As a relative newcomer to the New York cabaret scene, I find myself reviewing many performers I’ve never heard sing before or perhaps heard only briefly at an open mic or variety show. So, like Forrest Gump and his chocolates, I never know what I’m going to get. But, on a recent trip to the Upper West Side’s Sugar Bar, I lucked into a piece of ear candy that was like biting into a rich, luscious piece of pure dark chocolate—the jazzy vocal stylings of Shaynee Rainbolt (a MAC Award winner for Jazz Recording and for Song and a three-time MAC Award nominee for Outstanding Jazz Vocalist, 2008-2010).

Just a few bars into her first number—the Harry Warren/Al Dubin classic “I Only Have Eyes for You”—I wondered if this lovely auburn-haired chanteuse was named by Native Americans after giving a concert on a reservation. “Shay-nee Rain-bolt” could easily be the Indian name for “Sweet Singer of Songs.” A fascinating hybrid of a classic jazz vocalist and a 1940s big band singer, Shaynee breezed through more than 20 songs over two sets, from Sondheim to Ellington to Hoagy Carmichael to Rodgers and Hart. Whether it was her improvisation on a sultry Latin number like “Esta Tarde Vi Llover” (“Yesterday I Heard the Rain”), her expert phrasing on a beautiful ballad such as “Easy to Remember,” or her subtle scat on “No Moon at All,” Shaynee exuded confidence and charm and her delivery seemed almost effortless.

Shaynee has become a regular at the Sugar Bar and her smooth, soothing style seems ideal for the venue’s cool, intimate ambiance and narrow cavern-like stage. On this particular evening, the room may not have been packed the way some are for a publicized cabaret show with a specific theme, but Shaynee transformed the Sugar Bar into a mini-concert hall with lush arrangements of songs that allowed her voice to envelop the notes and lyrics. When, on “Moonglow,” she seductively swings into the first “It must have been moonglow,” I couldn’t help but feel I was being elevated “way up in the blue.”

Not that she didn’t have help taking the audience on the journey. Shaynee’s superb band included Tom Hubbard on bass, Grisha Alexiev on drums, and the other revelation of the evening (at least for this reviewer), Ted Kooshian on piano. As opposed to most cabaret shows featuring Broadway or pop tunes, Shaynee’s jazzy renditions allow for extended keyboard breaks and Kooshian absolutely shined on the up-tempo version of “I Only Have Eyes for You,” Sondheim’s “Another Hundred People” (from Company), and a bouncy “I’m Getting Sentimental Over You.” The entire quartet’s work on “Take Five” (Paul Desmond/Dave & Iola Brubeck), especially Shaynee’s scat and Kooshian’s piano, deserved enough high fives to make your hands sore.

After Shaynee ended her second set by doing Nat King Cole proud on Bobby Troup’s “(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66,” I was ready to jump in a car and get my kicks wherever she would be singing next.

Shaynee returns to the Sugar Bar with two sets on August 5.

Stephen Hanks
Cabaret Scenes
July 8, 2011
www.cabaretscenes.org