Where have all the baritones gone?
Where are those velvety voices, the likes of Nat King Cole, Sammy Davis Jr., Billy Eckstine, or Johnny Hartman? It seems like, over the years, baritones have been forsaken in the public’s consciousness, thrown over for high tenors in popular music.
Vocalist Keith Spencer can’t answer that question, but he is doing something about this blissful sound we’re missing. He and his quintet are tackling some of the best songs recorded and performed by Cole, Davis, Eckstine, and Hartman, and presenting them in his show, “That Old Black Magic,” coming to the Hopewell Theater on Friday, April 15.
To help celebrate Jazz History Month, Spencer, a showman with a rich, resonant baritone, presents an entertaining, bluesy, and sometimes romantic romp through some of the most recognizable standards of the American Songbook, brought to life by these legendary African-American vocalists.
The evening of music will include treasured compositions such as “Birth of the Blues,” “Orange Colored Sky,” “Route 66,” “It’s Only a Paper Moon,” “Lush Life.” Spencer also has “My Funny Valentine” and “Blue Skies” in his repertoire, both sung by the sensual-voiced Hartman.
Spencer, speaking by phone from his home in Dresher, Pennsylvania, laughs a little when discussing Hartman. “I wonder how many children were conceived while his music was playing. His voice is like Scotch, warm and buttery.”
This is one of the reasons Spencer first imagined “That Old Black Magic” as a show: before these songs and their performers are forgotten or overshadowed by contemporary music, it is deeply satisfying to remind audiences how magical this music was. Plus, he just loves singing these songs.
“The music of today is great, but all those voices are super high,” Spencer says. “Back in the day you had these warm, beautiful baritones. My parents loved the big bands, and I’ve always had appreciation for these crooners who were out in front.”
In addition to the singers, Spencer was captivated by the songs themselves, lovely melodies and clever lyrics, by such songwriters as Cole Porter, Jerome Kern, Harold Arlen, and Hoagie Carmichael.
“I fell in love with those wonderful melodies, those colors, that smoky kind of jazz presence,” he says. “My mother especially loved this music and she shared it with me.”
Spencer will be backed by an ensemble of top-notch regional musicians, his go-to professionals.
Pianist Peter Hilliard is a respected educator, musician, conductor, and composer of band and orchestral music, art song, opera, and musical theater. He is also an assistant professor of music at Villanova University. His son, Jonathan Hilliard, is the quintet’s bassist.
On drums and percussion is Sean Kennedy, noteworthy educator, classical, jazz, and rock performer, author, and member of the Doc Severinsen Tribute Band.
The quintet’s guitarist is multi-instrumentalist/session musician Stephen Kleiman, a longtime professor of music at Arcadia University in Glenside, Pennsylvania, who has performed with symphony orchestras, big bands, and on Broadway.
Violinist Claudia Pellegrini adds distinct flair to the arrangements. Born in Madrid, Spain, Pellegrini is a veteran performer, composer, and teacher, as well as a member of the faculty at the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra. She has played with numerous orchestras in and around Philadelphia.
“She and I have been performing together for quite some time,” he says. “If for nothing else, come to see Claudia — she alone is worth the price of admission.”
One segment of the concert will feature Nat King Cole’s songs in Spanish, a remembrance of his successful foreign language recordings.
“He did a number of Spanish recordings, as well as albums in Italian and Portuguese, and those (records) took off,” Spencer says.
“I’ve done a two-hour tribute to Nat King Cole, and have often thought about his reach, the way he was stepping out (of the music business box) and crossing over,” he adds. “He was really remarkable, such an accomplished artist. He was the first African-American to host a network TV variety show. Cole fought a lot of battles. He was trying to represent (African-Americans), but also play the game.”
Spencer grew up in the Philadelphia suburbs, and his father was a supervisor for the Pennsylvania SPCA. His mother was an elementary school teacher and then a school administrator in Camden for more than 30 years.
“She loved those kids and commuted over an hour a day each way,” Spencer says. “She’s no longer with us, but she left a huge legacy behind.”
Spencer attended Upper Dublin High School in Fort Washington and took part in that school’s excellent music program. He didn’t just sing, though, he played lower brass instruments, playing in the jazz and marching bands, as well as participating in choir and theater.
“At Upper Dublin, they had a great program and passionate teachers, who focused on musical excellence,” he says. “I was surrounded by exceptional people, got to hear them speak about their experiences, got to go to New York City for concerts and shows. I’ve been blessed to be around mentors.”
He says he has sung all his life, but it was in high school where a teacher recognized his talent and took an interest in him, introducing him to musical theater.
“My dream, from early on, was to be on Broadway, in musical theater, which is where many great songs came from originally, and went on to be standards,” Spencer says.
After graduation, Spencer went to Penn State for undergraduate and graduate studies in business, culminating in an MBA, but he might as well have majored in music.
“I was the kid in business school who had to be told, ‘don’t take on any more extracurricular activities,’ but I couldn’t stop performing,” Spencer says.
Spencer has performed in many Philadelphia and regional venues, such as the Prince Music Theatre, Act II Playhouse in Ambler, Pa., Hedgerow Theatre in Media, Pa., and the Broadway Theatre of Pitman, New Jersey.
He has toured nationally with the Broadway Tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Music of the Night,” a revue which showcases the work of the British composer, and has featured Betty Buckley and Melissa Manchester in starring roles.
Over the years, Spencer has played Coalhouse Walker, Jr., in “Ragtime,” Joe from “Showboat,” Sky Masterson in “Guy and Dolls,” the role of Billy in “Carousel,” and Audrey II from “The Little Shop of Horrors,” just to name a few.
Spencer has also done quite a bit of backup singing, sharing the concert stage with Roberta Flack, Rosemary Clooney, and Sandi Patty.
He has had a creative relationship with the Bristol Riverside Theatre in Bristol, Pennsylvania, for many years. Check his website for performances at the BRT, and you’ll see and hear a variety of songs, including rousing renditions of “Too Darn Hot” and “Luck Be a Lady.”
For several seasons, he has enjoyed being part of BRT’s Summer MusicFest, including his one-person show performances in the hit Nat King Cole tribute, “For Sentimental Reasons,” and the big band Cole Porter revue, “Too Darn Hot!”
He has also been on the BRT’s board of trustees for more than a decade, and has been president for about a year.
Elsewhere in the Philadelphia area, he has performed as concert guest artist for organizations such as the Quakertown Concert Band, Capital Singers of Trenton, Abington Choral Club, and the Choral Arts Guild. Spencer is an acclaimed cabaret concert artist and also appears regularly in various ensembles with the entertainment agency, Jump City Music, including the 17-piece Jump City Jazz Orchestra.
In the past few years, Spencer launched a trio of concerts focusing on the African-American experience. In winter 2020, his show “Brothers on Broadway — A Celebration of African-American Leading Men” was performed in partnership with the Capitol Philharmonic of New Jersey at the Patriots Theater at the War Memorial in Trenton, just weeks before live shows went on hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I’m very passionate about staging music that celebrates the African-American experience,” he says. “‘Brothers on Broadway’ is the pinnacle, taking us all the way back to minstrel shows and right up to ‘Hamilton’ on Broadway. It was an amazing concert, right before COVID. Lord willing, we’ll do it again.”
He also created “The Robeson Songbook — A Negro Spiritual & Gospel Celebration of the Music of Paul Robeson,” and was selected as a featured concert soloist for Robeson’s 120th birthday celebration in 2018. The concert, performed at Nassau Presbyterian Church, was hosted by the Paul Robeson House of Princeton.
“Paul Robeson’s music is more classical, and he’s best known for his spirituals, but he was also an activist, (singing) to promote change through music,” Spencer says.
Another special show Spencer created is “We Shall Not be Moved — Songs and Speeches from the Civil Rights Movement.” Excerpts from all three of these programs have been presented on WRTI-90.1 FM in Philadelphia, as part of the radio station’s live in-studio performance series.
Since 2020, Spencer has worked as vice president of customer success for Corcentric of Cherry Hill, a global provider of business spend management and revenue management software and services for mid-market and Fortune 1000 businesses.
His wife is Dr. Amy Spencer, a classically trained soprano and educator, director of Spencer Vocal Studios, and center director for a Music Together school in suburban Philadelphia. The couple has three children, an 11-year-old daughter, Penelope, and 8-year-old twins, Zachary and Vivian.
Spencer is pleased to be performing at the Hopewell Theater, but he would probably be equally glad to sing just about anywhere, as long as there were people listening, a crowd to connect with. The pandemic shutdown didn’t stop his music, but he experienced a sense of isolation being separated from an audience.
“I am so happy to be performing live again,” he says. “The Zoom thing was killing me. It’s been a long time, and so many people I know are overjoyed to be playing in venues again, getting the energy flowing.”
Keith Spencer Quintet performs That Old Black Magic, Hopewell Theater, 5 South Greenwood Avenue, Hopewell. Friday, April 15, 8 p.m. Advanced ticket prices: $35-40; $42, day of the show. All patrons are required to wear a mask inside the theater, and show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test. 609-466-1964 or www.hopewelltheater.com.
For more on Keith Spencer, go to www.keithspencer.com.
