Jazz Voice (rehearsal) featuring:
Clare Teal, Jane Monheit, Omar, Annabel Williams,
Krystle Warren, Vive, Eska & Noel Mckoy
@ the Barbican Centre
15 November 2013

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Jane Monheit biography

Monheit has been a leading light in both the jazz and cabaret worlds since emerging as a finalist in the Thelonious Monk Institute’s 1998 vocal competition. In addition to her own recordings, she has worked alongside the likes of Terence Blanchard, Tom Harrell, and Ivan Lins. She says that the distinctive, continually surprising sound of The Heart Of The Matter is the result of an especially satisfying collaboration with Grammy-winning producer Gil Goldstein, who has previously worked with such giants as Wayne Shorter, Gil Evans, and Pat Metheny. The pair first joined forces for part of Monheit’s 2009 album “The Lovers,” “The Dreamers, and Me.”

“When Gil is around, amazing music happens,” says the singer. “He brings a very specific thing…there’s a special vibe that infuses every single thing he does. The last time we worked together, I had a newborn, I wasn’t sleeping…I barely knew who I was, and Gil made such magic happen that I couldn’t wait to work with him again. And as soon as we started, it was perfect…the very first take was “Depende De Nos”, which we ended up using. We actually made this album even faster than my very first.”

Monheit’s passion for Brazilian music colours a big swath of “The Heart Of The Matter”- most obviously, in the two selections written by the great Ivan Lins. “This music has always been a huge part of my life,” she says. “It’s important to me that I sing in Portuguese whenever possible, out of respect for the composer and lyricist.” But Brazilian rhythms also reached into one of the album’s English-language pieces- a striking version of Joe Raposo’s Sesame Street anthem “Sing.”

“I have wanted to do a Brazilian version of that song for my entire adult life,” Monheit says, noting that she first needed to get past the idea that it would be seen as a novelty. “I’m a mother now, and that has given me the power to not care anymore…I’ll sing any song I want, the way I want, as long as it comes from the heart. And a lot of experience goes into that feeling, both good and bad.”

The confidence manifests most visibly with the inclusion of Monheit’s own “Night Night Stars”, the first song she has released for which she has written both music and lyrics. “I don’t find time to write very often,” she says. “This was based on something my son said on a drive at night when he was two years old. I wasn’t sure about using it, but Gil believed in me, and that meant a lot.”

From the song choices to the performances, “The Heart Of The Matter” is a work deeply informed by Jane Monheit’s life- as a woman, wife, and mother in the second decade of a remarkable career- and it reaches emotional levels she attributes to an “extreme comfort zone” in the recording studio. “It was a small group, we’re all friends, and everyone really wanted to be there,” she says. “I’m very close with my band, so to hear Gil’s beautiful work with my family beneath it inspired me to be completely unselfconscious… I think I’ve finally reached my level of onstage, live interpretation in the studio, which has always been a challenge for me.”

Omar biography

Omar Christopher Lye-Fook MBE (born 14 October 1968, London), known professionally as Omar, is a British soul singer, songwriter and musician. Omar grew up in Canterbury, Kent. He learned his craft classically, playing the trumpet, piano and percussion. He also spent two years at Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester, and the Guildhall School of Music in London. His most well known song was his debut single “There's Nothing Like This.” It reached number 14 in the UK Singles Chart on re-release in 1991. Omar is described by some as ‘the father of British neo soul’.

Annabel Williams biography

Annabel Williams is a vocalist and vocal coach based in West London. She regularly hosted her own sell out blues night at Ronnie Scotts and is a regular on the London live music scene. Her skills encompass lead and backing vocals both live and in the studio. Over her 15 year professional career, she has worked with a who's who of some of the biggest names in music including, more recently, Alison Moyet, Cee Lo Green and Rumer.

Noel McKoy biography

Noel Mckoy is a singer from the school of soulful story telling and social commentating, who writes from the heart and delivers from the soul. Noel Mckoy’s raw rasping texture from the pen to the acoustic style of production gives the dynamic sound that will take you on a voyage of human emotion.

It is no surprise that Noel Mckoy’s artistic development is inspired from the legendary greats such as, Stevie Wonder, Chaka Khan, Isley Brothers, Rick James, Miles Davis and The Beatles but it would be closer to home, which would encourage him to sing.

It was his mother and aunt who set him off in the right direction of singing and performing at the young age of 12 and then going on to record his first track at the age of 14. By 18 he was mastering the art of song writing and playing guitar but it would be at a later age of 24 that he would be part of a band named ‘Mckoy’ which, consisted of sister Junett and two brothers Cornell and Robin.

The early 90s gave birth to the sound of Acid Jazz and Noel Mckoy was fronting the legendary band James Taylor Quartet (JTQ) and also collaborating and writing songs for Sir Cliff Richard and also penning and singing the1994 BBC1 Commonwealth games theme “The Brave.”

Noel Mckoy is without a doubt one of Britain’s most critically acclaimed Soul Singers who’s performed and toured the world with several UK & International acts including the likes of Stevie Wonder, Ronald Isley, Gladys Knight, George Clinton, Mica Paris, and Omar to name a few.

Vive biography

Vive is a 6-part a cappella group who are reimagining the close-harmony jazz/ spiritual/ a cappella sound by bringing rich, diverse harmonies with a fresh, contemporary sound, taking inspiration from the legendary Take 6 and the Real Group.

They recently won the final of The Voice Festival UK 2013 and were presented with the Ward Swingle Award for outstanding originality, outstanding musicality and also best arrangement.

Vive's aspirations are to do everything they can to help inspire a new generation of music lovers and bring back the freshness of the human voice to the industry. They also have a strong underlying message of perseverance, self-acceptance and motivation, which they share through their music.