SOULFUL CROONING: Cabaret has a bad rap - and not without good reason. The genre has been marred in recent years by cloying performers who give weight to the classic Saturday Night Live parody created by Bill Murray.
To that end, it's a delight to encounter such a cabaret artist as Willis Moore, who so nicely captures the innately theatrical tone of the genre - while also dodging the camp potholes and injecting a bit of jazz and pop flavor into the mix.
The performer is currently playing gigs in support of his new CD, So Far, a collection of simple yet affecting pop-voice tunes.
Committed to the preservation of cabaret as an art form, Moore's shows are straightforward - a wholly accessible combination of empathetic storytelling, pop standards, and solid original tunes. A transplant from North Carolina by way of New York, he is currently based in San Francisco, where he has become a fixture in such venues as the legendary Plush Room. Folks on the East Coast will recall his gigs at Eighty-Eight's and at Odette's in nearby New Hope, Pa. If you've seen him, you're going to have to see him again and again. He delivers songs with a finesse that's on par with the likes of Michael Crawford. If you enjoy a sweet, sentimental tune, grab a copy of So Far - and then keep an eye on Moore's tour schedule.
- Larry Flick, Billboard, August 11, 2001
A young man sang last night named Willis Moore. He came out and sang two Gerswhin songs simply and beautifully - no tripped up arrangements. The house went crazy.
- Donald Smith, Executive Director of the Mabel Mercer Foundation - appearing on Forum broadcast on KQED - National Public Radio, June 6, 2000
Review of The Mabel Mercer Foundation's Third West Coast Cabaret Convention - A Tribute to Ira Gershwin
It was Moore (with a rich and gentle tenor voice that is a real find) who contributed the first genuine novelties of the evening with the Gershwin brothers' "Ask Me Again" (written in the 20's and not published until 1991, Ira is quoted as saying this was the best of the unpublished works of George and Ira) and "I'll Do Anything." His effort to dig deep into the Gershwin treasure chest provided another early pleasure of the night.
- David M. Schwartz, Cabaret.org, July, 2000
Willis Moore celebrated the release of his debut CD So Far with a series of performances around the country which concluded at the Plush Room on Easter Sunday. His genuine warmth and the sincere sweetness which infuses his well-chosen material is especially effective on If I Only Had A Brain, Unless It's You, and the seamless medley Something Good/On My Way To You. Watch for Moore at opening (all-Gershwin) night of the West Coast Cabaret Convention and the September 30th benefit gala for the James C. Hormel Gay & Lesbian Center of the San Francisco Public Library.
- Cabaret Scenes Magazine, June, 2000
Most surprising was [Rick Jensen's] gentle soft-shoe treatment of "My Baby and Me," a sunshiny Doris Day tune that segues into the darker joys of S/M. The number was deliciously performed by guest vocalist Willis Moore, whose sweet voice and choir boy demeanor proved a perfect foil for the wry lyrics. Moore also sang Jensen's "Amanda Sang," which is currently nominated for Manhattan [Association of Cabaret] Award and which is the song du jour of cabaret singers.
On the following Wednesday, Willis Moore returned to the Plush Room to introduce his new CD, "So Far" to a packed house. Rick Jensen provided an intimate, winning accompnaiment. Moore's program took a fresh look at Rodegers and Hammerstein's "So Far" and "Something Good." He sang the Bergman's/LeGrand "On My Way To You," Tom Wait's "Martha" and "Broken Bicycles," the two aforementioned Jensen numbers, a delicately hopeful "If I Only Had a Brain," and a lilting "Would You Like to Swing on a Star."
Moore is off to Manhattan's Firebird and then returns to the Plush Room on April 16 and 23. Definitely a don't miss!
- San Francisco Bay Times, March 30, 2000
Willis Moore is a teddy bear. Last December, he put together three Sunday benefits at the Plush Room showcasing the talents of local singers. Teddy Care raised over $3,000.00 and 430 cuddly teddy beasts for Shanti and the Children's Ward at SF General Hospital.
Moore is also a wonderful singer. On March 22, he'll take to the Plush Room stage to celebrate the release of his debut CD So Far. His goal for the album, he writes, was "to create an openhearthed musical experience using only a voice and a piano - like an intimate secret whispered softly in your ear." Succeed he does, with an album sweet and simple, and easy to listen to repeatedly.
A carefully chosen if eclectic collection of 12 songs celebrates childhood, romance, and the importance of accepting life's ups and downs. Consider the lilting "It Goes Like It Goes," and the bittersweet "Broken Bicycles" and "Martha," a pair of poignant tunes by Tom Waits. A refreshing rendition of "If I Only Had A Brain," the playful "Pajamas," Annie Dinerman's "Child In Me Again" and an appreciative "I Am Your Child" coalesce into a memory trip back to our youth. Moore wraps his smooth deep voice caressingly around Rodgers and Hammerstein's "So Far" and a medley of "Something Good" and "On My Way To You" by Marilyn and Alan Bergman and Michel Legrand.
Rick Jensen, who supplied the effectively simple arrangements and accompanies Moore on the album is represented by "Amanda Sang" and "My Baby and Me," a charmingly risque reminder of the joys of submission. In concert or on disc, you're certain to take to this talented teddy bear, whose vocalizing comes straight from the heart.
- Jim Van Buskirk, Bay Area Reporter, March 16, 2000
Vocalist/producer Willis Moore put together three Sunday benefits at the Plush Room called Teddy Care, a terrific concept initiated nine years ago by New York drag star Ruby Rims. Moore's trio of local Teddy Care evenings benefited Shanti and the Children's Ward of SF General Hospital with a contribution of over $3,000.00 and 430 cuddly teddy bears. On the third benefit Sunday, Moore opened the festivities with a sweetly sung Pajamas (by Livingston Taylor), that was all the more delightful for its fresh, non-treacly approach to waiting up for Santa.
- San Francisco Bay Times, January 6, 2000
We suggest you grab your sweetie and go hear Willis Moore’s cabaret evening at the Plush Room.
- Posthoc.com, San Francisco, February, 1999
Of course cabaret has a brighter side, and Willis Moore, with his bing-bang-zoom-I'm-in-love optimism, and baby-soft vocal chords, is the archetype. Moore and music director Christopher Winslow, put together a wide-eyed romantic collection of well-crafted original songs and old standards, like the tentatively optimistic translation of "I Must Have Done Something Good." Moore is outrageously self-aware, when he is sentimental and sappy he is unabashed with lilting high-notes, and soliloquies on slowing down in this hurry hurry crazy world, and when he goes for the laughs he gets them with self-lampooning humor and songs like the cutesy My Baby and Me about a picture perfect S&M relationship. Throughout the performance, Moore keeps his audience's attention with tenacious charm.
- Posthoc.com, San Francisco, February, 1999
, June, 1998This dreamy bear is a singer by night and--believe it or not--an attorney by day. New York City cabaret favorite Willis Moore has brought his act from the West Village to the West Coast, and he now calls San Francisco home. Moore sings his heart out in Getting Tall at Piaf's. With pianist Christopher Winslow, Moore's tenor voice covers the musical spectrum from Carole King to Michel LeGrand quite sweetly.
- San Francisco Frontiers
, October, 1997And tonight I saw Willis Moore's last show in NYC for a while - he is moving to San Francisco in a few weeks. This guy can sing! And his show was delightful. Get set, you folks by the bay, for a powerhouse of an entertainer.
- Cabaret Hotline Online
His sweet tenor voice works mellow wonders on Michel Legrand's Little Boy Lost and Barry Manilow's I am Your Child, but his novelty choices are what make the evening. William's Doll, written by Mary Rodgers and Sheldon Harnick, should have been an annoying song forever forgotten, but Moore and musical director Rick Jensen successfully convey with childish innocence the tale of improper toys for boys. And the fear of being picked last has never been more amply detailed as in Baseball Song with Moore the very convincing victim of forced group sports.
He never evokes drama, just a bit of nostalgia and a warm fuzzy feeling that makes for a pleasant show. Near the beginning Moore wonders, 'Wouldn't it be nice if the audience were in their pajamas?' and by the end, you'll wonder if you've already put them on.
- Gregory Young, HX Magazine, July, 1997
I also had a chance to catch Willis Moore's "It's Time" show - twice actually. Willis studied to be a Southern Baptist Preacher, and ended up a New York lawyer. I don't know which profession he is more embarrassed by, but I do know he was one of the finest voices in cabaret - smooth, dreamy and creamy.
- Stu Hamstra, Cabaret Hotline, January, 1997
I was stunned by his great voice and fantastic cabaret style. You will find his show a delightful autobiographical romp.
- Stu Hamstra, Cabaret Hotline, November, 1996