Joanna Eden performed her wonderful ‘Embraceable Ella’ tribute to a sell-out audience at Fleet Jazz Club on the 17th Jan 2017. Please see Vic Cracknell’s review below the images.
Joanna Eden – vocals
Chris Ingham – piano
George Double – drums
Marianne Windham – bass
Steve Waterman – Trumpet
Despite very poor lighting both David Fisher and Michael Carrington (from Aldershot, Farnham & Fleet Camera Club) were still to produce these great images.
Vic Cracknell’s review of Joanna Eden’s ‘Embraceable Ella’ at Fleet Jazz, Harlington Centre, Fleet on Tuesday 17th January 2017
Fleet Jazz consistently puts on quality jazz concerts and I was fortunate to attend the “Joanna Eden – Embraceable Ella” show at the Harlington Centre, Fleet recently. This was a fitting tribute to singer Ella Fitzgerald with accomplished vocalist Joanna Eden putting her own unique vocal take on many Ella classics. It kicked off in style with “Get Happy” followed by the song “A-Tisket A-Tasket” which became Ella’s first hit in 1938 and originally a nursery rhyme.
Classics from the great American songbook came thick and fast including Rodgers and Hart’s “Manhattan”, Gershwin’s “S’Wonderful”, “Sweet Georgia Brown”, “Let’s Do It”, “Midnight Sun”, British composer Ray Noble’s “Very Thought Of You”, some light moments in Let’s Call The Whole Thing Off, a Brazilian touch on Jobim’s “Desafinado” and many more.
Accompaniment was by superb musicians Chris Ingham on piano, Marianne Windham on bass, George Double on drums and Steve Waterman on trumpet. The arrangements were interesting and swinging, and each musician got a chance to shine. They inventively turned the song “Moonlight In Vermont”, known to be a song about the cold weather, into a sunny bossa nova.
Joanna provided interesting and humorous anecdotes between songs including one about how Cole Porter wrote the song “Miss Otis Regrets” from overhearing a waiter in a restaurant. Overall what was pleasing was this was not a tribute act copy of Ella Fitzgerald, it was a unique interpretation which also allowed Joanna to effortlessly scat sing when she so wished as on the closing number, “Mack the Knife”.
The sell out audience clamoured for an encore to which Joanna fittingly came back accompanied by just piano on the enduring “Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye”. Well done to Fleet Jazz for putting on the sort of show one might have to travel to the heart of London to find.
Vic Cracknell
Fleet Jazz Club 