Classy Sony Holland at Yoshi's of San Francisco
By Richard Connema, West Coast reviewer for www.talkingbroadway.com
An elegant Sony Holland captivated the audience at the brand spanking new Yoshi's of San Francisco on December 11, with great back-up by Charles McNeal on sax, Seward McCain on bass, David Rokeach on drums, Jeff Buenz on guitar and Benny Watson on piano.
Sony Holland is a Minnesota native who moved to San Francisco in 2003 and has been playing the Bay Area's top jazz venues to great success. She rightly holds the title of San Francisco's own chanteuse. I caught her in the past at the AIDS Charity Benefit where she sang only one song. It was a pleasure to hear the cool sounds in her own program of songs ranging from Rodgers and Hammerstein to her own husband Jerry Holland.
Sony Holland is becoming the female Tony Bennett with her stylish arrangements. Her voice reminds me of an early Julie Christy with a touch of Nancy Wilson. Hers is a smooth and sophisticated voice. The 80-minute gig was laid back with very little talking. She segued into songs effortlessly; members of the quintet had their own solos on some of the songs.
Dressed in a short beige/white dress she immediately went into Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Shall We Dance" from The King and I. She softly sang her composer and lyricist husband's "Polk Street Bar" and then hypnotically sang Harry Warren and Mark Gordon's "At Last." The gifted singer gave a soft rendition of Hoagy Carmichael and Ned Washington's "The Nearness of You" with Charles McNeal giving out a mellow sax solo.
Ms. Holland announced that the next songs would have a Latin beat and she introduced Jeff Buenz on guitar. Rodgers and Hammerstein's "It Might As Well Be Spring" had that melodious South American beat and was swiftly followed by Antonio Carlos Jobim, Newton Mendonca and Normal Gimble's "Meditation." She finished with her husband's "San Francisco High."
Sony Holland introduced a new song written by her husband Jerry Holland called "As You Are" with her velvety, sensual vocal cords. Paul Simon was saluted with the soulful "Bridge over Trouble Waters" and "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover." There is a lush quality to her voice as she sang Duke Ellington's "In a Sentimental Mood." Members of the quintet broke out with a jazzy version of the song. She did a classy rendition of Ewan MacColl's "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face." The chic singer ended the session with her husband's "A Man In Manhattan."
Sony Holland came out for two encores: John Mandel and Paul Francis Webster's "The Shadow of Your Smile" and a swinging arrangement of J. Fred Coots and Haven Gillespie's "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town."
Yoshi's of San Francisco is a beautiful 408 seat nightclub with just perfect sight lines and sounds. This club at 1330 Fillmore Street is probably the most elegant club on the West Coast.
Sony Holland’s tones a refreshing sound
Leslie Katz, The Examiner
2007-10-29 10:00:00.0
SAN FRANCISCO -
Bay Area jazz singer Sony Holland has a style that goes down easy. Her Plush Room engagement over the weekend featured a pleasantly appealing lineup of standards, pop songs and originals.
On Friday night, her band — the excellent Benny Watson on piano, Seward McCain on bass, David Rokeach on drums and Charles McNeal on saxophone, perfectly complemented her vocal performance, her last at the wonderfully intimate venue in the York Hotel, which is closing at the end of the year. (The room’s bookers, Rrazz Entertainment, are opening a new stage in the Nikko Hotel.)
Wearing a bright red dress and sparkly rhinestones, Holland’s persona is as inviting as her sound. She interprets with a light touch, offering nothing too challenging or over-the-top with both the ballads and uptempo tunes.
She opened with Kurt Weill’s “Speak Low” and ended the encore with “A Man in Manhattan” an original by her husband, Jerry Holland, with a tone and theme that blended marvelously with the other classics on the set list.
In between were “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,” “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover” and every jazz singer’s favorite, “Meditation.” Among the standout numbers: “Skylark,” “Here’s That Rainy Day” and “Shall We Dance.”
She paid tribute to two of her favorite singers, Johnny Mathis and Tony Bennett, with “The Shadow of Your Smile,” a tune both recorded. Her evocative rendition of the gorgeous melody puts her in fine company. Fans in the Bay Area should look forward to her new recording and a Dec. 11th show at the new Yoshi’s in San Francisco.
Reviews of Sony's recent shows at the new Yoshi's San Francisco and the Empire Plush Room.
Photo by Terry Dudley
