Jacqui Naylor / May 16th, 2008 / The Cellar Restaurant / Bar / Vancouver, Canada
The Cellar Restaurant / Jazz Club continues to bring world class musicians and singers to the city of Vancouver, and the weekend of May 16 – 17th, was no different, as singer / composer / arranger Jacqui Naylor and Art Khu (pianist, guitarist, arranger), both from San Francisco, thrilled their fans. The duo was backed by Vancouver drummer Bernie Arai and bassist Steve Smith, a transplanted Californian now living in Vancouver.
Naylor is a versatile artist whose vocals move easily between the lower soprano range and low alto octaves. Her sets consist of a blend of standards such as Billie Holiday’s “What A Little Moonlight,” and what the artist refers to as smashup tunes, where she retains the basic harmonic structure for songs such as the Kinks’ rock tune “Lola,” but in collaboration with Khu creates new jazz arrangements.
Naylor opened the evening by singing the classic Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein tune, “It Might As Well Be Spring,” and demonstrated that she deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as others who have embraced the song, singers such as Peggy Lee, Rosemary Clooney, Blossom Dearie and Karrin Allyson.
A soulful rendition of Buffalo Springfield’s 1967 protest rock song, “For What Its Worth,” gave Naylor’s audience their first glimpse, of a ‘smashup tune.’ In an America that has tired of seeing its young men and women perish if Iraq, it is fitting that a San Franciscan would choose to sing this tune. Stephen Stills wrote the song with the events surrounding the Kent State University shootings in mind, but it came to symbolize Americans’ unrest with the Vietnam War in the 1960’s. Naylor’s emotive phrases evoke strong images within the listener, as she sings, “There’s something happening here / What it is ain’t exactly clear / There’s a man with a gun over there / Telling me I got to beware / I think it’s time we stop, children, what’s that sound / Everybody look what’s going down.” Khu led the band through the swinging jazz arrangement, and Smith served up a solid bass solo.
Naylor followed up "For What Its Worth," with her original composition, "Celebrate Early And Often," a pretty song from her album, Smashed For The Holidays, 2007.
The tall, blonde, attractive Naylor strikes an imposing figure on stage, and her theatrical gestures enhance the evocative nature of her performance. She slowed down the tempo for R.E.M.’s, “Losing My Religion,” delivering smoky phrases. The reconstruction of “Losing My Religion,” served further notice of Naylor’s brilliance as a vocalist, and demonstrated the gifts that she and Khu possess as arrangers.
Naylor and her band served up a funky version of the Cole Porter ballad, “Love For Sale,” which featured Khu’s funky electric guitar riffs. The talented musician utilized mostly open chording during his progressions, but spiced things up a bit with some modified barre chording, while bending a few notes along the way. Even though back in the day, iconic figures such as Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday added their vocal magic to “Love For Sale,” Jacqui Naylor appears very comfortable in the company of those singers.
One of Naylor’s most beautifully performed songs was the lamenting Billie Holiday tune, “I Cover The Waterfront.” The longing in the singer’s voice, brings a vulnerability to her performance, as the singer hopes that a former lover will return to her. Khu returned to his piano bench and his fingers danced lightly over the keys. Naylor finished the song with a smile.
Late in the evening, as Jacqui Naylor performed the Johnny Mercer song, “Lazy Bones,” her voice was just as strong, if not stronger than when she first began. Sitting on a chair at the front of the stage, with a microphone in her hand, the singer went deep inside, and found soulful, bluesy vocals.
Other highlights during Jacqui Naylor’s performance at The Cellar included the first time the band ever performed a brand new song, “Dreaming Big With You,” a tune that was penned only a couple of weeks earlier. They also dug into the rock archives once more to create a smashup for Led Zeppelin’s “Black Coffee.”
Reviewed by Joe Montague
All photos by Joe Montague-Protected by Copyright©
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Reviewed May 16th, 2008
Riveting Riffs wishes to thank the management of The Cellar Restaurant / Jazz Club for making it possible for Riveting Riffs to review this concert
