Dizzy did it with Afro Cuban. Getz, likewise with bossa nova. Miles plugged in. Like all of these giants who injected new blood into jazz, vocalist Staci Griesbach is doing by bringing in songbooks from the country and western side of the tracks and melding them with jazz sensibilities.
For this evening at Catalina’s, Ms Griesbach delivered the goods from her recently released songbook of George Jones, a tribute to “The Possum” of whom little is known about in the jazz world. Well, they heard of him tonight as Griesbach and her swinging team of Tamir Hendelman/p-arr, Kevin Axt/b, Aaron Serfaty/dr and Brian Clancy/ts-fl brought in songs, moods and stories of the country/western icon and proved that, like all great artists, all you need is a good story, a bit of swing and the blues and you’re on your way.
Hendelman’s trio opened things up by tapping into his inner Red Garland and brought out a classy and glassy reading of “But Not For Me” before Griesbach entered stage left and gracefully emoted “The Grand Tour”. Over Axt’s sublime bass line, Griesbach brought out the saudade in the gorgeous heartbreaker of “A Good Year For the Roses”, while in French p layed the role of the chanteuse on a chasson take of “Tender Years”. She bopped and scatted to a cleverly Latinized “He Still Thinks I Care” and took a read of the best known tune of The Great Roadhouse Songbook and gave a riveting and heart wrenching “He Stopped Loving Her Today” that evoked a visceral reaction akin to “Strange Fruit”.
Axt switched to electric bass, and Brian Serfaty pulled out his Yakkety- Yak Texas tenor sax as Griesbach boogaloo’d to a foot stomping “White Lightning” and a Harper Valley PTA-ish “Golden Ring”. She milked the tear in her beer on the luminous “A Picture of Me Without Her” and “Bartender’s Blues” before doing a quick tribute to Dolly Parton with “Coat of Many Colors” and “Here You Come Again”.
With a girl-next-door charm that is reminiscent of Betty as opposed to Veronica in the Archie Comics of the jazz world, Greisbach told yarns of Jones between pieces like the thoughtful “Walk Through This World With Me” (featuring Hendelman and Clancy’s flute) and bellying up to the bar with Hendleman on “ Why Baby Why” . And while Mr. Jones may have been nicknamed “No Show” for his aberrant behavior, Griesbach closed this special show with a low ceilinged juke joint blues of “The Race Is On”.
Ms. Griesbach showed the Hollywood crowd that there’s gold in them thar country hills, and she’s tapped into a Mother Lode.
Upcoming shows at Catalina’s include Freda Payne 10/08-09, Andy James & Alex Acuna 10/14Brian Broberg 10/22-23, Monty Alexander 10/29-30 and Roberta Gambarini 11/05-06