Freda Payne is a versatile performer, quick to vary song styles among swing, be-bop, R&B, jazz and pop.This show, a valentine to Ella Fitzgerald, used Payne’s own extensive background as a jazz singer, allowing her to both honor her champion and sing some of the most popular material of the 20th century. While not imitating the original (it would be silly to try), she and her trio remained true to memorable arrangements by such greats as Nelson Riddle and Quincy Jones. Fitzgerald owned every genre she touched and Payne exhibits this similar trait, exuding confidence with a true swing (“Sweet Georgia Brown”), a swing blues (W.C. Handy’s “St. Louis Blues”), a beautiful ballad (“Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most”) and Ella-esque renditions of the Great American Songbook (“Oh, Lady Be Good!” and Cole Porter’s “Too Darn Hot”).

The show covered the recording biography of Fitzgerald, from her early collaborations with Chick Webb to Duke Ellington and Count Basie. Payne works each song in her husky alto, milking the playful sexiness of “They Can’t Take That Away from Me” or eliciting the right emotions in “Someone to Watch Over Me.” Payne has had a stellar career, working with Duke Ellington, super-producer Quincy Jones, Sammy Davis Jr., Lionel Hampton and bandleader Bob Crosby. She had crossover smash pop hits in the ’70s with “Band of Gold” and “Bring the Boys Home,” both performed as encores. Freda Payne may surprise cabaret aficionados with her charm, proficiency and knowledge, but given her pedigree, a Payne performance is as comfortable as a second skin.

(Photo by Pat Johnson)

Steve Murray
Cabaret Scenes
April 20, 2010
www.cabaretscenes.org