Matt Dusk @ Cain Park 8/15/09

I’m a pushover for the songs of the 30s to the late 60s, when the words told a story, and the music matched the verbal image. Together, these songs compel one to listen. Really listen, in order to get the meaning. So when I heard about the ‘Canadian crooner’ Matt Dusk, I thought, ‘why not?’

Cain Park’s Evans Amphitheater may not have been the best venue for him, but his highly-amplified four-piece band would have totally overpowered the smaller Alma. Dusk performs a combination of jazz and cabaret, which make for rather strange bed-fellows, methinks. Jazz usually holds up well to reasonable amplification, but cabaret is too personal, too lonely, too love-lorn to lend itself well to loud. Add in an out-of-balance sound mix, and you get uneven results. This was most noticeable whenever there was sax, guitar or drums involved, and Dusk sort of disappeared into the background. He was most effective when singing with just the piano, or maybe piano and string bass. In One For My Baby—the epitome of smoky, mournful cabaret music, the addition of brushes by the drummer totally enhanced the performance. It was the highlight of the show for me.

Still, I think Matt Dusk is to be commended for following an art form that was mostly passé before he was born—he’s still only 30. He has an easy stage manner with a nice line of patter, and seems very comfy in the spotlight as he moves around a good bit, mike in hand. On occasion, he exhibited some exotic dance moves. He was also very generous in acknowledging his excellent band: Adrean Farrugia, piano; Ross McIntyre, guitar and bass; Ben Riley, drums and Steve McDonald, tenor sax. (I know I’m an old-fogey, but I also thought it very neat that all of them were dressed in suit and tie!)

A good many of the songs performed are from his two CDs (Back In Town and The Way It Is) and are heavily drawn from the crooner repertoire. Dusk confesses to being especially fond of the styling of Frank Sinatra, with a nod here and there to Dean Martin and Harry Connick, Jr. He’s also fond of Cole Porter and the Gershwins. The somewhat small audience seemed very familiar with Dusk, and cheered loudly throughout the evening.

Particularly enjoyable to me were The Best Is Yet To Come, Don't Get Around Much Anymore,I’ll Be Around When He’s Gone, As Time Goes By (with great piano!), They've Got A Lot Of Coffee In Brazil (great dance moves!), Mack The Knife, and in a tribute to a fellow Canadian, Paul Anka, as well as an encore--My Way.

More information about Matt Dusk may be found here: http://www.mattdusk.com/index.html. Cain Park’s season runs through Sunday, August 23. For more info, visit the site: http://www.cainpark.com or call 216.371.3000.

by Cool Cleveland contributor Kelly Ferjutz, who writes: "I love music and writing about it. I hope to keep on doing it for a long, long time! I write, therefore I am."

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