CABARET VILLE MAGAZINE. P307. CONT'D FROM P306

CLAIRE MARTIN: JAZZ SINGER OF THE YEAR. A TRIUMPH!

By Maximillien de Lafayette

Claire Martin’s Tenth Album Is A Triumph! The official release date for Claire Martin’s tenth studio album for Linn Records ‘Secret Love’ is October 11th, but this fantastic new album is available now exclusively on LinnRecords.com. Claire celebrates her jazz roots with a splendid line-up of some of Britain’s top jazz talents. Produced by Richard Cottle, ‘Secret Love’ features Nigel Hitchcock, Gareth Williams, Laurence Cottle and Clark Tracey. Special guest artists include the much acclaimed guitarist Jim Mullen who features in a duet with Claire Martin on the track ‘Where Do You Start’; Sir Richard Rodney Bennett plays piano on ‘My Buddy’ which Claire dedicates to her friend, the late, Joel Siegel. Sir Richard has championed Claire’s work since her debut ‘The Waiting Game’. Ian Shaw adds his special touch to the vocals on the Costello/Bacharach track ‘God Give Me Strength’ and Michael Franks’s hip ‘Jive’.  The best known track on ‘Secret Love’ is probably ‘Cheek To Cheek’, made famous by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, though they may have difficulty dancing to it at this tempo! There’s also the classic Judy Garland number ‘Get Happy’. ‘The Meaning Of The Blues’ is a latin/cool song, originally a hit for Shirley Horn. The tracklisting is: Secret Love, My Buddy, Cheek To Cheek, Meaning Of The Blues, Jive, Don’t Misunderstand, Get Happy, Where Do You Start, But Beautiful, Life Is A Bore, God Give Me Strength , Something Cool. ‘Secret Love’ multichannel SA-CD (Linn AKD 246) by Claire Martin. De Lafayette interviews this queen of Jazz. Here is Claire Martin with candor and without "retouches".

TÊTE-À-TÊTE WITH CLAIRE MARTIN

 

Q: How does a Jazz Queen  spend a normal day in her life, when she is not on stage or at the studio?
CLAIRE: Ha!  Jazz Queen,  that's so funny.  I am woken up far too early by my daughter Amelia who is 2.  I usually do some yoga every morning and depending on if it is a 'nursery' day or I have to be Mom all day I will plan the days activities.  I have 3 afternoons when I can cram all 'my' stuff  in,  that's when she is at nursery and I can do everything I've been meaning to do!  Luckily I have a good support  network,  a cleaner,  a bottle of Valium....Seriously though,  like every working Mom I do have to 'juggle' my  time.  I do email and then admin every day and try to get some practise in if I can,  although time is a luxury.  CONTINUES NEXT