JAZZ REVIEW : A Musical Storm by Yve Evans

After nearly 12 years of making “Seal Beach to Dana Point” her Orange County stamping grounds, singer-pianist Yve Evans is taking her newly claimed Los Angeles turf by storm.

Actually, it’s a small storm, building steadily with the 37-year-old’s squalls of genuine jazz performance that show a dedication to the tradition and an understanding of its timeless repertoire.

“I want to do something that lasts,” she said during a break between her rhythmically demanding rendition of “My Funny Valentine” and her second-set opening at the Biltmore Hotel’s Grand Avenue Bar. “I like the standard tunes.”

Her likes--mostly tunes written and popularized long before her birth--were displayed in full during a second set that fairly bristled with the irrefragable swing of drummer Earl Palmer and the steadfast walking of bassist Michael Saucier. Add to that Ricky Woodard’s smooth, yet gutsy tenor saxophone and the singer’s own masterful piano work and there emerged a cohesive spirit of jazz.

“I’m not an innovator,” Evans suggested, adding, “well, rhythmically I am.”

Indeed, in an instrumental rendition of Fats Waller’s “Ain’t Misbehavin’,” Evans countered the syncopated rhythm with straight-eighths in an appealing manner. Later, in a handsome reading of “I Can’t Get Started,” she contrasted Woodard’s smooth lines with a jagged accompaniment and when Woodard applied the jagged edge on the ballad “Lover Man,” Evans provided the soothing contrast.

Evans possesses a trained contralto voice with a controlled vibrato that reached effortlessly into a higher range. Comfortable and effective in both the ballad and swing styles, she steered far from scat (a brief phrase or two on Paul Desmond’s “Take Five” was her limit) and took few liberties with the melodies.

Problems were few, although Saucier’s electric bass solos were muddled and therefore ineffective.