Sing your rendition of 'Mack the Knife' with a live band at L.A.'s legendary open mic night

Elliot Zwiebach was 62 years aged erstwhile helium sang successful beforehand of a unrecorded assemblage for the archetypal time.

The retired newsman had ever loved amusement tunes, but he’d ne'er considered singing successful nationalist before.

“I sang for my ain amusement, and I wasn’t precise amused,” helium said recently.

But 1 night, aft attending a fewer unfastened mic nights astatine the Gardenia Supper Club successful West Hollywood arsenic a spectator, helium got up the nervus to measurement onto the signifier and execute a tune backed by a unrecorded band.

For his archetypal song, helium picked the humorous “Honey Bun” from the Rodgers and Hammerstein philharmonic “South Pacific.” It was frightening and helium didn’t sing well. And yet, the pursuing week helium came backmost and did it again.

Newbie Ian Douglas, left, and longtime vocalist Elliot Zwiebach look implicit a sign-up expanse astatine the Gardenia’s long-running unfastened mic night.

Sixteen years later, Zwiebach, present 78, is simply a halfway subordinate of what the event’s longtime big Keri Kelsey calls “the family,” a radical of astir 25 regulars who sing jazz standards, amusement tunes and different numbers from the Great American Songbook astatine the longest-running unfastened mic nighttime successful L.A.

“It’s precise overmuch similar a community,” Zwiebach said connected a caller evening arsenic helium prepared to sing “This Nearly Was Mine,” different opus from “South Pacific.” “Everyone knows everyone.”

For 25 years, the small, L-shaped Gardenia country connected Santa Monica Boulevard has served arsenic a philharmonic location for a divers radical of would-be jazz and cabaret singers. Each Tuesday night, simple schoolhouse teachers, acting coaches, retired psychoanalysts, arts publicists and the occasional personage wage an $8 screen to execute successful beforehand of an assemblage that knows firsthand conscionable however terrifying it tin beryllium to basal earlier adjacent a tiny assemblage with thing much than a microphone successful your hand.

“You are truthful susceptible up determination with everyone staring astatine you,” said Kelsey, who has hosted the unfastened mic nighttime for 24 years and erstwhile watched Molly Ringwald nervously instrumentality the stage. “But it’s besides the astir joyous acquisition successful the world.”

Director and acting manager Kenshaka Ali sings “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat” by Rahsaan Roland Kirk.

The singers are backed by a live, three-piece set led by guitarist Dori Amarilio. The rotating radical of musicians — a fewer of them Grammy winners — get not knowing what they volition beryllium playing that night. Some singers bring expanse music, others chord charts. And determination are those who conscionable hum a fewer bars and let the musicians to intuit the cardinal and melody capable to travel along. Poet Judy Barrat, a regular attendee, usually hands the evening’s soft subordinate a transcript of the poem she’ll beryllium speechmaking and asks him to improv on with her.

“It’s wholly freeform,” said Andy Langham, a jazz pianist who toured with Natalie Cole and Christopher Cross and often plays the Gardenia. “I work the stanzas and effort to overgarment pictures with the notes.”

Keri Kelsey, singing “Mack the Knife,” has hosted the Gardenia’s unfastened mic nighttime for 24 years.

The Gardenia, which opened successful 1981, is 1 of the fewer venues successful L.A. specifically designed for the intimacy of cabaret. The small, spare country has array work seating for conscionable implicit 60 patrons and a signifier country beautifully lit by an abundance of canned lights. Doors unfastened astatine 7 p.m. connected Tuesday nights, but those successful the cognize enactment up extracurricular the building’s nondescript exterior arsenic aboriginal arsenic 6 p.m. to guarantee a tenable spot connected the night’s roster of singers. (Even though determination is simply a one-song-per-person limit, the nighttime has been known to agelong past 12 a.m.) Nichole Rice, who manages the Gardenia, takes meal and portion orders until the amusement starts astatine 8:30 p.m. Then the country falls into respectful silence.

Pianist Andy Langham and guitarist Dori Amarilio execute unrecorded euphony accompaniment for each unfastened mic subordinate astatine the Gardenia.

“This is simply a listening room,” said singer-songwriter Steve Brock, who has been attending the unfastened mic nighttime for much than a decade. “I’ve been to different rooms wherever I’m competing with tequila oregon the Rams. Here, erstwhile anyone goes up successful beforehand of that microphone, everyone stops.”

On a caller Tuesday night, the amusement began arsenic it ever does with an instrumental opus by the set (a piano, guitar and upright bass) earlier an opening fig by Kelsey. Dressed successful a achromatic leather formal and knee-high boots, she had this clip prepared “Mack the Knife.” “This whitethorn beryllium 1 of the loungiest lounge songs ever,” she said. “Maybe that’s wherefore I truly similar it.”

People statesman to enactment up extracurricular the Gardenia astatine 6 p.m. to get a spot for the Tuesday unfastened mic night.

The archetypal vocalist to instrumentality the signifier was Trip Kennedy, a bearded masseur who performed “The Rainbow Connection” successful a saccharine tenor. When helium finished, Kelsey shared that she was formed arsenic an other successful “The Muppets Take Manhattan.”

“It was the astir ridiculous thing,” she said, filling clip arsenic the adjacent vocalist consulted softly with the band. “I was a assemblage pupil who dressed up arsenic a assemblage pupil for the audition.”

Dolores Scozzesi, who sang astatine the Hollywood Improv successful the ’80s betwixt drama sets, performed a moody statement of “What Now My Love.” “This is simply a [chord] illustration from 2011,” she told the assemblage earlier she began. “I privation to effort it due to the fact that these guys are the best.”

Monica Doby Davis, an simple schoolhouse teacher, sings the jazz modular “You Go to My Head” astatine the Gardenia.

Zwiebach performed a medley of 2 Broadway hits, “I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face” (which helium altered to “his face”) and “This Nearly Was Mine,” easy hitting each the notes. After, his young person Ian Douglas, a comparative newbie who started attending the unfastened mic nighttime successful the spring, sang the jazz modular “You Go to My Head.” Zwiebach praised the performance.

“I cognize that opus precise good and you did a large job,” helium said.

Monica Doby Davis, who erstwhile sang with the ’90s R&B miss radical Brownstone and present works arsenic an simple schoolhouse teacher, besides performed “You Go to My Head.” Although she had near the amusement concern decades ago, she said uncovering the Gardenia unfastened mic nighttime 13 years agone “brought euphony backmost to my life.”

Tom Nobles, left, sings alongside bassist Adam Cohen, center, and pianist Andy Langham astatine the Gardenia.

There were galore beautiful, intimate moments that night, but possibly the champion was erstwhile Tom Nobles, an histrion and retired psychoanalyst successful a purple knit headdress and heavy integrative glasses, forgot the words to “Lost successful the Masquerade” by George Benson.

He stumbled for a moment, a spot perplexed, earlier turning to his friends for help.

“Whoever knows the words, sing it with me,” Nobles said to the crowd.

Quietly astatine archetypal and past louder and stronger, the full country broke retired into song.

We’re mislaid successful a masquerade. Woohoo, the masquerade.