Just wanted to note the passing of two great musicians who probably never played the same room…
Bobby Short was the King of Cabaret Performers, logging four decades at the Cafe Carlyle in New York. I once had the pleasure of enjoying his smooth blend of jazz, old standards and show tunes, and it was a fine (if pricey) evening. There was something very beautiful about the sight and sound of Mr. Short in his tux at the piano. It was just so…right. Here's a link to a piece about him in the New York Times.
Lalo Guerrero was a fine singer-writer of Mexican-American tunes, many of them glorious parodies like "There's No Tortillas," which he composed to the tune of "There's No Tomorrow." His biggest hit was probably "Pancho Lopez," a parody of "The Ballad of Davy Crockett." (The New York Times obit errs and gives its name as "Pancho Sanchez.") And Guerrero was not only the Allan Sherman of Mexico. He had a line of kids' records starring "Las Ardillitas," a band of squirrels who sang with sped voices. If that sounds to you like The Chipmunks…well, Mr. Seville, the creator of Alvin and the Chipmunks, thought so, too. He sued…but Guerrero managed to convince a judge that he'd been making the records before Seville started his series. I never got to see him perform but just last year, I attended a play based on his life and music. He was a very talented man and an important voice for his countryfolks.