Teach Me Tonight - Performing with Liza Minnelli

It was a Saturday night two weeks ago and I'd just got back to my hotel room in Paris after a wonderful night celebrating a friend's 80th birthday with a dinner cruise along the Seine when I got the call.

"Would you like to play keyboards for the opening weekend of Liza Minnelli's Australian Tour?"

As someone who has been familiar with Minnelli's work for most of my life, the answer needed no consideration.

Liza's regular drummer Mike Berkowitz had another commitment that weekend and wasn't able to join the band until they reached Perth, the second stop on the tour. The drummer has always been crucial in Liza's band - before Mike, Bill LaVorgna had been her musical director for many years. Since the drum chair is so crucial it made sense that it should be filled by someone very familiar with Liza's show. Step up Rick Cutler, who although he is foremost a drummer, usually plays keyboard with Minnelli's ensemble. Rick took over the drumkit for the performances at the Concert Hall at the Sydney Opera House, leaving the keyboard chair to be fillled by me.

I'd been emailed a copy of some of the music and was told to bring my tux and be at the stage door of the Opera House at 3.30pm on Friday afternoon. Once I met the great bunch of guys that make up the rest of the band, Billy Stritch and Cutler ran us through the charts in the order that we'd play them that evening. I can't describe the energy of that band and the adrenaline that I felt surge through me as I had the chance to play with these incomparable musicians.

Liza arrived a little later and we completed the rehearsal/soundcheck by 6pm. I was excited and nervous about the show. I knew I would be flying by the seat of my pants that night but I had confidence in the band and I was determined to play my part as well as I possibly could. It's not every night you get to play with a band this experienced - and it's a challenge to sight read music you're not totally familiar with WHILE you're also trying to watch one of the world's foremost entertainers as she sings and dances on stage just in front of you!

The two concerts I played on the Friday and Saturday nights have got to be about the most thrilling experiences I've ever had on stage. The roar of applause and the instant standing ovation from the 2000 strong audience as Liza glided onstage on Friday night made me feel almost as though I was playing keyboard at a massive rock concert. The love from the audience was palpable and Minnelli accepted the energy the audience gave her and then gave it back two fold. Her performance is astonishing. Maybe at 63 she doesn't kick as high or hold her notes quite as long, but she gives each song the full benefit of her accumulated stage craft and life experience.

I was really honoured to be able to share the stage with Liza and her musicians and I told her so when I thanked her after the second performance. Right now it seems hard to imagine what work the future holds that will match that moment in it's excitement, but I think the lesson for me is to take everything I saw and heard that night and make sure that I apply the same professionalism and dedication to making every note count that I was aware of on that stage to every moment I'm at the piano.

Liza plays Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane and Melbourne before bringing her Australian tour to a close with one final performance in Sydney. I can't urge you strongly enough to get tickets to see her amazing show. You will love it.

Comments

[tanya]

Wow!! now let me get this extraordinary story straight. You had under two weeks to prepare for this gig of a lifetime and didn't get to rehearse with the band until a few hours before the show, then pulled it off? What was Liza Minnelli like to work with? What about Billy Stritch? Where they how you expected them to be like? Did Liza share any interesting stories with you? What was the most memorable thing about the 2 shows that you played? How did you handle the pressure of performing with not one but TWO legendary, supremely talented artists? They must have been very impressed with you. Congratulations!

[JT]

I really like the picture with you and Liza Minnelli.
Which song did you enjoy playing with her and the band the most?

[Matthew Carey]

True, I didn't get a lot of opportunity to rehearse with the band for these shows, but the guys in the band were so good and so supportive that I wasn't as nervous at the first show as I thought I'd be.

I enjoyed playing all the songs in the concert, however the opening number "Teach Me Tonight" got a huge roar from the audience as Liza appeared on stage at the beginning of the concert. It was definitely a highlight to feel that energy radiating from the audience.

Billy Stritch is a fabulous musician and singer, and a really nice guy. He was thoroughly encouraging and generous while I was working with him, and I had the chance to have lunch and chat with him a few days later in Adelaide.

I didn't spend much time one on one with Liza but she was absolutely lovely and a total professional on stage and off. We didn't stop and chat but she did take the time to thank me for my work with the band after my final show and that's when I had the above photo taken.

It was a great experience that I'll remember with pride!