Jazz artist Lisa Hearns hit the National Arts Club last night, delivering a robust performance of material from her new album, I Got it Bad & That Ain’t Good.
In a mauve evening gown, shimmering rouge bracelet and blood-red heels, Hearns worked her way through material from Monk, Porter, Ellington and Strayhorn with particular verve. The opener, a cover of Arthur Hamilton’s "Cry Me a River" showcased Hearns’ impressive range—from the deep and soulful one moment, to lighter freewheeling vocal incantations the next.
Another song, "Easy Living" showcased some excellent guitar work from one of her all-star band members, Howard Alden then the album’s title track featured a spellbinding upright bass solo from musician Kelly Friesen, his adroit control of the instrument akin to a craftsmen weaving a striking musical tapestry.
Hearns’ vocals were wonderful throughout the evening yet the dizzying instrumental solos from her accompanying musicians often threatened to steal the show. What was extraordinary was how each of the players managed to make his instrument sound like another one entirely: Alden’s guitar seemed like a piano at one point, crisp chords unfolding in sprawling splendor, then on the track "Cheek to Cheek" Taro Okamoto’s epic drum solo was somehow ordered around a beat that sounded like it was straight from a bass guitar. Friesen wasn’t going to be left out of the act either, tapping his bass like a drum on one solo to compliment his dazzling arrangement of strings.
Not to be outdone, throughout the enchanting performance Hearns scatted, sung in French (on the upbeat-chic number, "Plus Je T’Embrasse"), mused “a flower is a lonesome thing” and charmed the room with a little banter about her love of cooking and of course, her mother.
“Romance is mush” Hearns sang, but mush is rarely this divine.
