Cabaret
Series sways in musicianship, song
By Christine G. Adamo
On-line Forty-Niner
 No
gimmicks. Just a man, a guitar and a woman:
an extraordinary woman.
As Claudia Villea sang, her words floated
through the air like wafts of strangely
intoxicating cigar smoke in an off-limits,
secret-password café.
She performed alongside Ricardo Peixoto,
who lifted the audience to indescribable
heights on April 9 at the Carpenter Performing
Arts Center. Theirs was the fifth of six
performances slated for venue this season
as part of the Jazz Cabaret Series.
A person might think the way with entering
the event, on a runway reserved for “talent”
that was sure to be closed to public traffic
on any other night, helped set the clandestine
mood.
Or, that the sumptuous buffet that preceded
the event or the desserts served on a break
at midpoint were enough to sway one toward
the satisfied side of the entertainment
scale.
As I listened to Peixoto strum and Villela
scat her way through poetic, Portuguese
lyrics I did not think of either of those
things. I marveled at being comfortable
in their presence; at how I swayed from
side to side.
I marveled at how my body instinctively
thrust itself forward so I could fix my
gaze intently on the singer as she constructed
noises of primal beings and exotic mammals
with her soul and spit them out in syncopation
with Peixoto’s acoustic moves.
Then she returned to a soft, effortless
serenade that suddenly made me feel at home.
I imagined myself with a glass of wine in
my hand, wrapped in a cashmere melody that
had the power to mend the cares of my heart
and soul instantaneously; and they did.
Villela impregnated her every phrase with
expectant and pleasurable pauses. Her robust
but effortless vocals crossed octaves with
ease, creating a backdrop of sound that
other artists would need eight or nine other
instruments to achieve.
With fingers extended excitedly outward,
Villela began her percussive, sometimes
guttural, accompaniments to Peixoto’s flamenco-inspired
guitar work or scooted off on scat-laden
tangents.
“Da-da-da; doop-dee-dum,” Villela sang.
The inspired language reached my ears in
a way that made complete sense. “Dee-di-da;
boop-dee-dum.”
In an effort to get the audience involved,
Villela and Peixoto injected the otherwise
portugese-language set up with a half-English
version of Antonio Carlos Jobim’s Brazilian
classic “The Girl from Ipanema.”
“Come on, you can do this!” Villela said
as a broad, infectious smile spread across
her face. Her body swayed gently to the
rhythm as it moved her from within. Peixoto
looked up with a gentle smile and then shyly
turned back to his guitar.
No gimmicks: Just a man, a guitar, a woman
and one unforgettable evening.
The 2002-2003 CPAC Cabaret Jazz Series closes
with a Wednesday night performance by Andrea
Marcovicci on May 11. Tickets cost $40 with
discounts available.
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