Recent Press
“It’s Been a Joyful, Inspiring Gig” — How Jim and Ruby Created a Pandemic Pajama Party with Star Quality - W42ST.nyc Interview
Jim Caruso Keeps Hell's Kitchen Swingin' - Hell's Kitchen at Home 15 Questions in 15 Minutes with Birdland’s Jim Caruso - DC Metro Theater Arts BWW Interview: SO NOW YOU KNOW with Jim Caruso - BroadwayWorld BWW Feature: At Home With Jim Caruso - BroadwayWorld Six Questions Special Edition: Cast Party Host and Entertainer Jim Caruso - NiteLife Exchange Jim Caruso's Guide to Midtown Manhattan - Viator Jim Caruso on the Magic of Connecting to an Audience - Bleep Magazine Let's Call This An Open-Mic on Steroids - Cultural Attaché That's me in the Spotlight - W42ST Issue 11 - page 24 Royal Room Opens Palm Beach Cabaret Season with Dynamic Duo The King of Cast Party - BLEEP Magazine Scott and Barbara Siegel, Talkin' Broadway: Jim Caruso Gets What's Coming to Him Jim's Fred Astaire tribute in the Palm Beach Post: Entertainer Revitalizes Bygone Era of Cabaret Jim is featured in: InStyle Magazine |
Reviews
Stephen Holden, New York Times - "This impish, twinking-eyed performer exudes the buoyant spirits of a contemporary vaudevillian."
Talkin' Broadway - "Jim Caruso owns Monday nights! When the history of this era in New York's live entertainment is written, Cast Party will deserve a chapter of it's own."
TheaterMania - "Caruso is hip, cool and classy all by himself."
Orlando Sentinal - "Caruso is the Swami of Soirée!"
BLEEP Magazine - "Jim Caruso is an entertainment powerhouse."
Next Magazine - "Caruso is the consummate host and charms the crowd
with his voice and off-the-cuff hilarity."
Back Stage - "Cast Party is like a scene from "Auntie Mame" with the indefatigable Jim Caruso as major domo."
New York City: Spend Less See More - "Host Jim Caruso is hilarious - an affable guy who reminds me of a modern-day Paul Lynde."
Tom Mizer, the Broadway Blog - "Jim Caruso knows how to handle a mic."
Scott Stiffler, Chelsea Now - "Despite being the frequent recipient of coveted air-kisses from the likes of Liza and Chita, Caruso retains
a genuine aura of gee-gosh wonder which lets you know he's as thrilled to be at Cast Party as you are. It's a thing to see."
Woman Around Town - "Jim Caruso threw a party, and everybody came. What can you say about a program that opens with Chita Rivera
and closes with Liza Minnelli? Caruso and musical director Billy Stritch are a dynamic duo and brilliant at improv."
Here She Is Boys - "Mr. Caruso is a born showman, and in a decent world would be hosting his own televised variety show.
His smooth voice is a natural for the repertoire."
Downtown Express - "Like a modern-day Ed Sullivan, but with charisma and vocal talent, Jim Caruso is our favorite cabaret impresario."
Lesleyann Coker, The Huffington Post - "Cabaret is cool again, thanks to Jim Caruso."
Tanya Rose, Travel Secrets - "It's Monday night in New York, and what to do? Jim Caruso presides over the great and near-great at Birdland
with incredible dry wit and flair, at this open mic that attracts the creme de la creme of Broadway stars on their night off. It's brilliantly entertaining, and one of New York's best kept secrets.
Back Stage - “Iconoclastic and wonderfully cracked, Caruso is the classiest, coolest cat in cabaret.”
Palm Beach Society - "Caruso is master class! He literally levitates with energy and raises humankind’s spirits to an exalted level!”
Rex Reed, The New York Observer - " A master clown! The cards Jim Caruso brings to the gaming table are impressive, and he plays them all skillfully.”
Entertainment Tonight - "Uber-talented!"
The Palm Beach Post - “Brilliant! He creates a unique kind of theatrical magic and has no peer or predecessor.”
Liz Smith, New York Post - “Applause, applause for a rare combination of wit, wisdom and whimsy. Jim Caruso is not your grandma’s cabaret act. His youthful vivacity will blow you away.”
Liza Minnelli, InStyle Magazine - “Intelligence and talent are always chic, and Jim Caruso is the chicest person I know.”
Phyllis Diller - “Jim Caruso makes his great, great, great Uncle Enrico sound dull. He’s brilliant, fun and adorable.”
Ann Hampton Callaway - "Jim is the Irreverent Reverend of Cabaret Church!"
Talkin' Broadway - "Jim Caruso owns Monday nights! When the history of this era in New York's live entertainment is written, Cast Party will deserve a chapter of it's own."
TheaterMania - "Caruso is hip, cool and classy all by himself."
Orlando Sentinal - "Caruso is the Swami of Soirée!"
BLEEP Magazine - "Jim Caruso is an entertainment powerhouse."
Next Magazine - "Caruso is the consummate host and charms the crowd
with his voice and off-the-cuff hilarity."
Back Stage - "Cast Party is like a scene from "Auntie Mame" with the indefatigable Jim Caruso as major domo."
New York City: Spend Less See More - "Host Jim Caruso is hilarious - an affable guy who reminds me of a modern-day Paul Lynde."
Tom Mizer, the Broadway Blog - "Jim Caruso knows how to handle a mic."
Scott Stiffler, Chelsea Now - "Despite being the frequent recipient of coveted air-kisses from the likes of Liza and Chita, Caruso retains
a genuine aura of gee-gosh wonder which lets you know he's as thrilled to be at Cast Party as you are. It's a thing to see."
Woman Around Town - "Jim Caruso threw a party, and everybody came. What can you say about a program that opens with Chita Rivera
and closes with Liza Minnelli? Caruso and musical director Billy Stritch are a dynamic duo and brilliant at improv."
Here She Is Boys - "Mr. Caruso is a born showman, and in a decent world would be hosting his own televised variety show.
His smooth voice is a natural for the repertoire."
Downtown Express - "Like a modern-day Ed Sullivan, but with charisma and vocal talent, Jim Caruso is our favorite cabaret impresario."
Lesleyann Coker, The Huffington Post - "Cabaret is cool again, thanks to Jim Caruso."
Tanya Rose, Travel Secrets - "It's Monday night in New York, and what to do? Jim Caruso presides over the great and near-great at Birdland
with incredible dry wit and flair, at this open mic that attracts the creme de la creme of Broadway stars on their night off. It's brilliantly entertaining, and one of New York's best kept secrets.
Back Stage - “Iconoclastic and wonderfully cracked, Caruso is the classiest, coolest cat in cabaret.”
Palm Beach Society - "Caruso is master class! He literally levitates with energy and raises humankind’s spirits to an exalted level!”
Rex Reed, The New York Observer - " A master clown! The cards Jim Caruso brings to the gaming table are impressive, and he plays them all skillfully.”
Entertainment Tonight - "Uber-talented!"
The Palm Beach Post - “Brilliant! He creates a unique kind of theatrical magic and has no peer or predecessor.”
Liz Smith, New York Post - “Applause, applause for a rare combination of wit, wisdom and whimsy. Jim Caruso is not your grandma’s cabaret act. His youthful vivacity will blow you away.”
Liza Minnelli, InStyle Magazine - “Intelligence and talent are always chic, and Jim Caruso is the chicest person I know.”
Phyllis Diller - “Jim Caruso makes his great, great, great Uncle Enrico sound dull. He’s brilliant, fun and adorable.”
Ann Hampton Callaway - "Jim is the Irreverent Reverend of Cabaret Church!"
Album Reviews
Rex Reed, New York Observer - The word that always comes to mind when I hear
Jim Caruso sing is “joy”.
He spreads it around like marmalade. I’ve heard him do it onstage, in intimate night clubs, and around the piano on party nights at Liza Minnelli’s. And there is plenty of it on The Swing Set. This is a good thing, because there isn’t much of it anywhere else these days.
He’s been practicing. Back in the day, when he was young and desperate and green as grass, he played fish restaurants in Dallas, accompanied by his own mother on piano in a popular act called “Son of a Bitch.” With minimal encouragement, his Mom retired from show business, but Jim was just getting started. After forming a trio called Wiseguys, he toured the saloon circuit from coast to coast, appearing in clubs both high-end and low, before moving to New York in 1990. He produced a talk show with lead-lashes evangelist Tammy Faye Bakker and survived. He sang Bing Crosby songs with Rosemary Clooney at Carnegie Hall.
Through his friend, fellow Texan and pianist-without-peer Billy Stritch, he met Liza Minnelli and joined her on her own world tour--singing, dancing, and celebrating the rhythmic genius of her godmother, the legendary Kay Thompson. (One of Kay’s most famous creations, the finger-snapping “I Love a Violin,” has been exuberantly refurbished for posterity on this collection with the jazzy fiddling of a wunderkind named Aaron Weinstein, a one-man orchestra who wrote all of the arrangements. Don’t miss it. Or him.)
In 2004, the light bulb went on above his pointed little head and Jim came up with the idea of establishing a beachhead where bold-face names could rub elbows with vivacious wannabes, inviting every show-tune fanatic in New York to get up and sing along with the best musicians in town. The result is called Cast Party, a weekly event that has revolutionized life after dark every Monday night and turned the famous jazz club, Birdland, into the watering hole of choice for everybody who is anybody—and everybody who isn’t. From a germ of an idea in the head of Jim Caruso, Cast Party turned into a modern-day institution. If you’re over 50, think Toots Shor’s, or Lindy’s without the cheesecake. Among the guests who have checked their inhibitions at the door are Tony Bennett, Carol Channing, Melissa Manchester, Marilyn Maye, and Jon Bon Jovi. The unofficial theme song for these occasions is “If You Feel Like Singing, Sing.” That’s what everybody does. If Jim’s own eagerly awaited CD output has been rare, it is not surprising. These are perilous times for the Great American Songbook and he doesn’t have the luxury of a regular recording contract to keep them alive. Neither does Eydie Gorme. But like cream, talent always rises to the top of the churn.
This is what happens here, on a journey aptly titled The Swing Set, capturing the fun and entertainment value of a night at Cast Party, while recruiting a passenger list that includes some of the finest first-cabin singers and musicians in the business. Like a spontaneous private phone call from a voice you don’t mind hearing at 4 a.m., they support, comment, joke, cajole, caress, and give him wings. From the charm and laid-back appeal of Cy Coleman’s “The Doodlin’ Song” (a staple in the Blossom Dearie catalogue, lassoed here by Jim and Stephanie J. Block, who played Liza on Broadway opposite Hugh Jackman’s Peter Allen in The Boy From Oz) to the jazz flavors of Jerome Kern’s “Pick Yourself Up” and Duke Ellington’s “Squeeze Me,” to the sublime, heartbreaking Dave Frishberg – Alan Broadbent collaboration “Heart’s Desire,” the eclectic menu is as surprising as it is delicious. For laughs, who would ever think of Martin Mull as the composer of slick shtick like “Flexible?” The sense of joy makes even familiar tunes seem fresh. I’m besotted with the penthouse-after-midnight piano chords of Cast Party regular Tedd Firth on “Manhattan,” Aaron’s swanky arrangement for Jim, Billy Stritch and Hilary Kole on “Avalon,” inspired by an old dust-gathering record by Ella Fitzgerald, Perry Como and Caterina Valente, and Jim’s relaxed way with a ballad perfectly demonstrated by the Scarecrow’s wistful “If I Only Had a Brain” from The Wizard of Oz (that’s the sublime Bucky Pizzarelli on guitar and Rosemary Clooney’s long-time sideman Warren Vache on cornet). The ginger-snappy duet with Michael Feinstein on “Gotta Be This Or That” is just the sort of thing you only hear when two imaginative musical minds move toward a common goal and meet somewhere in the marvelous middle. There’s more, as Mae West used to say, clutching her anatomy, but you’ll find out when you peruse the personnel.
The main thing to remember is that Jim Caruso can get under the skin of blasé ballads, brushing timeless standards with fresh strokes, or hit the ground running on up-tempo jazz classics. He’s both smart and casual, modern as an iPod, yet his elegant demeanor would not be out of place at a staff meeting on Mad Men. No histrionics or cabaret corn here. He can be flip and tender at the same time. Above all, he is always inventive. In an angst-riddled, hip-hop world, his voice goes down like a root beer float. His taste for music and the musicians who play it inspires applause. I marvel at his inexhaustible energy, his passion for every aspect of what used to be Tin Pan Alley. He’s savvy and hip and funny as a frog hopping through honey. There is no chair with his name on it in Limbo. He observes the tertiary roads of show business like a pilgrim googling Map Quest. He is not just a multi-tasking performer, but also a fan. On The Swing Set, he sets out the welcome mat to his own unique world. You never know who will step across with you, but you’ll all feel like you’ve come in from the rain, happy to reach home and hearth at last.
Sufferers of Attention Deficit Disorder may want to move on. No Valium here.
Jim Caruso sing is “joy”.
He spreads it around like marmalade. I’ve heard him do it onstage, in intimate night clubs, and around the piano on party nights at Liza Minnelli’s. And there is plenty of it on The Swing Set. This is a good thing, because there isn’t much of it anywhere else these days.
He’s been practicing. Back in the day, when he was young and desperate and green as grass, he played fish restaurants in Dallas, accompanied by his own mother on piano in a popular act called “Son of a Bitch.” With minimal encouragement, his Mom retired from show business, but Jim was just getting started. After forming a trio called Wiseguys, he toured the saloon circuit from coast to coast, appearing in clubs both high-end and low, before moving to New York in 1990. He produced a talk show with lead-lashes evangelist Tammy Faye Bakker and survived. He sang Bing Crosby songs with Rosemary Clooney at Carnegie Hall.
Through his friend, fellow Texan and pianist-without-peer Billy Stritch, he met Liza Minnelli and joined her on her own world tour--singing, dancing, and celebrating the rhythmic genius of her godmother, the legendary Kay Thompson. (One of Kay’s most famous creations, the finger-snapping “I Love a Violin,” has been exuberantly refurbished for posterity on this collection with the jazzy fiddling of a wunderkind named Aaron Weinstein, a one-man orchestra who wrote all of the arrangements. Don’t miss it. Or him.)
In 2004, the light bulb went on above his pointed little head and Jim came up with the idea of establishing a beachhead where bold-face names could rub elbows with vivacious wannabes, inviting every show-tune fanatic in New York to get up and sing along with the best musicians in town. The result is called Cast Party, a weekly event that has revolutionized life after dark every Monday night and turned the famous jazz club, Birdland, into the watering hole of choice for everybody who is anybody—and everybody who isn’t. From a germ of an idea in the head of Jim Caruso, Cast Party turned into a modern-day institution. If you’re over 50, think Toots Shor’s, or Lindy’s without the cheesecake. Among the guests who have checked their inhibitions at the door are Tony Bennett, Carol Channing, Melissa Manchester, Marilyn Maye, and Jon Bon Jovi. The unofficial theme song for these occasions is “If You Feel Like Singing, Sing.” That’s what everybody does. If Jim’s own eagerly awaited CD output has been rare, it is not surprising. These are perilous times for the Great American Songbook and he doesn’t have the luxury of a regular recording contract to keep them alive. Neither does Eydie Gorme. But like cream, talent always rises to the top of the churn.
This is what happens here, on a journey aptly titled The Swing Set, capturing the fun and entertainment value of a night at Cast Party, while recruiting a passenger list that includes some of the finest first-cabin singers and musicians in the business. Like a spontaneous private phone call from a voice you don’t mind hearing at 4 a.m., they support, comment, joke, cajole, caress, and give him wings. From the charm and laid-back appeal of Cy Coleman’s “The Doodlin’ Song” (a staple in the Blossom Dearie catalogue, lassoed here by Jim and Stephanie J. Block, who played Liza on Broadway opposite Hugh Jackman’s Peter Allen in The Boy From Oz) to the jazz flavors of Jerome Kern’s “Pick Yourself Up” and Duke Ellington’s “Squeeze Me,” to the sublime, heartbreaking Dave Frishberg – Alan Broadbent collaboration “Heart’s Desire,” the eclectic menu is as surprising as it is delicious. For laughs, who would ever think of Martin Mull as the composer of slick shtick like “Flexible?” The sense of joy makes even familiar tunes seem fresh. I’m besotted with the penthouse-after-midnight piano chords of Cast Party regular Tedd Firth on “Manhattan,” Aaron’s swanky arrangement for Jim, Billy Stritch and Hilary Kole on “Avalon,” inspired by an old dust-gathering record by Ella Fitzgerald, Perry Como and Caterina Valente, and Jim’s relaxed way with a ballad perfectly demonstrated by the Scarecrow’s wistful “If I Only Had a Brain” from The Wizard of Oz (that’s the sublime Bucky Pizzarelli on guitar and Rosemary Clooney’s long-time sideman Warren Vache on cornet). The ginger-snappy duet with Michael Feinstein on “Gotta Be This Or That” is just the sort of thing you only hear when two imaginative musical minds move toward a common goal and meet somewhere in the marvelous middle. There’s more, as Mae West used to say, clutching her anatomy, but you’ll find out when you peruse the personnel.
The main thing to remember is that Jim Caruso can get under the skin of blasé ballads, brushing timeless standards with fresh strokes, or hit the ground running on up-tempo jazz classics. He’s both smart and casual, modern as an iPod, yet his elegant demeanor would not be out of place at a staff meeting on Mad Men. No histrionics or cabaret corn here. He can be flip and tender at the same time. Above all, he is always inventive. In an angst-riddled, hip-hop world, his voice goes down like a root beer float. His taste for music and the musicians who play it inspires applause. I marvel at his inexhaustible energy, his passion for every aspect of what used to be Tin Pan Alley. He’s savvy and hip and funny as a frog hopping through honey. There is no chair with his name on it in Limbo. He observes the tertiary roads of show business like a pilgrim googling Map Quest. He is not just a multi-tasking performer, but also a fan. On The Swing Set, he sets out the welcome mat to his own unique world. You never know who will step across with you, but you’ll all feel like you’ve come in from the rain, happy to reach home and hearth at last.
Sufferers of Attention Deficit Disorder may want to move on. No Valium here.
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Album Reviews
Liz Smith, New York Post – "Applause, applause for the adorable Jim Caruso. This Texas talent is so funny with stories of his life as an up-and-coming singer who had his mother playing backup piano…"
Michael Feinstein – "Funny, facile and fabulous! Caruso performs with charm, wit and style, and is vastly entertaining."
ShowTune Reviews – "Caruso’s comedic flair and timing is flawless. For those who have seen him perform in person, this CD is a great momento. For those who haven’t seen him, this release is sure to create new Caruso fans."
Linda Lavin – "I love this unique and original CD! When Jim regales you with his songs and stories, you feel like you've made a new best friend! There's only one thing better than listening to the CD...and that's being there in person! It's always the event of the season!"
David Hurst, Show Business - "Caruso's sly sense of humor, relaxed banter and -- most enjoyably -- great chemistry with accompanist and musical director Billy Stritch have all been preserved with the sparkle of his live performance intact."
LGNY Magazine – "The unmistakable energy and good humor of Mr. Caruso’s live shows, with fellow cabaret star Billy Stritch on piano,
has been beautifully captured on this disc…the CD is one of the finds of the season, a delightful cabaret album
that reveals more subtle pleasures on each listening."
Michael Feinstein – "Funny, facile and fabulous! Caruso performs with charm, wit and style, and is vastly entertaining."
ShowTune Reviews – "Caruso’s comedic flair and timing is flawless. For those who have seen him perform in person, this CD is a great momento. For those who haven’t seen him, this release is sure to create new Caruso fans."
Linda Lavin – "I love this unique and original CD! When Jim regales you with his songs and stories, you feel like you've made a new best friend! There's only one thing better than listening to the CD...and that's being there in person! It's always the event of the season!"
David Hurst, Show Business - "Caruso's sly sense of humor, relaxed banter and -- most enjoyably -- great chemistry with accompanist and musical director Billy Stritch have all been preserved with the sparkle of his live performance intact."
LGNY Magazine – "The unmistakable energy and good humor of Mr. Caruso’s live shows, with fellow cabaret star Billy Stritch on piano,
has been beautifully captured on this disc…the CD is one of the finds of the season, a delightful cabaret album
that reveals more subtle pleasures on each listening."
Album Honors
2002 MAC AWARD - Recording of the Year
#1 Single on OUTVOICE.com (2 weeks)
#1 Album on OUTVOICE.com (3 weeks)
#1 Single on OUTVOICE.com (2 weeks)
#1 Album on OUTVOICE.com (3 weeks)