Ann Hampton Callaway likens her evening of jazz with Ramsey Lewis and his trio to a lovefest. The pairing of the singer-songwriters at Warner Theatre promises a program of unexpected takes on pop standards together with original pieces that stretch emotional and instrumental limits.
If you go
The Ramsey Lewis Trio and Ann Hampton Callaway
Where: Warner Theatre, 1299 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
When: 8 p.m. Saturday
Info: $28 to $58; 202-785-9727; wpas.org
“We share the Chicago jazz tradition and a joyful spirit that gives us a distinctive approach to music,” Callaway said. “The impetus for getting together is that we’re both songwriters who enjoy taking risks. We open together, I finish the first half of the show, he begins the second half, and we close with an improv session where we’re flying without a net. When I’m sitting backstage listening to him, I’m blown away.” Like Lewis, Callaway is a musical force who delights in felling boundaries. Her recordings showcase her lush vocals that can elicit memories of Ella Fitzgerald and the big band tradition one moment and steamy ballads suitable for the wee small hours the next. The title song of her latest recording, “At Last,” is a jazzy sit-up-and-take notice rendition of the evergreen Harry Warren number composed for a forgettable movie. Subsequent recordings by Glenn Miller, Nat King Cole and Etta James cemented its place in the Great American Songbook; Callaway’s version illuminates her originality.
“There have been several versions out since Obama’s inauguration, but I believe I’m the only person who recorded the verse,” she said. “It may have been the best time historically for that song to return to the spotlight.”
Callaway is talented in multiple areas. When she is not working as singer, pianist, composer, arranger, teacher or producer, her acting ability comes to the fore in concerts, television appearances, theatrical tributes and feature films. Broadway recognized it by honoring her performance in the musical “Swing!” with a Tony nomination, and London hailed “Sibling Rivalry,” the musical show she created and performed with her sister, Liz Callaway. Early next season, the two will star at Strathmore in “Boom,” their brand-new show inspired by the songs of the 1960s and ’70s.
“Many of the songs I sing and record are those that go back to the standards I listened to as a child,” she said. ” ‘Boom’ focuses, instead, on the more contemporary songs that mean a lot to the boomer generation. This will be a happening they can appreciate.”
Last month Callaway was among those honored at Shine On, Good Housekeeping Magazine’s 125th-anniversary celebration of women making their mark. She strolled the red carpet along with Meryl Streep, Brooke Shields, Cheryl Tiegs, Candice Bergen, Aretha Franklin, Dorothy Hamill and other women of distinction.
Outstanding entertainer though she is, her greatest influence on society may emerge from the more than 250 songs she has composed. Many, such as the deliciously rhythmic “Finding Beauty,” are surprising gems tucked into her albums or a concert set. Others are composed for such major artists as Barbra Streisand and in company with good friends like Carole King.
Fans of the TV show “The Nanny” still hum the theme song she wrote and recorded. Especially proud of the songs she created to aid those affected by tragedies, she performed “Let the Saints Come Marching” on a national TV broadcast to honor the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Her tribute to the tsunami survivors, “Who Can See the Blue the Same Again?” was released as a single to raise money for the Tsunami Fund of the PRASAD Project.
“It’s a grass-roots organization with no red tape,” she said. “I heard back from people who helped fix the fishing nets so badly needed. They moved quickly and brilliantly to change lives. Right now I’m trying to get my powerful anthem for global warming out there. Sometimes I feel like the Emily Dickinson of song because I often put something on the back burner until a challenge like that arises.”
