The Whistling Girl an Irish Jazz Cabaret with Lyrics from Dorothy Parker's Writings at Irish Arts Center

The Whistling Girl was an evening of original jazz music by Trevor Knight on keyboards with vocalist Honor Heffernan.  Heffernan is an int'l jazz singer, actress & recording actress.  The title for the evening is dubbed from the poem of the same title by Dorothy Parker.  The aprapo acronym I would surely name it would be Screeching Girl.  Ms. Heffernan's vocals were strident and grating.  Her persona was a blank monotone.  She maintained a glaring glaze probably meant to emulate Parker's defiant demeanor & disdain for convention.   There was a mordant theme for the macabre.  Parker's syntax of impending death, doom & gloom overshadowed the room.  The intensity of Heffernan's vocals, her sheathing in black garb with drink & a smoke in hand created a bitter & mournful mood.  This served well for "The Siege of Madrid," Parker's postings from the Spanish Civil War with Picasso's Guernica on the screen behind her and "Salome's Dancing Lesson," though using a male's head for a prop was a flop.  Heffernan didn't engage in banter with the audience except to introduce her talented band prior to their finale.  The musicians lead by Knight included Garvan Gallagher on bass, Tom Jameson on drums and Ed Deane on guitar.  The music was a pleasing & interesting blend of jazz that at times was reminiscent of Pink Floyd.  When Knight took over on vocals he reminded me of Leonard Cohen.  The musical score laid the soundtrack for melancholy, Parker's prose its sharp wit but Heffernan's vocals were not a great fit.