Paula West: Feinstein’s at the Nikko

Steve Murray | February 16, 2015

Paula West

Feinstein’s at the Nikko, San Francisco, CA, February 13, 2015

Reviewed by Steve Murray for Cabaret Scenes

Spring must be imminent because San Francisco’s crown jewel of the jazz scene has taken up her annual six-week residence at Feinstein’s at the Nikko. Always a treat to shake off the winter cobwebs, Paula West and her fierce musical collaborators always serve up something fresh and lively. Transitioning seamlessly between the old and contemporary is no problem for West, who opened with the Ethel Waters-recorded spicy “Do What You Did Last Night” and “I Won’t Dance” (Jerome Kern/Oscar Hammerstein II/Otto Harbach) before fast-forwarding decades ahead with Fred Neil’s Grammy Award-winning “Everybody’s Talkin’,” a huge hit for Harry Nilsson, featured in the movie Midnight Cowboy.

That’s the way West works—a solid base of beautiful classics like “Bill” (Show Boat) to Hank Williams’s humorous “Settin’ the Woods on Fire” to the Talking Heads’s new wave punk/funk “Life During Wartime.” Of course, each song gets a jazz interpretation with arrangements by pianist Adam Shulman that take the original melodic intent to a whole new level. An example is Bob Dylan’s “It Ain’t Me Babe,” where West carefully massages the lyric with her measured delivery that emphasizes the critical lines with both tempo and extended notes. But behind her, the band is cooking at a frenetic 12/8 time signature that drives the song like a well-tuned racecar. The glue that drives the great arrangements is percussionist Jerome Jennings, a master of the brushes and vibrantly fresh rhythms.

West was in great voice this night, allowing the music and lyrics to bring her selections of romance (both amorous and dysfunctional) to fruition. A real Valentine’s treat was her rendition of the gorgeous “I’m Glad There Is You” (“In This World of Ordinary People”). It’s so fine, that had it been her one and only selection, I would have been more than satisfied!

Tags: Adam Shulman, American Songbook, Bill, Cabaret, Cabaret Scenes, Do What You Did Last Night, Dylan, Ethel Waters, Everybody’s Talkin’, Feinstein's at the Nikko, Female Jazz Vocalist, Female Vocalist, Fred Neil, funk, Grammy Award, Great American Songbook, Hank Williams, Harry Nilsson, I Won’t Dance, I’m Glad There Is You, It Ain’t Me Babe, Jazz Singer, Jazz Vocalist, Jerome Kern, Life During Wartime, Midnight Cowboy, new wave punk, Nightclubs, Oscar Hammerstein II, Otto Harbach, Paula West, Popular Song, San Francisco, Settin’ the Woods on Fire, Showboat, Songbook, Steve Murray, Supper Clubs, Talking Heads, Vocalist