Wynters extols spirit of Holiday

Gail Wynters is a singer with a big voice and a buoyant, effusive manner. Neither of those qualities are aspects one particularly associates with Billie Holiday. Yet there she was at the Vic in Santa Monica on Thursday, singing a complete set of material associated with the late, great Lady Day with the backing of pianist Tamir Hendelman, bassist Dan Lutz and drummer Kevin Kanner.

It’s not unusual, of course, for singers to celebrate their illustrious predecessors. Dianne Reeves has done an album of Sarah Vaughan songs, Patti Austin has recorded an Ella Fitzgerald tribute and Madeleine Peyroux’s odd simulation of Holiday in “Careless Love” has been riding the top of the jazz charts.

The basic question raised by these efforts is the degree to which the admiration and influence verge into mimicry and/or outright imitation. Wynters’ performance at the Vic was a perfect illustration of the potentially quixotic hazards of the task.

The Kentucky-born singer is a veteran artist with deep roots in the blues and gospel music. Her phrasing is upbeat and swinging, and she has the capacity to intimately illustrate the inner lyrical meanings of a song.

When Wynters was applying these skills to the Holiday material, remaining well within the orbit of her own personal creativity -- especially on songs such as “Them There Eyes” and “Crazy He Calls Me” -- she displayed all the qualities of a world-class jazz vocalist.

But when she became distracted by a desire to immerse herself too deeply within the Holiday style -- especially on “Don’t Explain” and “Stars Fell on Alabama” -- she sacrificed the essence of her own musicality.

Holiday’s singing was a delicate balancing act between her unique sound, the surprisingly girlish qualities of much of her phrasing and a propulsive, Lester Young-influenced rhythmic swing. Wynters’ much thicker vocal timbre and the unconvincing aspects of her efforts to match the light, slippery Holiday phrasing simply sounded out of context coming from a singer with such a strong musical personality.

What was apparent, however, was the fact that the East Coast-based Wynters is a performer whose talent merits much more prominent visibility. One hopes that her next appearance in the Southland will offer a more personal, intimate view of her own artistry.