Perhaps unconsciously, Rakesh Satyal '02 defines his life in terms of the music that drives it. Finding the perfect partner with whom he would create a cabaret act required luck and a "synthesis of musical interests." He speaks of the "rhythm of working" in New York, of the need to balance his day job as a publisher at Random House and his nightlife as a cabaret singer. If he seems particularly fluent in musical vernacular, it is because he is busy preparing his new act, "Rocky and Johnny: A Night of Jazzy Standards and Contemporary Classics," which goes up this Sunday at Danny's Skylight Room in Midtown Manhattan.
The process from conception to execution also indicates why Satyal places such importance on timing and fusion. During lunch last spring with Edmund White, Director of Princeton's Program in Creative Writing, White mentioned a friend, Jonathan Burnham, who played piano professionally before he became too busy with his job as President of Miramax Books to perform. Satyal commiserated. He sang baritone with the Princeton Nassoons and performed in musicals at the University, but upon graduation he found his career taking over his interests.
"Everyone kept telling me that real life is about focusing on your career. But singing was not just a Princeton activity. I had to find an outlet to continue with it," Satyal said.
He found that outlet by contacting Burnham, with whom he immediately discovered he shared an appreciation for both classic and contemporary songs.
"Our set list is separate from the usual musical vocabulary," Satyal said. "We perform Gershwin and Bernstein, but we also do songs that hearken back to the past, such as those by Elvis Costello, Fiona Apple and Elton John."
The collaboration between Satyal and Burnham has already resulted in a number of shows, but this is their first at the Skylight Room. Despite the change of venue to such a lively part of town, Satyal described the space as an "intimate setting. It's very personal, which goes along with the style of our show — performing stripped down to its bare essentials."
The move has also demonstrated the closeness of the cabaret community, as Satyal and Burnham have developed a following that supports them.
To Satyal, performing is rewarding for reasons beyond public reception.
"The show is technically and uniquely New York. It's the story of a love cycle, beginning with the first meeting and progressing through the highs and lows of a relationship. Even though there is a fixed set, everything fluctuates based on audience interaction and our own moods and impressions. It allows you to be very present, even as you look to the past for inspiration," he said.
Satyal manages to harmonize two extremes, merging the old and new as effortlessly as he does the two sides — textual and musical — of his own life.
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