(Review by Flore - pictured with Tina left and Nikki right)
The musical pairing of Tina and
Nikki was inspired by the angels but, here on Earth, the invitation came from Sheffield Jazz who invited Tina to sing with the Nikki
Iles Trio in October 1995.
The rest is history.
Lauderdale House’s Long Gallery provided an intimate setting for what turned out to be a very enjoyable evening.
The first set offered a mélange of
variety.
Make Someone Happy – seamless changes of tempo. Sun Shower (Kenny Barron) – call and
response passages exquisitely defined. Change
of Sky (Springer/Harburg) – title track from their first CD together only
one word for it – exquisite!
The Touch of Your Lips - a sensitive handling that lead to Brandon
Allen, who had been listening attentively,
dashing to join them waving his tenor sax with much enthusiasm before
adding his own brand of spice to the brew of … Body and Soul – further flavours from Tina with a sprinkling of scat.
Daahoud – harnessing the energy from the
previous piece to lift us from our seats and ready to cool down.
Suitably cooled, the second set
began with Tina’s original composition … Bop
Till You Drop. Another seamless change of mood …‘Round Midnight.
A shake of the kaleidoscope and
we were treated to a tribute to Norma Winstone ... Ladies in Mercedes. Speak Low
(Kurt Weill) – signaled more mood changes. By this time I was trying to absorb a
cornucopia of sounds and rhythms to hear Tina after an introduction to draw
everything together for an A capella
version of Come Sunday from Ellington’s Black
Brown and Beige Suite which segued into the final Take the A Train. This sent the audience chattering and grinning
happily down Highgate Hill to get the A
Train at Archway tube station.
There were other items in the
programme that I've omitted for the sake of conciseness but it was a great
evening.
Flore.
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