2-2-05 LasVegasCitylife.com

The jazz singer

Shelly Taylor seduces audiences at the Baccarat Bar
BY SETH FLYNN BARKAN

We all know that Las Vegas has a bad rap when it comes to its cultural life. But when it comes to jazz, that reputation goes from bad to worse pretty quickly. Even as the invention of the synthesizer and the advent of taped music were putting the pit orchestras out of business during the '80s, the atmosphere for live jazz in the City of Sin had already become pretty toxic. As lounges closed and the small scenes were scattered, the real deathblow was yet to come: the kid-friendly Strip of the 1990s.

Where did all the torch singers go? Shelly Taylor performs at the Mirage.

The shame. The horror.

That entropic energy seemed to turn around with the opening of the Bellagio, which came complete with a bevy of small lounges perfect for combos. Since then, though, the presence of high-profile jazz talent has gone largely absent from the Strip. That's where Shelly Taylor comes in.

An old-school, straight-ahead singer and pianist, Taylor has the thing most musicians in Vegas covet above all else: a steady gig on the Strip. Actually, make that "rock steady": Taylor plays five nights a week, five hours a night, at the Mirage's Baccarat Bar. Beyond that, she's a solo entertainer, carrying the weight of all that time squarely on her shoulders. If you thought that the role of the house pianist -- the player who slugs it out for hours at a time with nothing but a microphone and a songbook as thick as the Yellow Pages -- had become a lost art, then think again. Taylor is the real deal.

And man, can she sing.

Taking in a couple of her sets is like getting treated to a mini-tour through some of the classics. Her voice can go from a smoky shade shy of pure husk to occasional moments of Billie Holiday-like sweetness. Imagine Ella Fitzgerald crossed with the slinky, bluesy sensibility of Mose Allison, all wrapped up with a side of Diana Krall, and you'll quickly get the picture. Suffice it to say that she has a wide range of expressive capabilities and excels at doing what all good jazz musicians do: make the songs sound like they were written specifically for her.

Taylor's impeccable sense of pitch and subtle tweaks in phrasing are perfectly complemented by her self-accompaniment on the keys. Whether walking a bass line, improvising an intro, soloing or just comping the changes, she's well above your average keyboard player. This is especially true considering the number of styles that she shifts through on any given night. Regardless, like the best accompanist, she knows when to lay out and give her voice room, never getting in her own way, a common shortcoming of many a singer/pianist.

All of that having been said, don't make the mistake of pigeonholing Taylor as a piano-playing lounge singer. She packs enough emotional sincerity into her performances to place her on par with some of the best contemporary ladies of jazz. The fact that she can be seen live, five nights a week, is just a lucky break for fans.

Indeed, her latest CD, All of You (available at www.shellytaylor.com), places her in the company of local jazz gods Bill Moio and Morrie Louden. The combo lets her stretch out more, both vocally and on the keys, covering a diverse assortment of tunes. These range from the title track (by Cole Porter) to Stevie Wonder's "Ribbon in the Sky." Check her (or her CD) out soon.

Las Vegas Jazz Society CD Review "All of You"- Click Here for Full Review