1954: Ella, Etta, Eartha, is a music performance that blends songs from all three of the named jazz singers, whilst providing some background details about the three women concerned.
We are, nominally, in 1954. All three women: Ella Fitzgerald, Etta James and Eartha Kitt are at the top of their industry, and at the peak of their careers.
Melissa Western is the vocalist who takes us through these three icons’ songbooks, in a relaxing 55 minutes performed in the welcoming space of the Studio at Paradise in Augustines (ordinarily a church for the rest of the year).
Western is accompanied by a small, but highly accomplished trio. Cassie Whitehead on Sax, Peta Lee-Wilson on Keys, and Jake Kilbride on Double Bass.
As you’d expect, all the musicians are highly accomplished. The whole performance is technically tight, with the players bouncing off each other seamlessly during more free-flowing sections of the show.
Western moves through each woman’s history in turn, and tells us some background information about each of them. This is really fascinating information which helps to contextualise just how remarkable each of these women’s success was.
Western is a phenomenal vocalist, bringing the spirit of each of these women to life, whilst also making the vocal arrangement her own.
Whether this show will appeal to you will depend on how you feel about these standards of the 1950’s jazz scene. If this is the sort of music you enjoy, then this is a marvellous hour of easy listening, amongst the sometimes frantic atmosphere of the Fringe.
More information about the show, and the company’s other performances, can be found on their website here.
Featured Image Credit: Western Standard Productions/Fringe Society
