When Jazz Had the Blues Reviews
Broadway World- Highly Recommended
"...The remarkable musicians (led by musical director Rahn Coleman on keyboard) all get their opportunities to shine in the beginning overture - Quentin Dennard on drums, Michael Saucier on bass, Woodard on saxophone, Eric Butler on trumpet, and Stephan Terry, also on keyboard. Compliments to Sound Designer Christopher Moscatiello for allowing the exquisitely sung lyrics to always be heard over the tuneful instruments. Very clever to have the piano that Lawson and Brown don't actually play, wired for sound."
Edge- Highly Recommended
"...This strikingly elegant production, on the wide stage of The Matrix, one of L.A.'s premier small venues, boasts a six-piece band, a cast of actors capable of singing and dancing, as well as acting, who bring the era and the characters very much alive. "
LA Splash- Highly Recommended
"...Playwright Carole Eglash-Kosof's searing new musical, "When Jazz Had the Blues" centers on the life of musical genius, Billy Strayhorn, and his uneasy relationships with Lena Horne and Duke Ellington, as well as Billy's lover, Aaron Bridgers. It was the era of jazz, big bands, and the greatest music ever written."
Stage Scene LA- Highly Recommended
"...He was the love of Lena Horne's life. He ghostwrote and/or arranged many of Duke Ellington's Greatest Hits. He lived an openly gay life three full decades before Stonewall. He was Billy Strayhorn, and if the name doesn't ring a bell, playwright Carole Eglash-Kosoff aims to rectify that with her elucidating, engrossing, enormously entertaining World Premiere musical drama When Jazz Had The Blues."
ArtsInLA- Highly Recommended
"...Under the smooth and effortless direction of John Henry Davis, with crisp musical direction and impressive orchestrations by Rahn Coleman leading an exceptional band of world-class jazz musicians, and featuring spirited choreography by Cassie Crump and sparkling period costuming by Michael Mullen, When Jazz Had the Blues dreamily recalls Harlem from the mid-1930s to the mid-1950s and the rollercoaster career of an often overlooked songwriter who created the most indelible jazz standards ever written."
Stage Raw- Highly Recommended
"...Musical director and key-boardist Rahn Coleman provides the expert arrangements, and Cassie Crump created the exuberant dances. Michael Mullen furnished the glamorous beaded gowns, though some of his strapless outfits could have used some straps: the ladies in the cast were hard-put to keep them hiked up above the bra-line."