June Tabor at the Old Town School of Folk Music: June Tabor started out as one of the most adept of the traditional vocalists to come out of Britain in the ’70s. In her superb performance Saturday at the school, Tabor proved that she has expanded far beyond her original musical niche as she tackled jazz standards, pop ballads, contemporary folk tunes, even a bit of musical comedy. In her last area appearance back in 1991, Tabor played with electric folkers the Oyster Band, but this time she was accompanied by pianist Huw Warren and violinist Mark Emerson. The understated contributions of these players kept the musical focus on Tabor’s deep, sensuous and commanding voice. For the first half of her show, Tabor focused on songs about love gone wrong, including the slow, moody jazz piece “I’m No Good at Love” and an uptempo reading of the traditional girl-disguised-as-a-sailor ballad “William Taylor.” Later, Tabor did a series of pieces involving gypsies, starting with a saucy Cajun rendition of the traditional “Gypsum Davy.”
Missing from her performance were Tabor’s audacious covers of material by contemporary writers like Elvis Costello and Richard Thompson. She did feature several pieces by British writer Les Barker, including his Titanic spoof “I Only Have Ice for You” and a gorgeous ballad called “The Turn of the Road.” Tabor’s virtuoso performance offered ample evidence that she has grown from being a revered folk traditionalist to one of the most versatile and expressive singers in popular music today.
