Jazz Review : Tepid Performance by ‘Red Hot’ Myers

Actor Lou Myers, who plays the role of nice-guy Vernon Gaines on the NBC soap opera “A Different World,” promised to show up with an entirely different persona Thursday night at the Cinegrill. The performance was billed as “Lou Myers--Red Hot,” and featured the veteran entertainer singing a mixed bag of blues and standards.

Myers never quite made the promised transition into sizzling cabaret performer, however. His monochromatic voice--ideal, perhaps, for his television role--lacked the subtleties of timbre and inflection necessary for songs such as “That’s Life,” “Watch What Happens” and “Let’s Fall in Love.”

Too often, his dramatic readings and musical interpretations sounded unchanged from one song to another.

Several humorous blues-based numbers--”Long John” and “Momma” among them--were somewhat more successful, their double-entendres sustained by Myers’ wry comedic timing. But they were hardly enough to support an act which needs careful rethinking, both in terms of content and presentation.

Myers was backed by a first-rate quintet led by his musical director Michael White and featuring sparkling solo work from guitarist Phil Upchurch.