WEEKEND REVIEWS : Jazz : Freelon Showcases Her Vast Potential

Looking for a potentially world class jazz singer? Place Nnenna Freelon near the top of the list. Although the gifted young singer’s contract with Columbia Records inexplicably ended last year after three albums, she has the look and the sound of an artist on the move. Freelon’s performance at the Veterans Wadsworth Theater on Saturday night was an impressive display of her skills.

But she still has some work to do.

Slim and elegant in a long, black gown, Freelon sang a program ranging from rapid, scat-style numbers to dark, atmospheric ballads. Her voice was an uncommonly pliable instrument--rich, resonant and warm over its entire gamut, almost always precisely in tune--and her phrasing was consistently informed by a sophisticated harmonic imagination.

Freelon’s repertoire included a broad selection of such standards as “My Shining Hour,” “And I Thought About You” and Cole Porter’s “I Love You.” Many were framed with unusual arrangements: “Out of This World” was book-ended by a rhythmic vamp in 5/4; “I Fall in Love Too Easily” floated perfectly above a “My Favorite Things”-like 6/8 rhythm; “Nature Boy” was sung at an atypical, roaring up-tempo.

So far, so good. But Freelon revealed some difficulties, as well. Her physical movements, filled with stiff, awkward head rocking and incessant arm waving, were in complete contradiction to the gracefulness of her appearance.

Even more important, her readings, from a musical perspective, too often lacked creative focus, lyrical interpretation and the sense that they were being generated from a purely personal vision. On any given song, for example, one could hear a phrase that recalled Sarah Vaughan followed by a carefully articulated Carmen McRae-styled line, followed by an Ella Fitzgeraldian riff.

Only on rare occasions--her renderings of “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered,” “I Love You” and “ ‘Tis Autumn” were the best illustrations--was there a real glimpse of what Freelon can become. But to do so she must progress beyond the physical mannerisms and outside influences into an open expression of her own unique abilities.

The talent, however, is there. And, given the right kind of musical and professional support and encouragement, as well as--above all--the personal desire to explore her abilities to their fullest, Freelon is potentially a notable jazz voice for the ‘90s and beyond.