Mary Foster Conklin, On the Job

You might call what Mary Foster Conklin does “Blue Collar Jazz,” because when she sings, she really goes to work. Stylish without pretension, sexy without posturing, and tasteful without strict boundaries, Conklin is a jazz artist with that always-hoped-for combination of musical chops and sensitivity to lyrics.

Putting her own stamp on a pleasing mix of standards and less well known tunes, Conklin performed for a late-night dinner audience at Chez Suzette last Saturday, many of whom clearly wandered in unaware that they’d be getting a show with their supper. Lucky them — or, at least, those among them who paid attention. Unlucky were the rest of us, who had to put up with a lot of background chatter while Conklin served up a smooth and focused set.

Most jazz sets are comprised of songs that bear no particular thematic relationship to each other; more often than not, the tunes are chosen for their musical variety rather than their lyric content. In that sense, Conklin took a more cabaret-like approach to her material at Chez Suzette, linking songs with the common denominator of travel. From “Let’s Get Away From It All” to “Slow Boat to China,” a good many of her numbers took the audience on a journey to places in the heart and on the map.

Conklin has a deep, smoky voice that doesn’t wrap itself around a note so much as it taps the note on the noggin and says, “Be cool!” Her stock in trade is phrasing; she employs deft syncopation to reveal fresh insights in melody and meaning. That method is most apparent in her signature song, “Crazy Eyes” (also the title tune of her CD). Other songs may be arranged more subtly, but phrasing of that nature is always at the center of Conklin’s art. Whether delivering a bouncy, uptempo song called “El Cajon” or settling into a piercing, slow ballad like “Small Day Tomorrow,” she finds the jazz rhythms that highlight the words rather than using the words to highlight the music.

The purpose of her appearance at Chez Suzette was, in part, to help fine-tune a show she’s planning to run at Danny’s Skylight Room in July, wherein she will feature the work of songwriter Matt Dennis. Based on what we saw and heard, that show is shaping up well. Conklin is an authentic practitioner of the jazz trade who, figuratively speaking, rolls up her sleeves and gives you an honest night’s work.