JAZZ REVIEW : Chris Connor at Catalina Grill

Since her burgeoning popularity with Stan Kenton’s band in the ‘50s and her subsequently successful Atlantic and Bethlehem LPs, Chris Connor really hasn’t changed very much. That’s both a positive and a negative.

As she demonstrated Thursday night at Catalina Bar and Grill, her deep, husky soprano is still pretty much intact, and with it she came across as softly as creeping fog, then as strong as a shout. And she presented a wide range of material, from standards like “The Thrill Is Gone” to a Laura Nyro ballad, “‘I Never Meant to Hurt You,” the latter from her “New Again” LP (Contemporary).

For the most part she worked with a good rhythmic sense, gliding over the swaying shuffle beat of “I Love Being Here With You,” establishing and keeping a medium-tempo groove on “Old Devil Called Love” and offering clipped phrasing that worked well with what could be called a bossa-march beat on “It Might as Well Be Spring.”

On the downside, Connor was guilty of lapses in intonation and taste. On ballads like “I Never Meant to Hurt You” and “The More I See You,” her pitch was more than occasionally off the mark. And such blazing uptempos as “Day In, Day Out” and “Lover” were sung almost in a monotone.

Ultimately, what was missing in Connor’s show was personality. Basically, she stood stage center, mike in hand, and looked straight ahead, singing with a detached air. This gave her songs, whether delivered with technical precision or not, a somewhat unemotional feel. The crowd either didn’t notice or didn’t care: She received solid applause for almost all her renditions.

Splendid support came from San Francisco-based pianist Don Haas and two first-rate locals, bassist Bob Maize and drummer Paul Kreibach. On the uptempo tunes they crackled like bacon on the griddle; on the medium swingers, they provided an unshakable platform for the leader; and on ballads, both Haas and Maize dropped in sparkling fills that added color the way a beautiful bouquet lights up a room.

Connor closes Sunday.