POP REVIEW : Reese Gives Lesson in Blues at Cinegrill

Della Reese’s performance at the Cinegrill this week provides an object lesson in the rich, impassioned musical experience called the blues.

Most visible recently in last season’s CBS sitcom “Royal Family” and the Eddie Murphy film “Harlem Nights,” Reese has not made a singing appearance in a Los Angeles room for more than a decade. She made up for the absence in her opening set on Tuesday with a superbly crafted presentation titled “Some of My Best Friends Are the Blues.”

Despite having to deal with an accompanying ensemble that clearly needed additional rehearsal time, Reese was at the top of her form. Singing a collection of pieces--not all of them actually blues--ranging from the classic “C.C. Rider” to Duke Ellington’s “I Got It Bad,” she underlined the long unanswered question of why she hasn’t had a new recording of her own in years.

Reese’s stage manner was commanding, her comedy timing was impeccable, and, above all, her musicality was constant. If her sometimes hoarse tone lacked the smooth timbres one expects on a number like “I Got It Bad,” she offered, instead, an actress’s gift for phrasing and the emotional accuracy of a born storyteller.

Perhaps most importantly, Reese genuinely appeared to be enjoying every minute. Reaching out, pulling her audience into the music, asking them to share both the pleasure and the passion of her experience, she was an irresistible spokeswoman for the joys and tears of the blues.

Reese continues at the Cinegrill through Saturday.