Claire Martin: Rhapsody in Blue @ Cheltenham Town Hall - May 4

Claire Martin (vocals); Rob Barron (piano); Jeremy Brown (bass) Mark Taylor (drums); Karen Sharp (saxophone); Quentin Collins (trumpet)

A quick jog across Cheltenham from the Jazz Arena found us, once more, at the Town Hall for another gig by one of UK jazz’ foremost road warriors. Sometime back in the last century a local jazz radio show played Claire Martin singing The People That You Never Get To Meet  and I’ve been hooked ever since. Today it’s a purely Gershwin set list and there are few better ways to pass 75 minutes.

Opening with Nice Work if You Can Get It she ran through the most popular pieces from the Gershwin songbook displaying her knack with a lyric, slowing it down and adding vocal fills. One of her major talents is as an actress; she plays the characters in a song; nothing gets a ‘straight’ reading. So there is real bounce to Nice Work… and she’s playful and joyous on A Foggy Day in London Town bringing out both the melancholy and the hope in the lyric. The joy is brought to further life by Taylor’s ringing church bell cymbals and Sharp’s knotty but swinging solo. Ain’t Necessarily So as a waltz glows with the rich sound of sax and trumpet and there seems to be additional depth to Martin’s voice as she twists and turns the melody line in a wordless duet with Collins.

Who Cares? is a plaintiff, comic tragedy with Martin extending lines, adding in wordless phrases; every line is material to be worked and moulded. Bright and joyful is what it says in my notes. Embraceable You is a light Bossa Nova, sultry and humid. Gentle drums support a dancing shuffle to the piano solo whilst Martin, for those who ever doubted it, shows her love of the words and her undiluted pleasure for the sheer cleverness of them. Someone To Watch Over Me is introduced as ‘Not a feminist anthem.’ She rides the melody line beautifully and the pure fragility of the tune comes through. Sharp takes the melody for a waltz around the dance floor and plays on as Martin comes back in, providing little light flourishes, adding depth and colour. My One and Only is an opportunity for the musicians to shine, opening with a doowop line on the bass and the solo bass backing rolls on as Martin steps up. Collins’ solo is full of piercing notes and flutters before he tag teams Sharp for her adventurous solo. The song itself is full of snap and bounce, the vocal line entwined with the sax and trumpet. A S’Wonderful opens with gentle piano before the rest of the band swing in full of joi d’vivre; a bopping sax solo is followed by Collins trumpet squalls.

It’s about 100 years since the premier of Rhapsody In Blue so Rob Barron took us through an abridged version managing to pack all of the highlights into a few tumbling minutes finding space for all the evocative images of life in the Jazz Age bringing out the swagger and swing, the joy and tragedy, the excitement, opportunities and hopes, and the uncertainty of a city after dark.

Claire and Band come back on for Our Love Is Here To Stay. She plays lightly with the melody line, shortening and drawing out words and swinging through the verse; she takes the melody for a wander, leading and chasing the band, playing with the time. I Loves You Porgy follows with Collins shining on flugelhorn over fragile, brushed drums; Martin’s soft voice catches the tragic yearning and Collins carries the mood into the warmth and hope of his solo. There is a note of defiance in there as well as Claire sings the role, not just the tune. I Got Rhythm is full of pep and bounce with Martin dragging the melody and launching into a lively scatting section with more swinging joy from Sharp and Collins on their solos before Martin comes back in and the sax and trumpet wrap her up. Much applause, smiles everywhere. Claire Martin has charisma to spare and, more importantly, knows how to put on a show. Having a set of great tunes helps but knowing to keep the arrangements simple and let the tunes do the work is an extra layer of wisdom. Dave Sayer