It's seldom that a jazz festival will feature two singers in a row, at least a modern festival. But thus it was, and both revisits, and both to die for. I'd heard Lisa Oduor-Noah at the closing concert of the CIMF and was mightily impressed. This went further, perhaps given the more intimate surroundings and perhaps a more atuned audience. For this is modern soul with intimacy and connection and joy and purpose. And a voice to die for. All sharply stated but fluid and joyous and rich in embellishments and delirious lifts to the heavens. She could sing high! And we got to join in, in our wary, insular, Australian way. It must help singers like Lisa to have an audience on side and showing it. We were onside but reticent. I wonder of singing in her native Kenya or dens in the USA. This Uniting church was not that, but it was loving and she was deeply appreciated. Her accompaniment this gig was Daniel Pilner, otherwise keys with Mr Ott. It was mostly restrained Rhodes accompaniment but nicely articulated and correct. He deserved the Swahili anthem that we all sang to him at Lisa's prompting. This was modern, personal stories of love and optimism and the like, merged with visits to Lisa's history and some social commentary. "Down by the riverside / I've found things take time". Lauren Hill got some quotes, for musical and sociopolitical reasons, and that's understandable. And I liked the opportunity to join in, if confusing pitches. I might say I would love to sing... But it was that personality and that glorious soulful voice that did it. Varied and accurate with ecstatic embellishments. Think studio accuracy. I could just imagine how this inventiveness could be layered and groups and harmonised for a rich studio result. So cool, so quiet and so, so deeply, deeply grooving.
Lisa Oduor-Noah (vocals) was accompanied by Daniel Pilner (keys) at the Uniting Church.
