Jimmy Scott Delivers High Drama

Jimmy Scott sings ballads with the tear-drenched sadness of a breaking heart. His faster tunes are invested with more rhythm but no less emotional urgency.

His Wednesday-night performance at the Jazz Bakery was a characteristic example of the interior passion that has ruled his music since the ‘50s. Delivered in his high, ageless voice--the result of Kallman’s Syndrome, a hereditary hormonal deficiency--Scott’s interpretations were compelling not for their innate musicality, but for the high drama of their presentation.

Standing center stage, his slight figure garbed in a tuxedo that hung loosely from his shoulders, hands in constant movement, arms outstretched, he was the image of a memory-driven, androgynous diva.

Scott’s renderings of songs such as “How Deep Is the Ocean” and “Time After Time,” sung at his typically glacial pace, were fascinating for their storytelling qualities. He sang in brief, choppy phrases, accenting important words, sometimes suspending a syllable for maximum dramatic impact, constantly in touch with his message.

This flow of words--surprisingly similar to the sprechstimme (or spoken song) method employed by some classical composers at the start of the 20th century--was occasionally interrupted by what can only be described as wails. Generally indeterminate in terms of pitch, they served as road signs in Scott’s emotional journey through songs, defining the intensity of particular passages.

Much of this was fascinating as drama, if not as music. The better aspects of the technique obviously traced to Billie Holiday, an acknowledged Scott influence. But the lack of stylistic range and variety eventually became wearing, its sameness varied only by the bebop-based playing of his accompanying quartet: alto saxophonist Justin Robinson, pianist Michael Kanan (who was especially sensitive to Scott’s creative needs), drummer Dwayne “Cook” Broadnax and bassist-music director Hilliard “Hill” Green.

Still, there’s no denying the mesmerizing qualities in Scott’s singing or the appeal they exerted on a surprisingly young audience. But he was wise to shine a light through the unrelenting darkness of his ballads via an occasional up-tempo tune and at least one solidly rhythmic blues.

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* Jimmy Scott at the Jazz Bakery, 3233 Helms Ave. Tonight through Sunday at 8 and 9:30 p.m., $22 admission. (310) 271-9039.