Rachael Calladine and Stoyan Stoyanov at The Ivy

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.

Melisa Le Rue and Dubai Vocal Ensemble at The Fridge

The 13th season of The Fridge Concert Series launched with Melisa Le Rue as the vanguard performer.

Le Rue has been an Ember regular for a while, and I have occasionally dropped by to catch a live performance. I was hoping to hear some more jazz-oriented songs, but, alas, that was not to be. Even so, there were a lot of good songs to hear at the concert, all of which had lyrics composed by Le Rue herself. She sang hip-hop through the cool opening number "Easy". "Lover", about open relationships, had a pleasant soul . "Different Kind of Day", which I think is to be released in the near future, was a great easy listening number. My favorite was the nice funk sound of "Here We Are".

Stoyan Stoyanov, Rami Lakkis and four other musicians provided accompaniment, and a number of the songs were sung to music composed by Stoyanov.

Her last two songs, "Lost Soul" and "Unite" were backed by "Choir of the Year 2013" winners Dubai Vocal Ensemble, who also beautifully rendered Micheal Jackson's "Man in the Mirror" in choir style.