Gabriel Mit Drei @ Bridge Hotel, Newcastle May 12.

Gabriele Heller (vcl); Steve Glendinning (gtr); Dave Parker (bs); Paul Beck (pno).
(Review by Lance)

I've noted the rise of Gabriele (Gabby) from her first tentative steps at the Chilli - that breeding ground for so much talent - via her increasingly confident appearances at The Caff, the gigs that are now less infrequent, and on to her emergence as a contender. This was very much in evidence tonight with a performance that was verging on jazz theatre. The jazz was in the material, the improvised vocal choruses, the varying note timbres and the unexpected intervals which could be a fleeting octave plus jump or a surprising, indefinable, shot in the dark that miraculously hit the mark.

The theatre came in the hand movement, the facial expression, the body language which said almost as much as the lyric. Then there were the introductions to the songs... Done intelligently, and not without humour, they made us like the song before we'd even heard it!  

Steve Glendinning played some cracking solos and his accompaniments were sublime. Paul Beck dodged Passport Control to come down from Scotland for the gig and he proved his worth with sensitive backing and good solos. Dave provided the foundation with his accurate bass work and the unit gelled from the opening All or Nothing at All through to the final You'd be so Nice to Come Home to. The cornucopia in between included a stunning version of Rosemary Clooney's immortal classic - Come on-a my House, Falling in Love Again sung in 3 different languages; English, German and Scat much to the delight of a German couple in the audience, Lullaby of Birdland - shades of Anita O'Day - Softly as in a Morning Sunrise and many many more.

If you haven't heard Gabby and the band yet, watch out for them.

Lance.