REVIEW: Clare Teal’s Festive Fiesta, The Concorde, Eastleigh

IT is a festive show that she launched nearly ten years ago but it has lost none of its glitter.

Singing at the Stoneham Lane club is like coming home for Clare Teal.

For it was here that she laid the tracks for a star studded career which turned her into a household name. She landed the biggest recording contract by any British jazz singer.

One of the nation’s most successful jazz singers in decades, she has also become the star of the airwaves with a twice weekly Radio Two show.

She was back at what she regards as very much her spiritual home as she got Concorde jazz aficionados into the Christmas mood.

Taking the audience on a sentimental sleigh ride the first number she pulled out the cracker was White Christmas.

It is a still number one in the Yuletide charts with Bing Crosby’s version the best selling single of all time with an estimated worldwide sale of more than 100 million.

You could almost hear those sleigh bells ringing as she breezed through Walking In A Winter Wonderland, accompanied by her highly talented trio of Simon Little (bass) Ben Reynolds (drums) and pianist and songwriter Jason Rebello who has worked with Sting and Jeff Beck.

There was no danger of being stuck in the Christmas groove as the star of the show skilfully sprinkled jazz standards in between the seasonal musical fare.

She sloped away from the Christmas favourites with Cole Porter’s 1935 popular song Just One Of Those Things and a couple of numbers from the song books of American jazz greats and Clare’s musical heroes Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan.

Clare took us away from the freezing thoughts of winter by switching to ukulele with a catchy Hawaiian Christmas tune which has become her party piece at this time of year.

Christmas really went into overdrive when she opened the second set with It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year.

It reminded me of those spectacular glitzy Andy Williams’ Christmas specials that once graced our small screens many moons ago.

Clare always has a great rapport with her fans and she involved them in a singalong for the Twelve Days of Christmas, asking them to hold up high cards illustrating the 12 days.

There was plenty of family involvement with the drummer’s dad displaying the graphics for the 11 Pipers Piping.

When she opened the show Clare said she felt it was a little early for Christmas. But after this jazz fuelled package of festive fun Christmas has officially arrived at The Concorde.

Duncan Eaton