Callaway TV pilot an antidote to 'Idol'

It just might work.

With jazz vocalist Ann Hampton Callaway as host and no less than Liza Minnelli as first guest, the TV pilot that taped Thursday at WTTW-Ch. 11's Northwest Side studio shows enormous promise.

Chicago viewers will be able to judge for themselves the merits -- and rough spots -- of "Singer's Spotlight With Ann Hampton Callaway" when the initial installment airs July 26 and repeats July 29 on WTTW. No doubt a great deal will be achieved in the editing room between now and then.

But based on the two taping sessions that Callaway, Minnelli and a sleek jazz trio turned in last week, the half-hour program is well poised to fill a niche sorely lacking on free TV.

For what pianist Ramsey Lewis' "Legends of Jazz" program (also taped at WTTW) has done to bring sophisticated instrumental music back to the small screen, "Singer's Spotlight" could accomplish for the vocalist's art. With Callaway serving triple duty as emcee, interlocutor and singer, the show poetically celebrates songs written for grown-up sensibilities.

"American Idol," in other words, this is not.

"It's upsetting to me that people think that's what singing is about," said Callaway before the taping, pointing to the often hysterical bleating that passes for song interpretation on the ubiquitous TV program.

From Callaway's perspective, "American Idol" features one contestant trying to out-screech another, the aspirants swaying, swooning and preening before cameras and judges, rather than communicating the deepest, subtlest meanings of a song.

"It's a very formulaic approach," she said. "The singers get up there, they do all the moves, but they don't know how to connect with an audience."


Receiving their due

Meanwhile, master singers such as Tony Bennett, Dianne Reeves, Cassandra Wilson and Callaway herself rarely receive significant TV exposure. Sadly, their hard-won artistry doesn't fit into the game-show format of today's prime-time musicmaking.

"Singer's Spotlight" tries to address that imbalance. And though no public-television show ever is going to capture a fraction of the ratings that "American Idol" attracts, the mere possibility that a TV program -- any TV program -- could feature virtuoso singers performing great repertoire has to inspire anyone who values American art songs, well sung.

"The idea is to explore the craft, to get back to the historical roots of the American song tradition," said Fawn Ring, producer of "Singer's Spotlight."

"Sometimes people say to me, 'I don't like show tunes,' or, 'I don't like jazz.'

"But when I say, 'Do you like Tony Bennett or Frank Sinatra?' they say, 'Yeah!'

"So my sense is that people discover this music maybe later in life."

Thus Ring believes the natural audience for "Singer's Spotlight" will be Baby Boomers, a demographic that neatly intersects with much of public-television's viewership.

Before "Singer's Spotlight" reaches that national audience, however, Callaway, Ring and friends have some selling to do. They plan to use the forthcoming pilot to try to raise funds and generate broadcast interest for an initial, eight-show season, which they hope to launch next spring.

Judging by Thursday's first outing, they have hit upon an engaging format that could use a little tweaking.

Conceived as something of a cross between James Lipton's "Inside the Actors Studio" (on Bravo cable TV) and "Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz" (which airs locally on WFMT-FM 98.7), "Singer's Spotlight" offers a mix of conversation, solo performance and musical duets.

When Callaway walks on stage, buoyantly swinging the theme song she penned for the show, she instantly establishes credibility. Her voluptuous soprano and deft scat singing assure the viewer that she can hold her own -- musically -- alongside just about anyone who might be her guest (for future episodes, she hopes to enlist Melissa Manchester, Bonnie Raitt and other stylistically far-flung troubadours).


Scoring a coup

Callaway obviously scored a coup in signing up Minnelli as the premiere guest -- few singers in the non-rock genre own a comparably illustrious resume.

Minnelli's vocal performance Thursday showed that she still has as much guts and grit as ever, though she struggled at times to summon all the vocal power she wanted, and to control the wobble that often creeps into the work of well-seasoned singers.

Even so, when Minnelli stood alone at the microphone, singing the Kander and Ebb anthem "And the World Goes 'Round," there was no question that one of the most knowing interpreters of our time was re-asserting herself.

Her exquisitely slow crescendo and extraordinary, shattering climax were the work of an artist who knows how to wring maximum drama from every note, every pause, every thrust of her hands.

When she duetted with the host in "Stormy Weather," Callaway's creamy vocals helped soften Minnelli's rougher vocal edge.

As for the conversation, Minnelli and Callaway -- longtime friends -- spoke easily to one another. Still, Callaway should consider toning down her effusions about her guest, posing more challenging inquiries and stating them more concisely. This would deepen the substance and increase the tempo of the colloquy.

Nevertheless, all parties involved here deserve a round of applause: If this show gets picked up, it could raise TV's musical IQ by several dozen points.