Marilyn Maye has retained her gorgeous voice and love of connecting with audiences as she continues performing as a sought-after cabaret singer well into her ninth decade.
Full of dynamic energy and a fabulous voice, the legendary “Marvelous” Marilyn Maye opens this season’s Live at the Orinda! concert series.
The multi-award-winning jazz and cabaret legend brings a plethora of music and stories from her long career to the Orinda Theatre on Oct. 4 at 5 p.m.
Maye will be accompanied by her long-time pianist and arranger Tedd Firth, plus two local musicians on bass and drums. Maye and Firth have been performing together for 20 years, communicating effortlessly like an old married couple. A smile here and a funny face there allows them to use their own wordless language as they seamlessly navigate tunes from the American Songbook as well as pop selections.
“We kind of read each other. He [Firth] is just unusually brilliant. There’s hardly anybody like him,” said Maye.
Introduced to the American Songbook by her mother Lyla McLaughlin, an accomplished piano player, Maye won a singing contest singing Jerome Kern’s “Look for the Silver Lining” when she was only nine. The prize was a 13-week radio spot during which she earned a total of $3.
“That was the beginning of my career,” Maye said. “Then in high school, I’d work in various clubs on weekends. All these years later, I feel very fortunate to still be working and loving it.”
Maye performed in Des Moines, Iowa, during the 1940s and 1950s until discovered in 1963 by Steve Allen, later appearing on his television show six times. An RCA Victor executive happened to be watching one of the shows and was impressed by the young performer, leading to Maye’s first recording contract followed by several albums.
Later, Johnny Carson fell in love with her voice and upbeat personality, calling her a “super singer,” and booked her on 76 episodes of “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson,” the most appearances of any singer in the show’s history.
Maye quickly established herself as a sought-after cabaret performer in New York where she still performs several nights a week when not on tour around the country.
If you’ve ever seen Maye perform in person or watched one of the many You-Tube videos of her performances, you can’t help but be struck by the intimate atmosphere she creates between herself and the audience.
“I endeavor to sing to each person,” said Maye. “I tell my students that you sing ‘to’ the audience not ‘at’ them. They are the star. They’ve given up their time, money and energy to come and hear you, and you need to really appreciate that.”
Maye’s long career has led to many friendships in the industry, including a close friendship with Ella Fitzgerald, who referred to Maye as “the greatest white female singer in the world.”
Maye’s favorite song “What Good is Sitting Alone in Your Room?” from the musical “Cabaret” expresses her philosophy on life. While many performers retire long before they hit their 90s, Maye prefers to keep on singing and meeting new people, which included celebrating her 95th birthday with a solo concert at Carnegie Hall.
When not performing, Maye teaches master voice classes and mentors young singers. One of her favorites is Canadian sensation David Marino, who has performed three times at the Orinda concert series.
“He is just the sweetest thing,” Maye said. “He was recently performing in a show in Paris for quite a while, and bless his heart, he flew back to the U.S. to sing at Orinda’s concert series.”
While Maye has performed many times at San Francisco’s Nikko, this will be her first time in Orinda.
“I’ve heard raves about the room and I’m very excited to be coming to Orinda,” Maye said.
When asked how she has so much stamina and such a wonderful voice after nine decades of performing, she said: “I just keep moving. I love what I do, and by this time, I know what I’m doing!”
For tickets to Marvelous Marilyn, go to orindamovies.com/live-at-orinda/.
