Lily Dior: Live at Pizza Express Jazz Club, Soho

Lily Dior's launch of new album 'Let's Talk About It' gave her the chance to play with a full horn section and she clearly loved it.

This was a strong rhythm section who clearly knew Dior's songs and her style. The horn section was new to her, but they clearly knew their stuff. If it took the first set for them to properly bed in, that paid off with a storming second set.

The highlight of the first set was Dior's rendition of Who Needs You, a beautiful tune. Another outstanding track followed, with Who Needs You (Baby)? 

“I found the song on Aretha, recorded by Aretha Franklin in 1961,” said Dior. “It’s one of seven songs Billie Holiday co-wrote with guitarist Jeanne Burns, but she never recorded. I’d love to get all of them recorded in time – that’s a project I’d really like to do.”

Live, it was a was an outstanding vehicle for Dior's voice: jazz with a touch of soul.

Finishing the first set, which was largely album tracks, with Lady Day and John Coltrane by Gil Scott-Heron. Clearly this was no problem for any of the band - especially Scott-Heron's erstwhile drummer Rod Youngs - and this set the tone for the second set.

The second set really took the action up a notch. Let’s Talk About It was recorded in Sydney back in 2012 but still sounds fresh in 2016. It’s available on iTunes and on lilydior.com and is well worth a listen, with a nod in the direction of some great soul and jazz singers that have clearly influenced Dior. There are some beautiful songs and the talented Dior obviously believes in collaboration, with a number of different co-writers and arrangers.

This was a class band: Neil Angilley (keyboards), Al Cherry (guitar), Geoff Gascoyne (bass) and Rod Youngs (drums). But what Dior obviously loved was the opportunity to play the album and the few, choice covers with a full horn section - Paul Booth (sax), James Copus (trumpet) and Barnaby Dickinson (trombone).

This delightful gig finished with the album's title track and an appreciative audience demanded an encore. They were treated to the Ann Peebles classic I Can’t Stand the Rain.

*** This review was originally posted on KindofJazz.com ***