Jonathan Katz and Andrea Hopkins

April 14, 2016
Harbor Light, Kunitachi

Jonathan Katz – piano
Andrea Hopkins -- vocal

Piano singer duos are matches made in jazz heaven. You can’t force them, manufacture them or produce them with demands from record company executives. They just happen magically, naturally, creatively, and humanly. Katz and Hopkins are one such duo.

Their first set in the intimate Harbor Light jazz club dug into standards like “‘S Wonderful,” “The Nearness of You” (also on their CD) and a super-funky version of “Take the A Train.” All of that might sound like a regular set list, but Hopkins’ vocals soar and plunge with such inventiveness and deep feeling that the songs become moving, new testaments to the power of their well-known melodies and lyrics. Katz worked bass lines that fit tightly under Hopkins’ fluid, sultry voice.

The second set worked with more stellar songs. The gorgeous “When the World Turns Blue” and “My Foolish Heart” were both delivered with soft sensitivity. Both Hopkins’ vocals and Katz’s keyboards held a delicate, shimmering intensity. The upbeat numbers, like “It’s All Right with Me” and “That’s All” were great fun. They both, in their own ways, open up the songs like a box of candy to find the sweetest, toothiest choices inside. Hopkins’ voice wells up with deep feeling that spills into long, lovely phrasings, and into hums and moans as pretty as the words. Katz knows the voicings, bass lines and rhythms that keep the feeling flowing, and overflowing.

Their interaction is also nicely spontaneous. Rather than performing each tune according to a pre-planned form, (like some singers who feel over-practiced), they loosen up and have a good time, following their feel for the song rather than a structure. They sync together on long take-outs at the ends of pieces, on the great solos and funky bass lines from Katz in the middle, and the vocal improvs from Hopkins all through. Their pleasure in letting the songs fly is infectious.

That ease and loose focus comes from having played together for over ten years. Their duo CD “Happy Talk” is a great introduction to their artistry, with wonderful arrangements and great delivery, but hearing them live lets their musical powers come out with a fuller range. Recorded or live, Hopkins and Katz form a great duo that should not be missed.

http://www.jkatz.net/
http://www.jkatz.net/e/discography.html