SOUL PIZAZZ

Shirley Murdock displayed a lot of old-fashioned star quality Wednesday night at the Roxy, blending equal parts vocal pizazz and work-that-stage showmanship.

Murdock, a fixture on the black music charts for most of the year with torchy, soul-powered ballad hits like “As We Lay” and “Go On Without You,” certainly didn’t look like the ex-gospel singer she is. From her waist-length blonde coiffure down to her stiletto heels, the chubby chanteuse looked like Tina Turner after too many ice cream sundaes. But a neon-lit smile and stiletto-kicking confidence made Murdock’s economy-size sex appeal just as crowd-pleasing as Turner at her best.

Murdock’s energy never flagged as the singer flirted with the two security guards who flanked the stage or jumped down into the audience to drive home a musical point. Her gospel roots came into play on the disco-ized “Truth or Dare,” which in mid-song became a tambourine-shaking, holy-rolling interplay between the singer and her scene-stealing band members. Flamboyant to be sure, Murdock’s method of winning over an audience gives her an edge over many of her young R&B;/pop-singing contemporaries who don’t possess her stage prowess or hip-swaggering bravado.