JAZZ REVIEW : Singer Morgana King at the Cinegrill: S’Wonderful

Morgana King is the Johnny Hodges of jazz singers. Like the late, venerable alto saxophonist, she sings in a style that blends a velvety lyricism with an irresistibly swinging beat.

King’s opening night at the Cinegrill Tuesday found her in surprisingly strong form, despite her jocular complaints about jet lag and overheated spotlights. In fact, far from drifting off into red-eye limbo, she sang a spirited program sizzling with medium-groove tempos and high-speed swingers.

“I Wished on the Moon,” “What a Difference a Day Makes” and “S’Wonderful” benefited from King’s articulate rhythms and imaginative phrasing--very similar in places to the kind of rich, harmonic variations practiced by Sarah Vaughan. On “A Song for You” and “Corcovado,” her gorgeous, throaty mid-range and impossibly high head-tones were in full bloom, capturing and expanding on two attractive melody lines perfectly suited for her colorful vocal manipulations. Best of all was a roaring, up-tempo, lyrically ingenious reading of “The Lady Is a Tramp.”

“Send in the Clowns” was less appealing, in part because its emphasis on content never seemed quite appropriate for King’s busy, and highly personalized interpretation.

King’s backup group--pianist Bill Cunliffe, bassist Bob Mayes and drummer Joe Carrero--sounded under-rehearsed, even confused at times (especially on the otherwise excellent “The Lady Is a Tramp”). Uncertain tempos and misplayed arrangements are endemic problems between out-of-town performers and local rhythm sections, but King and her musicians clearly need to spend more time getting in sync before her engagement ends Saturday night.