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Karen Oberlin and the Tedd Firth Septet Iridium-----Doris Day – the Jazz Years This brings me to the tricky task of evaluating last night’s endeavor. Miss Oberlin is sunny of voice and disposition with a sweet clear timbre, so it is easily understood why she is attracted to the art of Doris Day. Crossing over from cabaret (an art which is usually quite rehearsed) to jazz (in these times of few or no rehearsals) makes it hard to represent an artist who developed mainly by touring, such as Day or Ella Fitzgerald.
Starting with a “Secret Love” and “Close Your Eyes” she found herself in the groove with “We’ll Be Together Again,” exposing some surprisingly rich lower notes for a singer of such brightness. Most of the show’s tunes were done well; with the evening’s surprise hit being an updated “I’d Rather Be Here with You,” with jazz singer Alan Harris. The new lyrics were topical and extremely clever. Karen did not swing hard for the most part, but had more of a delicate lilt – till the end where she pulled out all of the stops bopping along to the finish. The main stay, “Que Sera, Sera,” did not totally jell – let’s face it – there might not be anything to do but sing this tune straight, perhaps one time through with piano.
Musical Director and pianist Tedd Firth is someone almost every jazz or cabaret singer aspires to work with, and there is a reason. His sheer knowledge of tunes and virtuoso playing and support assures performers and audiences that they are in for something special. Some of his rather progressive arrangements using tutti horn sections (four horns playing the same figure at once) remind me of the horn sections used by Mark Murphy or Kurt Elling on certain CDs, but a with lighter touch, thus being more suitable for this material.
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