Live Review: James Morrison, Megan Washington, Marian Petrescu

It was odd as you sat in The State's formal rococo surrounds, that while those onstage were happy to find overlaps in the Venn Diagram of their talents, maybe some of the audience members were more out of their comfort zone.

Sure, jazz was (mostly) the currency: James Morrison the virtuoso showman as he worked his way around a table of various brass instruments to serve the staples and sidetracks being delivered. Gotta love the flugelhorn; ex-pat Romanian pianist Marian Petrescu an odd purist, learning his craft from smuggled Oscar Peterson records, quiet ripples suddenly bursting into pyrotechnics up and down the keyboard. The random element: "That pop singer," as one tweedy aficionado huffed behind me. But Megan Washington has a jazz background, and the voice to put that something in your eye — like when casually kicking off one of her shiny Louboutin high heels for a piano turn of her touchingly candid To Or Not Let Go.

The gents in suits-and-ties exhibited their skills in various combinations, with or without the heartbeat of drummer Gordon Rytmeister, Thirsty Merc bassist Phil Stack's beard and longer hair making him look more like a rock guy about to make a court appearance. The Oscar Peterson/Dizzy Gillespie duo arrangement of jazz standard Caravan pushed Petrescu and Morrison to heights. Washington gave the enterprise some individuality, some risk. Slow Boat To China a party piece ("If you want to sing along with her — good luck," as Morrison quipped), Cole Porter's So In Love sinuous and as "spooky" as she declared. She got lost in the moment regularly, dropping to her haunches to let the music wash over her. The respect was returned, the band whipping her Holy Moses into a jungly swing. Occasionally things lost their way, but it was a tightrope worth walking.