Marilyn Maye

Marilyn Maye is billed for a solo vocal appearance at Birdland Theater, with no accompanying musicians or specific program named for this date. The listing offers no record-release, guest, tribute, or other special-theme details. What is clear is a night built around Maye’s song performance, in the Manhattan room whose history and table seating put the focus on listening.

Maye is a singer, actress, director, arranger, educator, and Grammy Award-nominated recording artist. She made 76 appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, a record for a singer; after one performance, Carson told viewers, “And that, young singers, is the way it’s done.” Steve Allen’s early television presentations led to an RCA contract, seven albums, and 34 singles. The Smithsonian selected her recording of “Too Late Now” for its album of the 110 Best American Compositions of the Twentieth Century. A Birdland engagement announcement describes Songbook standards and “unexpected musical treats,” while The New York Times called her “an ageless dynamo.” Will Friedwald wrote that she can satisfy Broadway and cabaret listeners seeking theatrical drama as well as jazz listeners who want a set that swings.