Rachel Sutton: Live at Pizza Express

Vocalist and composer Rachel Sutton launched her new album - ‘Realms’ - in a gorgeous, intimate performance at a packed Pizza Express Live on London’s Dean Street.

Rachel’s voice is mellifluous, her compositions are witty and emotional, and her performance of Realms and a selection of other tunes was fun and moving. It was great to be in audience, having chatted with Rachel for Harmonious World a couple of weeks ago.

With a high quality band beside her, Rachel chose to perform tunes from Realms and a number of standards. I hope it was no accident that she began the evening with Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley’s Pure Imagination, putting to shame the table tennis player we shan’t mention. From that moment, Rachel had the audience in the palm of her hand.

That band is true quality - Roland Perrin (piano), Curtis Ruiz (bass) and Paul Robinson (drums). Together, they bought Realms into the world, and shared great additional tunes like I Won’t Dance and Billie Holiday’s I Must Have That Man.

It takes a great performer to keep an audience entertained by more than the music, and Rachel managed to share the emotional story that infuses all the tunes on Realms and those standards, chosen specifically. Then, there’s a sense of more to come with the delightfully dippy Slim Pillar, written just three days ago.

Right until the audience participation and the encore of the classic That’s the Glory of Love, this was Rachel Sutton at her finest - and the perfect way to launch Realms into the world.

‘Realms’ will be launched by 33 Jazz Records on Friday 27 March