Sunday Afternoon Jazz (8/6/17)

Audrey Silver, vocals
Larry Corban, guitar
 
This was a rather pleasant way to spend an hour at the Lenox Hill Neighborhood House. A small (maybe forty people) audience heard a dozen-plus tunes. There was no printed program, so my notes are a bit haphazard.
Ms. Silver sang with a microphone attached to a small reverb box (it probably has a real name but I’m not going to go searching) and Mr. Corban was appropriately amped up.
 
The first song was called It’s a Wonderful World but it was not the one I’m used to, and I did not get the composer’s name. Mr. Corban’s tapping/slapping foot was the percussion for most of the afternoon, though not for every song. Ms. Silver’s voice was pretty in a slightly breathy, easygoing jazz way, and she did a mild scat section here and in a couple of other pieces, as well.
 
Gershwin’s Isn’t It a Pity? followed, with If I Had You (1928) after that. There was a bit of patter between the two performers, but only Ms. Silver had a mic, so it didn’t really work too well. I rather enjoyed Monk’s Dream, by Thelonious Monk, with its up tempo flair.
 
I had to research the name Antonio Carlos Jobim, who was the composer of the next tune, Meditation, which was fun, after a false start by the guitarist. Which brings up the laid back feel of the afternoon. Apparently there was no written set ahead of time, since Ms. Silver pulled sheets of music (sometimes randomly, it seemed) before briefly working out a tempo with Mr. Corban and then beginning. The whole thing was a little too laid back for my taste. Meditation had a Latin flair while Je t’embrasser, sung in French, was quieter. I found it slightly odd that the tune is known to me as Heart of my Heart. Maybe it’s just a setting of different words to that tune.
 
Strangely, it was about this time that I noticed patrons leaving early. I’m not sure why, but when all was said and done, about a quarter of the audience had left before the end of the program. The next song was Just a Garden in the Rain, followed by New Year’s Eve, which had a definite NYC vibe and was written by Ms. Silver. Small Day Tomorrow, written by Bob Dorough, was next. Although he’s a fine jazz composer, he’s also known for writing music for Schoolhouse Rock! Who knew? He’s also still performing at age ninety-three.
 
Right after I Thought about You, a cell phone went off, even though there had been an announcement from the stage to silence all devices before the program began. It was not mine. Another Gershwin tune, But Not for Me, was next. As a bit of a nod to Rosemary Clooney, Ms. Silver followed that with I’ll Be Seeing You.
 
An Irving Berlin song, How Deep Is the Ocean? was next, and then the afternoon ended with an up tempo version of Exactly Like You. I may check out some future programming at the Neighborhood House as a nice way to spend a brief part of a Sunday afternoon.

ConcertMeister