Paula West’s departure from San Francisco’s Rrazz Room is Yoshi’s good fortune.  Citing irreconcilable artistic differences, Ms. West and her French bulldog Satchmo felt right at home on the spacious stage of the city’s premier jazz club. Sandwiched between two timeless Rodgers & Hart classics, a smooth and velvety “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered” and a soaring “Isn’t It Romantic?,” West delivered a greatest hits, if you will, of selections from her forthcoming live CD. The two aforementioned numbers are about as standard as West gets, the selections focusing instead on her unique takes on truly American music from folk, rock, zydeco, blues and pop.

“Man Wanted,” an Ethel Waters staple, is sassy, Eden Ahbez’s exotic “Nature Boy” is subtle and mesmerizing, with stunning piano work by West’s greatest ally, arranger George Mesterhazy. Many people sing Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone,” but few (Tim Hockenberry comes to mind) can imbue the lyric with the authenticity it so rightly deserves. West shines on Jimmy Webb’s “Wichita Lineman,” refocusing our attention on an American pop classic and the reason it endures. West and her accompanists fly together and they melt into a flawless unit on Hoagy Carmichael and Paul Francis Webster’s “Baltimore Oriole,” with guest guitarist Ron Escheté and featuring the phenomenal Jerome Jennings on drums.

West is not totally a jazz singer, although she is among the finest. She’s created a hybrid style that flexes her vocal timbre perfectly with its rounded notes and deep tones. As always, the arrangements are intricate and purposeful. I expect Yoshi’s is extremely happy with a thoroughbred like Paula West in its stable.

Steve Murray
Cabaret Scenes
August 14, 2011
www.cabaretscenes.org