Tony Andrews says...
re: Katya Gorrie – Pousse Café – Paramour
1
Last October I was invited to the Fleece Jazz Club in Boxford
Suffolk to see guitarist Denny Ilett who is a very respected
musician and arranger.
The bonus was the band included a new to the UK Canadian singer
Katya Gorrie and my expectations were that she would be sitting
in on a couple of songs to give her some exposure to the British
jazz scene. I could not have been more wrong and the band was
really geared up to showcase Katya’s talents. The rest
of the musicians including Denny Ilett on guitar and vocals,
Mike Gorman on piano, Oli Hayhurst on double bass and Dylan
Howe on drums just gelled together to provide one of the best
jazz groups I have seen for sometime. This musical platform
catapulted Katya into one of the most enjoyable singers I have
ever heard and her musical background in Vancouver really showed
her talent and professional attitude to her art of the jazz
singer.
The gig started with a very unusual up-tempo version of Big
Spender, which turned a good song into a real toe tapper and
set the scene for what was a tremendously enjoyable and satisfying
evening. The Fleece has a reputation for bringing the best
out of any musicians who play there and I can confirm this
to be a fact, the only other jazz club which managed to do
the same is the now tragically closed Vortex in Stoke Newington,
London.
For anyone who wants to get a sample of Katya Gorrie’s
talent she has released her first CD called Pousse
Café with
the same line up of musicians apart from Frosty Beedle who
takes over on drums. It is very difficult to re-create the
excitement of such a talented group on CD but they have made
a very good effort to bring the live performance to your living
room with a full and smooth recording.
Pousse Café starts with ‘Big Spender’ as
did the live gig and continues with a varied selection of ballads
and up tempo numbers including ‘On a little street in
Singapore’ and ‘Born to be Blue’ all of which
show her individual style and approach to the music. Katya
satisfies my needs for a straight forward jazz singer in the
same way as Holly Cole has in the past. Buy the CD and also
search out a live gig you won’t be disappointed.
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