While it seems you could throw a rock in any direction from an LA street corner and be guaranteed to hit an aspiring singer, finding one that has a unique and memorable style of delivery is like about as frequent as driving through the 101 with no traffic stops. Yet this night in Little Tokyo, pianist Geoffrey Keezer and guitarist Peter Sprague teamed up to frame Canadian vocalist Gillian Margot to look like a piece of art worth hanging on your wall.
The Blakey-McBride alumnus pianist and Corea graduate guitarist opened and closed the hour long set with a pair of clever originals. Sprague’s “Secret Code” was a lovely pastoral yet swinging affair that displayed the composer’s fluid and warm touch while Keezer was melodic yet percussive. A rework of the Eagles’ “Hotel California” was a hip jazz waltz that had Sprague movin’ Wes with his picking and strumming and Keezer’s bop phrases were a nice surprise with no alibis.
Between the instrumentals came Ms. Margot, with a rich, clear and earthy voice that was both rhythmic and free on the soulful “Black Butterfly.” She showed her ability to joyfully jive on the fun and snappy “I Can’t Much Sense Out Of You” while she shifted gears and moods as Keezer went to his electric keyboard and delivered a deeply thick bluesy riff while Margot penetrated through the fog with a Cold Steel blade on “Holding Back the Years.” On the impressionistic “Winter Rime,” Sprague created gentle raindrops while Keezer frosted the November window pane which Margot peered out of with a mix of reflection and reflective poetry. Her duet with Keezer on Jimmy Webb’s “Do What You Gotta Do” displayed her ability to be both strong in voice yet vulnerable in spirit, conversant and still melodic as she delivred the lyrics of resignation. Hints of a young Aretha Franklin permeated the room as the sounds of pop, soul and gospel walked together like long time friends.
This lady needs to be heard, and the team of Keezer and Sprague know how to deliver the goods.
Upcoming shows include Grace Kelly Apr 18, Kneebody Apr 21-23, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson Ensemble and Le Beouf Brothers