Eileen Hunter
A Tribute to Blossom Dearie
606 Club, London, U.K., February 4, 2018
Reviewed by Thanasis Kalantzis for Cabaret Scenes
It may be cold and blustery in London town these days, but last Sunday it was warm and cozy at Chelsea’s eternally atmospheric 606 Club where Eileen Hunter performed her latest singing adventure, A Tribute to Blossom Dearie. A regular on the 606 stage for many years, Hunter has also graced the stages of the Royal Albert Hall and Regents Park Open Air Theatre. The chanteuse possesses a simply amazing voice, confident and clear, filled with an underlying mellow quality, utterly capable of communicating every single feeling of the song—not to mention her natural comfort on stage and full of character presence.
Her set list consisted of a well-thought-out mix of up-tempo numbers and ballads carefully positioned during her hour-and-a-half program. She started, and set the mood perfectly, with a swing version of “(There Ought to Be a) Moonlight Savings Time” (Irving Kahal/Harry Richman), and continued in the same up-beat spirit, with “The Lies of Handsome Men” (Francesca Blumenthal).
She also sang a magnificent “Plus je t’embrasse” (Ben Ryan’s “Heart of My Heart,” French lyrics by Max François), while her fast and furious “Lullaby of Birdland” (George Shearing/George David Weiss) was a pure joy and came with some exquisite scatting. The ballad “Now at Last” (Bob Haymes) that followed allowed the singer to deliver a real showstopper, handling the high notes with absolute precision. She picked up the pace with Cole Porter’s “Just One of Those Things,” full of lyricism and sweet vibrato. Other standouts were a lovely rendition of “Bye Bye Country Boy” (music by Dearie, words by Jack Segal); the funny and suggestive “Peel Me a Grape” (Dave Frishberg); a slow, filled-with-pathos-and-drama “Mad About the Boy” (Noël Coward) which climaxed beautifully; and an inspired medley of “Ev’rything I’ve Got (Belongs to You)”/“’S Wonderful” (Rodgers & Hart/George & Ira Gershwin) between Hunter and her bassist Robert Rickenberg.
Towards the end, Hunter invited her husband on stage, the offensively talented Steve Brookstein (first-ever winner of Britain’s X-Factor), and together they performed two Motown standards: Marvin Gaye’s “If This World Were Mine” and “You’re All I Need to Get By” (Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson). The experience was scintillating. Their voices completed each other’s in a unique, primal way.
Hunter’s salute to Blossom Dearie’s celebrated career was deserving and very welcome. The songstress has the voice and character to interpret fully her subject’s taste in jazz, and yet make it her own — a unique demonstration of talent in its most sincere form.
Hunter was artfully supported by Naadia Sheriff on piano, Robert Rickenberg on bass, and Nick Smalley on drums, all of whom had the chance to shine with solos on almost every song.
