#benboecker

In an era when algorithms pick your playlist and corporate suits decide what counts as authentic, Jim Caruso's Cast Party at Birdland stands as the real deal: a weekly reminder that live music still matters when it's done right, no gimmicks required.For over twenty years, Caruso has quietly revolutionized Monday nights in Manhattan, transforming what could've been just another open mic ego fest into something that works. It's a place where Broadway heavyweights share the stage with up-and-coming artists, and somehow, everybody wins.

Jim Caruso, Host of Jim Caruso's Cast Party at Birdland Jazz NYC. Courtesy @jimcaruso1 on Instagram Caruso didn't just wake up one day and decide to become the unofficial mayor of Monday night music. He paid his dues the hard way—singing and dancing his way through the ranks until he earned the right to share stages with Liza Minnelli at the Palace Theatre, Carnegie Hall, Hollywood Bowl, the whole nine yards. And when the pandemic shut everything down, he proved his chops by keeping the community alive with "Pajama Cast Party"—showing that real hosts adapt while keeping the essential spirit intact.

What Makes Cast Party Different from Other NYC Showcases

Caruso's got that rare gift for making stars and up-and-comers feel equally at home, which is harder than it sounds in a town where your résumé determines which table you get. His genius isn't keeping people out—it's letting them in and watching what happens when preparation meets the unexpected moment.

Billy Stritch and Jim Caruso on Stage at Jim Caruso's Cast Party at Birdland Jazz NYC. Photo by Kevin Alvey Caruso represents something increasingly endangered in our pixel-perfect world: the person who believes that human voices connecting with human hearts beat any algorithm ever invented. While the rest of the music business chases digital perfection and auto-tuned everything, he's holding down the fort for live, unfiltered, unrepeatable moments that matter precisely because they can't be replicated. It's like he's preserving something essential that we didn't realize we were losing until it was almost gone.

The Monday Night Magic at Birdland Jazz Club

Every Monday night, Birdland fills up with the kind of mix you don't see anywhere else: Broadway veterans swapping war stories with industry sharks, longtime fans settling in next to some first-timers who wandered in off the street. The conversations buzz with insider gossip and genuine musical passion as the room prepares for whatever's going to happen next.When Caruso finally hits the mic with that trademark grin, the anticipation becomes electric. This isn't just another showcase—it's a weekly celebration of what happens when real talent meets real audience, no safety net required.The Art of Musical HospitalityCaruso possesses many talents. While he is a gifted performer himself, he helps others perform better than they thought they could. He has perfect timing, genuine warmth, and the rare ability to turn nervous energy into something productive. Equal parts cheerleader, therapist, and master of ceremonies, he makes sure everyone gets their moment to shine, whether they're headlining Lincoln Center next week or singing in public for the first time just a few steps from Times Square.That's what separates him from the wannabe hosts and industry climbers: he gives a damn about the music and the people making it.

The Band That Breathes With the Singers

Holding down the fort is composer, pianist, and singer Billy Stritch, Caruso's longtime partner-in-crime and the kind of Grammy-winning pro who made Liza Minelli and Tony Bennett sound even better than they already were. With Michael O'Brien anchoring on bass and Daniel Glass keeping perfect time on drums, this trio doesn't just accompany—they anticipate, respond, and create musical magic out of thin air.

Billy Stritch, composer, singer, pianist. Courtesy billystritch.com No rehearsal? These cats don't sweat it. While some performers brought charts, the rhythm section possesses that telepathic quality separating real musicians from the sheet music crowd, building arrangements on the spot that sound as if they spent weeks in the studio. Stritch's piano doesn't just support the singers—it converses with them, challenges them, lifts them up when they need it most.This isn't background music. It's three pros who understand that their job is making everyone else sound like stars, whether they're backing a Broadway legend or some kid who walked in off the street with a dream and a song. The night doesn't just feature performances—it creates those unrepeatable moments when everything clicks and the room remembers why live music matters.

Broadway Royalty Meets Bright New Voices

The evening opened with Caruso and Stritch delivering a buoyant “There’s the Kind of Walk You Walk” (Cole Porter), segueing into “We’re in the Money” (Harry Warren/Al Dubin) and “Pennies from Heaven” (Arthur Johnston/Johnny Burke). The tone was jubilant, the house rapt.Michael Winther stepped up with that unmistakable Broadway swagger—eight shows' worth of professional confidence that can't be faked or taught. This cat's got the real deal: technique that serves the song instead of showing off, dramatic instincts that know when to push and when to pull back, and enough genuine soul to make you forget you're watching someone who probably rehearsed this bit fifty times. His voice filled the room without effort, but it was the silences that killed—those perfectly timed pauses that let the audience lean in and feel like they were getting something personal. Winther understands that Broadway training means nothing if you can't find the human truth underneath all that polish. He found it, shared it, and left the room wanting more. That's what separates the pros from the pretenders. Gravitas, artistry, and soul.

Michael Winther on Center Stage at Jim Caruso's Cast Party at Birdland Jazz NYC. Photo by Edward Kliszus Ava Nicole Francis took "Make It Work" from the Jingle Jangle soundtrack and proved that contemporary material doesn't have to sound like it was focus-grouped to death. She's got that rare quality of making new songs sound like standards—not by aging them up but by finding the timeless emotional core that good songwriting always contains. Her voice moves from whisper to roar without losing the thread, and she's smart enough to know that technique means nothing if you're not telling a story. Francis inhabited that song completely, her face reflecting every emotional shift as if she were living it in real time. The audience was hanging on every note, gasping at the vulnerable moments, and cheering the powerful ones. By the end, she'd turned Philip Lawrence's soundtrack tune into something that belonged in the Great American Songbook.

Jim Caruso welcomes Ava Nicole Francis to Center Stage at Jim Caruso's Cast Party at Birdland Jazz NYC. Photo by Edward Kliszus Jordyn Holt attacked Elton John's "Crocodile Rock" like she was personally responsible for keeping rock and roll alive in a world gone soft. With Billy Stritch backing her vocals and turning the joint into a proper dance hall, Holt proved that sometimes the best interpretation is pure, infectious joy delivered with enough conviction to make cynics believe in fun again. She moved like she meant it, sang like she lived it, and by the final chorus had transformed an intimate cabaret into a Saturday night party. No irony, no winking at the audience—just a performer who understands that Elton's glam-rock classic works because it celebrates the simple pleasure of music that makes you move.

L-R: Jordyn Holt and Michael O'Brien, Bass on stage at Jim Caruso's Cast Party at Birdland Jazz NYC. Photo by Edward Kliszus David Marino, in his crisp navy suit, made "Call Me Irresponsible" sound like the smoothest confession you'd ever want to hear. This guy's got that honeyed voice that could sell ice to Eskimos, but he's smart enough to use it in the service of the song rather than just showing off his pipes. His phrasing shows profound respect for the Great American Songbook tradition—every note placed with the kind of precision that comes from understanding what Sinatra and Bennett were doing when they made this stuff look effortless. The trio knew their job was to support, not compete, laying down a foundation that sparkled. Marino's got that natural stage presence that draws you in like you're the only person in the room. The audience was sighing, smiling, and yeah, probably swooning a little. Sometimes old-fashioned charm delivered with genuine skill is precisely what the world needs.

L-R: Billy Stritch, Piano, and David Marino, Center Stage at Jim Caruso's Cast Party at Birdland Jazz NYC. Photo by Edward Kliszus

Spotlight Moments and Showbiz Lore

Jane Scheckter turned Cole Porter's "It's All Right With Me" into a 4 AM confession you'd overhear at some dimly lit joint on MacDougal Street. She's got that smoky thing down cold—not the fake Lauren Bacall bit everyone tries, but the real McCoy, like she lived in those lyrics about settling for second best. Her voice wraps around Porter's sophisticated heartbreak with the kind of world-weary wisdom that makes you believe she's been there, done that, and lived to sing about it. No theatrical gestures, no cabaret school posturing—just a dame and a song and enough honest emotion to make the room forget it's 1967. The crowd sat there mesmerized, probably thinking about their compromises.

Jane Scheckter Center Stage at Jim Caruso's Cast Party at Birdland Jazz NYC. Photo by Edward Kliszus Broadway’s Max Von Essen (Star of Chicago, An American in Paris) joined Dez Duron (The Voice, Maybe Happy Endings). They took "I Can't Give You Anything But Love" (McHugh/Fields) and proved that Broadway polish doesn't have to kill street soul. Von Essen's got that Great White Way precision down pat—every note where it should be, every phrase perfectly shaped like he learned it from the original cast album. But Duron's the wild card here, bringing some of that contemporary edge that keeps things from getting too museum-piece. Together, they found something cooking between old-school class and new-school sass. The harmonies worked because neither guy was trying to show the other up—just two pros having fun with a Depression-era tune that somehow still makes sense when rent's due and love's all you've got to offer.

Max Von Essen and Dez Duron Center Stage at Jim Caruso's Cast Party at Birdland Jazz NYC. Photo by Edward Kliszus Ava Isabella, singing "Hopelessly Devoted to You" with Ava Gardner's DNA flowing through her veins—now that's what I call cosmic casting. She has that family resemblance in her bones, not trying to channel Aunt Ava, but carrying that same quality of making vulnerability look glamorous. Her take on the Olivia Newton-John weeper was neither slavish imitation nor radical reinvention, but rather an honest interpretation from someone who understands what devotion costs. The stage lights caught her just right, creating that old Hollywood glow that money can't buy but genes sometimes deliver. Pure and clear without being precious, she made a teenybopper ballad sound like it belonged in the same room with Porter and Rodgers. That's talent, folks.

Ava Isabella on stage at Jim Caruso's Cast Party at Birdland Jazz NYC. Photo by Edward Kliszus Then came Bryce Edwards with his banjo and his Maurice Chevalier translation project—this cat's either a genius or completely around the bend, and frankly, I'm not sure it matters. He has that vaudevillian spark that died sometime around 1955, but he's somehow keeping it alive through sheer charisma and musical chops. His self-penned English version of "Wait 'Til You See Ma Chérie" captured all of Chevalier's Continental charm while adding his brand of American mischief. The banjo wasn't just nostalgia bait—Edwards made it swing, made it matter, made it feel like the hippest instrument in the room—pure entertainment in an age that's forgotten what that means. The audience ate it up like cotton candy at a county fair.

LR: Billy Stritch, Bryce Edwards, and Michael O'Brien at Jim Caruso's Cast Party at Birdland Jazz. Photo by Edward Kliszus Jenna Esposito channeling Connie Francis with "Where the Boys Are" (Neil Sedaka/Howard Greenfield)—talk about swimming upstream in the Age of Aquarius. But this chick's got the goods: genuine enthusiasm, technical chops, and enough honest joy to make even the most cynical Village folkie remember why they loved pop music before they knew they weren't supposed to. She understood that celebrating Francis means celebrating an era when songs could be both sophisticated and fun without apology. Her voice carried that bobby-sox optimism without the period piece phoniness, making spring break eternal sound like a reasonable life goal. Sometimes you need someone to remind you that not all innocence is false consciousness. Esposito did that and then some.

Jenna Esposito Center Stage at Jim Caruso's Cast Party at Birdland Jazz NYC. Photo by Edward Kliszus

Jazz, Soul, and the Power of Original Songs

Isaac “Algonzo” Ketter’s alto sax tribute to Luther Vandross filtered through David Sanborn and gospel—that's a pedigree that doesn't lie. This cat's horn tells stories that words would only mess up, finding that sweet spot where technical mastery meets spiritual truth. His sound has that church-trained edge that turns every phrase into a testimony, but is sophisticated enough for the jazz heads who think emotion is suspect. The Sanborn influence (just a hint!) lends it a contemporary bite, while its gospel roots keep it honest. Watching him build a solo is like watching architecture happen in real time—every note planned but feeling spontaneous. The room went quiet in that special way that occurs when musicians stop showing off and start revealing themselves.

Isaac “Algonzo” Ketter, Alto Saxophone, Center Stage at Jim Caruso's Cast Party at Birdland Jazz NYC. Photo by Kevin Alvey Reilly Wilmit made Adam Gwon's "Don't Want to Be Here" (Adam Gwon/Ordinary Days) sound like the confessional folk song it secretly aspires to be. She possesses that rare gift of making personal pain universally relatable without turning it into performance art or a therapy session. Her voice carries weight without heaviness, finding hope in despair through pure vocal intelligence rather than false optimism. Wilmit understands that the best contemporary songwriting doesn't abandon melody for meaning but finds ways to make them inseparable. This was one of those moments when the boundary between performer and audience dissolved completely.