Metropolitan Room
Caberet Scenes
October 24, 2008
Joe Regan Jr.
In one of her rare New York visits, Canadian jazz vocalist Adi Braun celebrated her new CD "Live At The Metropolitan Room" recorded last year at the Metropolitan Room with a show that featured many new tunes and some arrangement changes on some of the material from last year's show.
"Old Devil Moon" began with a Miriam Makeba "click" sound and then Braun, singing better than ever, demonstrated her extraordinary vocal range, soaring over several octaves with the greatest of ease. Next was a sultry "Comes Love", Braun interacting playfully with Tedd Firth on piano and Steve Watson on bass. She did a laid-back sexy "Frim Fram Sauce" and followed with the rarely sung "That Old Devil Called Love". Braun sang it slowly, sensuously and sweetly.
There was a stunning new torch song, "Rain on the Roof" written by fellow Canadians Tony Quarrington and Jordan Klapman.
Braun did a new arrangement of Fats Waller's "Honeysuckle Rose" that included a wild whistling chorus! Firth and Watson did great jazz riffs after the first full chorus. She sang a sexy "Show Me Yours", a song that was featured on the Canadian series "L Word". Braun also repeated her own song, "Grace" about the sad homeless person who once had a great life before her misfortunes. The crowd hushed reverentially.
Braun began "I Can't Give You Anything But Love" slowly and tenderly, burst into rapid time on the second chorus, and, after spectacular work by Firth and Watson, finished the third chorus with a long sustained operatic high note! Braun then did a sexy "Girl from Ipanema" using that gender (girl trying to attract girl) and doing a vocal riff imitating several different brass and reed instruments in her wordless second chorus that was amazing and brilliant! She changed mood again when she sang, in flawless French, Edith Piaf's "Hymne A L'Amour (If You Loved Me, Really Loved Me)".
Beginning with a wordless percussion sound, Braun's next to last number was a very fast and furious "Night and Day" which included high scat imitating several different band instruments against Watson's marvelous bass work. The near capacity audience applauded wildly
Braun's closing number was a touching "Some Other Time".