The Dane Vannatter Recordings

Silk River Music, 2024

The Intersection between singer and songwriter is often hazardous when the two lack a fundamental compatibility. This is not the case with composer Bob Levy and cabaret/jazz singer Dane Vannatter. The two share a rare simpatico relationship that has resulted in multiple collaborations, two of which are full-length releases, Ever Since We Met and All About Love.

Bob Levy is a multi-award winning ASCAP songwriter. He is a twelve-time Manhattan Association of Cabarets nominee for song of the year. Levy has collaborated with Ronny Whyte, Karen Jacobsen, Alex Rybeck, Joyce Breach, Jon Burr, Drew Paralic, Paul Rolnick, Tom Toce and Tex Arnold. Both movies and television have featured Levy’s compositions, which have been performed by artists in the United States and abroad. Levy is a throughly contemporary composer whose style and vision reflect his respect for the songwriters of the 1950s who provided material for the likes of Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, and Bobby Darin.

Dane Vannatter is that rare vocalist able to combine convincingly the elements of jazz and cabaret into an engaging and provocative style intent on entertainment. The singer is well respected, as evidenced by his Bistro awards for Outstanding Vocalist and for his second recording Flight by the critics of BackStage in New York. Fluent in the language of cabaret and deeply influenced by the great jazz singers, Vannatter is a formidable artist with the flexibility to address any genre of singing.

Levy and Vannatter have a rare synergy between composer and vocalist. Both are modern artists with a healthy respect for artists of the past. Levy has a knack for addressing many life situations in a tuneful way. Vannatter’s voice is pliant enough to accommodate the multiple moods conjured by Levy. Ever Since We Met and All About Love are the evidence of this. Levy has always been generous with his material. Ever Since We Met contains 19 selections while All About Love sports 15 songs. Levy is a clever lyricist, recalling the hip wit of Tin Pan Alley and beyond. Vannatter is the voice to give these songs life, providing that essential part to the machine called ‘‘music.” The two together are the modern flicker of the golden years when this music was the popular “music.”