[Dixielandjazz] Hot Club of San Francisco reviewed

[Robert Ringwald]

Hot Club of San Francisco: Live at Yoshi's San Francisco (Azica Records)
by Mike Joyce
Jazz Times, October 2012
Enter Cole Porter. When singer and Porter-phile Isabelle Fontaine joined the San
Francisco Hot Club in 2009, recording Porter songs was one of her top priorities.
On "Live at Yoshi's San Francisco," she whittles her wish list to three Porter classics:
a swinging, swiftly accelerating "It's Alright With Me"; a similarly engaging "Just
One Of Those Things"; and, perhaps inevitably, a version of "I Love Paris" that elegantly
aligns the spirits of Porter, Reinhardt and Grappelli. Fontaine isn't a powerhouse
singer, but she has a lovely, affecting voice and charm to spare. Her taste and versatility,
as the set list for this engagement at Yoshi's affirms, are a big plus, too. Included
are colorfully contrasting tributes to Billie Holiday ("What a Little Moonlight Can
Do"), Anita O'Day ("Stella by Starlight") and Edith Piaf ("Milord"). The Piaf salute,
incidentally, features tuba player Sam Rocha, a member of the band's extended family,
and incorporates some festive French Quarter-inspired polyphony.
The ensemble's stellar musicianship, of course, is a given these days, but this concert
setting underscores the ease with which the quartet's members create crisp, imaginatively
woven arrangements. Guitarist Paul Mehling, violinist/mandolinist Evan Price, bassist/trombonist/trumpeter
Clint Baker and rhythm guitarist/dobroist Jeff Magidson are clearly attuned to Fontaine's
choices and gifts. Not surprisingly, though, many of the album's rewards are purely
instrumental, thanks in part to such vintage treats as "Songe d'Automne" and Reinhardt's
"Dinette."
-30


-Bob Ringwald
www.ringwald.com
Amateur (ham) Radio Operator K6YBV
916/ 806-9551

Women will never be equal to men until they can walk down the street 
with a bald head and a beer gut, and still think they are sexy.