Tiffany Austin Quintet
Music of the Harlem Renaissance
Feinstein’s at the Nikko, San Francisco, CA, 9/10/16
Reviewed by Steve Murray for Cabaret Scenes
Tiffany Austin had a tough choice to make after graduating from the U.C.-Berkeley Law School. She’d been singing on three continents for years, so she chose music, and hasn’t looked back since. Singing a few selections from her 2015 CD Nothing but Soul, a tribute to songs written by or associated with Hoagy Carmichael, plus those meant for a future show on the music of Harlem, Austin displayed her R&B, soul and jazz influences accompanied by pianist Eddie Mendenhall, bassist Aneesa Strings and drummer Leon Joyce.
“Drop Me Off in Harlem,” (Duke Ellington/Nick Kenny) finds Austin scatting like her mentor, Ella Fitzgerald. After singing 1931’s “I Need a Little Sugar in My Bowl” (Clarence Williams/Dally Small/Tim Brymn), Austin offered her original “Sugar Cookie” in a nod to Bessie Smith. She also gave us a delicious, bluesy “Send Me to The ‘Lectric Chair” (George Brooks). From her Hoagy tribute CD, she offers a fresh, bouncy version of “Star Dust” and an upbeat, swinging “Baltimore Oriole.”
Austin combines traditional blues, R&B and soul into a jazz-infused contemporary mix that suits her voice well. Her arrangements are sharp and concise and I look forward to her full Harlem Renaissance show.
