LULU PIERRE & TONY KOFI: CELEBRATING BILLIE HOLIDAY AND BEN WEBSTER! - concert included in the official program of the EFG London Jazz Festival 2024!
One of London’s rising jazz vocalists, Lulu Pierre, joins forces with established tenor sax boss Tony Kofi to celebrate a great musical partnership, that of Billie Holiday and Ben Webster. Webster played on some of Billie’s earliest hits and then joined her again in the mid-1950s for what many regards as her best late recording sessions. Accompanying Pierre and Kofi are Alex Webb (piano), Hamish Moore (bass) and Dan Hester (drums).
Lulu Pierre is a startling new arrival on the London jazz vocal scene, who has proved herself to be a classic Torch Song stylist in the tradition of Julie London. She can also swing out like Sarah Vaughan, with a voice that can move from a seductive sweetness to a lived-in rasp. With the experienced piano accompanist Alex Webb and his trio, she performs evergreens from the Great American Songbook, heartbreaking Torch songs and some surprising non-jazz repertoire choices.
Tony Kofi won the Best Instrumentalist Award at the 2008 BBC Jazz Awards, Best Ensemble at the 2005 Parliamentary Jazz Awards, Album of the Year at the 2005 BBC Jazz Awards and was nominated for an award MOBO in 2008. Born in Nottingham to West African parents, Tony spent a four-year period at the legendary Berklee College of Music in Boston, USA, on a scholarship music diploma. Since then, he has performed with the World Saxophone Quartet, Clifford Jarvis, Courtney Pine, Donald Byrd, Dr Lonnie Smith, Eddie Henderson and recorded with Jamaaladeen Tacuma and Ornette Coleman, as well as with his own bands. With Alex Webb, he created the show A Portrait of Cannonball and a recent tribute to Ben Webster, which played in the London Jazz Festival of 2023.
Alex Webb is a pianist, arranger and songwriter with a long history of working with leading jazz vocalists; his songs have been recorded by Liane Carroll, China Moses, Jo Harrop, Allan Harris, Cherise, Ayanna Witter-Johnson and many others. He and Lulu have recently played to great acclaim at many London jazz venues.
Line up:
Lulu Pierre – vocals
Tony Kofi – tenor saxophone
Alex Webb – piano
Hamish Moore – bass
Dan Hester – drums
'Brilliant vocals by Lulu backed by an amazing set of musicians. Thoughtful and great songs choices in the set. Definitely looking forward to hearing more from Lulu' – DesignMyNight.com
'Tony Kofi sensitively evoked the spirit of Ben Webster, recreating the instantly recognisable sound of Big Ben’s tenor' - London Jazz News
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Vide 1 (“Lulu Pierre live taster”): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8AF6XAyC3w
Video 2 (“Lulu Piere showreel”): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eod4TfS3D0g
Video 3 (Tony Kofi - “Things Are Getting Better”): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZLBAll02HU
