Review: Stephanie Nakasian Brings Warmth and Depth to Chelsea Table + Stage

Jazz singer, educator and author Stephanie Nakasian appeared at Chelsea Table + Stage on June 14 with the Matt Baker Trio for Full Swing for Spring, a show that combined jazz with some of the structure of cabaret. In addition to pianist Baker, the trio consisted of bassist Karl Kimmel and drummer Aaron Seeber.

Nakasian has made quite a name for herself since leaving a career on Wall Street in the 1980s after discovering her passion for jazz through collaborations with pianist Hod O'Brien, whom she later married. (O’Brien passed away in 2016.) Nakasian gained international prominence in the mid-1980s as part of Jon Hendricks and Company, honing her skills alongside jazz legends, and has since recorded over 15 albums as a leader, including tributes to artists like Billie Holiday and June Christy. Nakasian and O’Brien’s daughter, Veronica Swift, is today one of the most exciting singers in the world.

After a swinging instrumental by the trio, Nakasian opened with “Sweet and Lowdown” (Richard A. Whiting/Sidney Clare), including the verse. A jazz waltz arrangement of an unfamiliar song called “Don’t Look Back” with a bossa/samba vibe included an interesting twist when Nakasian switched from the expected resolving ending to an extended riff.

Nakasian was particularly masterful with a Sassy-like take on “Sunday Kind of Love” as a swinging ballad. Staying in “Sunday” mode, she offered the century-old “Sunday” (Chester Conn/Bennie Krueger, Jule Styne/Ned Miller), one of composer Styne’s first songs. In a very playful take, Nakasian let loose with some scat and “traded fours” with Seeber.

To “score” her story about her time on Wall Street, Nakasian chose a pair of songs. The first, “House of Gold” (Hank Williams), closely followed Kenny Rankin’s phrasing from his recording with Don Costa. The key was a bit challenging for her upper register. This morphed into “Wheelers and Dealers” (Dave Frishberg) quite reminiscent of the song structure of Frishberg's 'I'm Hip'". The fast pace brought to mind the frenetic energy of the old days of the stock market floor.

Nakasian flaunted her own lyric-writing chops with a lyric for Miles Davis’s “So What,” which she wrote after making one of her vocal students learn to scat the tune. Along with two-way modulation and some good scatting, Kimmel shined here on bass.

The “meet-cute” story of Nakasian’s romance and marriage began when she met Hod O’Brien at a long-gone jazz club on 59th and First when she was living on 54th and Second Avenue. Nakasian performed “Mystery Man,” written by O’Brien with frequent collaborator, the lyricist Fran Landesman. Here, Nakasian ended with her fun and excellent impression of a trombone.

“Laughing in Rhythm” (Slim Gaillard) was a goofy number that had Nakasian and Baker trading gibberish and laughs in rhythm for some time before getting to an actual tune. This incorporated Nakasian scatting and “trading fours” with Baker, who ended the piece with a quote of the “Looney Tunes” theme.

With Kimmel up front for a duet with Nakasian, the two performed the James Taylor/Carly Simon version of “Mockingbird,” “without the fighting,” with Kimmel simultaneously playing bass and singing harmonies and counterpoints. This was a show highlight.

The rousing finale of “Hallelujah, I Love Him So” (Ray Charles) included special guests, the singer Meri Ziev and Nakasian’s longtime friend and collaborator Robert Gurland on “mouth trumpet.” Gurland toured with Jon Hendricks (with Nakasian), with nothing more than his mouth, hands and voice as his instrument.

This was a fun, pleasing show by Nakasian and the Matt Baker Trio, with good choices and arrangements. Nakasian incorporated elements of cabaret storytelling and a lot of fun into her show, which makes it accessible even to those who aren’t jazz cats. There was plenty for those cats, too.

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For more information about Stephanie Nakasian, visit https://stephanienakasian.com.

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