Singer Raya Yarbrough Wields Still-Emerging Tools

The remarkable success stories generated by Diana Krall, Jane Monheit and Norah Jones, among others, have driven record companies to spread widening nets in search of young female jazz singers with similar breakout possibilities. Aside from the instant impact of Jones--whose first album (despite its presence on the Blue Note jazz label) had a distinctly country quality--the initial results of the quests have been uncertain, at best.

Singer Raya Yarbrough’s performance at Lunaria on Friday night provided a good example of the problems inherent in focusing upon talent that, whatever its potential, is still young and relatively untested. Although she is just on the verge of graduating from USC’s music school, Yarbrough already has been the subject of interest by a number of labels. And, from a purely fundamental perspective, her talent warrants the attention.

But talent and achievement are entirely different matters, and Yarbrough’s unquestioned skills as a singer and songwriter are still in the very early stages of development.

On the plus side, her voice is a pliable, versatile instrument, an effective vehicle for a musical expression that ranges freely from pop-style balladry to surprisingly effective scat singing. She also has a perceptive ear for the flow of melody and the textures of harmony, and a potent feeling for swing is present in all her rhythmic lines. Although the lyrics to her songs were difficult to decipher, given the volume level of her backup band, her originals seemed to blend expressive lyrics with an obviously imaginative musical vision.

On the still-developing side, Yarbrough’s voice tended toward thinness in her upper register--oddly reminiscent at times of Laura Nyro’s less intriguing efforts--and there were too many instances of unfocused pitch intonation. Nor did she help her presentation by allowing her players, especially drummer Nadir Jeevanjee, to play at an intensity level that tended to bury the more subtle facets of her singing.

Similarly, she made a further misstep by electing to open her set with several unfamiliar numbers, presumably originals, thereby failing to give her audience a connective link until she finally got around to singing the Sigmund Romberg/Oscar Hammerstein standard “Softly, As in a Morning Sunrise.”

Interestingly, it was with this number that Yarbrough’s real capabilities came shining through the music. Arching her melodic line with improvisational alacrity, she tossed in effective scatting, remained in contact with the song’s story, and energized it all with driving rhythmic propulsion. All the elements, in other words, that go into first-rate jazz vocalizing.

This sort of mixture of pluses and minuses is not uncommon in a young, just-emerging artist, of course. Balanced out, the sum adds up to a talent with considerable potential. Both Yarbrough and the record company with whom she eventually signs would do well, however, to take the time and effort needed to allow that potential to mature naturally, without the pressure of high-level, instant expectations.

Given that approach, she may well be one of the significant catches in the rush to capture gifted new jazz vocal artists.