Contact: oliviavangoormusic@gmail.com
Web: oliviavangoor.com
Players: Olivia Van Goor, vocals; Mike Harrison, piano; Jeff Pedraz, acoustic bass; Dave Zwolinski, drums.
Detroit-based vocalist Olivia Van Goor kept the spirit of bebop and traditional jazz alive at a recent appearance at one of the Motor City’s best new listening rooms Ro Cham Beau. Right from the get go Van Goor possessed a welcoming demeanor encouraging the audience to clap along on Eddie Jefferson’s brisk and swinging “Things are Getting Better.” As is a tradition in improvisational circles some vocalists inject, not only their own arrangement to another composer’s tune, but alternate lyrics as well. That was the case here where Van Goor uttered personalized references to the joys of playing at the very nightclub they were performing in.
Irving Berlin’s “Blue Skies” began with some light interaction between Van Goor’s mellifluous phrasing and Jeff Pedraz’s gently plucked bass lines. Mike Harrison’s lithe keyboard entry blended perfectly with the leader’s seemingly effortless scat singing. Cannonball Adderley’s slow and bluesy “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy,” once again, proved a great vehicle for Van Goor to add her own original lyrics to such an established piece. Her inspiring words on humanity, love, and forgiveness seemed to really connect with the crowd. Digging into the deep tracks, the quartet took a normally lush Billie Holiday ballad, and transformed “Crazy He Calls Me” into a brisk top shelf burner. Dave Zwolinski stepped out toward the latter section of the piece and brought it home. They followed that with another Holiday classic called “God Bless the Child.” Van Goor locked in nicely with Harrison who really got inside the melody. “Nature Boy,” a staple from the late ‘50s/early ‘60s by Nat “King” Cole, gets a thoughtful and ponderous solo intro by Pedraz. That leads into a slow and enchanting samba that dreamily drifts into the New Orleans feel of Louie Armstrong’s “La Vie En Rose.”
Set two opened with Van Goor’s faithful take on the Judy Garland classic “Somewhere Over the Rainbow.” She also made reference to Christmas in July as she performed a selection off her 2025 vinyl release Waiting for Santa. Pedraz opened the gem “Honeysuckle Rose” with solo bowed bass. That was a nice lead-in to Harrison’s Fats Waller-like stride runs and melodic leads. The light swing of Blossom Dearie’s “Sweet Georgie Fame” served as a brilliant vehicle that displayed Van Goor’s sweet sense of enunciation and phrasing. In maintaining that light-hearted fare Van Goor offered a tune off her Don’t Be Mad at Me album called “Sweetness.” It is an auto-biographical tribute to the singer’s love of chocolate and swung in a bluesy and tongue in cheek manner. The quartet wrapped up the night with a tribute to Ella Fitzgerald ‘s “Moonlight Serenade” followed by the finale, where everyone took a solo, Jerome Kern’s “Look for the Silver Lining.”
Olivia Van Goor has an active performance schedule throughout the year. For the best in straight ahead jazz, with a velvet touch, you can’t go wrong.
