Pizza on the Park closed permanently last week, but Pizza Express was quick to launch a new venue to replace it, The Pheasantry, and twenty-year-old jazz singer extraordinaire Jessie Buckley had the honor of kick-starting what is supposed to be London’s newest venue devoted to cabaret.

Long-term, The Pheasantry will work as a cabaret venue, but there are some serious teething problems which will have to be worked out. It’s probably not fair to comment on these after only one performance, so I will wait to see a few more shows.

Jessie’s show was substantially different than the one I reviewed on April 8, but her voice is still as mesmerizing. “Lullaby of Birdland” was a real treat. She was in complete control of her voice during some difficult, yet terrific, jazz riffs and still made sense of the lyrics. I also loved her a capella key change in “More Than You Know,” but, for my money, the three best songs of the evening were a wonderfully moving “At Last,” a terrific “Sweet Georgia Brown” — complete with some lovely scat — and an amazing right-handed piano solo with double bass, and a sultry samba version of “Caravan.” Oh, and I can’t forget “The Man That Got Away,” her encore, which literally sent shivers up my spine.

The first time I saw Jessie, she sang with her eyes closed for most of the show. Now, she sings with them open, which is great, but she still has a way to go to really connect with her audience, especially in a room with some very difficult sight lines. She has to learn to sing to the entire room, and not just down the center.

Now that she sings with her eyes open, there are moments which verge on melodrama in her serious songs, both during her singing and in instrumental breaks. On more than one occasion she looked like the proverbial deer caught in the headlights. This was intensified by the way she uses her hands so over-dramatically during most songs. It’s almost like Norma Desmond speaking in sign language.  This tendency toward melodrama is exacerbated by the fact that Jessie sometimes builds the songs too quickly, and can put vocal emphasis in the wrong place or on the wrong word. She needs to pull back just a little bit. There’s no need to belt all the songs to the extent she does. Her voice will still shine, and she will have more variety and more emotion without the melodrama.

My last criticism is the length of the intermission. Thirty minutes is too long. Still, despite all this, I’m a big fan of this uber-talented young woman, and will look forward to seeing how she grows as a performer.

Joe Thompson was equally amazing this time out. He’s a truly unique pianist – from his flat-handed use of the black keys, through his wonderful musicality and jazz improvisation, to the fact that that he really does appear to use all 88 keys in every song.  I honestly don’t remember any other pianist consistently covering so many octaves on a keyboard.

Jessie returns to the Pheasantry on August 21^st.  For other touring dates, contact info@samuel-joseph.com

Jessie is a remarkable talent for any age, and she’s only twenty.  Do not miss seeing her.  In the words of the Guide Michelin – well worth a detour!

Harold Sanditen
Cabaret Scenes
June 26, 2010
www.cabaretscenes.org