The Spice of Life

Wednesday nights at The Spice are never dull and never without a twist. The twist tonight came when Emma Smith, intent on doing Beautiful Love (in E minor), was joined by Ian Shaw and the pair went into the most amazing version of Centrepiece I've ever heard. They sang and they scatted in a Bach fugue-like manner. It was something else. Unlike Samson, Ian Shaw's vanishing locks have not weakened the power of his delivery. Emma did good too trading cut and thrust with Ian and not losing out.

The night began sedately enough with Paul Pace and You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To.

Paul sets the mood with a Sinatraic vocal and cool announcing. Behind him the trio of Alex Hutton (pno), Simon Little (bs) and John Blease (dms) tell the singers waiting (metaphorically) in the wings that they have nothing to fear re the backing. Paul also sang That Old Devil Moon later on.

Kate Windsor got the ball rolling with That's All, This Can't Be Love, No More Blues, the Very Thought of You, Exit Song and an uptempo Sunday.

The feeling was there.

Next the headliner Kate Eden.

Kate comes on firing to the hip with Hallelujah I Just Love Him So, Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, Comes Love, Close Your Eyes, My Lean Baby, Good Morning Heartache, Yip Harberg's Down With Love and the amazing line that goes, "Give it back to the birds and the bees and the Viennese" finishing up with Wardell Gray/Annie Ross's Twisted. Would Wardell ever have imagined his solo would have been vocalised and sung in a London pub sixty years after he recorded it?

Michelle from New York sang a bouncy Spiderman that was kind of like a female Bobby McFerrin.

That rare species known as the male vocalist got up and crooned Stairway To The Stars. This was John ? who had been listening, I guess, to Mel Tormé he looked a bit like Jimmy Carter (former president) but probably was a better singer.

SARAH ELLEN HUGHES - a keen supporter of BSH sang But Not For Me. Sarah was the only singer tonight to sing the verse. She scatted and phrased the lyric cleverly.

Sarah is back in the main spot on June 2.

Esther Bennett did Loverman and a lady introduced as 'Yotz', I think, gave Moondance a blast. (Yots Koutsouvelis of Jazz UK fame - tomorrow they have Vasilis Xenopoulos!)

Then came the grand finale with Ian and Emma.

There may have been better nights at The Spice but they can't have been much better!

Photos.

Lance.