Claire Martin with the Gareth Williams Trio

THE YEAR OF WOMEN IN BLUES AND JAZZ

Seven times a winner at the British Jazz Awards, Claire Martin returns to Swansea with one of the most acclaimed jazz instrumentalists and his knockout band.

Where: Festival Pavilion
When: Sunday 2nd May
Time: 3.30–5.30pm (following the Pete Allen Jazz Band, 1.00–3.00pm)

Born in South London, Claire Martin has been singing professionally since leaving stage school at the age of 16. Growing up in a household where the sounds of singers such as Anita O'Day were always in the air, she also developed an interest in all areas of popular music, from rockabilly to Sting. Her records – on which songs by Harold Arlen and Irving Berlin rub shoulders with numbers by Stevie Wonder, Phoebe Snow and Milton Nascimento – reflect her eclectic roots.

In July 2007 she performed a two-week stint at New York’s Oak Room in the Algonquin Hotel. At her opening night Claire made a brief comment about how proud she was to be “flying the flag” for European jazz. Many American stars perform in Britain and on the continent, but it’s almost impossible to think of a British jazz vocalist who has found acceptance on the other side of the Atlantic. But Claire has!

Her latest album, which was liberally sampled in the Oak Room, is ‘He Never Mentioned Love’ (Linn Records), a tribute to Shirley Horn. In 2009 she was again the British Jazz Awards Best Vocalist.

Accompanying Claire is the Gareth Williams Trio. One of the most intensely creative, dynamic and exciting performers on the U.K. scene, Gareth Williams has been receiving increasing critical and public acclaim since becoming a professional musician in the early 1990s. Described as a “jewel of a player... spinning out luminous introductions and codas” by JAZZIZ Magazine (U.S.A.), he has dazzled audiences not only by his virtuoso approach to the piano, but also by his multi-instrumental talents on guitar and vocals.

Reviews:

Weblink:

• www.clairemartinjazz.com
• www.garethwilliams.biz