Album Launch: Nowhere Girl
Vocalist Nicky Schrire, London-born, Cape Town-raised, and now Toronto-based, hosted a London launch for “Nowhere Girl”, the first album she has released in a decade. Bruce Lindsay reviewed the album, and Monika S. Jakubowska’s photos of the gig on 1 August capture the happy spirit of Schrire’s visit to London, in the company of a top-flight band: Tom Cawley, Conor Chaplin, Chris Higginbottom, and Rob Luft.
A Moment Captured: Schrire and Cawley
In this first picture, Monika captures a moment when a joke and a smile about something is being shared by Tom Cawley (left) and Nicky Schrire (pronounced shreer-er). Schrire’s new album is a sequence of finely crafted autobiographical vignettes, each with a meticulously constructed shape and clever lyric. Nicky gives a lot of careful thought to the construction of sets.
Not yet a subscriber of our Wednesday Breakfast Headlines? Join the mailing list for a weekly roundup of Jazz News.
A Wonderful Sense of Humor
Nothing is ever over-serious or self-absorbed in Schrire’s performances, because she is also blessed with a wonderful sense of humor, which she is unafraid to turn back in on herself. She possesses a fine sense of communication and a knowledge of how to bring audiences in and involve them.
Intense Concentration and Winning Smiles
Rob Luft and Chris Higginbottom show signs of intense concentration, while top bassist Conor Chaplin displays his particularly knowing and winning smile.
The Band’s Mastery
Chris Higginbottom’s mastery of texture, timbre, and balance stays in the mind. With all of this band, there is a sense of being among friends. It’s all about respect, admiration, no weak links, and enjoyment.
Interactions and Trust
One might need to witness guitar-plus-piano being done badly elsewhere to understand quite how well Rob Luft and Tom Cawley interacted and invariably left each other space. Monika’s photo above captures their mutual trust and joy. The final photo in her sequence has that “and breathe” feeling, signifying a job mightily well done.
(*) Nicky Schrire is a regular contributor to LJN
Setlist
First Set (all songs by Nicky Schrire unless stated)
– Blackbird (Lennon–McCartney)
– Nowhere Girl
– Traveler
– A Morning
– Scorpionfish (Beatenberg)
– In Paris
– Keep it Simple (duo with Tom Cawley)
– Highlands (Nikki Iles)
Second Set
– If Ever I Would Leave You (Lerner/ Loewe)
– Here Comes the Sun (George Harrison)
– Father
– This Train
– All I Want ( Joni Mitchell)
– Bless the Telephone (Labi Siffre) – duo with Rob Luft
– My Love
