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Sarah brings to The Bell her "Portrait of Miss Peggy Lee" repertoire featuring the signature songs "Black Coffee", "Fever", "I’m A Woman", etc., plus a selection of popular standards. "Outstanding interpretations" The Observer. "Brilliant..assured..and sexy" Claire Martin. Live recording for Stephen Foster’s Drive Time Show
Named by Jazz UK Magazine’s Brian Blain in its 15th Anniversary edition as the best live vocal jazz gig in the last 15 years, singer Sarah Moule has established a rapidly growing reputation as one of Britain’s most exciting new jazz vocal talents.
With her hauntingly beautiful vocals and three acclaimed albums to her name, singer Sarah Moule is considered one of the UK’s leading jazz vocalists.
‘An original voice with something, in spirit at least, of the
melancholy gaiety of the great Billie Holiday’ George Melly
Jazz Times (USA)
Not only does England’s Sarah Moule boast a stunning vocal spectrum-simultaneously tough and tender, warm and cool, sweet and salty-but she’s surely done more than any contemporary performer to preserve, protect and promote the stellar work of lyricist Fran Landesman
Sarah was singing with the Roger Odell Jazznights Trio and Larraine Odell. The band were:
Roger Odell – Drums
Roger was one of the founder members and drummer with the jazz-funk group Shakatak and the forerunner band Tracks. Roger has toured internationally and recorded numerous CDs, which he continues to do on a regular basis to this day. Apart from a great power drummer he is also a prestigious arranger.
Bernie Hodgkins – 5 String Double Bass Inspired by an uncle, who played and recorded with Django Reinhart and Stephane Grappelli in the legendary Quintet de Hot Club of France, Bernie grew up in a Jazz-oriented family. Their influence led him to become a respected bass player behind such people as Matt Munroe, Dickie Valentine and Dennis Lotus, in the early stages of his career. Bernie is particularly acknowledged as being one of the few players to bring an authentic, driving jazz feel to both the double bass and the bass-guitar, and for his fluent and creative soloing. Tonight Bernie was playing his his 5 string double bass.
Simon Brown – Piano
A highly respected and popular jazz pianist who is equally known for his arranging skills. He is always in demand to play many gigs with other bands when he is not
Larraine Odell – Vocals
Beginning her professional singing career with the group CMU with whom she recorded two albums, Larraine performed at numerous venues throughout the UK and Europe, including the Purcell Room, RFH, Boxford Fleece & Ronnie Scott’s.Larraine possesses a unique smouldering tonal quality and a subtle jazz phrasing style that has elicited great praise from two of her own vocal mentors, Mark Murphy and Sheila Jordan. “A sensitive singer who exudes a fine-honed jazz sensibility with every phrase”
Larraine’s set consisted of:
1. The 1946 Old Devil Moon with music by Burton Lane and Lyrics from Yip Harburg – very appropriate as it was the 30th October sung at a medium to up tempo with solos from Simon Brown, Bernie Hodgkins accompanied with some power drumming from Roger Odell. 2. I Got Lost In His Arms from Annie Get Your Gun by Irving Berlin – a lovely slow number showing Larraine’s sensitivity and her unique individuality
3. 1932 Cole Porter’s Night and Day ended Larraine’s very short set with an exciting up tempo version
Sarah Moule opened her first set of this Peggy Lee evening with:
4. I’m a Woman written by famed song writing duo Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, and was first recorded in 1962 by Christine Kittrell but It was also the title song to Peggy Lee’s 1963 very popular album of the same name. Sung in a very expressive manner at a medium tempo. A great opening to what was to become a wonderful evening
5. Jerome Kern’s Lover was sung at a medium to fast tempo in the manner of the waltz that kern intended rather than the samba version as performed by Peggy Lee.
6. Why Don’t You Do Right? is an American blues- and jazz-influenced pop song – now a standard – written in 1936 by Kansas Joe McCoy. It is a twelve-bar minor key blues. One of the best known versions of the song is Peggy Lee’s, which was recorded July 27, 1942 in New York with Benny Goodman. It sold over 1 million copies and brought her to nationwide attention. Sarah sang this with great style at a medium tempo.
7. Cole Porter’s 1936 I’ve Got You Under My Skin. This quite an unusual song as it has no verse. It became a signature song for Frank Sinatra and, in 1956 was recorded by Peggy Lee on her famous Black Coffee album. Sarah’s version was a lovely slow umber sung at a medium tempo with an excellent solo from Bernie Hodgkin’s 5 string double bass.
8. I Love Being Here With You with lyrics written by Peggy Lee but played and sung with a very unusual “New Orleans rhumba” rhythm. Sarah’s versatility and individual expressiveness was really highlighted here – great number.
9. You Came a Long Way from St. Louis from the 1959 Peggy Lee and George Shearing live album Beauty and the Beat! Peggy again wrote the lyrics for this song.
10. Hallelujah, I Love Him So – written by Ray Charles. Peggy Lee was just finishing a month long gig at the Basin Street East club when Peggy spotted Ray Charles in the audience and invited him to come up and duet the song with her – which of course he did. It was originally recorded on the Feb. 8, 1961, the last night of Peggy Lee’s show at Basin Street East, and released in the "Basin Street East Proudly Presents Miss Peggy Lee album.
11. I Don’t Know Enough About You. In March 1943 Peggy Lee married Dave Barbour, a guitarist in Benny Goodman’s band and they wrote this together. Sarah sung this to a slow gentle rhythm putting that forlorn feeling into the song.
Following the raffle ( 3 jazz CD’s and a bottle of wine) we had the traditional sitting in spot which is open to all musicians who have an opportunity to play with the Jazznights Trio. Tonight we had Geoff Harriman on Harmonica playing playing a slow soulful version of :
12. Smile.
Sarah opened her second set with:
13. Fever which of course was Peggy’s signature song and reached number 8 in the U.S. chart in 1958. This was a slow to medium number with Roger Odell providing a powerful “Fever” rhythm.
14. Black Coffee from one of her most acclaimed albums in 1956, Black Coffee – one of her best selling albums of all time. A slow and tender song from Sarah.
15. He’s A Tramp written by Peggy from Lady And The Tramp – a great version at a medium tempo.
16. The Folks Who Live on the Hill was a 1937 popular song composed by Jerome Kern, with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It was introduced by Irene Dunne in the 1937 film High, Wide, and Handsome. It has become particularly associated with Peggy Lee, who sung it on her 1957 album The Man I Love. Lee’s performance was conducted by Frank Sinatra. Thuis was a really beautiful soulful version by Sarah with a sensitive solo from Bernie.
17. James Taylor’s Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight was given a moody, laid-back treatment. Evoking the feel of a nearly empty nightclub just prior to closing time.
18. Where Or When. Peggy Lee’s first major gig was with one of the top bands in 1941: Benny Goodman. Goodman’s sextet version of this has an almost ethereal vocal by Lee. Sarah’s version started very much like this but transgressed into a very much faster number.
19. Cole Porter’s 1942 You’d Be So Nice to Come Home To (sung to a samba rhythm) was a superb finale to this wonderful evening of song from one of the U.K’s finest jazz singers who was accompanied by one of the best (if not the best) trio in the East of England. Thank you Roger and Larraine for promoting this gig.
For further details and future gigs go to www.jazz-nights.com