Singer Rebecca Parris Blazes an Adventurous Musical Trail

Rebecca Parris has a problem a lot like that of John McCain. She’s a New England favorite who hasn’t quite been able to develop a national constituency. And that’s unfortunate, since the veteran (she is 48) singer has quietly evolved into a highly skilled jazz artist.

Working at Steamers Cafe in Fullerton on Sunday night, Parris sang a set of familiar standards with the confident musicality of a performer with both the talent and the imagination to fully express her ideas. Blessed with a warm, pliant sound, she used it with great expressiveness, propelling it forward with an energizing sense of swing.

Parris was especially effective in a pair of ballads, “But Beautiful” and “Detour Ahead.” Although her renderings took adventurous musical pathways, she never lost track of the essential tunes. Equally important, while infusing her ballads with lush jazz coloration, she sustained each song as a totality, as a story to be told.

In that respect, the piano work of the versatile Bill Cunliffe, as fine an accompanist as he is a soloist, played a crucial role, aided by Tony Dumas’ flowing bass lines and the ever-subtle drumming of Paul Kreibich.

Up-tempo numbers can be a thicket of problems for jazz-oriented singers, most of whom confuse lightweight riffing with improvisational scat singing. But Parris’ work on rapid-paced versions of tunes such as “I Concentrate on You” and “When Sunny Gets Blue” (done as a vigorous bossa nova) had the quality of instrumental improvisations. Refusing to push her line into the too-easy pattern repetitions that trigger quick audience responses, she scatted with imagination, swing and humor.

Parris, like McCain, obviously has a message that reaches well beyond regional interest. But, thus far, her only major label appearance was “It’s Another Day,” on GRP, with vibist Gary Burton. Clearly, it’s time for another major to step up and give a national audience the opportunity to hear this talented artist.