JAZZ REVIEWS : PAULA KELLY: TALENT, LOOKS, INTENSITY

Paula Kelly definitely has all the parts in all the right places. The combination of her feline, Eartha Kitt-like physicality, purringly sensuous tone and flowing jazz phrasing add up to one of the most provocatively appealing performers in the nightclub arena.

On her opening night at the Cinegrill last week, Kelly shrugged off some jitters to sing a collection of songs that touched all areas of her considerable abilities.

She started with Van Morrison’s “Moondance,” singing the rock standard with the kind of easy swing that would have delighted its composer, and then segued into a moody reading of “Old Devil Moon” that was punctuated with rhythmically vocalized pops and grunts.

An Ellington medley of “A Train,” “Satin Doll” and a quick run through “Moody’s Mood for Love” were well executed but cursory--a product of Kelly’s technique, but not her passion.

She was vastly better on another Ellington work, “Prelude to a Kiss,” in which she set aside some of her occasionally distracting dancer’s movements and sang with an almost searingly understated emotional intensity.

But Kelly’s finest performance came on a virtually unknown Jerry Fielding song titled “I Don’t Remember Waking Up That Way.” It’s a piece that--especially in Kelly’s interpretation--deserves to become a standard.

There were, however, a few problems. A brief foray into bossa nova with “The One Note Samba” and a far-too-long audience-participation version of Ellington’s well-known “Love You Madly” routine struck this observer as time-killers. Kelly’s skills deserve better programming.

Equally important--despite her striking presence--Kelly never quite made a solid connection with her audience. Her eyes, dark and lovely though they were, rarely generated the electricity they were so capable of creating.

But the talent, the looks and the intensity are all there. Given the right focus and the right direction, Kelly’s performances could deliver everything her appearance seems to promise.

Kelly continues at the Cinegrill with shows at 9 p.m. Thursday and at 9 and 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.