Review: EVA CASSIDY TRIBUTE: A SOULFUL JOURNEY - ADELAIDE FRINGE 2019 at La Boheme

Reviewed by Fiona Talbot Leigh, Thursday 14th March 2019.

Jyoti Singh was a welcome addition to La Boheme's Fringe programme as she presented her show, Eva Cassidy Tribute: A Soulful Journey. The club was packed to the rafters with Eva Cassidy fans and the intimate setting could not have been more perfect. Singh was backed by three very talented locals. Vinnie Miranda, a virtuoso on guitar, Nikki Stedman, on bass, and Adam Williams, on drums. These three set the scene and began with an instrumental version of Bill Withers's, Ain't No Sunshine, to which Singh then sauntered out onto the stage, in a black halter neck dress, and began to sing.

Singh is half Belgian and Indian and is a professional jazz singer with a Masters in Vocal Jazz. She effortlessly glided over each note as she put her own spin on Cassidy's numbers. Her patter in-between songs was well researched and to the point, as we got a glimpse into this somewhat shy American entertainer who was Eva Cassidy, and her short-lived career. Sadly, Cassidy passed away in 1996 from melanoma at the age of just 33. Two years after her death, her interpretations of Sting's Fields of Gold, and Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg's Somewhere Over the Rainbow, were played on BBC Radio 2 and the switchboard just lit up. Shortly afterwards, Cassidy's album, Songbird, soared in the UK charts and her music finally got the recognition it deserved, albeit posthumously.

Cassidy was well known for arranging songs from various genres, including pop, blues, and jazz to country music and ballads, in her own way. These musical arrangements were often haunting and, for the most part, acoustic. Singh did her songs justice and she performed crowd favourites such as People Get Ready, Summertime, Songbird, and Autumn Leaves. Lacking the passion and emotional depth that was Cassidy, Singh was, however, pitch-perfect throughout the performance, with her incredible range. Technically, she couldn't be faulted but, for most of the evening, I couldn't help but feel that I wanted more from her. Cassidy told a story through her songs with such emotion. She only sang songs that she felt she connected with and it was this that I felt Singh lacked.

She is, though, a very gracious and humble performer who expressed her gratefulness to be able to work with such fine musicians in our fair city. She came across as very gentle and endearing, like Cassidy, and her sense of humour is nothing but charming. She had the audience gripped the entire time, such was her presence but, sadly, she hid behind a large music stand, which cut her off somewhat from the audience and which I felt could have been avoided.

Singh endeared herself, however, to the all there on the night and received a warm welcome and very warm applause at the conclusion of her show. It was, all in all, a lovely evening spent at La Boheme, and one can only hope that it won't be my last.

[Editor's note. La Boheme is facing financial difficulties at the moment and is trying very hard to avoid closure. There is an article from the ABC here and, should you be in a position to assist, follow this link GoFundMe]