It’s no wonder this show sold out before it opened. Jazz Hot Mamas has all the ingredients people love about WBTT: four hot-hot-hot bejeweled performers, gorgeous gowns, a knockout band, and glamorous lighting. What’s not to like?
The ladies sing over forty songs in solos and as a group, introduced as “ Le Jazz Hot” with instructions to “Hit Me with a Hot Note.” Along the way, though, they just jazz up ballads like “The Very Thought of You,” “My Funny Valentine,” and “Our Love Is Here to Stay.” Still, they emphasize “Birth of the Blues” along with a medley that starts out with “Ain’t Got Nothin’ but the Blues,”
Teresa Stanley, with hair cascading down her back, equally cascades down the notes to “Lullaby of Birdland.” Her high point is a mostly a cappella version of “Strange Fruit” that bespeaks her recent Broadway dramatic experience. The other three back her when she asks “Peel Me a Grape” in a way that Mae West would be happy with.
Neyce Pierre softly sings of “Misty” and “Someone to Watch Over Me.” Conversely, Naarai Jacobs takes off with a strong “Fly Me to the Moon” and aches for “My Man.” From the musical Porgy and Bess, Naarai goes operatic with “I Loves You Porgy,” followed up in the same touching vein by Matelyn Alicia’s “Summertime.”
The gals change costumes in between solos, with softer lines toward the end to match the mood of some of the songs. They also bridge numbers with explanations of the careers of those who sang, like Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holliday, and Dinah Washington. When Teresa Stanley does Ella’s “A Tisket, A Tasket,” she gets the audience clapping. Among the Mamas’s hottest numbers are “Cry Me a River,” “It Don’t Mean a Thing if It Ain’t Got That Swing,” and “Take Me to the Water.” The Company also has fun with “Old Jim Crow.” Favored composers include the Gershwins and Duke Ellington. Who can blame Nate Jacobs for choosing their songs and rhythms? The sophisticated band backs up the choices and, by the way, looks great in tuxedos.
A lot of the activity consists of hand gestures, but there’s plenty of swinging and swaying too, even when confined to a small spot onstage. No one ever sloughs off under Nate Jacobs‘s enthusiastic direction.
