Jack Donahue is getting predictable, but in the best possible way. He is predictably fresh, he is imaginative, and his ultra-smooth, sensitively shaded vocals and amiable personality predictably creates a mood for swing and seduction, or both.

Supported by a formidable trio including Eric Prevert on bass, James Shipp on vibes and percussion, and guitarist Keith Ganz, the good-humored Donahue did not open happy. Instead he delivered a moody "Spring Will Really Hang You Up the Most," by Landesman and Wolf, a song drenched in a love lost, looking back at a time when everything was blooming, before "something went wrong." Bummer. His remembrances of things past continued with a shift. Rodgers and Hart's "Where or When" reflected on the laughs and loves of deja-vu, memories evoking a wry smile. The gloom was definitely lifting.

Jack Donahue is a jazz singer, giving an offbeat slant to notes, going minor, racing ahead or hesitating, yet always cognizant of what the song is saying and how he wants to communicate that. Many tunes float over a Brazilian beat that warms them with a seductive glow. Several of his most interesting selections here contemplated taking a leap into something new, kind of dangerous: for example, the compelling "How Does the Wine Taste?" (M.Dubey & H.Karr) and " Moonlight Drive," made famous by The Doors, which is another glance of the "what-a-little-moonlight-can-do" idea.

If spring is hanging you up, Donahue was offering ways to pick up the spirit.

The most familiar song by Evans and Livingston is "Mona Lisa," but most jazz musicians, including this group, prefer "Never Let Me Go," with its intriguing harmonies. Special guest Peter Eldridge came to the piano for three selections, one a notable take on "Why Did I Choose You?" (Leonard and Martin) that Donahue dedicated to the spirit of equality. "Strange Weather," (Eldridge and Donahue) also points to Donahue's taste and delivery of songs with insinuating rhythms and harmonies that have a way of of manipulating themselves into your brain.

Eric Prevert's creative arrangements and elements of surprise added to the predictable musicianship of Jack Donahue.

Elizabeth Ahlfors
Cabaret Scenes
March 30, 2009
www.cabaretscenes.org