Jazz Co-op @ The Globe: The Claire Kelly Trio - July 18

Claire Kelly (vocals); Mark Williams (guitar); John Pope (bass)

(Review by Ann Alex/Photo courtesy of Emily Adam)

From the opening song, No Moon At All, I was struck by the rich tone of Claire’s voice which was a sheer joy to listen to. Ms Kelly has been away singing in Thailand for quite a while, doing soul and reggae almost every evening, and the experience seems to have enhanced her voice (mind it was good before she went).  Add to that the superb guitar of Williams and Pope’s adventurous bass providing long solos, and you have a great night of jazz.  I just wish the audience had been more numerous, but there were many other musical events last night such as the Americana Festival at the Sage.

And so the songs continued, sung with feeling and real style, Beautiful Love, with a bass opening; Born To Be Blue; I Cried For You. Everybody Wants To Be A Cat was slinky, with voice and bass only and lots of high notes from the bass, even on the ‘wrong’ side of the bridge.  The first half was rounded off with a quiet, sensitive Mr Ugly a homage to Carmen McRae. The second half gave us songs such as a happy blues, The Blues Are Out Of Town; Song For You; Taking A Chance On Love;

I Concentrate On You; At Long Last Love.  The final song was a tour de force with alterative titles, Unlucky Woman or Go Wild, sung with passion, and a long solo from Mark full of insistent riffs and bent notes, great listening.

Claire is leaving the country again in about 6 weeks, so you’d better catch her at Durham on August 6 before she goes, otherwise you’ll miss a treat.

Ann Alex.
(Durham date now corrected - see comment)