It felt like a wedding at the E Spot Lounge as the triple threat vocal team Duchess delivered something old, new, borrowed and blue, mixing music from the Coolidge years with a vibe as modern as a phone app.
The threesome Amy Cervini, Hilary Gardner and Melissa Stylianou all have impressive solo albums, but what is taking them up to the Monterrey Jazz Fest on their next stop is the combination of sounds that takes a dash of the Boswell Sisters, a flavor from the Andrews Sisters and the attitude of Max Fleischer cartoons , bringing it all together into their own Sisterhood of a Travelling Stance that mixes jazz with joy, and swing with swelling harmonies.
With the toe tapping team of Bruce Forman/g, Alex Frank/b and David Wise/ts-bs supplying the vibe and pace, the ladies wind-sailed through a playful “Ain’t No Sweet Man” while showing that they’d make even reading a phone book enjoyable as they mixed humor and sentiment on Gershwin’s wordless “Blah Blah.”
Forman was a master at the frets, using the white glove treatment on his intro to a rich and luminous “Que Sera” that had Sylianou’s voice as rich and creamy as tzadziki sauce, while his clever Monk quotes on the frenetic “Everybody Loves My Baby” fit right in as the ladies shifted more gears than a Mazeratti. The ladies switched between solo, duo and trio roles, with each one popping out to the front with the speed of a Whack a Mole. Gardner was fervent and winsome as she sang between the careening kazoos, and Cervini was girl next door homey on the hep “A Little Jive Is Good For You” as she went from blues wailer to auctioneer at the flip of a coin. Gardner was marble clear and smooth as Wise crooned behind on the tenor during along with the supporting vocal harmonies on “PS I Love You” and Stylianou was rich and sweet like a Turkish Delight on a luscious “Humming to Myself.” The closing hotcha “Heebie Jeebies” had more twists than a Red Vine, and was just as tasty, making the evening so hot, it was cool.
Look out for them next time they come out here, and check out the disc; it’s the cat’s pajamas!
Upcoming shows at the acoustically adroit E Spot Lounge include Latin Jazz Train 09/20, Oded Tzur with Vardan Ovsepian 10/09, saxist Chuck Johnson 10/17, and a rare LA appearance by Sinne Eeg 10/21.