An Engagement of Simple Pleasures

Is it enough for a singer to just sing a song? Don’t singers have to swoop and soar and embellish the material as Whitney Houston and any number of today’s pop divas do? Can the song, sung clearly and directly, be enough? It all depends on the song. And who’s singing it.

Weslia Whitfield chose songs that didn’t need embellishment Friday at the Orange County Performing Arts Center, the second night of her three-night engagement as part of the cabaret series. Her beautiful tones made lyrics written 50 and more years ago ring with contemporary relevance.

“We just do songs, that’s all we do,” Whitfield somewhat modestly told the audience early on. But the way she did them--with clarity, grace and a bit of playfulness--is what made them breathe with life.

Backed by clever arrangements written by her husband, pianist Mike Greensill, and performed by Greensill and bassist Michael Moore, Whitfield presented a rainbow of moods and situations pulled from the Great American Songbook. The names of famous composers and lyricists--Cole Porter, Johnny Mercer, Oscar Hammerstein--popped up in her brief introductions, as did those not so famous, such as Arthur Freed and Harry Ruby.

In Whitfield’s hands, even the most familiar numbers shone with fresh character, irony, feeling and wit. Singing from a wide stool where her husband placed her (the singer lost the use of her legs in a shooting about 20 years ago), she often began songs with a seldom heard verse, creating an air of mystery before she slipped into a familiar chorus. Lyrics were all-important, and such tunes as “For All We Know” became small dramas graced by Whitfield’s enunciation and exquisitely tuned phrasing.

But she wasn’t above having some fun. “Jeepers Creepers” could be admired anew for its internal rhyme and wordplay. “Ding, Dong the Witch Is Dead” from the “Wizard Of Oz” featured Whitfield swinging with energy and some sass. Porter’s “Let’s Fall in Love” (“Birds do it, bees do it. . . .”) never sounded so clever.

Though Whitfield’s uncomplicated singing was anything but jazzy, there were jazz touches from Greensill and Moore, who offered echoes of the singer’s lines and the kind of swinging foundation that let her glide effortlessly above.

Greensill’s brief improvisations were simple melodic deconstructions that occasionally broke into stride rhythms. Moore was at his best in a duo with the singer on “How High the Moon,” supplying her with obvious footholds as she ascended into the lyric. Because of Moore’s pluck and Greensill’s intelligently paced left hand, a drummer’s beat was never required.

Whitfield’s only embellishment of the night came at the beginning of the last chorus to “Let’s Fall in Love,” when she allowed herself one “Whoaa” as she slid into pitch. Otherwise, the beauty of her performance was in its simplicity.