JAZZ REVIEW : Vocal Gymnastics Undercut Morgana King

Morgana King may be the most stylized singer this side of Betty Carter. The veteran performer’s opening night set at the Cabaret at the Improv Wednesday night underscored the utter uniqueness of her style, as well as some of its problems.

Sticking closely to standards like “The Lady Is a Tramp,” “Easy Living” and her trademark pieces, “Lazy Afternoon” and “A Taste of Honey,” King sang with a characteristic mixture of quirky oddities and rhythmic virtues.

Her up-tempo rhythm pieces were direct and on the mark. Despite a physical tendency toward tense grimacing when she got into a swinging groove, there was no denying the momentum and sheer energy of her vocal drive.

But King spent far more time--as she always has--soaring up into nasally, almost whistling head tones. The effect, on first hearing, was dramatically impressive, one of the most singular sounds in jazz vocals. But the impact soon faded away, in direct proportion to her tendency to overuse the technique on the climax of virtually every number.

One kept hoping for a more equitable balance--of the sort that was apparent on pieces like “Give Me the Simple Life” and “Corcovado,” in which her superb rhythmic faculties received up-front, prominent display. As audience-pleasing as her soprano gymnastics may be, King would be a vastly better-grounded, more broadly effective performer if she balanced them with a larger helping of her even more forceful jazz skills.