It’s no surprise that the son of jazz bassist Paul Chambers, the daughter of Mort Herbert (bassist for the Louis Armstrong All-Stars), and the son of acclaimed guitarist Herb Ellis are, themselves, talented performers. Pierre Chambers, Lisa Herbert and Mitch Ellis have worked for a year putting together their show Chambers, Herbert & Ellis Sing Lambert, Hendricks & Ross. Their efforts came to fruition with their dynamite debut performance at the Gardenia.

Duplicating the complex Lambert, Hendricks & Ross arrangements is a substantial feat, but the trio topped off their vocalese extravaganza with a well-staged, informative and entertaining show. Credit director Sharon McNight for the imaginative opening, which found Chambers and Ellis entering from different sides of the room and impatiently looking around for the missing chick, and conversing in vocalese. Finally Lisa enters the club (the entrance door is behind the stage), sheds her leopard coat, revealing a long, black, strapless dress, and heads to join her partners. Her hair, styled in a becoming French flip, and her dress, accented with glittering costume jewelry, made the perfect vintage look. Tom Rolla, himself, gets stylist credit.

The trio accurately captures the Lambert, Hendricks & Ross sound with their re-creations of such numbers as “Cloudburst,” “Li’l Darlin’” and “Detour Ahead,” but their own personalities shine, as well. The accompanying trio of Steve Rawlins, Bill Marcus and Ralph Penland do a terrific job with the challenging charts.

Jon Hendricks’s 90th birthday fell on the performance date for the show, and he couldn’t have asked for a better celebration.

Les Traub
Cabaret Scenes
September 17, 2011
www.cabaretscenes.org