The title of Joyce Lyons’ show, She’s Really Back This Time, may seem puzzling to those who didn’t know that she interrupted a singing career for a while to try her hand as a stand-up comic, and it says little about what to anticipate when the lights go down. Fear not.  Those seeing Lyons perform won’t be disappointed. Although the opener, “Devil May Care,” was just too energetic to appreciate what she might do with a ballad, there were ample opportunities afterward.

Lyons is a crossover performer, the kind of jazz singer it is easy to find most appealing.  She shares a jazz vocalist’s approach to a song’s melody as a gentle springboard with a cabaret artist’s reverence for the lyrics.  “Lyrics are what it’s all about.  The lyrics tell a story,” she informs her audience, and in her show, that’s where she’s headed.  Indeed, the very -best moments of the show are in the subdued, more contemplative numbers.

Not that the jazz ever gets put on the back burner.  Even when she takes on such standards as “How Long Has This Been Going On,” or the mellow bossa nova, “Quiet Nights," her renditions are as inventive as they are satisfying.  Of course, she’s also got the added punch of her instrumentalists, Musical Director Tedd Firth and bassist David Meer.  When it comes to a jazz arrangement, Firth is in his milieu, and his keyboarding takes the spotlight frequently throughout the show.  The arrangements offer Meer several moments to shine as well, and he certainly does.

Lyons encored with “We’ll be Together Again.”  It seemed like a promising idea.  Especially if one could make her Metropolitan Room show coming up on August 12^th or on the 19^th.

Peter Leavy
Cabaret Scenes
August 5, 2009
www.cabaretscenes.org