Singer-pianist has versatility, musicality on her side

Jazz singer-pianist Carol Welsman, who made her Los Angeles debut Tuesday night at Feinstein’s at the Cinegrill, is a talented Canadian with a string of Juno Award nominations dating to the mid-’90s. She was co-host of the 2000 Billboard/BET on Jazz Awards with Herbie Hancock and was named vocalist of the year in Canada’s 2002 National Jazz Awards.

More than the already-distinguished career, however, it was Welsman’s sterling performance that raised the question of why it has taken so long for her to make a Southland appearance.

At a time when the jazz record business is scouring nooks and crannies in search of young singers with the potential to succeed Diana Krall, Welsman is that rarest of discoveries: a fully formed artist with the musicality, imagination and looks to cruise to the top of the jazz vocal genre.

Much of the material in Welsman’s lengthy set was drawn from her recent Savoy Jazz album, “The Language of Love,� a collection varied enough to display her versatility.

On medium tempo songs such as “Just One of Those Things� and “I Got Rhythm,� she sang with a body-moving sense of swing, enlivening the lyrics with impressive scat segments delivered in unison with her piano lines.

On slower numbers -- especially a touchingly intimate “A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square� -- she balanced the poetry of the words with the flow of the melody in a fashion rarely heard in jazz singing.

There’s a certain irony in the fact that an artist capable of competing musically with Krall is another Canadian. But Welsman clearly has what it takes to do the job.

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Carol Welsman

Where: Feinstein’s at the Cinegrill, Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, 7000 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood

When: Tonight through Saturday, 8:30 and 10:30 p.m.

Price: $35, plus $30 minimum beverage or dinner purchase

Info: (310) 769-7269