Belle busts out at Blue Note Las Vegas

Randy Matin

Thursday, Jan. 11, 2001 | 8:47 a.m.

Before Jill Scott and Lauren Hill put life back into R&B, there was another group of singers who emerged in the late '80s, including Jennifer Holiday and Regina Belle, both springing from the gospel tradition.

Belle, who opened a weeklong run Monday night at the Blue Note Las Vegas, is never far from gospel and was hardly shy about sharing her faith with the audience. Spirituality, however, did not keep her from getting down and funky, or working up solid grooves on ballads, slow jams, disco numbers and even a bit of straight-ahead jazz.

If anything, as Belle let the spirit take over, it ramped up the energy level of her performance, making for a well-rounded, if lightly attended opening show.

Led by music director Mark Minchilo, who jumped back and forth between synth and Herbie Hancock-sounding electric piano, Belle's band, the Absolute Truth, opened with a funky instrumental. Each musician took a solo spot, including a series of flying, melodic runs from drummer Tim Hutson.

It took Belle a little longer to hit her stride on the opening verses of "Brand New," where one had to strain to hear her over the band. Much of the muddiness that obscured the vocals for the first five songs might have been due to last-minute sound adjustments. But by the first chorus there was the voice, coming in gusts of passion, causing Belle to throw her head back to let it all out.

As they, too, emerged from the mix, Belle's backing singers added disco heat to "Passion" and rocking backbone "So Many Tears," one of Belle's hit singles, that shares a key dance-floor riff with Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean." On these songs and more, the silver-clad Marvel Allen sang the sweet, high tones while the bodyguard-sized Gerald Latham hit higher ones.

A little later in the set, Latham moved up front for a duet with Belle on the instantly recognizable "Whole New World" from Disney's "Aladdin." The original won Belle and her duet partner Peabo Bryson four Grammys and was presented here as a huge, Broadway ballad. Funny to think that somewhere else in the world that night, Bryson was probably doing the same song with a substitute female partner.

When it came time for "Pagannini," Belle got confessional and spoke to the audience as if they were her church family, thanking God for providing a reconciling place during times of turmoil. She dedicated the song to the Ella Fitzgerald, adopting some of the Fitzgerald's vocal mannerisms in what was probably the least complicated musical number of the set and the purest example of straight-ahead jazz.

This also provided Bell an excellent opportunity to stretch out her horn-like, sweaty improv style of Rebecca Paris or the unpredictable flights of Rachelle Ferrell. But silvery and soulful as is her reputation, with Robert Gill's remarkably accurate horn voicing on the Korg fattening the sound.

Scatting again like a horn and even playing a little air guitar, Belle broke into the romantic R&B ballad "Serious," which proved to be yet another fine showcase for Latham and Allen. Belle sang in husky tones, occasionally shooting up for a high note, then creating real fire with James Brown-like knee drops and Elvis-style karate kicks.

Despite initial sound problems and Belle's overgesturing, which became distracting, there was little stopping the show once Belle and her band were set in motion. The audience, which fed little energy back to the stage, rose for a standing ovation -- but not one enthusiastic enough to win an encore.