Callaway Displays Versatile Vocal Range

Versatility can be both a blessing and a curse. In the case of singer-songwriter Ann Hampton Callaway, it manages to be more the former--a colorfully eclectic bundle of abilities that prevails, most of the time, over her occasional efforts to embrace too many stylistic elements in a single performance.

On Wednesday night at the Cinegrill in the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, Callaway’s versatility was in full blossom, with most of her set dedicated to songs from an upcoming album, “Signature,” a collection of tributes to the work of her favorite jazz and jazz-related singers. The selections were impressively diverse, inspired by classic renderings reaching from Nat King Cole’s “Route 66,” Sarah Vaughan’s “Tenderly” and Ella Fitzgerald’s “Mr. Paganini” to Frank Sinatra’s “In the Wee Small Hours,” Annie Ross’ “Twisted” and Peggy Lee’s “Is That All There Is?”

That’s a tough course of action, filled with potential musical hazards. But Callaway negotiated it with fluent ease.

Some of the tunes--especially up-tempo numbers such as “Pick Yourself Up” and “Mr. Paganini”--emerged as agile vocal romps, executed with octave-leaping virtuosity and a precise ear for harmony. At their best, they were invigorating examples of Callaway’s ability to combine a facile vocal instrument with solid musicality and a joyful sense of swing.

Her ballads were even better. Carefully avoiding any attempts at simulations, she sang “Tenderly,” “In the Wee Small Hours” and “Good Morning, Heartache” (her Billie Holiday tribute) in a darkly ruminative manner, superbly using the music to communicate the message of the lyrics. Callaway’s capacity to generate emotional intensity without resorting to easy sentimentality may, in fact, be her strongest suit.

She was a bit less effective with a full-blown rendering of “Blues in the Night.” A feature number from her Tony Award-winning performance in the Broadway musical “Swing!,” it was delivered in big stage fashion, with large gestures and high-decibel volume. While it further displayed Callaway’s versatility, its size and scope were clearly more appropriate in a large theater than in the intimate confines of the Cinegrill.

That caveat aside, Callaway is a singer who should be heard--one in a line of talented vocal artists who have passed through the Southland in the last few months. And her traditional set-closing number in which she instantly invents a song, using phrases and words from the audience, is an experience not to be missed.

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* Ann Hampton Callaway at the Cinegrill in the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, 7000 Hollywood Blvd., tonight and Saturday, and Tuesday through June 30, at 8 p.m. $20 cover, two drink minimum. (323) 466-7000.