Eastman’s vocal insight

When it comes to jazz singing, Madeline Eastman is the real deal. There’s a confidence in her vocalizing that allows her to explore the gamut of this demanding musical genre. Recalling at times the pure articulation and swing of Carmen McRae, she can also risk the vulnerability of Billie Holiday and the feistiness of Nina Simone.

Eastman’s opening set at the Vic in Santa Monica on Thursday was a prime example of what jazz singing in the 21st century can be and too often isn’t. The San Francisco-based artist’s program was imaginative and entertaining, her choices from the Great American Songbook including such less-often sung items as “Baubles, Bangles and Beads” (from “Kismet”) and Frank Loesser’s “Slow Boat to China.” She added a simmering bossa nova take on Antonio Carlos Jobim’s “So Danco Samba,” as well as a witty rendering of Irving Berlin’s wickedly humorous “He Ain’t Got Rhythm (The Loneliest Man in Town).”

Add to that an inventive romp through the Eddie Cantor classic “Bye-Bye Blackbird” and an emotional version of Cy Coleman’s “I’m Gonna Laugh You Right Out of My Life.”

That’s the sort of set list that requires a mature perspective, lyrical sophistication and a wide emotional range. Eastman, working with pianist Randy Porter, bassist Chris Colangelo and drummer Tim Pleasant, displayed all that and more. She also paused between songs to chat with the capacity audience.

But the foundation for everything Eastman did -- tune selection, her entertaining manner and multilayered interpretations -- was her solid musicality. In the tradition of the best jazz singing, she chose not to imitate instruments but to focus her improvisational ideas on melodic paraphrase, briskly swinging accents and the subtle use of tonal variation.

Eastman spends a good portion of her time teaching and giving seminars. The old phrase, “Those who can, do; those who can’t, teach,” in no way applies to her. This is a singer who very much can do.