REVIEW

THE SONGS OF ELLA FITZGERALD

CORN EXCHANGE, DORCHESTER

TINA May is a singer who has been around a long time and she has a repertoire that puts most artists to shame, ranging from rock, blues and swing to popular classics and above all, jazz.

Bringing back to life the legendary Ella Fitzgerald is not an easy task but Tina sings jazz like no other, a remarkable performer with a voice that can do just about anything she asks of it, and she asks plenty.

With golden oldies like Cheek to Cheek, How High the Moon and Mack the Knife, Tina puts Ella’s hit songs into the centre of this performance, backed up by a talented four piece group led by Frank Griffith.

Her range and understanding of the jazz genre puts her in a class of her own and if she does not have the richness and natural rhythm of her idol Ella, she certainly manages to pay her loving respects to the amazing Ella in this centenary tribute show.

In an interesting sideline to this performance, it soon became obvious that the four musicians accompanying Tina are not a band who regularly play together or indeed accompany the singer herself but they nevertheless put on a professional show of strength and harmony which pleased the capacity audience at the Dorchester venue.

Jazz comes back to the Corn Exchange on October 8th when the Dave O’Higgins quartet come to town.

MARION COX