A 1986 Los Angeles Times review of a Marni Nixon album of George Gershwin songs called it “polished and professional, yet also sparse and dry.” It went on to say that “Nixon’s voice is not rich in its lower registers . . . . and that nearly all the songs . . . ask for more stretching and surging of tempo than the performers [including the pianist] allow.”

We’re talking Marni Nixon, ghost singer for the stars (Deborah Kerr, Natalie Wood, Audrey Hepburn). So, you’ll excuse me if I say that soprano Kathleen Monson (and her accompanist Riko Higuma) did not provide fascinating rhythm for me in much the same way.

Monson’s voice is beautiful, but not for me. I left this summertime concert with plenty of nothing.

Higuma was given some solo time, including a shortened version of Rhapsody in Blue. This is the third performance of that classic I’ve witnessed this year. I previously raved about Sean Hayes and Michelle Cann. While I found Higuma’s work more entertaining that Monson’s, it didn’t rise to the level of the other two pianists, though, to be fair, they were playing grand pianos and she was playing an upright that may or may not have been made from Legos.