Sandra Booker Quintet (by Bob Barry/jazzography.com)

Vocalist Sandra Booker gave a sterling performance at LAX’s Crowne Plaza Jazz Club on June 14th. She hails from New Orleans, LA but has been here in Los Angeles for a number of years. Her quintet, Eve on a Swing, is an all-female group with superb musicians! They all play extremely well together. Gaea Schell (piano); Molly Miller (guitar); Reiko Nakono (violin); Sherry Luchette (bass) and Tina Raymond (drums) rounded out the ensemble.

The Gaea Schell Trio (piano, guitar and bass) began with a classy version of “Stella by Starlight,” a good number for some sweet solos provided by Schell, Luchette and Miller. “You Stepped Out of A Dream” was their second number, done in a Latinized format. Of the beautifully played solos, Luchette gave a dynamic “best” bass solo. The audience was wowed by the impressive performance of these musicians.

Merle Kreibich introduced Sandra Booker and talked a little about their group and how the name became Eve on a Swing. Booker continued the set with “East of the Sun,” doing some incomparable scatting in the latter choruses. On “It Could Happen to You,” her voice was vibrant and persuasive. Guitarist Miller gave us a splendid solo, adding everything to the tune. The audience gave her and others lots of applause.

A standout tune of the first set was a dynamic bossa nova version of “But Not for Me.” It gave emphasis to each musician’s solos and talents. The group doubled the time for several choruses before the tune’s end, making it more exciting, especially for everyone’s solos. Booker has all the ingredients with her voice to do exceptional scatting and adding little groovy sounds throughout a tune of this nature. Slowing down and closing out the set, the band gave us a pretty rendition of the classic, “I’ll Be Seeing You.”

Set two began with “On a Clear Day.” Booker has made an original arrangement for this number. Violinist Nakono added some brilliant musicianship in performing this piece. Her playing is distinctive and gave life to the already high level performance of everyone in the quintet. Raymond’s drumming shined brilliantly. The rest of the set was devoted to original compositions from Sandra Booker. “Over and Over Again” is a special song she composed for Loving Day, celebrated June 12th for interracial marriage all 50 states. It began with a bass start from Luchette followed by Schell with the rest of the band. The audience enjoyed this and other compositions throughout the set. “Café Du Monde” was written about her home in New Orleans. “Until We Meet Again” was about a sweet friend of Booker’s that took her to her first school prom. She found he had passed after the New Orleans hurricane (very sad). “Eddie” is a country-inspired creation, which is another kind of music Booker likes a lot. It had impressive solos from Nankono, Miller, Schell and Luchette.

I was unable to stay for all of the third set, but I recommend this show. It is very entertaining and musicianship is excellent! See Sandra Booker’s website: www.sandrabooker.com. Also check performances at Crowne Plaza LAX Jazz Club: www.in-housemusic.com .

Reprinted with permission from the July issue of LA Jazz Scene.

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