Little Jazz Bird

Marlene VerPlanck highlights a four-concert summer jazz series at the Montgomery Center for the Arts.

By: Michael Redmond

"Marlene
Marlene VerPlanck will sing with her trio, pianist Tedd Firth, bassist Gary Mazzaroppi and drummer Joe Cocuzzo, June 21 at the Montgomery Center for the Arts in Skillman.


   Even if you have never heard of Marlene VerPlanck, the odds are that you have heard Marlene VerPlanck. She was one of the most sought-after voices for radio and TV commercial jingles, including "Weekends were made for Michelob" and "That’s why Campbell Soups are mm-mm good."
   If you have heard of Marlene VerPlanck, well, then you know that she is a singer’s singer. When it comes to the classic American pop song, few have the way with a melody and a lyric that "Matchless Marlene" — as a British magazine headlined her — has. A long list of jazz greats have testified that this singer swings, so she does double duty — pop and jazz.
   Ms. VerPlanck and her trio (Tedd Firth, piano; Gary Mazzaroppi, bass; Joe Cocuzzo, drums) will be appearing in Skillman June 21 as part of Concerts Under the Stars, the Montgomery Center for the Arts’ four-concert al fresco summer jazz series.
   From Paris to Skillman, as it were: Ms. VerPlanck played clubs in London and Paris this spring. In Blighty she appeared with the Roy Babbington Trio, one of Britain’s hottest jazz groups. In Paris she had the pleasure of performing for audiences that included American fans who just happened to be there.
   Concerts Under the Stars will open May 24 with a performance headlined by drummer Joe Morello, a veteran of the Dave Brubeck Quartet, whose drum solo on "Take Five" was only the intro to a long and illustrious career.
   Also in the series: the Midnight Sun Big Band’s "Tribute to Count Basie" (July 26) and Princeton’s own Laurie Altman, composer and pianist (Sept. 6).
   A longtime resident of Clifton in Passaic County, Ms. VerPlanck works more frequently in her home state than one might think. She has sung solo at Carnegie Hall, Michael’s Pub and the Rainbow Room in New York, she has appeared on national television (Entertainment Tonight, The Today Show), yet gigs at Trumpets in Montclair, the Morris Museum’s Bickford Theatre in Morris Township and her triumphal return, summer after summer, to Memorial Park in Fair Lawn, are important to her.
   "There’s a bunch of places here where I can work, and why not — this is my home, I have a nice following here. You put it all together and maybe you stay a little bit busier than the next singer," she said during a telephone chat. "I like to work. I enjoy working."
   Another reason to keep the home fires burning is to stay close to her partner in life and music, composer and arranger Billy VerPlanck. When this couple met, music started playing, indeed. Marlene has sung and recorded a lot of Billy’s work.
   Ms. VerPlanck has a reputation in the business for two things above and beyond her crystalline voice: a high standard of performance (that’s why artists of the caliber of Herbie Mann, Marian McPartland, George Shearing, Bucky Pizzarelli and Mel Torme have performed with her) and a fascination for finding what she calls "the hidden gems" in the Great American Songbook. You know — the less-than-familiar, even obscure songs by the great names of American theater and popular songwriting.
   "You can’t just rely on the old stuff," she says, "even though you’re not going to find anybody better than Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, Gershwin and so on. People like surprises — and there’s so much wonderful material out there that people never hear."
   She likes to spring these surprises on her audience. It’s not a game of "Name that Tune," but "Name that Songwriter."
   "Some of the greatest reactions I get from audiences comes from the stuff they’ve never heard. I’m always hearing, ‘Where did you get that one?’" Even my accompanists say this."
   The Montgomery Center for the Arts audience will be hearing what Ms. VerPlanck describes as "a potpourri " of classic standards, "hidden gems," and a few tunes from the artist’s latest CD, Speaking of Love, which features the Roy Babbington Trio and Big Band with "special guest" pianist Tommy Flanagan. During her career she has recorded nearly a score of CDs in collaboration with Billy VerPlanck. In several, she worked directly with famous songwriters, such as Richard Adler (Damn Yankees, The Pajama Game) and Alec Wilder.
   For many fans, Marlene VerPlanck is a torch-carrier for a style of popular singing, and an approach to popular singing, which some believe to be fading in the United States, the genre’s birthplace. Ms. VerPlanck is a highly schooled and disciplined vocal artist. Even at this stage of her career, she works with her vocal coach, Maria Farnworth, weekly.
   "People think that you just open your mouth and the voice comes out. I don’t think it works that way," she says.
   "You’ve got to keep your voice up and keep your body up. You’ve got to rehearse every day. And beyond that, you have to find a way to make a particular presentation yours — your soul, your approach, your demeanor. You have to come from somewhere. People think that singing is easy. But you have to do your homework."
   Ms. VerPlanck not only does her homework — she pays her dues.
Marlene VerPlanck will perform at Concerts Under the Stars at the Montgomery Center for the Arts, 124 Montgomery Road, Skillman, June 21. Tickets cost $20, $15 MCA members, $5 under age 12. The series also features Joe Morello, May 24; Midnight Sun Big Band: Tribute to Count Basie, July 26; Laurie Altman, Sept. 6. Picnic baskets are welcome, and food and refreshments will be available from Cibo’s Ristorante & Café. For information, call (609) 921-3272. On the Web: www.montgomerycenterforthearts.com. Marlene VerPlanck on the Web: www.marleneverplanck.com