SOPHIA BILIDES AT SCULLERS JAZZ CLUB, BOSTON, JUNE 5th

MOON. JUNE. SPRING. SING, ETC. may sound like a string of cliches, but for cabaret vocalist Sophia Bilides it was the only title possible for a song list that turned out to be a celebration of, yes, the moon, June, and spring. Why not state the obvious and then have fun with it? So much fun, in fact, that Bilides will reprise last year's acclaimed show, once again at SCULLERS JAZZ CLUB (400 Soldiers Field Road, Allston, MA - 617-562-4111 - http://www.scullersjazz.com/) on Tuesday, June 5th at 8:00 pm (one show only, tickets $12). The Doug Hammer Trio will provide musical support, and local cabaret diva Jan Peters will join Bilides in a duet, one of several new songs mixed with last year's favorites.

Yip Harburg and Harold Arlen first laid out the theme in their novelty tune "I Love To Sing-a (about the moon-a and the June-a and the spring-a)" which Bilides uses to set the mood for an evening of swinging cabaret. There's Johnny Mercer's critter-happy "Spring, Spring, Spring" which lists the procreation habits of various species, as well as his saucy paean to June fireflies, "Glow-worm," and his seldom heard, jauntily optimistic "June Comes Around Every Year." Even Dorothy Parker is found in a good mood, with her lyrics to the romantic "I Wished On The Moon." And spring is definitely in the air, with the promise of Legrand & Bergman's "You Must Believe in Spring," the democracy of Burke and Van Heusen's "It's Anybody's Spring," and the anti-cynicism of "They Say It's Spring," the kind of lesser known tune Bilides delights in sharing.

Bilides' penchant for medleys guarantees several pairings. The yearning of "How High The Moon" segues into Berlin's winsome gem "Reaching For the Moon," the wink of "No Moon At All" swings into "Old Devil Moon," and "Moonglow" gives way to a '~Moonburn." The pastoral blending of Wilder's "It's So Peaceful In The Country" and Latouche's "Lazy Afternoon" reflects the twenty years Bilides spent in rural western Massachusetts before relocating to Boston four years ago.

Bilides is a musical transplant as well: she is nationally known as a singer of Greek cabaret, and has performed across the country for many years. Her relatively recent immersion in the American cabaret scene is a natural extension of her lifelong enthusiasm for the Great American Songbook, but she also remains close to her second-generation Greek-Italian musical background. Her Greek singing style is hinted at in her Middle Eastern version of the comic "Come On-a My House," which she includes in the show as the ultimate marriage proposal (June being, after all, the prime month for weddings).

Sophia's web site can be found at http://www.sophiabilides.com/

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