In this tour, celebrating the 25th anniversary of Clare Teal touring, there was a fairly perfunctory attempt, soon abandoned, to present the whole thing chronologically, but one fact that emerged from Clare’s amusing comments on her career was that, before she took the plunge and started releasing albums on her own label, there was a time when the record company she was contracted to was taken over by another company and all the jazz employees sacked. Clare was re-classified as Adult Pop!
That, in a way, has been her problem, certainly with the jazz crowd, that she hasn’t entirely escaped that definition (was there not a tour of Doris Day songs one time?), but – let it be said loud and clear – there’s precious little Adult Pop in this present show – maybe It’s Not Unusual, but that’s very unusual in this programme. Backed by an exuberant new group whose jazz chops are never in doubt, there are jazz standards, Great American Songbook standards which have long been taken over by jazz, a generous sprinkling of 1950s Latin songs, some moody songs delivered superbly – and one or two downright eccentric, but delightful, choices. In that last category we can place works by the blind accordionist Joe Mooney and the feminist songwriter Dory Previn (one time wife of Andrew Preview, as Clare informs us) which are both huge fun.
Let’s take it from the beginning. After an opener sparked by Will Cleasby’s drums, Clare defines the limits of her territory in the next three songs: a swinging Nice Work if You Can Get It, an introspective California Dreaming, beginning with voice and Simon Little’s bass, and finally the rhythm and blues classic, Teardrops from my Eyes. If we look further on, we find the Latin influence, with the likes of Brazil (fine guitar from Dave Archer) and Eso Beso, notable for one of two spectacular drum solos from Cleasby.
Clare remains unaffected in her stage persona, with rather less chat than sometimes in the past, as though keen to get in as much music as possible. Her phrasing is immaculate and she derives huge pleasure from shifting from low-key, possibly unaccompanied verse into a romping chorus. Her pitching is perfect, even in changing key (Get Happy, a medley of key changes), and she has fun without compromising the integrity of her material. Pianist Jim Watson complements her, the ideal accompanist turning into the sparkling soloist – and vice versa. Much the same could be said of Dave Archer.
Some three numbers into the second half, Clare seems to have deserted jazz temporarily before she bursts into It Don’t Mean a Thing, unaccompanied save for Cleasby’s fills, then it’s the real thing with Clare turning to eloquent scat (she uses this sparingly throughout) to confirm her jazz credentials.
The concert is very much the Clare Teal 5: she’s in charge, but the four instrumentalists have every chance to shine – and take them!
Reviewed on 2nd October 2025
