How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, of course, but placing in the top 10 of American Idol can also help prop open the doors to the famed New York City venue.
Cheers are due, then, to season 10 finalists Haley Reinhart and Casey Abrams, who shared the spotlight with legendary Louisiana musicians Irvin Mayfield, Aaron Neville, and Branford Marsalis for the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra’s 10th Anniversary.
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Reinhart and Abrams were also joined by Memphis native Dee Dee Bridgewater, a Grammy-Award winning jazz singer who shared the stage with jazz legends Sonny Rollins and Dizzy Gillespie and collected a Tony Award for her portrayal of “Glinda The Good Witch” on Broadway in The Wiz. Bridgewater and Reinhart accompanied drummer Shannon Powell for a duet of “Hit The Road Jack,” with Abrams adding vocals plucking away on an upright bass.
Both Idols dressed up for the occasion — Reinhart in a floor-length gold colored gown and Abrams in a classic tuxedo.
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In addition to “Hit The Road Jack,” a duet included on Abrams’ debut CD, Reinhart entertained with a bluesy and soulful take on the Billie Holiday classic, “God Bless the Child” (with Mayfield on trumpet; listen here) and the Johnny Mercer/Harold Arlen standard “Blues in the Night.”
As for Abrams, his New York trip was especially productive. The multi-instrumentalist performed his single “Get Out” on VH-1’s Big Morning Buzz Tuesday morning.
Watch video of Reinhart and Abrams at Carnegie Hall below:
Twitter: @THRMusic
