A new name to me but, on the strength of this album, Nel Begley will surely become a voice to be reckoned with in the current crop of UK jazz singers.
Cherokee sets the scene. The voice captured me from the opening bars - this promised to be something else, and it was. The approach is cool and laid back yet the sound is warm and the scat solo as logical as a horn chorus or the piano, guitar and bass solos that followed.
A House is Not a Home. Begley gets the emotional feeling team Bacharach and David's classic demands. Edis too is at the top of his game.
The Gentle Rain. Guitar and voice capture the mood of Luis Bonfá's bossa nova to perfection with Brunt's tenor hinting at Stan Getz.
Lucky to be me. Complete with out of tempo verse, the song that originated in the Broadway show On the Town swings along nicely with more tenor from Brunt.
Small Flame. The first of two originals by Nel Begley reveal another aspect of her creativity. Slow and dreamy it's perfect for the singer, any singer, but particularly the one who wrote it.
Social Call. One of my favourite numbers. I've heard many great versions of this song and this one can bear comparision with any of them. Everyone swinging except for whoever it was that listed the composer credits. Gigi Gryce did compose the tune but the lyric was by Jon Hendricks and not Jimi Hendrix!
The Peacocks, music by Jimmy Rowles, lyric by Norma Winstone, what more could a singer ask for? Well a tenor solo wouldn't go amiss and a sympathetic set of accompanists wouldn't do any harm either and, you know what? That's exactly what she gets!
Spill. A funky groove based original by the singer with a bar-walking tenor solo and some mighty fine piano from the man, late of the Parish of Chester-le-St in Co. Durham, Paul Edis.
A house is not a home without Small Flame. Lance
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Nel Begley - along with Paul Edis and Luke Fowler - will be at the Gala, Durham on Friday 29 August (1:00pm). Don't miss this one!
And at Newcastle Arts Centre the day before on Thursday August 28.
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