A ray of bright sunshine came beaming through the back door of the Ozzie Morgan dining room at the beginning of the latest Fourcroft Jazz Brunch. It lit up the room until the end of yet another incredible performance of live jazz. That ray of sunshine was Clare Hingott as she fronted the Graham Watkins Jazz Trio on their first of what will hopefully be many excellent performances at this mecca for live jazz musicians and top quality music.

The trio consisting of Jack Williams on bass guitar, George Wilson on drums and Graham Watkins himself on piano keyboard laid down an immediate marker about their musical ability. It was clear for all to see and hear that these guys can play and have been doing so for a long time. Dressed as smart as they sounded, the trio represented an age of civility and respect which reflected in their music. Their absolute admiration for the composers whose music they performed was self evident. Like all top draw musicians, they make what they do look easy, whereas in reality the ability to produce such well co-ordinated high quality and harmonised sounds comes from years of experience and very close friendships.

Then, in came Clare. What the lads produced with instruments, Clare matched with her voice and charisma. She immediately bonded with the audience which always makes for an excellent session. Trust me, by any measure this was an excellent session.

The blend of rock steady pure musicians fronted by a younger, very talented and highly charismatic singer works absolutely perfectly. Clare and the trio bring out the absolute best in each other and in combination it is a very lucky audience who gets to witness one of their performances. A point not lost on the regular fourcroft jazz brunchers. They loved them.

Reputedly, they have a repertoire of more than 300 numbers and I don’t for one moment doubt it. The variety of music and songs they covered in this session was huge. Again, it was more than obvious that they thoroughly enjoy what they do. They were as happy performing as the brunchers were listening. They alternated between music and songs every few numbers, many of them had been uniquely arranged by Graham Watkins.

To my ear, although very much her own, Clare’s incredible voice was part Barbra Streisland with a hint of Elkie Brooks. I got the feeling early on that as good as it was, she was capable of even better. In the third and final set, she proved me right. Her versions of Mack the Knife, Route 66 and Fly me to the moon were amazing. She reached even greater heights with a wonderful encore version of a personal favourite of mine Van Morrison’s, Moondance. But, without a shadow of a doubt, there was one absolutely outstanding number. Her version of Mr. Beau Jangles was simply brilliant. Her voice, body movement and eye contact with the audience supported by top quality music produced by the highly experienced trio behind her, was worth the ticket price on its own.

All in all a fantastic first performance at the Fourcroft earning a Jock’s rating of 10/10. Thanks again to Chris, Kath and the team at the Fourcroft for making it happen.

Allan Morris