Spider Saloff brings Gershwin to life

Spider Saloff savors every page in the Great American Songbook, but she's dog-eared the George Gershwin chapters.

"What's unique about Gershwin is that his music crosses so many genres," says Saloff, a Chicago cabaret-jazz singer who's toured with a Gershwin revue since 1996. "He composed more classical pieces than other songbook writers. Elements of his songs aren't typical of a lot of popular music from the '20s and '30s. They definitely have a hardcore jazz influence, which is why they lend themselves to so much different interpretation."