Half way through Glory Crampton’s premiere appearance at Feinstein’s, she hits her stride with a truly original and clever arrangement performed with the best of her vocal skills and unexpected comic timing. Crampton describes the awe she felt making her CD at Abbey Road Studios in London, in Studio 2, where The Beatles recorded. “All I Ask of You” (Andrew Lloyd Webber/Charles Hart & Richard Stilgoe) from her CD, is interrupted by reluctant phrases from Beatles songs as if the artist were possessed. She repeatedly apologizes to her producer, but uncontrollably follows with such tandem lyrics as Love me, that’s all I ask of you…goo goo g’joob. It’s a wonderful conceit, artfully crafted. Crampton sings effectively in this mid range and with brio. Bravo Tedd Firth.
A Spanish/English medley of “Si Tu Me Maas” (John Reid/Joseph Marossi/Andreas Romdhane) with reference to her Argentinean grandmother, and “Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina” (Andrew Lloyd Webber/Tim Rice) provides one of the most moving parts of the evening, despite the untranslated language. (Beautiful arrangement) Crampton sighs into the first with great depth of feeling and enacts the second sympathetically. Where, one wonders, was this heart, spirit, and character personification during earlier renditions of “I’ve Got Plenty of Nothing” (George and Ira Gershwin)—sung evenly without a note of prideful defiance or joy, “I Can See It” (Tom Jones/Harvey Schmidt”—offered in a Las Vegas-like arrangement without its iconic yearning, and “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” (Jule Styne/Leo Robin) completely lacking in innocence or seduction?
While “Out of My Dreams” (Richard Rodgers/Oscar Hammerstein II) is performed with really interesting, well controlled phrasing, lyrical lines in “Soon It’s Gonna Rain” (Tom Jones/ Harvey Schmidt) are broken in the most awkward places: We’ll bind…breath…it over with leaves/and run inside to stay. Evidence of classical training (listen to her enunciation) makes this surprising.
As almost all selections relate directly to Crampton’s resume, which is sufficiently ample to provide variety, numbers like Sheldon Harnick’s “The Ballad of the Shape of Things” and “Kissing You” (Tim Atack/Des’ree), two of the weakest, feel like a disconnect.
Another stage professional from the never-look-in-the-eyes-of-the-audience school of performing, Crampton keeps us from empathizing with any of her lively anecdotes and arms’ length away from connecting to most of the songs. Even walking through the audience at one point, she fails to take advantage of proximity.
This is a hit or miss evening, all the more frustrating for parentheses of good acting and entertaining vocal luster.
Unusual Way
Glory Crampton, Vocals
Tedd Firth, Pianist & Musical Director
Peter Grant, Drums.
Nathan Childers, Saxophone
Tom Hubbard, Bass
Feinstein’s at Loew’s Regency
August 22, 2011
