Lenni Jabour @ C’est What

At the risk of appearing to be talking to myself (I know you folks are out there, my webserver log files say you are), I’m going to post some impressions of last night’s performance at C’est What in downtown Toronto. This is the fifth time I’ve seen Lenni and The Third Floor since April 2001, and the group has changed quite a bit in the last year. Pamela Bettger (viola), Andrew Downing (double bass) and Frédéric Comeau (guitar) have been replaced by Natasha Sharko (viola), Drew Birston (double bass) and Stephen McGrath (drums), with a guest appearance by Anne O’Kane on cello last June. Not to take anything away from the earlier musicians–I know Downing and Comeau have left to pursue other efforts, both solo and in other groups–but the concert on Sunday night was the best to date. As I mentioned to Lenni after the performance, I feel strange saying that I have nothing to criticize about any of the performances I’ve seen–unconditional praise seems phony–but it’s the truth. There are certainly mistakes at times, but they’re charming. Even something as potentially disastrous as Natasha’s scrambling for her music in Ruby was taken in stride–Alex covered the part, Lenni pointed out the glitch (Play it, Natasha!), and everything worked out by the string duet bridge. A fine time was had by all, on stage and in the crowd. I’m in love with Lenni Jabour, by the way… and with Alex McMaster, and with Rosalita Whyte, and with Natasha Sharko. (And I have a deep and lasting respect for Stephen McGrath and Drew Birston. But then again, so was (and does) everyone at the performance. As someone who’s played (trumpet) on stage in the past, I’m constantly amazed at how effortless they make the music look and sound, and at how much sheer unadulterated fun they all have together! Even restricted by her cello, Alex sings along and dances at every chance–I bet she’d give Rosalita a run for her money with a hula hoop. Which brings me to Lenni. Anyone who’s seen the group perform live will tell you that the evening centers around her, and Sunday was no exception. From her prelude of La Vie En Rose (on mouth organ) to Trouble Song (Angie, Say A Prayer) at the end of the hour-and-twenty-minute set, it’s all about her voice, her piano and her songs… and the outfits, of course. It’s hard to keep the grin from my face when she tears into songs like Have You Been Good and Mother’s Always Sober (especially with toy lobster, whistle and horn contributions from the other ladies); it’s just as hard not to react to more melancholy songs like The Famous Song or Trouble Song, not to mention dichotomous tunes like Ruby and Broken Balloon. The set list hit a lot of recent songs from At the Clarion Cafe with the required highlights from Demo 2000 and Ten Songs Live and a couple of cabaret standards. The hula hoop song was familiar but I can’t place a name on it–Lenni’s Rosalita-specific lyrics were cute, though. I think this is the first time that there wasn’t anything played from Lenni’s solo album, which is a little disappointing now but that I didn’t realize until after the show. (Although I don’t have any individual song that I’d consider a favourite–I love them all–I do catch myself whistling tunes from the first CD fairly often.) Alex, Drew, Natasha, Rosalita, Stephen, and Lenni–thanks for another great show. See you all again soon!