‘Ellington at Night’ door Nancy Harms & Jeremy Siskind

Soms komen de mooiste dingen onverwacht en op een ongebruikelijk moment. Wij kregen de kans om midden in de zomervakantie een zeer speciaal  concert te presenteren, rechtstreeks vanuit de Metropolitan Room, New York, naar Cultuurschip Thor in Zwolle. Een sfeervol ‘nachtclubachtig’ programma ‘Ellington at Night’ door de sublieme zangeres  Nancy Harms begeleid door de briljante pianist Jeremy Siskind.

Duke Ellington associeerde ooit het nachtleven met luxe koningsblauw fluweel, schitterende juwelen en twinkelende diamanten. Jazz zangeres Nancy Harms brengt deze weelderige associaties tot leven door haar keuze uit en interpretatie van de vele onsterfelijke melodieën van Duke Ellington. De creatieve pianist arrangeur Jeremy Siskind begeleidt haar in deze sfeer op adembenemende wijze.

Lees de bloemrijke Amerikaanse recensies over “Ellington at Night”:

-NEW YORK TIMES: “…impressionistic dreaminess …her renditions were stream-of-consciousness reflections by a singer reining in emotions until they exploded from within. …A tough, demanding swinger emerged in up-tempo numbers like “Long, Strong, and Consecutive” and “Just Squeeze Me,” …The final impression left by Ms. Harms was of a complicated enigmatic woman of mystery forging her own path.”…

-BROADWAY WORLD: “Harms skillfully lures us into the wistful dreamscape of a haunted lover leaning ever-forward, eyes fixed on her audience to convey the very essence of the lyric. …Harms manages to move her audience from a deeper shade of indigo to the brighter rays of sunshine with Ellington’s “I Like the Sunrise,” where through her musical artistry (and her excellent jazz trio) one actually experiences the warm morning bliss of another new day. It is a rare moment to behold.”…

– JAMES GAVIN (author of ”Is That All There Is? – The strange life of Peggy Lee” and “Intimate Nights – The golden age of New York cabaret.”):  “Both jazz- and cabaretland could learn a lot from the elegant, understated, but beautifully expressive tribute to Duke Ellington that Nancy Harms gave on Wednesday (at the Metropolitan Room, NYC)…. this show, and Nancy’s featherweight, postcoital sound, made even Ellington warhorses sound new to my ears..”

-NEW YORK CABARET TODAY: “I would possibly call her the Meryl Streep of jazz singing.”…