Brigitte Escobar

Brigette Escobar and Gary Boyle @ Manchester Jazz Festival

AT a time when all sorts of people are claiming to be jazz artists, this duo are the real deal. And the informal setting of Starbucks coffee- sponsored stage in St Ann's Square brought out the best in both of them.

Vocalist Escobar was born in Spain and raised in Denmark, enabling her to draw on the musical traditions of both countries.

But it was her interpretations of jazz standards that caught the ear, exuding relaxation without sacrificing her perfect diction.

Love For Sale, Autumn Leaves and Take The A Train featured scat singing of the highest order while her gentle improvisations in You've Changed brought warmth to this well-worn ballad.

Boyle is simply one of the best jazz guitarists in the country and, alongside his formidable technique, showed both flexibility and sensitivity.

His contribution to Charade, for example, was breathtakingly inventive while in Voodoo his funky playing lifted Escobar to an extra level of soulfulness.

Escobar returned the compliment for Bye Bye Blackbird, providing rapid-fire vocal percussion behind Boyle's quicksilver solo. The closing bossa nova medley left an attentive and enthusiastic audience wanting more.

The 2005 Manchester Jazz Festival has seen some superb music but this performance was absolutely outstanding.


Steve Millward
29/07/05
- Manchester Evening News

Style: jazz & jazz-fusion

Oh, man, this is Basia, Lani Hall, Astrud Gilberto, Urszula Dudziak, Flora Purim, Kenia and Esther Satterfield all rolled into one. Backed by fusion pioneer Gary Boyle and his band, bogglingly recorded by Martin Levan, "Brigitte" is a complete surprise from left field. Stevie Wonders "As If You Read My Mind" swings like mad here, including Latin bop scat so righteous it'd make Dudziak spit her teeth out. Newcomer Zoe Rahman is perfect as a pianistic complement and Boyle quietly lashes his guitar underneath the beat, gilding the rhythm section, content to let Brigitte and Rahman shine. All songs are covers, save one penned by the singer,
with readings worthy of Milton Nashimento and Hermeto Pascoal, not to mention Ivan Lins. Her take on Sting's "I Can't Stand Losing You" completely re-invents the song and sound; the omes "Round Midnight" and "A Felicidade". Everything is imbued with a smoky, erotic, South American musk, yet Brigitte is ... Danish!
Simply stunning.
- Marc S. Tucker/PROGRESSION MAGAZINE

Here's a wonderful album from a true international. Brigitte Escobar is Spanish-born with danish and Peruvian parents. A sence of fluency informs everything she touches. Here are songs from the hitherto exclusive worlds of pop ("I Can't Standing Losing You" - The Police), Spanish chanson ("Porque Te Vas"), Brazilian samba ("A Felicidade"), Danish folk ("Byssan Lul") and soul ("As If You Read My Mind"). Brigitte combines them with an ease and confidence that makes her a native to all. Her control is phenomenal. The backing is a model of sensitivity. The over-riding impression is of Brigitte's sincerity -expressed with the directness of folk and the sophisticated sensuality of jazz. It all meshes together beautifully: sweet melancholy and romantic bliss are the same the world over.
- Mike Butler/CITY LIFE

Right from the opening track - an effervescent take on Stevie Wonder's As If You Read My Mind, in which Brigitte Escobar switches effortlessly between belting soul and dizzying scat - it's clear that a supremely confident singer is at work. Given the quality of the one Escobar original showcased here it seems a shame the bulk of the material is made up of covers and standards (Cole Porter, Antonio Carlos Jobim and Sting all get a look in). Nevertheless, the songs are imaginatively recast: Can't Stand Losing You is rendered almost unrecognisable with a lapping jazz arrangement, while kd lang's driving Constant Craving is recast with languid piano and splashy percussion. Perhaps we'll hear more of the 'real' Brigitte on album number two, and hopefully more up-tempo material like the
thrilling Marmaris Love. The album has a beautifully light, airy quality, and is a credit to the fledgling Red Kite label. Sometimes it really does pay off to keep things simple and let the music speak for itself.
- Chris Broughton/MUSICIAN

Singer Escobar was born in Spain, raised in Denmark and is now based in the UK. Her repertoire includes samba and bossa nova pieces as well as pop and jazz standards, a mix accurately reflected here. She has a strong voice and a highly personal approach which at its best brings new dimensions to familiar material like Body & Soul and k.d.lang's Constant Craving.
- Steve Millward/MANCHESTER EVENING NEWS

BORN in Spain of Peruvian and Danish parents, it is not surprising that vocalist Brigitte Escobar - who now teaches singing in Manchester - presented an exotic program last night. With sympathetic support from pianist Richard Wetherall, a regular colleague, 30 year old Brigitte ranged widely, from standard fare like Cheek To Cheek, to Nana, a haunting Spanish lullaby with a Moorish tinge by the classical composer Manuel de Falla. And, when she got the jazz bit between her teeth, the result could be likened to a mixture of Chris Connor and Astrud Gilberto.
Brigitte completed her formal musical training in Denmark before moving to Britain three years ago. Her appeal is strengthened considerably by the scope of her
repertoire. Exuberant, mercurial, wordless singing in an eastern-flavored Turkish number came close to scat, and she soared to Cleo Laine-like heights. And in a
Peruvian piece that had all the hallmarks of a love song, replete with a heart-tugging melancholic strain, she accompanied her Spanish vocal on guitar.
Wetherall added an extra atmospheric dimension with Latin-spiced accordion playing.
- Chris Lee/CITY LIFE