Jazz : Frishberg Unique With Piano, Vocals

Dave Frishberg’s songs and Jeannine Frank’s Parlor Performance series were clearly made for each other. Saturday evening in a Santa Monica living room, a few dozen people gathered, not to eat or drink or socialize, but simply to sit and listen in an intimate setting to an entertaining and unique pianist and vocalist.

Frishberg had a mike at the beginning of his set, but promptly discarded it when he realized that direct communication would suffice. He warmed up with a few piano solos, all inspired by songs Billie Holiday recorded in the 1930s. Nostalgia is second nature to him; he can draw emotion out of anything from a baseball hero who flourished before World War I to a cornetist who died 60 years ago.

Starting with his ultimate insult song, “I Can’t Take You Nowhere,” he moved into such familiar territory as “My Attorney Bernie” and “Wheelers and Dealers,” bringing his tart, nasal sound to bear on his wryly witty messages, but also occasionally on songs that are contrastingly poignant. In the latter category were “Marilyn Monroe,” set to a melody by Alan Broadbent, and the tender “Dear Bix.”

Frishberg by now has such a loyal following that many in the audience seemed familiar with his repertory, but repeated hearings entail a shared pleasure. As for his piano solos, a medley of Billy Strayhorn songs again reflected his encyclopedic knowledge of early master works. As a pianist he is similarly distinctive; his self-accompaniment is no less ingenious and technically adroit than his solo work.