Sophia Bilides celebrated her tenth year of performing at Scullers with a well-constructed show, featuring songs of self-discovery and self-empowerment. Front and center were her hallmark wry humor, intelligent interpretations, deft phrasing, and richly textured voice replete with cello-like lush low notes. At twenty-two songs, this was the shortest of her shows. But a little less, such as dropping the weaker “Move On” and “Skylark,” would have been more.

Happily, Bilides introduced us to odd, rarely heard gems, such as Babbie Green’s “Inside the Wine” or “The Best Thing to Happen to Me,” then demonstrated comic mock-gravity in the quirky “Tamara, Queen of the Nile.” Bilides’s best thematic material included the precocious “Evolution” paired with “A Thousand Beautiful Things” (Annie Lenox), both provocative, teaching us we must become the change we want to see.

Her strong musical prowess was evidenced in her driving Dave Brubeck 5/4 arrangement of Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse’s “Feelin’ Good,” followed by the sweet “Thinking of You, Thinking of Me” by son Chris Brubeck, who was, impressively, in attendance. Here, pianist Doug Hammer showed strong jazz chops.

The titular piece enabled Bilides to display the full depth of her voice, and she brought a jolt of life to the show’s ballad-heavy second half with John Bucchino’s “Taking the Wheel.” Then turning on a dime, she closed with an exquisite “Moon River,” letting the song’s wistfulness linger long after she left the stage.

John Amodeo
Cabaret Scenes
June 16, 2010
www.cabaretscenes.org