What a pleasure it was to hear Erin Kann this evening, and in such a lovely venue, too.  In all my trips to Paris, and the number of times I must’ve walked past the Duc de Lombards, I had no idea such a smart music venue was behind those touristic-looking exterior walls.

I think it’s fair to say that in Erin, France has a new songbird, albeit in quite a different variety from Piaf.  Erin’s voice is pure and seamless, whether she’s using her deliciously warm lower range, or her songbird’s upper range.  Her voice is incredibly clear and she has total control of it.  It’s the sort of voice you could listen to over and over and over without getting bored.  My date said, “all you need are two candles and her voice to set the perfect romantic atmosphere,” and I would wholeheartedly agree.  To top it all off, she’s cute, sexy and very watchable, especially when she dances during instrumental breaks.

Erin was celebrating the release of her new album, Paint the World, for which she wrote both music and lyrics (in English).  Much of the music has a wonderfully atmospheric Latin beat – there are mambos, cha chas, rumbas and sambas – and it was really all I could do to refrain from getting up to move to the music myself.  Erin does quite a bit of scatting throughout the show, and it works beautifully.  I particularly like her low scat, where she has a captivating drum-like quality.

My favourite song of the evening was “You Can’t Deny,” which had more of a blues than a Latin feel to it.  Her scat was superb on this song. I only wish she’d pushed out the envelope and taken the tones even higher.  Some other highlights were “Let’s Take a Trip” and the ironic “Be Quiet,” which was anything but.

She was beautifully supported by a terrific jazz quartet – Thomal Loyer on piano, Fabrizio Fenoglietto on bass, Christophe Bras on drums and Eddie Tomassi on percussion.

As for criticisms, there’s one big one and a two little ones.  The big one:  Erin sings in English, and in many songs, the lyrics are unintelligible.  This might work for a French, or even primarily non-English speaking audience, but if Erin wants to bring her music to London or New York or even further afield, she will have to work on her enunciation.  I’ve read her lyrics and the poetry is beautiful, so it’s only to her benefit that people fully understand her sentiments.  The songs in which her enunciation was clear were “On My Island,” “The Tears of September,” and “You Can’t Deny.”  Past that, they all need work.  The little criticisms:  Erin could do with speaking to her audience just a bit more.  She’s sweet and engaging, and we would like to know a bit more about her.  I also think she should introduce her band a bit sooner.  They’re damn good.

I don’t know when I’ll be back in Paris, or even France, so I’m hoping Erin will make it across the Channel to England where I can see/hear more of her.  She’s far better than anything one would ever hear on Eurovision, but I just can’t help myself…..  France, douze points!  C’est vachement magnifique!

Harold Sanditen
Cabaret Scenes
April 3, 2010
www.cabaretscenes.org