Husband and Wife Duo Impress with American Standards

Nothing says Broadway music more than a concert by Marin Mazzie and Jason Danieley. The husband-and-wife duo even kicked off their performance  at CSUN's on Saturday with a full orchestral overture.

They call their show Standard Time or, as Danieley promised at the outset, "a great evening of standards."  For two hours they leafed through the pages of the Great American Songbook, delivering each number with vigor, clarity and conviction. Their rich and powerful voices raised each popular song in the evening repertoire to a new level of musical pleasure.

Mazzie and Danieley are, in a sense, purists when it comes to this music. So keenly do they focus on the standards that they have all but eliminated the standard patter you might expect between numbers. There were no amusing anecdotes, no cute repartee, no lengthy introductions and no disclosures of personal feelings they associate with the tunes. In this show, it's all about the music.

Also pure are the renditions of nearly all of the numbers. Here and there, an arrangement is slightly up-tempo or seasoned with a Latin beat but these are, by far, exceptions to the rule. In nearly every case, the numbers were performed exactly as written by Harold Arlen, Cole Porter, Jule Styne, Hoagie Carmichael and the Gershwins.

Fans of America's great standards would have been sufficiently rewarded if Mazzie and Danieley simply took turns singing, which they sometimes did.  Mazzie, resplendent in a full-length green gown in honor of St. Patrick's Day, led off with Cockeyed Optimist from South Pacific and Danieley followed with You Mustn't Kick It Around, the opening number from Pal Joey.

Mazzie dazzled the audience with Carmichael's The Nearness of You and Danieley responded with Love Look Away from the King and I. That number, usually performed by a woman, lost none of its elegance when delivered by Danieley. Each member of the duo has a strong and resonant voice that takes full advantage of the acoustic superiority of the new arts center.

However, the highlights of the performance occurred when the couple, married for 14 years, sang duets, combining their exquisite sounds into a singular musical masterpiece. Such was the case when Mazzie and Daneley joined forces for Arlen's That Old Black Magic, Styne's I've Heard That Song Before,  Arlen and Johnny Mercer's Blues in the Night and Porter's From This Moment On. It was also true for Porter's You're the Top, the encore number which Mazzie dedicated to her Aunt Norma, seated in the audience and celebrating her 95th birthday.

The two performers were backed by the heavenly sound of nearly three dozen members of the CSUN orchestra.

The couple's musical director, Eric Stern, not only conducted the orchestra but, at one point, accompanied himself on the piano as he sang Fascinating Rhythm. Stern's rendition of the Gershwin Brothers number was most enjoyable, though his voice was not in the same league as those of Mazzie and Danieley. Then again, come to think of it, few voices are.