A supporter of jazz in the city for many seasons now, The Ivy at Jumeirah Emirates Towers features British singer Rachael Calladine and Bulgarian composer-pianist Stoyan Stoyanov - both Dubai-based artists - on Thursdays this season.
Calladine's reportoire of jazz and soul reinterpretations of popular music was complemented well by Stoyanov's fleet-fingered phrasing, the latter especially evident in his improvised bridges. To mark Michael Jackson's posthumous birthday (which happened to be on that day), they performed several of his songs as well.
Oh, and one must definitely try the duck fat chips here. They are to die for.
I dropped by Bahri Bar at Mina A'Salam last week to enjoy one of the first regular gigs of the season: a Dubai-based duo of British singer Rachael Calladine (who contributed her musical talents to Kalubela last year) and Nigerian musician Shay (who recently featured in the first volume of local artists' collaborative album Sikka Score). The Arabesque-modern bar, with its soft lighting and relaxed ambiance, lends itself well to the performance of their jazz/soul/funk genre. Calladine sang classic hits from various decades, as well as contemporary ones, mostly reworked along jazz and soul lines. It was a seemingly effortless vocal performance, featuring a good deal of improvisation and scat. While I am more used to her singing style going with jazz piano, Shay delivered great instrumental accompaniment, using a loop machine to electronically layer beats and tunes from his guitar. He also contributed a few commendable vocal performances. They both harmonized well in the final song of the night; I hope they include more opportunities to do this in future performances.
A few of my live music exploratory expeditions of late have been on the Ruth's Chris Steakhouse circuit. Most recently, I checked out the weekly Thursday night gig of pianist/vocalist Clarita de Quiroz at The H Hotel (formerly The Monarch Hotel) location of the restaurant. It was the first time I had been to the hotel as well. It's conveniently located at No. 1 SZR (not that addresses in Dubai matter for practical purposes; you still have to tell the pizza guy that it's opposite the WTC). I am generally happy when a piano is around; de Quiroz plays hers nicely, and somewhat uniquely. She used an almost continuous stream of keys, along with bridges between songs, so that the music within sets was practically uninterrupted. Rolling a little over the articulation of the lyrics, perhaps to lend them more emotion, she otherwise sang her piano versions of pop songs pretty well too. I hope to see her perform again next season.
