Joanne Tatham swings. Whatever she’s singing, she’s feeling the rhythm and projecting that mood to the audience in a powerful or intimate style, as the material dictates. As she shifts her personal style from standard cabaret artist to jazz singer, Tatham appears completely comfortable and in control on stage — and her perfect diction makes each lyrical nuance very effective.

Speaking from the stage, she described her latest show as “an eclectic assortment of songs I dig, with no other rhyme or reason,” and she delivered — opening with a sultry, bluesy “Making Light" (Barry Coffing/Marc Hugenberger/Julius Robinson), then seguing smoothly into a jazzy “I Got Eyes” (Melissa Manchester) and the Latin beat of “The Shaker Song” (Jay Beckenstein/David Lasley/Allee Willis), featuring effective drum-work by Jack LeCompte.

That was followed by a trio of songs Tatham described as her “traffic metaphor trilogy”: “Too Long in L.A.,” a Dave Frishberg gem about the frustrations of waiting for a long traffic light to change, which she sang in a matter-of-fact style laced with irony; “Robert Frost,” a song by Jay Leonhart in which she expressed envy at the simpler world “Bobby” faced when writing his poetry, featuring a strong bass solo by Danny Young; and ending with an extended version of “Detour Ahead,” by a trio of Jimmy Dorsey alumni (Herb Ellis, John Frigo and Lou Carter), a tour-de-force in Tatham’s throat that moved from a soft purr to a soft growl, abetted by a proficient piano solo by Gil Lieb.

Tatham’s voice soared on a sexy, throaty “Blues in the Night” (Harold Arlen/Johnny Mercer), sung in a medley with “When the Sun Comes Out” (Arlen/Ted Koehler) — a seemingly natural combination that allowed her to express all the bitterness contained in the lyrics and ending with a powerful belting finish.

She brought guitarist Charlie Hirsch on stage to sing Jobim’s “Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars” (English lyric by Gene Lees) with a sweet, simple delivery, followed by Paul McCartney's “Blackbird,” and then, in a duet with Hirsch, John Lennon's “I Feel Fine.”

Tatham also delivered the sweet sublimeness of “And I’ll Be There” by Dave Grusin and the Bergmans as a song of comfort to her children, moving from a hard-edged sound to a softer, uplifting tone by song’s end.

Tatham was so generous with her musicians that she gave each a solo during her encore number, “You Taught My Heart to Sing” (McCoy Tyner/Sammy Cahn). The show was directed by Clifford Bell.

Elliot Zwiebach
Cabaret Scenes
October 17, 2009
www.cabaretscenes.org