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| Gabby Dobson and Lara Goodridge BABY et LULU |
Capital Jazz
Project – The Street Theatre
Friday 9th
August.
Reviewed by
Bill Stephens
So French,
so chic and oh so entertaining “Baby et Lulu” made an impressive Canberra debut
with their eclectic program of French salon and cabaret music. Baby et Lulu” of
the title, refers to two glamorous and engaging chanteuses Gabby Dobson and Lara
Goodridge (who’s also an accomplished
violinist), leading a quartet of superb instrumentalists in which Marcello Maio
is on piano and piano accordion. Matt Ottignon
vacillates between flute, saxophone and clarinet, while Julian Curwin plays guitar
and Mark Harris is the bassist.
Together
they work their way through a diverse repertoire of French songs, mostly sung
in French with the occasional English lyric. Dobson and Goodridge sing tight,
imaginative harmonies enhanced by exceptional musical arrangements that are as
varied as the songs. When they sing solos, the other contributes moody backing
vocals, and sometimes, in Goodridge’s case, beautiful violin backings. Occasionally
the band members join in with backing vocals as well.
Each song is
given exactly the right instrumentation to create the intended mood, often
refreshingly unexpected, as in the swinging rendition of Cole Porter’s “C’est
Magnifique” or the particularly lovely setting of the Piaf song “The Three
Bells”. Original songs by both Dobson and Goodridge sat comfortably in the mix,
as did Gabby Dobson’s haunting French version of her Leonardo’s Bride hit “Even
When I’m Sleeping”.
Between
songs the mood is relaxed and jovial with amusing cod-French banter being
exchanged between the group, but the moment the music strikes up, complete
attention is focussed on the song and its delivery. This is a class act, which ticks all the boxes
and a superb addition to the exceptional line-up on offer during the 2013
Capital Jazz Project. Typically the
sound for this concert was excellent, and The Street Theatre deserves a bow for
the meticulous presentation of the acts in the festival which has been an
outstanding contribution to the Canberra Centenary Celebrations.
This review appears in the digital edition of CITY NEWS