Local vocalist Denise Perrier reprises her loving tributes to the music of Bessie Smith and Dinah Washington in this evening of blues and standards. Both women, known respectively as the Empress and Queen of the Blues, left indelible marks on the musical landscape of their eras and Perrier does both justice with her smoky contralto and natural, easy-going rhythm. Never strong-arming the songs or embellishing the lyric, Perrier delivers the goods with a sustained restraint without over-selling her material.

The opening mini-set is Smith’s 1920s/’30s blues, sometimes called vulgar, but amazing in their early pro-feminist sexual empowerment. The women in her blues are not victims of their gender and know what they want and need. “I Need a Little Sugar in My Bowl” and “I Got What It Takes” speak to this directly. The popular 1933 hit, “Gimme a Pigfoot,” is a definitive saloon blues song.

Dinah Washington’s mini-set is smoother, with more ballads and swing reflecting her era’s sound (1950s). Gene DePaul and Sammy Cahn’s “Teach Me Tonight” and the lovely  “I Wanna Be Loved” showcase Perrier’s smooth-as-fine-bourbon voice. A swing arrangement of “Lover, Come Back to Me” shows off Perrier’s diversity.

The evening closed with Perrier as Perrier, a fine straightforward song stylist. Hugh Martin’s “You’d Better Love Me” was beautifully done and her "somebody done somebody wrong song"  “Don’t Touch Me,” was exquisite.

Steve Murray
Cabaret Scenes
August 11, 2010
www.cabaretscenes.org