Jazz : Ruth Price’s Talent Charms at Giorgio’s

Ruth Price seems to possess all the elements that make a fine jazz singer. Friday night at Giorgio’s Restaurant in Long Beach, they were all on display: a warm, vibrant voice, a firm sense of rhythm and a fine ear for musically attractive material.

She also revealed another quality intrinsic to good jazz singing--the wisdom to choose first-rate accompanying musicians. Backing Price was the trio of Mike Wofford on piano, Brian Bromberg on bass and Roy McCurdy on drums. Combine this superb group of players with the warm elegance of the room (Price also books the talent at Giorgio’s) and it would be hard to imagine a more felicitous setting for any performer.

Her program included a few standards frequently associated with jazz--”Night and Day” and “Skylark” in particular--as well as an intriguing collection of more unusual items. “This Heart of Mine” was sung in a simmering medium groove; “Gal in Calico” moved with a bright and bouncy beat, and the amusing novelty number, “Napoleon” (by Arlen and Harburg), provided a perky change of pace.

All this careful planning of repertory and accompaniment almost--but not quite--offset Price’s occasional tendency to push her voice into uncomfortable limits. “Sleeping Bee,” for example, tossed and turned so restlessly that it never emerged from musical somnolence. And “Skylark” began with a stressful intensity that threatened to rob the song of its soaring lyricism. It was only after a stirringly emotional solo from Bromberg that Price found the right feeling for the song--low-keyed, direct and to the point.

She was at her best, in fact, whenever she focused her skills into the very essence of the material. When that happened--as it did on “Once I Had a True Love” and Al Cohn’s brightly rhythmic “High on You” (with Price’s lyrics)--she was very good indeed, a performer with the skill, awareness and savvy to make Giorgio’s into an appealing jazz destination.