Jazz Café continues tradition of honoring Cole Porter

Southwestern College’s Jazz Café was not an ordinary performance.

Mayan Hall’s stage set the theme of a 1930s bar. Tables on the right side of the stage adorned with roses in glass vases were illuminated by dim candlelight. Performers completed the scene with formal attire.

The Jazz Club paid homage to the work of Cole Porter. Porter composed music and lyrics for Broadway shows and many movies of the 1920s. In 1956, famous jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald released “The Cole Porter Songbook,” a collection of famous Porter pieces that was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2000.

Solo performances and duets were entertaining and engaging.

“Too Darn Hot,” performed by Richard Amezola, Vasti Hinojo and Pablo Gimono, turned up the temperature with the introductory bass line and harmonious vocalizations of the three artists. Amezola stopped and began singing lyrics while the other two continued harmonizing. While the harmonies were a little spotty, the rise and fall of the singers’ voices added a captivating dynamic.

The singers periodically took short pauses, which would be filled by either a smooth bass line or a short piano section. These small, voiceless spaces felt appropriate for the song as it allowed it to keep its upbeat nature and fit the theme of a 1930s bar.

“Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye,” a duet performed by Dana Ramirez-Olivares and Diego Castro, was the standout piece of the show. The song created an image of two lovers who would be seeing each other for the very last time, and the performers brought it to life. It felt more like a scene of a play than one song from a jazz performance.

Olivares and Castro gazed into each other’s eyes to give the illusion of being in love. They even stepped away from the microphones and danced in a close embrace, stepping in rhythm with the pianos fluid chords. 

“Easy to Love,” performed by Kaya Collins-Hill and Soraya Shams, was almost a blend of the previous songs. Its tempo gave the impression of the singer longing to be with someone but being too far to reach them. Suddenly, the tempo increased as if the two individuals came together to dance.

Unlike Fitzgerald’s version of “Easy to Love,” the Jazz Club’s performance takes a complete tonal shift in the last verse with a piano solo. The improvization fit so perfectly into the song that it seemed like it was there from the start.

The Jazz Cafe began with a few hiccups, but became an immersive experience. Ranging from solos to an entire ensemble of vocalists, the performance was a worthy tribute to one of the most influential musical figures of the modern era.