Jun 13, 2012 – Eve Cornelious, one of the unforgettable great jazz voices in NY, enthralled her audience Wednesday 13th in the warm atmosphere of Zeb’s Place.
Her alto soulful voice shaded with smoky hues enchanted the audience bringing back to life some of the most beautiful standards of the jazz repertoire.
After some famous and exciting swinging tunes energetically performed and some graceful ballads, her ironical verve exploded with “Let him in”, an 8 bars phrase on a marching tempo, about a woman’s request to open her door (maybe to an unexpected lover?!). As the microphone passed by, dragged by the friendly atmosphere, everyone in the audience sang a proper interpretation of the lyrics. Of course anyone knows that subtle feeling between laziness and surprise that comes in certain evening so it became a coral performance: a very fun moment, a magic fusion of souls.
This was followed by an amazing interpretation of McCartney hit “And I love her” covered by Esther Phillips in the mid 60’. It seemed she knew the torture of love and the painful path of resurrection, connecting intimately with an audience more and more comforted by the subdued yet comforting sound of her voice.
The eclectic creativity of Saul (Zebulon)Rubin on guitar mingled efficiently with the intense melodic bass of George deLancey and the measured, classy drums of Andrew Swift, creating a comfortable field for the vivacious singer.
She really knows how to impress the audience and suddenly a fast swing tempo on “Just one of those things” burned the air with a funny giocoso improvisation, where her rhythmical excellent skills showed up and made the audience ask for more. So she surrendered to the final tunes: a soothing yet soulful “Skylark” and a lively version of “On green dolphin street” which delivered wonderfully the final message: the beauty of love, life, jazz.
Pamela Chiarappa
Zeb’s Place
223 W.28h Street
New York New York 10001