Lundy, Childs Find the Perfect Balance

The dilemma of jazz singing is this: What is one to do with the words in an art form thatis primarily nonverbal? How does one tell a story--since songs are all stories--while still retaining the fundamental jazz qualities of improvisation and swing?

Singer Carmen Lundy’s solution is to manipulate the words and the stories in an improvisational fashion, while maintaining a strong dramatic linkage with the essence of the story. And at the Jazz Bakery Tuesday in the opening set of a three-night run, the approach often produced impressive results.

It helped that Lundy--a too-unappreciated artist--was working in a duo setting with pianist Billy Childs. Frequent musical partners, familiar with each other’s style, they performed with remarkable intuitiveness, responding in split-seconds to the slightest shift of musical emphasis.

The depth of that interaction was apparent in Childs’ original piece, “Hope in the Face of Despair.” In this case, the wordless melody line allowed Lundy to focus upon the flow of the music and the interweaving of her voice with Childs’ rhapsodic piano accompaniment. But she did more than simply sing the melody, adding a theatrical visual quality to her rendering that underscored the title of the song.

Lundy was equally impressive with “My Ship” and “I Loves You Porgy,” and the difference in her interpretations emphasized her creative versatility. “My Ship” surfaced in a keening display of vocalisms, occasionally reminiscent of Sarah Vaughan, the phrases twisting and turning, the ship eventually making it through the turmoil into quiet waters. “Porgy,” although no less emotionally intense, was more subdued on the surface, with the darkness of Lundy’s subtle interpretation defining the poignancy of the lyrics.

Childs’ participation throughout was superb. Accompaniment is a special talent in itself, and not all jazz pianists can manage the precise musical sublimation that it requires. But Childs found the perfect balance between support and partnership, underscoring Lundy’s flights of fancy as easily as he offered up his own countering musical thoughts.

* Carmen Lundy and Billy Childs at the Jazz Bakery tonight. 3233 Helms Ave., Culver City. (310) 271-9039. $17 admission 8 and 9:30 p.m.