ELAINE DELMAR
The
Radlett Centre, Radlett *****
Doyenne of British jazz-singing for well over half a century, Elaine Delmar
continues to pack one hell of a punch.
The voice is like a synthesizer of every musical sound
imaginable, now piping like a piccolo, now swooping richly into cello tones. now
barking out at us as though from the inside of a double-bass. And to this we add
amazing clarity of diction and articulation, seductive phrasing born of
immaculate breath-control, and a force of personality, bursting with
adrenaline, which is irresistible.
For this lovely event at the welcoming and charming
Radlett Centre in such a delightful Hertfordshire village Delmar was joined by
an expert quartet: Barry Green (piano), Simon Thorpe (bass), Bobby Worth
(drums), and Alex Garnett (saxophone/flute). The empathy between instrumentalists
and singer was heartwarming, and I was particular impressed by Garnett’s
platform courtesies, stepping back to allow prominence to his colleagues,
making gracious way as Delmar moved across the stage.
We were treated to a wonderful array of offerings
during this tight, compact couple of hours: an hypnotic “Windmills of your mind”,
a musing “Embracable you” in which Delmar’s desperately searing “arms about you”
was a highlight, a "Summertime" in which Thorpe's moody bass sneaked in a reference to Grieg's Hall of the Mountain King, a tender homage to Petula Clark’s “Don’t sleep in the subway”,
and other joys too many to mention.
But what stood out were a heartstopping “Send in the
Clowns” (Delmar’s “sorry, my dear” will long haunt my memory), and above all, “Killing
me softly with his song”, this version obliterating memories of Roberta Flack’s
upbeat version, replacing it with Delmar’s painful introversion which went
straight to the heart.
Christopher Morley