Hale Effortlessly Shows Her Musical Versatility

Corky Hale doesn’t make a lot of solo club appearances. Studio work and accompaniment have always taken up far more of her time. But when she does step into the spotlight, she lays it all on the line. Tuesday night at the Cinegrill in the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, she brought her triple-threat performance skills to the stage before an enthusiastic, full-house crowd.

A strong pianist, an imaginative harpist and an effective singer, Hale offered a healthy sampling of all those abilities (as well as a bit of flute playing) in a set that encompassed songs ranging from “Melancholy Baby” and “Corcovado” to “I Remember You” and “Kansas City.”

Moving all around the stage, from piano to harp, offering a stand-up number or two in front of the microphone, sitting on top of the piano for another tune, demonstrating a few steps from a television show in which she performed as a dancer, she was clearly having a marvelous time.

Hale’s versatility traces to a remarkably diverse career. A pianist for Billie Holiday, she was also a first-call harpist, performing with, to name only a few, Liberace, Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, Tony Bennett and George Michael. (One of her most interesting numbers Tuesday, in fact, was a kind of duet with a pretaped Michael singing “Like Someone in Love.”) Add to that the clothing store she operated in Hollywood, the restaurant she managed in New York and the production of shows such as last year’s “Lullaby of Broadway,” and she is even more than a triple threat.

On this evening, however, Hale was primarily concerned with focusing every bit of skill upon her performance. And she did it with considerable effectiveness, interweaving her vocals, her lushly chorded ballads on harp and her spirited piano playing with tales of growing up in the Midwest, living in Italy and appearing with almost every imaginable major-name performer.

It was the work of an artist who, after decades in the business, still communicates a love of the fundamental process of making music.