Freda Payne

Steve Murray | May 26, 2015

Freda Payne

Yoshi’s, Oakland, CA, May 22, 2015

Reviewed by Steve Murray for Cabaret Scenes

Freda Payne’s been performing since age 14 and although best known for her 1970 R&B hit “Band of Gold,” she is foremost a jazzy pop singer. Highlighting selections from her most recent studio solo CD, Come Back to Me Love, her first in quite some time, Payne mixed it up with ballads, blues and jazz. “You’d Be So Nice to Come Home To” (Cole Porter) and “Sweet Georgia Brown” (Music: Ben Bernie and Maceo Pinkard; Lyrics: Kenneth Casey) swing nicely, while “I’d Rather Drink Muddy Water,” made popular by Lou Rawls, brings out the rocking blues.

Two nice ballads were offered back to back: “Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most” with lyrics by Fran Landesman set to music by Tommy Wolf, and a lovely rendition of “Midnight Sun.” The Lionel Hampton/Sonny Burke instrumental with lyrics by Johnny Mercer harkens back to the sound of Ella Fitzgerald and Nancy Wilson, two of Payne’s big influences. Later in the set, Payne would sing “Save Your Love for Me,” popularized by Wilson, and then end her set with her signature “Band of Gold.” Payne had a few pitch problems throughout the set, but her voice is still silky and vibrant.

Tags: “Save Your Love for Me, American Songbook, Band of Gold, Ben Bernie, Broadway Musicals, Cabaret, Cabaret Reviews, Cabaret Scenes, Clubs, Cole Porter, Come Back to Me Love, Composers, Ella Fitzgerald, Fran Landesman, Freda Payne, Great American Songbook, I’d Rather Drink Muddy Water, Jazz, Johnny Mercer, Kenneth Casey, Lionel Hampton, Lou Rawls, lyricists, Maceo Pinkard, Midnight Sun, Musicals, Nancy WIlson, Nightclubs, Oakland, Popular Song, Revues, Show Tunes, Singers, Songbook, Sonny Burke, Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most, Standards, Steve Murray, Supper Clubs, Sweet Georgia Brown, Tommy Wolf, Venues, Vocalists, Yoshi’s, You’d Be So Nice to Come Home To