Review: With AMERICAN DIVAS IN PARIS, Chloe Perrier Sings & Swings & Is A Smooth Jazz Diva Herself At The Triad

Voulez-Vous cabaret avec moi ce soir? You Should, And You'll Be Glad You Did.

Bonjour et Bonsoire, My Merry Rainbow Tribe! Bobby Patrick, your RAINBOW Reviewer here. Putting the silent T in cabareT to bring you all the T!

WELL, my dear readers, as it happened, Bobby was feeling very, 'ow shall we say... Left Bank on Wednesday night and so we took ourselves uptown to The Triad to catch the very Chanteusian Chanteuseness of Chloe Perrier, a smooth jazz marvel who tributed 4 American divas that had careers that were more than a little bit en Français. Perrier's AMERICAN DIVAS IN PARIS paid homage to the late great Blossom Dearie, Eartha Kitt, Joséphine Baker, & the still with us, Helen Merrill - all bilingual singers that recorded famously in the language of love almost as much as they did in the Queens English. Entering the stage in low blue light, the audience could see Perrier and her musicians (Hyuna Park on piano, and Jim Robertson on bass) adjusting their placements and setting themselves up to play and sing. From behind her old-fashioned box mic, in a gorgeous cream, sequinned evening gown with feathers in her hair, La Dame Perrier kicked off the night with Baker's J'AI DEUX AMOURS (I HAVE 2 LOVES -- Bobby does not see a problem). With clear bright sounds, Chloe did not attempt to sing like the ladies on her bill but gave wonderful renditions of the songs they recorded in their careers in her own, bell-like voice. Gently swaying, but never moving much at all, the rhythms from her instrumentalists lived within her, and her subtle signals lightly conducting Robertson & Park here and there as she chose to repeat a phrase and/or pass an improv lick to them all combined to show the lady's consummate musicianship and more...

Like the young'ens of today's urban centers who rap, rap rap passing poetic, rhythmic phrases back and forth challenging each other to build on what came before, jazz can indeed be music of the moment, and all three musicians Wednesday night were experts in theme and variation on the spot. Park's fingers gliding over the keys like tiny Olympic ice skaters all while smiling, enjoying, and even reveling in the performance of her partners was matched by the slick and cool bass strumming of the UBER HANDSOME Robertson all topped off by their star's excellent vocals making this trio into a single unit of music makers whose principal tool was listening to each other. In Jazz - That is key my dearlings... to listen and regard is everything. On this particular evening, everything was EN POINTE in the moment. Another partner that added to the evening's easy and beautiful flow was Shannon Epstein, who with his magical touch on the board and the beauty of the pinks and blues he called forth from his light plot only ever enhanced and never distracted. If Perrier's "patter" was scripted at all, there was no telling, and each tiny goof, gaffe, and laugh that occurred only endeared her to all present. Calling from the stage to the booth for less air conditioning, one thought the slight, creamy white framed woman needed to be more comfortable to work until she finally doffed her beige shawl and said she just wanted to show off her new dress.

To be clear, my dears, CP is a soft, smooth jazz baby, so there were no rough growls, high yowls, or loud improvised scat singing, mais non. The sounds this singer sings are the silky tones of one whose training and experience and life have taught her she need never raise her voice to make her musical point. Like Blossom Dearie, whose child-like quaver always mesmerized her listeners, Chloe Perrier's voice, by its tone and clarity reaches out into the house making everyone sway from their chairs as she sways behind her quaint looking microphone. Her choices in variation of phrases here and there, or her resolving to a dissonant last note at the end of a song show her artistry by making tiny jazz surprises. One forgives her subtle glances to the music stand to her right to keep up with her lyrics on occasion and, though she broke contact with the house to shuffle pages on that stand a couple of times during her show, all was forgiven (mostly) once she smiled and went back to living inside her musical notes. A gift she shares freely and one that makes the fact that 95% of her set was in French matter, not one bit. You may not know WHAT she is singing, my lambs, but you're gonna like the way she sings it. The deceptively powerful vocals we tout here were the reason for spontaneous, mid-song, applause on Baker's C'EST LUI.

Other highlights in a night of highlights include her renditions of the Kitt hit JE CHERCHE UN HOMME (I'M SEARCHING FOR A MAN -- and who ain't honey?), Merrill's marvelously haunting VOUS M'EBLOUISSEZ (YOU GO TO MY HEAD) which brought forth sighs from the house and applause from her colleagues on stage. A welcome addition, making her trio into a quartette, came late in the set when she called Musical Director, Hyuna Park's trombonist husband, Amadis Dunkel to the stage to add a bit of brass to the proceedings. Their performance of Lady Eartha's C'EST SI BON had bounce and charm and got the audience to intone all the "Si Bon, Si Bons" along with Chloe.

All in all my darlings, Chloe Perrier is a real Zis & Zat French singer whose lovely voice and consummate musicianship will make lovers of the language out of anyone, especially if smooth, sexy jazz is your jam... and for that, and quite a bit more, we give Chloe Perrier AMERICAN DIVAS IN PARIS a rousing...

4 Out OF 5 Rainbows

Chloe Has Her Webby (Where You Can Pick Up Her Latest CD): HERE

Check Out Her Insta-Pictograms: HERE

Tweet Her Twitters: HERE

Ande Followe On Ye Olde Facebooke: HERE

All Photos By Yours Truly, Bobby Patrick

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