Cyrille Aimee

First hearing her rendition of Michael Jackson's "Off The Wall" on a local jazz station, I was immediately captured by her beautifully smooth but real voice. Vibratos were placed in strategic locations to notice but not draw attention; Her voice becomes slightly raspy with her deliverance of key words allowing her deep-seeded and seasoned personality to be exposed before Cyrille's voice leads the listener back into an entertaining smooth jazz feel that requires subtle samba movement in your seat.
Then I noticed the complexities of her backing band switching rhythms and styles in perfect unison to create a range of moods and jazz-based deliveries without noticing the subtle shifts. Short guitar solos are provided by the atmospheric electric guitar of Michael Valeanu with modern world-jazz accompaniment provided by the band.
The actual show was all of this and more, situated in a classy yet beatnik style lounge overlooking part of the UCSD campus. Most of the pieces they played were grooving and jazzy renditions of songs made popular by an array of great artists throughout the decades; Including The Doors "People Are Strange", Nina Simone's "Love Me or Leave Me", Django Reindhart, and the jazz standard "Caravan". Some of her originals front her most recent album "It's a Good Day" were beautifully executed with battling guitar solos by Michael Veneau and the French jazz guitarist Adrien Moignard. Excellent modern jazz beats and aggressively solid drum solos were played by Rajiv Jayaweera who couldn't help but smile the entire time they played. And at one point the bassist, Sam Anning from Australia, and Cryille executed a beautifully complex duo with just the two of them sharing phrasings and communicative solo time. The bassist-written piece "Bamboo Shoots" was fun and captivating while Cyrille Aimee's original, "Nuit Blanche" required the fast paced dance movement from every single person in the room as the song's down tempo beat resembles that of a West Coast hip-hop instrumental from the Heart of France. All in all, the groups performance was a welcomed change to that of the usual jazz outfit, guiding the audience through mood changes and captivating stories told by Cyrille Aimee and her band. A fun and very influential experience was obviously had by all who attended. The only way the show could have been better is if their exposure reached a wider audience with more live-musician enthusiasts adding to the energy.