The Jazz Singer

“And right when I started working on the Arlen music, I fell in love with Eric. He’s such an expert on the Songbook. Every day while we were dating he’d bring over these compilation tapes of Arlen songs from his collection—like, six versions of “Shining Hour,” so I could listen to how Garland, Tony Bennett, and all these other singers did it. My passion for the songs was mirrored by his.” They tied the knot a month after her Arlen show (on which the CD is based) opened.

I’ve watched Babs tackle life and biz struggles along the bumpy way, which makes this up time that much sweeter. “Like I tell my students (and I always have to remind myself),” she says, “You have to keep the faith. If you stay in the moment, stay with the love of the work, the process, you know you won’t give up.”

The clock was ticking and she was multi-tasking: pulling out the blue velvet gown for that night’s party, getting ready to head out to give a coaching session, hoping to have time in between for a workout at Crunch…She took a deep breath before dashing off, with a parting, “I’m just so grateful.”