Tasty vocals from Konik and Winkler

IT’S not often that a pair of male singers show up on the same night, in the same jazz club. But they did Tuesday in the weekly Tasty Tuesdays show at Catalina Bar & Grill. The first was Michael Konik, who has been producing Tasty Tuesdays at the club for the last few years. The second was singer-songwriter Mark Winkler.

Konik, who is also a commentator on television gambling shows and the author of several books, usually minimizes his creative participation in the Tasty Tuesday shows, even though he is an enthusiastic, well-practiced singer in his own right. This time, however, he offered a too-brief set displaying an impressive stylistic range.

Highlights included the Cahn/Van Heusen hit for Frank Sinatra, “Call Me Irresponsible,” sung by Konik in a reading that captured its buoyant ebullience as well as its subtle underpinnings. “Moody’s Mood for Love,” the vocalese number in which Eddie Jefferson wrote lyrics to a solo by saxophonist James Moody, is a piece that demands impressive vocal gymnastics, a lighthearted sense of humor and a brisk sense of swing. Konik delivered on all counts.

Like Konik, Winkler has his own Renaissance-man qualities. The composer of several theatrical musicals (including “Naked Boys Singing,” now running in its ninth year off-Broadway), his songs have been performed by Liza Minnelli, Nancy Wilson and Randy Crawford, among others. His program was similarly versatile. A medley of the Kern/Mercer standard “I’m Old Fashioned” and the Gershwins’ “Our Love Is Here to Stay” defined his skills with ballads. Even more impressive, his own “In a Lonely Place” was a reminder that classic, American songbook-type tunes are still being written. And his jovial romp through whimsical but rarely heard Bobby Troup tunes, “Hungry Man” and “Three Bears,” showcased Winkler’s infectious way with lightly swinging jazz rhythms.

The program concluded with Konik returning to the stage to suggest that the duo take a crack at yet another pair of Troup numbers, “Lemon Twist” and the familiar “Route 66.” Singing and swinging together, they brought both tunes vividly to life.