Lizzie Cook at C.S.A.

Press, 25 October 1985, Page 4

Lizzie Cook at C.S.A.

Lizzie Cook, piano and vocals, in recital at the C.S.A. Gallery, October 24, 12.10 p.m. Reviewed by Philip Norman. Yesterday was obviously the day for aspiring jazz vocalists. Two such recitals for piano and voice were given over the lunch-time period, the first of these by Lizzie Cook at the C.S.A. Gallery.

I first heard Lizzie Cook in a solo recital performance three months ago as part of the mid-year “Out to Lunch” series. Her music then seemed promising, but belonged more to the cocktail bar than the concert hall. It still does.

For a singer, the juggling act of self-accompaniment is a brave but foolhardy exercise to carry out on a recital platform. Seated at

the piano, a singer cannot communicate direct with the audience. Without amplification, or a rubber neck, the vocal sound is projected straight into the cavernous innards of a grand piano. While Lizzie Cook has a certain dexterity in her fingers, hers is not the lightest keyboard touch on the jazz circuit. The combination of weighty articulation and a fully open piano lid ensured that the vocal sound was swamped throughout the performance. Most of the items presented were from the repertoire of early jazz and blues. Lizzie Cook certainly has a feel for this music, but her interpretative skills are not yet sufficiently developed to withstand the close scrutiny of a concert appearance.

With a limited band of expression available from both voice and piano, all the songs quickly began to sound the same.

A limited variety was achieved through the presentation of three compositions written by the performer. Of these, “Blue” was the most effective, pairing the lilt of a slow jazz waltz accompaniment with a haunting, wordless melody in the voice. The other two pieces, “Yellow” and “Smiler,” were not so convincing. Written originally as mood music for a dance company, they would no doubt have worked well in that context. Without the focal element of dance yesterday, they appeared as rather bland works, lacking in shape and thematic invention.