It's an admirable endeavor to adapt the music of the late great Oscar Brown Jr. to a cabaret style setting, but Bay Area jazz and cabaret performer Linda Kosut did just that at the cozy, redesigned Octavia Lounge.

Brown's material covers a range not generally typical of t"he cabaret songbook; afro-centrist songs of urban poverty (Dime Away from a Hotdog"), s ocietal woes ("Hymn to the Homeless"), and even slavery ("Bid Em In") -- ambitious material presented with the charm and earnestness Kosut brings to her performances.

She clearly is a fan of Brown's legend and while lacking in the passionate and despairing delivery some of his material speaks to, she hits the mark on his more humorous material, particularly "Dat Dere," "Mister Kicks" and "Hazel's Hips" from the 1961 musical starring Burgess Meredith and Star Trek's Nichele Nichols with her animated style and exuberance. Linda can swing and vamp on certain songs, then switch to a poignancy required of Brown's more accessible material like a haunting "Column of Birds" and a lovely "Tower of Time."

Brown often wrote lyrics that were grafted onto other composers' music and Linda covered these as well in "Old Lovers Song" with music by Jacques Brel, and a sweet "Round About Midnight," with music by Thelonius Monk and Cootie Williams. The backup band consisting of bassist Fred Randolph, drummer David Rokeach and pianist Max Perkoff did justice to the music, with some of the better arrangements being written by the great Mike Greensill.

Linda plans a CD of Brown's material produced by vocalist/producer Maye Cavallaro and I can see this wonderful material being enhanced and strengthened in the studio. In paying tribute to Oscar Brown Jr., Linda Kosut brings this timeless material to life for a new generation of listeners. Do I want to know more about Oscar Brown Jr.? You bet.

Linda returns to Octavia Lounge with Long As You're Living - the Songs of Oscar Brown Jr. April 7 at 8 pm and then brings the show to New York City's Triad Theatre June 1 at 7 pm and June 8 at 9 pm.

Steve Murray
Cabaret Scenes
March 24, 2007
www.cabaretscenes.org