Live Review: Dirty Jazz Vintage Cabaret

"Are you ready for some dirty jazz?" the sultry Jessie Gordon asked as she took to the stage for the opening night of her latest Fringe show. The near-capacity, late-night crowd at Ellington Jazz Club was obviously more than ready for an evening of what promised to be a performance of "the most risque music of the '30s and '40s" — with a selection of special guests thrown in for good measure.

Kicking off with the Nina Simone song I Want A Little Sugar In My Bowl, Gordon showed why she is a multiple Fringe Show award winner, delivering a stellar performance from the get-go. Backed admirably by the quartet of Mark Turner (guitar/sax/vocals), John Matthews (guitar), Karl Florisson (bass) and Michael Perkins (drums), the show continued on with Your Feet's Too Big, followed by Julia Lee's I Didn't Like It The First Time.

Then it was time for the first special guest of the evening as Gordon welcomed vaudeville/burlesque performer Clara Cupcakes to the stage. Cupcakes gave what appeared to be a brief taste of her current Fringe show and she wowed the crowd with some impressive hula-hoop work, spinning up to five hoops at one time before making her exit and leaving the band to continue on with Bessie Smith's Kitchen Man. After, they were joined on stage by Perth's Samba Queen, Coco Poppin, dancing to a rendition of Nat King Cole's Nature Boy. 

British comedian/freestyle rapper Chris Turner was the next guest to take to the stage. He delivered a funny cameo, topped off by a rap incorporating topics shouted out from the audience: laser eye surgery, bazookas, object permanence and fracking. The first act of this evening's performance then concluded with Honeysuckle Rose (Fats Waller) and It's A Sin To Tell A Lie (The Ink Spots).

Following a brief intermission and costume change, Gordon returned to the stage with a ukulele and began the second part of the show with a solo performance of Harry Roy's 1931 song My Girl's Pussy much to the delight of the crowd. The band returned for Fever and George Gershwin's They Can't Take That Away From Me before Coco Poppin returned with Annie Ryan to perform a seductive dance number with Gordon.

With Gordon leaving the stage for another costume change, ventriloquist Sarah Jones appeared as the final guest performer for the evening. In a spot that appeared to be longer than allocated for previous guests, Jones kept the crowd amused with a routine centred around looking for love that involved the participation of an audience member named Gary. Gordon then returned to perform I've Got You Under My Skin and Shake That Thing before the show was finished off with Lucille Bogan's racy 1935 number, Shave 'Em Dry.

While Gordon is undoubtedly an extremely enchanting and talented performer with the ability to instantly build a rapport with her audience, it must be said that tonight's performance suffered somewhat from the use of special guests who appeared to detract from the theme and overall flow of what was otherwise a great show. Having seen Fringe offerings from previous years, both Gordon and her backing band are more than capable of delivering a standout show on their own and, while the need for other artists to advertise their own shows is understandable, it seemed to be done to the detriment of this performance.