POP AND JAZZ REVIEWS : Schottenfeld Gives a Lesson in Cabaret

Barbara Schottenfeld’s opening night performance at the Cinegrill last week was an impressive illustration of how to do contemporary cabaret. Not only did the New York-based artist sing with the panache and style of a veteran nightclub performer, she also wrote all the songs.

Schottenfeld’s singing was smooth as silk, supported by an easy, three-octave-plus range and a versatile vocal timbre; she added additional spice to her performance with high-spirited comedic interludes.

At their best--especially in “Revision,” a set piece describing the miseries of rewriting--Schottenfeld’s songs had the feel, if not always quite the depth, of Sondheim. “Two Lifetimes” (written with Jule Styne) and “The Thought Behind Your Smile” (written with Henry Mancini) were well-crafted ballads, but a children’s piece written with Steve Allen was interminably long, and should be omitted from her act.

If there was a problem with Schottenfeld’s presentation, it was a tendency toward a one-note theme exploring contemporary mating rituals. Witty as songs such as “I Can Depend on You Like I Can Float on Air” may have been, their fey cuteness tended to undercut the more substantial qualities of her ballad writing, which was far superior.

* Schottenfeld performs today at the Cinegrill, Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, 7000 Hollywood Blvd., 8 p.m. $12. (213) 466-7000.