In her impressive debut at the Blue Note, Kelly Mittleman proved that she has what it takes to make it to the “top of the heap” and, under the guidance of veteran manager extraordinaire Mary Ann Topper, that’s exactly where she appears to be headed.

She appeared poised and elegant with a sexy, contemporary look (black bangled dress, furry shrug and boots were fab!) that complemented the reedy, soulful R&B timbre of her voice. With the support of her “monster band,” she put her audience immediately at ease with her laidback confidence and quiet command of the stage.

Her musicians were led by Andy Ezrin on piano, David Finck on bass, Clint de Ganon on drums, Mauro Refosco on bongos and percussion and Bill Bickford on guitar. Each showed prowess on his instrument when soloing and their group rapport was the “real deal”!

She opened with an original, infectious song, the title of her new CD, “A New Reason” and moved comfortably into the Gershwins’ “I Was All Right” and a freshly-phrased “The Shadow of Your Smile.” With some luck and good timing on her side, the song, “Cold,” also from the CD but written by her sister, Jude Swift, will be used in an upcoming movie, Hollywood & Wine, starring David Spade, Pamela Anderson and an all-star cast.

As expected, she has a jazz singer’s sensibility, non-theatrical and not particularly self-revelatory, but in songs like Bob Dorough’s “Blue Xmas” (“To Whom It May Concern”) and the Gershwins’ “Someone to Watch Over Me,” her maturity, sensitivity and smarts emerge from behind the stunning façade. A sense of humor came through as well in two other original songs, the award-winning “Cake” and “Shop-Rite,” which, she quipped, were written about her time spent as the single mother of two in grocery stores.

Putting her own stamp on the beautiful Corinne Bailey Rae number called “Like a Star,” she ended the show by leaving the stage, singing in the audience, the last of her original tunes, “Because It’s You.”

A glass on the piano, instead of a water bottle, and a hair comb or clip in her hair to keep the silky, blonde waves in place would be all that Kelly Mittleman really needs to do to put her right “over the top”!

Lynn DiMenna
Cabaret Scenes
December 14, 2009
www.cabaretscenes.org