Personnel
Claire Martin (vocals), Arnie Somogyi (bass), Clark Tracey (drums), Martin Taylor (guitar), Gareth Williams (piano), Mark Nightingale (trombone), Anthony Kerr (vibraphone)
offBEAT was recorded live over six days at London’s famous Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club.
Originally released in 1995 offBEAT has been re-issued as part of Linn’s ECHO series which offers a second chance to enjoy the best of the label’s award-winning catalogue.
offBEAT features Claire’s regular trio of dynamic musicians (comprising pianist Gareth Williams, bassist Arnie Somogyi and drummer Clark Tracey) plus special guests guitarist Martin Taylor (‘Some Other Time’), vibraphonist Anthony Kerr (Monk’s ‘New Tune’ and ‘Wishful Thinking’) and trombonist Mark Nightingale ‘(I’ll Close My Eyes’, ‘Comes Love’ and ‘Something Real’). Renowned throughout her career for unusual and adventurous repertoire choices, Claire turns her expressively cool-toned voice to Stevie Wonder’s ‘Make Sure You’re Sure’ and Paul Simon’s ‘I Do It For Your Love’ plus Laura Nyro’s ‘Buy And Sell’. Leonard Bernstein’s ‘Some Other Time’ and ‘Lost In His Arms’ by Irving Berlin, widely considered one of the greatest song-writers of all time, represent Claire’s love of the Great American Songbook. There are also a couple of original songs – ‘Worth The Wait’, courtesy of Gareth Williams and ‘Wishful Thinking’ by producer Joel Siegel and pianist David Newton.
Daily Telegraph
‘This is a great reminder of or introduction to a night out with the great Claire Martin. This new live recording also shows a steady maturing of her emotional range.’
Jazz on CD
‘If you’ve already heard of Claire you won’t need urging, but to the unconverted I can only say buy ‘offBEAT’. It’s great.’
Record Collector
“…Martin tackles the jazz vocal idiom with aplomb.” more >>
Gramophone
she has a soft, husky voice and good intonation and a superb band more >>
Classical Music
‘Martin turns in her customary, absorbing performance, applying her beautifully controlled, pleasantly smoky voice with passion, wit and intelligence to a cleverly chosen batch of songs.’ more >>
Jazz on CD
It’s a great album more >>