Siegel Showcases Musical Eclecticism

Janis Siegel arrived at the Jazz Bakery this week less than a month after the release of her new album, “I Wish You Love.” For most performers, that would trigger the presentation of a program determinedly dedicated to supporting the CD.

Yet, oddly, Siegel’s opening set Wednesday night barely managed to acknowledge the new release via the inclusion of the album’s opening track, “Just a Little Lovin’.”

As a founding member of the Manhattan Transfer, Siegel prides herself--with considerable justification--on her musical eclecticism. And there’s no faulting the range of material she explored, from Gershwin to Dusty Springfield to Bob Dorough, from vocalese to scatting to pure balladry. But one can’t help but wonder why she chose to do so few of the tunes from what is clearly one of her better recordings as a solo artist.

Siegel started the set with some slippery pitch problems--surprising in a singer who habitually works in close vocal harmony situations (and the result, perhaps, of incorrect monitor speaker placement).

By the time she was into her third piece, however, she had clicked into gear in a fashion that made it possible to finally concentrate on the velvety sound she brought to her slower tunes and the briskly swinging phrasing of her rhythm numbers.

But there were other uneven aspects to the performance. The Eric Reed Trio, present to accompany Siegel, was actually at its best in the segments in which the players performed separately as an instrumental group--especially during a romp through Thelonious Monk’s “Monk’s Dream.” Pianist Reed, bassist Vincente Archer and drummer Rodney Green worked smoothly together, with the interplay between Reed’s robust chording and Green’s busy rhythms driving the trio forward.

Attractive as these qualities may have been for the trio’s instrumental work, however, they were far less effectual as accompaniment for Siegel’s singing. During the bossa nova rhythm of one of the tunes, for example, Green inexplicably added a clave rhythm on his shaker, thoroughly undermining what should have been a gently floating rhythmic flow. On other tunes, Reed’s two-handed chording combined with Green’s too liberal use of drumsticks (rather than brushes) to virtually inundate Siegel’s vocal line.

A pair of numbers displayed what might have been: a lovely, unaccompanied vocal introduction to “How Long Has This Been Going On?” and a marvelously spirited rendering of Sammy Cahn’s “Rhythm in Nursery Rhymes,” accompanied only by Reed’s lightning-fast stride piano. The evening could have used many more similar moments.

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Janis Siegel with the Eric Reed Trio at the Jazz Bakery, 3233 Helms Ave., Culver City. Today-Sunday, 8 and 9:30 p.m. $25. (310) 271-9039.