By Bart Greenberg***Vocalist Laura Tashji took the stage at Don’t Tell Mama with a quiet elegance reminiscent of Julie Wilson: perfect enunciation and a charming laugh. She was there to share the Lyrics of My Life, her new, very personal show, in collaboration with her music director, pianist Matt Baker. Tashji has the lovely ability totake an emotionally-ladened song like “My Romance” (Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart) nice and easy, letting the material speak for itself. Her voice 
has a warm vibrato that recalls the great chanteuse Christine Andreas.
The use of well-known songs in unusual settings bestowed a freshness on them. Tashji’s early love for ballet and drama classes were surprisingly paired with “Falling in Love With Love” (Rodgers, Hart) and the very different “Fever” (John Davenport, Eddie Cooley). The relentless auditioning of her salad days became interwoven with the unexpected “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” (Cole Porter), which also gave Baker, with roots in jazz and improvisation, a chance to demonstrate his impressive magic at the keyboard.
Turning to the subject of romance, Tashji chose a series of unexpected songs here as well, from the gorgeous bitter-sweetness of “April Fooled Me” (Jerome Kern,Dorothy Fields) with its heartbreaking lyrics, to a very funny rewrite of 
“What Does He Want of Me?” (Mitch Leigh, Joe Darion) about her husband. And later she added a great set of new lyrics to another Kern melody, “A Woman’s Work.” Speaking of her children, she brought a powerful amount of maternal passion to “If Ever I Would Leave You” (Fredrick Loewe, Alan Jay Lerner). Tashji also brought her daughter, Helen Clauss, to the stage for a duet on a mash up of “Somewhere” (Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim) and “Moon River” (Henry Mancini, Johnny Mercer).
Tashji, throughout, exhibited a great taste for the music that compliments her style and her voice. Great support came from the expert Baker who had moments to shine on his own—adding to a very special program all around.
Photos by Bart Greenberg
