How lucky are we that the last of the true great jazz duos is still available to play small venues like the Rrazz Room? Sir John and his quintet opened the show with a collection of Duke Ellington numbers focusing on Dankworth's delicate alto sax work on "Tonight I Shall Sleep with a Smile on My Face" (Duke Ellington/Mercer Ellington/Irving Gordon), some fancy bass fingering on "Jack the Bear" and probably the most unique trombone solo I've ever heard on "In a Mellow Tone" where the instrument spoke.

Dame Cleo Laine may be one of the last of kind—a rare jazz/pop vocalist whose voice often becomes an instrument, merging with the band seamlessly and matching husband John's sax note for note during a rousing "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)." Recuperating from a severely broken leg, Laine was in fine form and gleefully abandoned her walking cane for this first nightclub engagement in half a year. Opening with a bluesy "Hallelujah" into a sultry "On a Slow Boat to China," Laine displayed her deeply expressive soulful lower register on Cy Coleman/Carolyn Leigh's ballad "It Amazes Me," her jazz swing roots on "Facinating Ryhthm" and her incredibly wide range, often hitting G below high C on many tunes.  Laine and the band turned "Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive" into a minstrel number that had the feel of a religious Chautauqua revival, pumping up the rhythm into a foot-stomping fervor.

Two exceptional ballads framed the jazz: Hoagy Carmichael and Johnny Mercer's '"Skylark" and "Willow Weep for Me" (Ann Ronell) from Laine's 1989 LP Woman to Woman.  Laine and Dankworth are also one of the cutest couples, playfully bickering onstage and speaking as though they were at home reminiscing about their long career and many famous friends. They make their jazz effortless and comfortable, equally elegant and earthy and always gratifying.

Steve Murray
Cabaret Scenes
September 22, 2009
www.cabaretscenes.org