By Sandi
What I’m learning is that each time I see Veronica Swift, the 22 year old sophisticated jazz princess, I’m never disappointed. No, instead I find new subtleties and variations in familiar tunes I’ve heard her sing before. Tunes like Thelonius Monk’s “I Mean You” glistens with riffs, scats and new meaning. A June Christy ballad “Interlude” was a complement of blended piano, bass and drums allowing for beautiful vocal flow, while standard “September in the Rain” served to show off Ms. Swift’s writing abilities for the added parody lyrics (an exercise she did in class at Miami University’s Frost School of Music where she will graduate come December).
Her trio of outstanding musicians includes a very nimble fingered Greg Chen on piano, 20 year old genius bass player Daryl Johns and young Scott Lowrie on drums. Each has their shining moments .
Veronica can swing, scat and bossa with the best of them and digs deep into the emotional turmoil of the sorrowful “Lonely Woman,” while it’s full speed ahead showing off with the rhythmic “Avalon.”
But when it comes to love . . . her heart is bursting as she introduces her Dad, bebop musician Hod O’Brien who takes the piano to close the evening as she soulfully sings “Thanks For You/We’ll Be Together Again.”
And I must mention Veronica’s becoming outfit – black suit, white shirt and red tie (matching red heels), a beret on her head all enhancing the entire look on stage as the audience peeked out the magnificent window backdrop to the world of New York City and its twinkling lights at Dizzy’s Coca Cola Club at Jazz at Lincoln Center.
Can’t wait to see what Veronica’s next show will bring! She’s a don’t miss for jazz aficionados.
Photos: Sandi Durell
