Cabaret                                                             by Jessie Gordon                                             The Ellington Jazz Club                             February 5th

Despite this show bearing the bold title of dirty, Dirty Jazz doesn’t rise above the level of suggestive winks and cute double entendres, (at least until the last number; a wonderful cover of Lucille Bogan’s hardcore, ultra-filthy ‘Shave ‘Em Dry’). The song in question was so beautifully performed and the lyrics so utterly obscene, that I wish the rest of Gordon’s set were more like it.

As it stands, Gordon’s session was mostly thrilling, if occasionally stilted. The crowd was well lubricated (with alcohol) and uninhibited enough to hoot at the many sexual innuendos and bare faced come-ons, and marvel at the technical skill of Gordon’s singing. To put it bluntly, that woman has a nice set of pipes and the best part of the show was her singing voice. It’s a testament to her talents that she can make the obligatory cover of ‘Fever’ feel resonant and modern. Her crooning evoked Nina Simone through a grunge filter; she wasn’t so much a woman after your heart as she was after your guts – the effect was both startling and thrilling.

I feel churlish to add a negative but it’s something that must be said if I’m going to be honest; Jessie Gordon likes to talk a lot. That in and of itself doesn’t sound like a bad thing but when one is attending a theatrical show, you don’t really want to hear the performer stop the show to explain the origins of what dirty means or why this song from this era is actually full of innuendo; as if we couldn’t piece it together ourselves that this song about a dentist filling a patient’s cavity contains… wait for it… double entendres. During these interludes of explaining things I was tapping my foot out of impatience when I would really loved to have been tapping it to a bawdy tune. It might be just a personal quirk, but I feel that someone continually talking at me about why this means that takes away from what is otherwise an immersive theatre performance.

Although, that really is the only negative thing I have to say. Talk is cheap but everything else about Jessie Gordon is luminous and opulent. Go see her, she’s brilliant.

Dirty Jazz ran for one night only, but you can check out the rest of the Fringe World Guide here.