Masterful singing and understated, considered interpretations from Olatuja
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Alicia Olatuja was a featured soloist with the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir at President Barack Obama’s Second Inauguration in 2013. Having since attracted the attention of many high-profile musicians, she has spent the past few years exploring the international jazz scene and recording. She recently completed a two-night residency at the Pizza Express Jazz Club in Soho, London.
From a pure vocal standpoint, Ms Olatuja gave perfect, meticulously controlled performances. Her tone is dazzlingly bright and clear, with distinct vibrato (shades of Gladys Knight) and such natural ease in flitting between the different registers of her voice. Even when singing the names of her band as she drew the evening to a close, she sounded fantastic.
The setlist was taken almost entirely from Olatuja’s recent studio release, Intuition: Songs From the Minds of Women – a cover album based around seminal female composers. She began with Brenda Russell’s ‘So Good, So Right’, stripping away the 1980s R&B stylings in favour of a simple, minimalist arrangement.
She prefaced her achingly poignant performance of Joni Mitchell’s ‘Cherokee Louise’ with an insightful explanation of the song’s taboo lyrics and her reasons for recording it. This kind of storytelling is often overlooked by artists who feel they need to keep up the momentum by moving straight from song to song. My only complaint with the night was that Olatuja’s preambles were limited to only a few songs. Especially given the eclectic range of songs on Intuition, a deeper insight into Olatuja’s selections would have been welcome. For example, why ‘No Ordinary Love’ out of all of Sade’s catalogue?
With Robert Mitchell on piano, Kevin Glasgow on bass, and Asaf Sirkis on drums, the arrangements were sparse and jazz-inflected. Imogen Heap’s 2005 single ‘Hide and Seek’, a folktronica ballad about pain and loss, was transformed entirely with gorgeous lilting vocals. Despite altering the arrangement and the phrasing, Olatuja’s reading of Sade’s ‘No Ordinary Love’ still had the moody intensity of the original. The band were given plenty of space to demonstrate their jazz chops, with excellent piano solos from Mitchell.
The second set featured two standout performances. Firstly: Olatuja’s enchanting delivery of ‘Child of the Moon’, a ballad about appreciating universal human beauty written by Natalya Kia Phillips. Olatuja’s closing performance of Tracy Chapman’s ‘Give Me One Reason’ provided an injection of funk and groove in a set that was fairly low-key and restrained. With MOBO-nominated guitarist Femi Temowo making a guest appearance, Olatuja and the band added the ‘barbecue ribs’ to enliven this blues rock tune.
Listen to the full album below.
(Image taken from Pizza Express Live website)
