Natasha Miller: Press

Natasha Swings at Plush Room

Two of Alameda?s shining stars took to the stage in San Francisco?s Plush Room June 27, to the delight of jazz fans. Singer Natasha Miller and songwriter Bobby Sharp were golden Sunday night, Sharp?s lyrics as fresh and sweet as ever, and Miller?s performance flawless.
The Plush Room is intimate, just right for the velvet notes of Sharp?s songs. Miller felt so, too. ?This is a little bit of a dream,? she told the audience. Skillfully backing up Miller were Larry Dunlap, piano; David Ewell, bass; Tim Bulkley, drums, and Rob Roth, on sax. Miller started the night with the elegant ?A Real Swingin? Affair,? then sauntered into the sultry ?I Had a Feelin?.? She added afterward, ?That song sounds like falling in love.?
Miller reprised her Coltrane-inspired rendition of ?My Favorite Things,? and imbued Sharp?s ?My Magic Tower? with the agony of longing; the song was highlighted by Roth?s plaintive sax solo.
Sharp took the stage to applause and reprised his lovely ballad, ?Monica,? as heartfelt as ever; he preceded the tune with a moment of tribute to the late Ray Charles, noting the hits he?d penned for Charles including ?Unchain My Heart? and ?Don?t Set Me Free.? ?Monica,? with its perfect rhyme scheme and seamless architecture, wowed the audience, as always.
Miller is not one to be shy, so she woke up the audience with ?Big Storyteller,? then ripped through ?Route 66? and ?Things are Breakin? Like Rocks? before Sharp came on stage again to lead a rollicking audience sing-along, the common-man blues-themed ?The Johnson Mine.?
In Miller?s second set, she sang the haunting ?I Return to the Sea,? and soon brought up her friend Jamie Davis, who offered a delicious ?You Are Too Beautiful.? Miller followed with, ?Everlastin? Blues,? ?What Diff?rence,? ?Madame Heartache? and ended with a pop on the favorite, ?Summertime.?
Miller, who has been touring and promoting her latest CD offering, I Had a Feelin? featuring Sharp?s undiscovered songs, continues to impress with her cool jazz stylings and sassy air. If you?ve missed her live performances, fear not: there?s more Natasha to come. She?s singing this Saturday, July 3, at the Fillmore Jazz Festival in San Francisco at 10 a.m. on the California Main Stage.