Housed within the basement of the Duke of Hamilton pub, the Hampstead Jazz Club is one of London’s newest haunts for the jazz, soul, and blues-loving live music enthusiast. Low ceilings, dim lighting, immaculate sound, and a baby grand – what else could one require? If you thought the 606 Club in Chelsea was intimate, the Hampstead Jazz Club is tiny in comparison. Despite being fairly new (opening in November 2018), the venue has already booked some of the finest vocalists and musicians on the scene.
Last night at the venue, four talented musicians paid homage to the late Nancy Wilson, the acclaimed ‘song stylist’ who died last December after a terrific career spanning over five decades. Pianist, arranger, and songwriter Alex Webb – a resident artist at the Hampstead Jazz Club – was joined by double bassist Adam King, drummer Alfonso Vitale, and jazz chanteuse Deelee Dubé. Ms Dubé, who I saw perform at one of the Royal Albert Hall’s live jazz brunches, was the first British (and non-American) winner of the Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition.
The set was split between songs interpreted by Wilson and other jazz standards. They began with ‘Happy Talk – a show tune from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical South Pacific (1949), recorded by Nancy Wilson in 1962 with alto saxophonist Cannonball Adderley on their Nancy Wilson/Cannonball Adderley album. Standards such as ‘Never Will I Marry’, ‘The Old Country’, ‘What a Little Moonlight Can Do’ (popularised by Billie Holiday), and the Duke Ellington composition ‘In a Sentimental Mood’ followed.
It was fascinating hearing the musicians openly discuss which composition to deliver next, throwing out suggestions of who should improvise and when, and which key to play in. As a critic who believes in a carefully curated set, this may on paper have been unsettling but it came from a place of utter confidence and control on behalf of the musicians – all of whom played wonderfully.
It is quite frankly a joy to listen to Ms Dubé sing, whether she be chanelling the cello phrases of her idol Sarah Vaughan or dancing in the clouds of her upper register. Renditions of ‘You’d Be So Nice to Come Home To’ and ‘Save Your Love for Me’ saw Dubé opening up and milking the smooth, warm tones to her instrument. A versatile vocalist, she moulded her voice to enliven the bluesy lyrics of ‘Stormy Monday’, singing with unexpected grit on particular lines – a skill, Ms Dubé told me, which she honed while performing in pubs across East London as a teenager. She showcased a similar abandon on Cannonball’s ‘Big City’ and Nat Adderley’s ‘Work Song’. Her original song ‘Still Tryin” smacks of promise for her upcoming album.
(Image copyright: Hampstead Jazz Club)
