabaret show, an internet search brought up an advertisement for a 2003 San Francisco Cabaret Competition. The next foggy Thursday night she set out to investigate the proceedings, and a week after that, with an assigned piano player, she belted out her first three songs. A panel of judges and an appreciated crowd put her on her way to the semi-finals.

The three months of preliminary rounds provided Genecco with what she considers the strong foundation of her later success. She was in the audience every single performance, learning the craft and forging relationships. She met jazz/cabaret legend, Wesla Whitfield, and was encouraged by the competition judges to take one of Whitfield's master classes before the semi-final rounds, which she did. The relationship endures as a strong friendship between the two. Genecco also was introduced to "the Crown Prince of San Francisco Cabaret," Barry Lloyd, now a frequent collaborator and another dear friend. NYC jazz/cabaret vocalist Shaynee Rainbolt, still a resident of the Bay Area at that time, became an artistic and business collaborator. The two developing performers played mutual roles for each other, acting as personal assistant, publicist, errand runner, and/or the other's motivational counsel. During the competition, Genecco found an artistic turning point. Steve Murrya, one of the competition judges (and now a Cabaret Scenes magazine reviewer and contributor) encouraged Terese to listen to Frances Faye and Faye's live 1958 recording, "Caught In The Act." The youthful Genecco had never heard of Faye, but ordered the recording. She put the CD into her car stereo and states that her life was altered on the spot. She instantly fell in love with Faye's style, charisma, character, double-entendres, and musicianship. She played the song "Drunk With Love" over and over until she memorized it, then went home and worked out the music at her piano. She brought the arrangement to rehearsal and she and Lloyd decided it would be a standout for her in the semi-final round. Lloyd added some finishing touches and at her performance, Genecco received the highest score of the entire competition, advancing her to the finals at The Herbst Theater the following week.

Another random, and fortunate, event occurred that week during a visit from Amy "Bob" Englehardt, the female voice and songsmith for the a cappella group, The Bobs. Amy, a former college classmate of Genecco's, reminded her of a gem of a comic number. "Amy called her husband Alex in L.A.," Genecco recalled, "and had him locate and fax up the sheet music for 'Garbage' by Sheldon Harnick to us," and the winning song for the finals was decided upon.

Not only did Genecco win the "debut" category in the Cabaret Competition, but her combination of her signature song, Billy Joel's "New York State of Mind," and Harnick's "Garbage," propelled her to the event's overall win. She received the Jo Carol Davidson "Entertainer of The Year" award to cap off the months-long competition, and set in motion the next phase of her musical development. "Once I returned to my first love - which has always been music - I realized it was time to give it my undivided attention," said Genecco. Selling insurance wa transferred to the far back burner, and the flame soon was turned off for good.

Singers and musicians seem to gravitate to Genecco personally and professionally. percussionist Mayra Casales, working with Terese at the Metropolitan Room, terms her "absolutely fantastic, a very powerful woman, and a pleasure to play with." Drummer Randy Odell calls Genecco "dynamic...she pulls out all the stops." San Francisco trombonist max Perkoff admires "her very flexible voice that's able to adapt to a wide variety of styles. She's as wonderful at singing sweet ballads as she is at up-tempo jazz, pop and rock." He adds, "she treats the band wonderfully." jack "Mr. Bongo" Costanzo, joined Genecco performances at her San Francisco and Hollywood CD release concerts last summer. Performing with the legendary musician, Terese was treated to a rare onstage thrill, introducing him with the identical words Faye had on that 1958 album, "May I present, on my right, Jack Costanzo on bongos."

What's next for Genecco? This February, she's booked at San Francisco's spanking-new cabaret/jazz venue the Rrazz Room in the posh Hotel Nikko. She and her "little big band" will be the regular late-night party fare on Saturdays. her ability to please and emotionally connect to her audience members seems a 'given." She's got a great combination going for her - her music, her energy, her emotional attachment to the subject matter, her friendship and interaction with her adoring band members, and her deep devotion to the American popular song.

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