Rising star Julie Day knows how to captivate an audience

One of the pleasures of being a professional critic is the opportunity to observe the arrival of impressive new talent. Talent such as jazz singer Julie Day, whose performance at Catalina Bar & Grill on Tuesday night had the vibe, the enthusiasm and the sheer irresistibility of a star in the making.

At 21, Day has the blond and slender look of a youthful Diana Krall. But the resemblance stops there. Unlike Krall, whose vocals have always worked best when they flow from her piano playing, Day is a stand-up singer, intimately immersed in her songs, digging into their inner meaning with a constantly surprising sense of emotive maturity.

Day’s recently released CD, “Julie Day,” signaled the quality of her skills. But the songs, all written by Dan Fitzgerald, failed to provide an appropriate springboard for those skills. Fortunately, she chose a much more varied group of songs for her Catalina set and the results fully affirmed her potential.

She immediately displayed her affection for the blues with a convincing reading of Billie Holiday’s “Fine and Mellow,” enhanced by a vocal timbre blending a burry edge with an intimate sweetness. Day continued with a lighthearted rendering of a tune from a singer who clearly is one of her musical influences: Peggy Lee’s “I Love Being Here With You.” Another blues classic, T-Bone Walker’s “Stormy Monday,” and Bobby Troup’s atmospheric “Route 66” further revealed her stylistic range. “Hope Avenue & Despair,” from her CD, was less effective. A newer song, “I Love You” -- which was written by Day and received its first performance -- was more engaging, suggesting that she would do well to explore her own writing.

The set ended with a rare and marvelous moment. Veteran blues and gospel artist Linda Hopkins, who was in the audience, joined Day for a climactic closing romp through the blues classic “Alright, OK, You Win.” Day’s musical poise in this demanding setting -- a brilliantly entertaining, spontaneous juxtaposition of musical youth and maturity -- firmly established this artist’s gifts.