Presented by Mr. Phat's Martini Room. Reviewed April 6, 1995.
Band: Brooks, Al Viola, Eugene Wright.
Film noir fans may know Hadda Brooks as the pianist who sang"I Hadn't Anyone Til You" to Humphrey Bogart in "In a Lonely Place." Come this fall, Brooks may well be known as the woman serenading Jack Nicholson in Miramax's "The Crossing Guard." Until then, this 78-year-old pianist and singer is another legend giving solid nightclub perfs in the style that earned her fame almost five decades ago.
Brooks gave a confident performance of material from her new DRG release "Anytime Anyplace Anywhere," starting with the title track and working her way through songs long associated with her: "That's My Desire,""Ol' Man River,""You Won't Let Me Go,""Don't Go to Strangers."
Backed by guitar and bass, Brooks, who started as a boogie-woogie pianist and became a torch singer after band leader Charlie Barnet suggested she "do something to break up the monotony," works in the standard format of '40s singers such as Nat Cole and Charles Brown.
She, however, brings little jazz into her piano, preferring to hammer root chords and allow Al Viola's guitar to provide the subtle frills, just as he did at Hollywood clubs 40 years ago. Unlike most pianists of her era, she's an equal blend of Ray Charles and Jerry Lee Lewis.
She's armed with a smooth and smoky repertoire that glides gently through humorous and heart-draining episodes. Brooks breaks up that monotony by walking into the crowd and singing sans microphone, as well as telling the occasional old Hollywood story.
Like Charles Brown, Ruth Brown and Jimmy Scott, Brooks, who in 1951 at KLAC-TV became the first black woman to have her own TV show, has the goods to jumpstart her career. (Virgin just issued a collection of her sides for Modern in the '40s and '50s.) Her unique combination of glamour, elegance and vulnerability speaks volumes about her character and her ability to pour it out convincingly behind a baby grand.
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Date in print: Tue., Apr. 11, 1995