San Francisco hotspot regular Shaynee Rainbolt doesn’t have Ella Fitzgerald’s stunningly perfect voice (who does?) nor does she possess the sultry soul of a Billie Holiday (again, who does?).
But what Rainbolt does have is an effortlessly smooth, sweet voice and a sense of humor. You really can hear the joy — and even the hint of a chuckle — when she delivers lines like “He’s real and the world is alive and shining/I feel such a wonderful drive towards valentining” on her debut CD, “From This Moment On.”
Rainbolt — a Jewish San Rafael resident whose family escaped the Holocaust in Yugoslavia — also possesses the incredibly underrated ability to deliver a jazz standard without trilling every third note, breaking into extraneous vocal gymnastics or pulling other look-at-how-good-my-voice is-type of behavior.
Instead, Rainbolt’s delivery is velvety smooth, intelligent and compliments rather than commandeers the great old George and Ira Gershwin, Cole Porter or Duke Ellington numbers.
Rainbolt fronts a fun, bouncy quartet that’s a dead audible ringer for Vince Guaraldi’s boys on the “Charlie Brown Christmas” or “Black Orpheus” albums (veteran drummer Colin Bailey was one of Guaraldi’s boys on both of those albums).
Rainbolt also demonstrates an actress’ range, adopting myriad emotions on songs ranging from ecstatic (“He Touched Me”) to sassy (“Just Friends/Can’t We Be Friends”) to morose (“Cry Me a River”).
But, does she pass the Gershwin test? The music of Jewish composer George Gershwin has something of a “magic lamp” quality. In the right hands, it can magnify a performer’s grace, beauty and passion. But in the wrong hands, it can be some of the most cringe-worthy, dated music on God’s green earth.
Rainbolt does pass the test, and with style. One can only wish there were more Gershwin on this album. But her version of “Someone to Watch Over Me” is emotional without being maudlin, and she’s an impish delight on “I’m Getting Sentimental Over You.”
Rainbolt’s voice would more accurately be described as “smooth” than “powerful” — she’s no shouter — but both the singer and the band do push the volume up a touch for the album’s big finish, “At Last.” In truth, a little more shouting and less smoothness would have been a good thing on this number, but this is nitpicking.
For anyone who enjoys the jazz standards and female jazz vocalists, “From This Moment On” is worth a listen.
“From This Moment On” (33 Records, $15.99).
Shaynee Rainbolt will be appearing at 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 22 at The Cosmopolitan Café, 121 Spear St., S.F. (415) 543-4001; 9 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 6 at Kelly’s of Alameda, 313 Park St., (510) 769-1011; and 8 p.m. Monday, Dec. 8 with the Ken Muir Trio for “Holiday Madness” at the Empire Plush Room at the York Hotel, 940 Sutter St. (between Levenworth and Hyde), S.F., (415) 885-2800; www.ticketweb.com.