CABARET REVIEW : Callaway an Original in L.A. Debut

Ann Hampton Callaway has a neat cover. She calls herself a cabaret singer, then blithely goes about singing everything from jazz and standards to her own highly appealing originals.

The New York performer’s Los Angeles debut at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel’s Cinegrill Wednesday night was as impressive an opening as the room has seen in years. A tall, trim-looking woman dressed in fashionable black, Callaway made the most of the tiny stage, moving from stand-up singing to a comfortable position at the piano.

Her voice ranged from a dark huskiness in her lower notes to a pointedly direct middle range and airly open high head tones--clearly the product of some serious operatic training. The way she used it, however, sounded far more diverse.

A floating excursion through a contemporized arrangement of “Blue Moon” possessed all the elements of good jazz singing. On other numbers she moved from soft, understated ballad singing to joyous, high-energy belting. An original--”New York Is a Walking Picture Show”--was a case study in how to engage an audience in the effervescence of music making.

What made her even more special was the range and the versatility of her work. Her songs--especially “Perfect,” “Bring Back Romance” and “The Test of Time”--have major-league potential written all over them.

She is also an gifted humorist. Her impression of Sarah Vaughan singing “New York, New York” was hilarious, and her Bob Dylan singing “Send in the Clowns” has to be heard to be believed.

Callaway is at the Cinegrill tonight and returns Wednesday through next Saturday.