From "The Daily News" article by A. James Liska
Have You Seen Estelle Yet?
Jazz in Review: Estelle Reiner sings at Le Cafe
Estelle Reiner's Thursday night appearance before a packed house at Le Cafe showed
not the exercise of a housewife's fancy but a sincere display of musical craft
and fortitude.
From a well-paced set of tasty standards and ballads, Reiner showed her craft
as a jazz-influenced pop singer and her artful ability to entertain: interpret
a lyric, tug a heartstring, tickle a funnybone.
Initially, Reiner's voice brings to mind a douce of Edith Bunker, but it is far
more than that. First, she sings in tune. Second, she is not creating a caricature.
It is, simply, the unique way she sings, with something of a crackle in the high
range and a wide vibrato on most any note held for more than a beat or two.
Accompanied by the first-rate trio of pianist Bob Florence, bassist Joel DeBartolo
and drummer Nck Ceroli, Reiner's recent appearances represent a return from a
40-plus year retirement. Her remarkable sense of time was evident throughout
the set, which included the swinging opener, "I Remember You"; the lovely ballad,
"The Nearness of You"'; the exquisite "Lover Man"; and "But Not For Me," a solid
standard to which she did swinging justice.
One suspects that Reiner's retirement years were spent doing considerable musical
homework, which only complimented her natural gift for communication. She put
on one great show, and I suggest you make reservations to catch her next appearance...