Mayita Dinos: Jazz and Cocktails

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Mayita Dinos

Jazz and Cocktails

Tom Rolla’s Gardenia, West Hollywood, CA, March 1, 2019

Reviewed by Eliot Zwiebach for Cabaret Scenes Magazine

Mayita Dinos

“Jazz and cocktails” in a cabaret setting may seem like a natural combination, but add the fabulous talents of Mayita Dinos at the microphone and the enjoyment level soars. Dinos is a smoky-voiced singer who brings depth and genuine feeling to each song she performs.

Her vocals are smooth and fluid, and her phrasing and enunciation are impeccable.
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In a show in which every song related to a particular alcoholic beverage, Dinos offered a heady mixture of expressiveness and sly humor, backed by the trio of super musicians that she chose, she said, because of their similarities to the ingredients of her favorite drink—a Negroni. Rich Eames on piano, provided the rich spirit of gin; Gabe Davis on bass, added to the sweetness of vermouth; and Dori Amarilio on guitar, supplyied the bitterness of the Campari that gives complexity to the mix.

Dinos was absolutely mesmerizing on a slow, heartfelt take on Joni Mitchell’s “A Case of You,” which featured some amazing bluesy guitar frills from Amarilio. She also delivered a stunning, confident version of Billy Strayhorn’s “Lush Life” that proved her ability to interpret a lyric with sublime precision. Her voice soared in a slow, languid delivery of “You Go to My Head” (Fred Coots/Haven Gillespie).

Among the show’s brighter moments were a high-powered duet with guest singer John Ciccolini on “Volare” (Franco Migliacci/Domenico Modugno, with English lyrics by Mitchell Parish)—sung in both Italian and English— in which the two maintained close eye contact.
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  Dinos also shone on a dynamic bossa-tinged “A Taste of Honey” (Bobby Scott/Ric Marlow) and the very amusing “One Mint Julep” (Rudy Toombs), during which she encouraged the audience to join in each time the song’s title is repeated in the lyrics.
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Dinos showed off the beauty and depth of her voice on a simple, easy-going, version of Rodgers and Hart’s “Manhattan,” a swinging take on Cole Porter’s “You’d Be So Nice to Come Home To,” and a bouncy “I’m Old Fashioned” (Jerome Kern/Johnny Mercer).
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Her sly sense of humor came into play during a very serious “One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)” (Harold Arlen/Johnny Mercer). Perched on a stool and deep into the song’s reflective emotions, Dinos momentarily went up on a lyric; when an audience member tried to cue her, she quietly said,  “Louder,” without ever losing the emotional connection she had established before proceeding with the song.
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She also made light of a moment during “Straight, No Chaser (Thelonious Monk)—which she told the audience was “real jazz”—when she blew the rapid-fire vocalese lyrics by Howlett Smith, one of her musical mentors.
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“I did it great at home with no accompaniment,” she explained with a laugh.

Elliot Zwiebach

Elliot Zwiebach loves the music of The Great American Songbook and classic Broadway, with a special affinity for Rodgers and Hammerstein. He's been a professional writer for 45 years and a cabaret reviewer for five. Based in Los Angeles, Zwiebach has been exposed to some of the most talented performers in cabaret—the famous and the not-so-famous—and enjoys it all. Reviewing cabaret has even pushed him into doing some singing of his own — a very fun and liberating experience that gives him a connection with the performers he reviews.