Soprano Sings the Standards--With Own Unique Spin

Lenetta Kidd trained as an opera singer, began her career in musical comedy, and acted in a touring production of “The Grapes of Wrath.” But it wasn’t until she started singing jazz in 1982 at the now-defunct Nucleus Nuance that she found her niche.

“Jazz was a different world. Where musical comedy or opera have a sort of strictness, jazz left room for interpretation, for making a tune my own,” says Kidd, a San Diego native with a lustrous soprano voice.

“The first singers I was attracted to--Barbra Streisand, Shirley Bassey, Judy Garland--were so into the performance,” Kidd continues. “But then, when I saw jazz people like Sarah Vaughan, Nina Simone, Ernie Andrews and Diane Schuur, all of whom sang at the Nucleus, I realized they were much more introverted.

“They didn’t do a lot of things for the audience that other singers felt compelled to do. They were into the moment of the music.”

Kidd, who appears Fridays and Saturdays with her Palm Beach Trio at the Moonlight Tango Cafe in Sherman Oaks, found herself touched by the songs of the Gershwins, Cole Porter, Jerome Kern and Rodgers and Hart. The vibrant 38-year-old artist says their lyrics allow singers freedom to come up with a version that’s unique and personal.

“Rock songs sound so similar from singer to singer,” she says. “But with standards, there’s always a different way to do it that gives the song more meaning. It has more emotional resonance.”

Having said this, Kidd admits that she does put some pop-rock songs in her show, from a Motown hit such as “Heat Wave” to “I Will Always Love You” recently covered by Whitney Houston. She’s attracted to the energy of rock, Kidd says, but it doesn’t give her the same high as singing “Someone to Watch Over Me.”

To give her show different flavors, Kidd often is joined by a few of Moonlight’s singing waiters--Donald Giddings, Buck Johnson, Tommy Holmes and John Van Dyke among them--to form a vocal ensemble. With a backing band that includes David Moscoe (piano), Wade Short (bass) and either Lew Malin or Tom Mendola (drums), they’ll do tunes like “Java Jive” and “Boy From New York City.”

Kidd is known to regular Moonlight Tango visitors as not only a singer, but as the gracious hostess many assumed owned the place. That wasn’t the case, but it will be in about two weeks. Then Kidd and her major investor, record producer and restaurateur Guy Burgain, take over the Moonlight from previous owner Vicki Criezis.

Kidd plans to continue the current music policy of big bands on Tuesdays, swing bands on Wednesdays and a mixed bag on Thursdays. She also hopes to book first-rate jazz bands on occasional weekends.

“There aren’t many venues like this,” she says, “and I really believe in the idea of giving artists and bands a chance.”

* Lenetta Kidd and her Palm Beach Trio appear Fridays and Saturdays, 7 p.m. to 1 a.m., at the Moonlight Tango Cafe, 13730 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks. No cover; club enforces a dinner purchase minimum, approximately $20 per person. Call: (818) 788-2000.

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Today Her Way: Sonya Jason doesn’t call her shows “Sax in the ‘90s,” but she might as well. The saxophonist, who plays Jax in Glendale every Tuesday, says she wants her music to reflect what’s happening now.

“I play my own contemporary tunes, plus hits of the ‘90s by people like Bonnie Raitt, Seal and Shania Twain, but done in my style,” she says.

On her debut album, “Tigress” (Discovery Records), Jason demonstrates she knows her way around the jazz/pop/rock genre, playing with considerable gusto. Lately, she says, she’s widened her view to take in a multitude of musical styles.

“I combine a lot of cultural styles and influences in what I do. These include jazz, pop, rock, R & B, Latin, country and blues,” she says. “I like that full range of different colors and moods.” And the saxophone is the perfect vehicle, she says. “It’s so expressive. It fits into almost any style of music.”

* Sonya Jason plays Tuesday, 9 p.m. to 1:30 a.m., at Jax, 339 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale. No cover, no minimum. Call: (818) 500-1604. She also plays Chadney’s, 3000 W. Alameda in Burbank, on May 9. Call: (818) 843-5333.