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Kate McGarry + Keith Ganz Ensemble: What to Wear in the Dark

By Dan McClenaghan
October 19, 2021
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Kate McGarry + Keith Ganz Ensemble: What to Wear in the Dark

Let us start with a nod to Steely Dan, the rock/jazz group headed up by Walter Becker and Donald Fagen, a pair of tunesmiths who hit a career zenith in the early 1970s with albums like Can't Buy A Thrill (1972), Countdown To Ecstasy (1973), Pretzel Logic (1974) and Aja (1974), all on ABC Records. The group drew in top jazz artists to help craft their albums—saxophonists

Wayne Shorter

saxophone
1933 - 2023

" data-original-title="" title="">Wayne Shorter and

Tom Scott

saxophone, tenor
b.1948

" data-original-title="" title="">Tom Scott, guitarists

Larry Carlton

guitar
b.1948

" data-original-title="" title="">Larry Carlton and

Lee Ritenour

guitar
b.1952

" data-original-title="" title="">Lee Ritenour, drummers

Steve Gadd

drums
b.1945

" data-original-title="" title="">Steve Gadd and Rick Marotta—shaping high-polish productions featuring catchy melodies and cerebral lyrics to form up their pop/rock artistry.

Taking a tangent off from this digression we run into vocalist Kate McGarry's What To Wear In the Dark. Comparisons to Steely Dan? Beautiful production, meticulous arrangements and a bunch of top notch jazz players—

Gary Versace

piano

" data-original-title="" title="">Gary Versace on keyboards,

Ron Miles

cornet
1963 - 2022

" data-original-title="" title="">Ron Miles on cornet,

Clarence Penn

drums
b.1968

" data-original-title="" title="">Clarence Penn on drums,

Keith Ganz

guitar
b.1972

" data-original-title="" title="">Keith Ganz of the Keith Ganz Ensemble on guitars— creating the backdrops for McGarry's pure-toned everywoman deliveries on tunes mostly familiar, shaped into often unconventional readings of (again, mostly) pop/rock tunes of the 1960s and 1970s.

McGarry offers up her distinctive take on Steely Dan's "Barrytown," Paul Simon's "The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)," The Eagles' "Desperado" and George Harrison's "Here Comes the Sun." She picks her composers well, opening with the one Great American Songbook tune of the set, "Dancing in The Dark," featuring a spare arrangement with Gary Versace's sighing accordion playing prominently in the mix.

McGarry has the rare ability to deliver a tune with remarkable immediacy—like she is singing it just for you. She sings "Barrytown" with a bounce in her step, with a hopeful self assurance, a clear-eyed aplomb. On Joni Mitchell's "Both Sides Now" McGarry's delivery is angelic, the harp (actually Keith Ganz' acoustic guitar) in a perfect, heavenly simpatico with the singer's inward-looking vocal.

Then there is "Life, I love you," a line from Paul Simon's "The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)." It is one of Simon's happiest tunes. McGarry opens with a minute long, rapid fire rant (penned by pianist

Hal Galper

piano
1938 - 2025

" data-original-title="" title="">Hal Galper) about the travails of the working jazz artist, backed by Ron Miles' scratchy cornet complaint, before shifting into the simple melody in which she sings that "Life, I love you," line, drawing, apparently, on the balm the tune served up for her during difficult times.

The set wraps up with "It Happens All The Time In Heaven," penned in part by McGarry, from "The Subject Tonight Is Love" by poet Daniel Ladinsky. Again, she sings just for you, with a beautifully spare and crisp arrangement featuring Versace on organ and Ganz on acoustic guitar, closing up a masterfully-produced, highlight-filled recording.

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Track Listing

Dancing In The Dark; Barrytown; Both Sides Now; God Moves on the City; 59th St Bridge Song (w/intro from Hal Galper's A Touring Musician); Desperado; Anthem; On The Road to Find Out; Here Comes The Sun; It Happens All The Time In Heaven.

Personnel

Keith Ganz

guitar

Kate McGarry

vocals

Ron Miles

cornet

Gary Versace

piano

Obed Calvaire

drums

Sean Smith

bass, acoustic

Clarence Penn

drums

Becca Stevens

vocals

Erin Bentlage

vocals

Michelle Willis

vocals

Christian Euman

drums

James Shipp

percussion

Album information

Title: What to Wear in the Dark | Year Released: 2021 | Record Label: Resilience Music Alliance

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