Review: ERIN BODE Presents Birdland Theater With Perfect Holiday Gift - A Magnificent Musical Program

In the days leading up to Christmas, a friend told me to miss the Erin Bode show at Birdland at my own expense. This being a friend whose opinion I trust, and one who knows my musical tastes, I canceled what I had scheduled and made myself available for the Missouri native's 9:30 show at the Birdland Theater, and it was only my good fortune that I have such pushy friends because Ms. Bode put on a heck of a good show built on the foundation of rock solid musical artistry. A Christmas show at its core, Bode's program of music avoided being sugary or spiritual and leaned, with determination, into pure jazz artistry. Backed by four exceptional musicians, Erin Bode made a gift to the patrons of the Birdland Theater of a relaxed, chill, laid-back hour of storytelling, whether the stories came from her natural rhetoric, a voice as clear and crisp as a newly fallen powder on a ski run, or the magic that happens when five musicians of immaculate training get together to play a set of jazz treatments. The important jumping off place when creating an evening of Christmas music for a jazz club is deciding whether the focus is going to be on the emotion inherent in the holiday, or the musical artistry on display. Naturally, both of these things can exist in the same moment, but it takes hearty navigation, since the holiday season and the music created for that season is both emotion and nostalgia heavy. During their hour-long set, Bode and co. made the music their focus, and that is the place where the emotion sprang to life.

Erin Bode's technique is on a par with the great jazz singers throughout the ages, with phrasing that is both deliberate and fluid, with a purpose but open to playing, not unlike spoken-word portions of her evening that had an end-goal but that allowed for the lady to act as in casual conversation with the crowd. The four men on the stage with her walked the fine line of allowing her to lead them where she wanted to go, all the while supporting her like the four Bode brothers, even though Erin made it clear that some of the boys were newer to the family than others. As for the male parties of the production, the reason why Ms. Bode chose to work with them was apparent, right out of the gate, and only grew more so throughout the evening. Each gentleman had solo opportunities that were so monumental that they made you want to react audibly, possibly with bombastic applause, maybe with shouts and cheers... only that might drown out the sublime noise that they were creating, so the most reliable choice, as an audience, was to sit still, listen, and enjoy. Curating her hour of music with songs from the films "White Christmas" and "Meet Me In St. Louis," some original compositions of her own ("Skating" and "The Star Song") Ms. Bode kept the Christmas theme up front, but only incidentally. The arrangement of "Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep" was as appropriately laid-back as Bode could have, fully informed by her own tranquility, while the Judy Garland ballad about Christmas was rendered a jazzy, upbeat, playful number worthy of a spin around the dance floor, making it one of the highlights of the evening, and both songs performed, like every number of the evening, in a voice so bright, so pure, so untouched as to create a completely unassuming yet present sound. That sound was raised to luscious heights by all the musicians but, especially, Marco Grillo's guitar and Musical Director Taylor Eigsti's piano - the two gents had solos that took your breath away. In a world full of riffs and screlting, Erin Bode's clean, straightforward vocal work is an oasis of bliss, and the lady is fortunate to have the haven made more heavenly by a band that includes bassist Marco Panascia and drummer Derrek Phillips, both of whom the lady gave lengthy intros and much praise, as she did Misters Eigsti and Grillo; there was a clear and visible respect on display in every corner of the stage.

Other highlights during the December 20th program were a magnificent treatment of the Paul Simon classic "Graceland" and back-to-back Joni Mitchell creations, one being the ubiquitous "River," which was rescued from becoming boring by the combination of a new treatment, the unblemished work of each of the four musicians, and vocals from Ms. Bode that steered as far as possible from being flashy, show-boat-y, or dishonest. There is nothing here to hear but that which is honest and from the heart, a quality that one suspects pervades the air of every Erin Bode creation, be it in the studio or on the stage. The Birdland patrons are just lucky that this time it was on the stage of a live music venue, where a person could experience the thrill of hearing musical transcendence live and in person. And, for all the chill, laid-back, vibe that came with the Erin Bode Christmas show, the quality of the music was authentically thrilling. It was a real Christmas paradox that this writer is so happy he got to witness.

Find other great shows to see by visiting the Birdland calendar HERE.

HERE is the Erin Bode website.

Photos by Stephen Mosher

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