Jackie Ryan soars with creative song interpretations

Jackie Ryan made at least one thing crystal clear at the Vic on Thursday: She is a true jazz singer. At a time when superficial flirtations with jazz abound, with cabaret singers heavily into jazz-style accompaniment and rock favorites from the ‘60s and ‘70s discovering the jazz-associated attractions of Gershwin, Rodgers & Hart and Cole Porter, Ryan’s performance was a reminder of the art’s richly layered depths of expression and creativity.

Performing with pianist Jon Mayer, bassist Chris Colangelo and drummer Roy McCurdy, Ryan sang a diverse program of songs with a brilliant combination of enthusiasm, musicality and inventiveness. Blessed with a far-ranging voice filled with rich timbres, she used it in the service of interpretations that were as communicative as they were thoughtful. The most vital aspect of Ryan’s performance, in fact, was the way her imaginative melodic transformations enhanced and deepened the songs’ storytelling aspects.

Those songs embraced a gorgeous medley of two flower-oriented Billy Strayhorn numbers, “A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing” and “Passion Flower,” Alec Wilder’s rarely heard “Moon and Sand,” Duke Ellington’s “Jump for Joy,” Bobby Timmons and Oscar Brown Jr.’s delightful paean to childhood “Dat Dere” and an English-Spanish rendering of “What a Difference a Day Makes.”

Add to that a Jobim tune sung in Portuguese, standards such as “East of the Sun” and “For Heaven’s Sake” and a bebop-era special (“Robbin’s Nest”), and the result was a stunning, multihued vocal tapestry, a convincing display of jazz singing at its very best.

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Jackie Ryan

Where: Spazio, 14755 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks.

When: Sunday, 8 p.m.

Price: No cover.

Contact: (818) 728-8400.