Leonard Feather's Review from the L.A. Times ( July 30th 1983)
Jazz and Pop Reviews
ESTELLE REINER SINGS AT LE CAFE
Estelle Reiner has been an occasional presence in recent months in the Room Upstairs
at Le Cafe in Sherman Oaks. Thursday evening she offered renewed evidence of
her late-blooming talent.
Reiner's story is unique. Except for a brief stint on a Bronx radio station
at 15 she has never been a professional singer. Remaining in the shadows as Mrs.
Carl Reiner, she emerged recently, with some help from vocal coach Phil Moore,
to reveal qualities that many a seasoned pro would envy.
Clearly her influences are the jazz and R&B stars of the 1930s and '40s,
yet her sound and style are her own. Her bittersweet timbre in "The Nearness of
You" suggested honey laced with vinegar. The natural flow of her phrasing, the
jazz-informed edge in her upper register reflect many years of selective, sensitive
listening.
The Reiner repetoire runs a 60-year gamut from "My Sweetie Went Away," with its
Dixieland tinge, through Cy Coleman's "You Fascinate Me So" up to the most recent
items borrowed from Dave Frishberg and Olivia Newton-John. A brief rap recalling
her memories of Harlem led to such unlikely blues verses as "Don't You Feel My
Leg," a jukebox hit for Blue Lu Barker ca. 1938. Here and elsewhere she avoided
the tendency to assume pseudo-black traits.
Reiner's authenticity and conviction would be commendable as an artist who had
been honing her craft for decades. In view of her background it is extraordinary.
A housewife, mother of three grown children, she has started a career taht could
become much more than mere whim fulfillment.
Smoothly swinging accompaniment ws provided b pianist Bob Florence's Trio. Reiner
will be back at Le Cafe on Aug. 18
By Leonard Feather Appeared
appeared in The L.A. Times
Date of Article: July 30th 1983
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