ELAINE DELMAR, the first lady of British jazz, is about to return to The Pheasantry on the King’s Road, Chelsea and at Burgh House in Hampstead in July, as well as the EFG London Jazz Festival on the Southbank in November.
A veteran of shows such as Finian’s Rainbow, No Strings, Cowardy Custard and Bubbling Brown Sugar, Elaine is one of the most popular and successful jazz and cabaret artists to come out of Britain. She is the holder of the Special Award for Jazz voted for by the All-Party Parliamentary Jazz Awards. Here she talks about her life on the road…
As you are the daughter of jazz trumpeter Leslie ‘Jiver’ Hutchinson, was it inevitable that you would take up a career as a musician?
I lived in a home surrounded by music so I guess it’s not surprising I became a musician. “The apple does not fall very far from the tree,” as they say.
You began your music studies as a child with the piano. Did you also take singing lessons or did vocalising just come naturally?
My classical piano lessons very much came first and then I had my first vocal coaching lesson when I was about 15 years old and then I expressed an interest in singing. Actually my first singing gig was with my father’s band and I was terrified!
Having been in several stage shows, how did you take to acting in the theatre?
I love acting in the theatre but I’m always grateful for a good director.
When was your first big break into the world of professional jazz?
I seem to recall that my first big break was at the Beaulieu Jazz Festival in 1960.
Who did you work with in the early days? Do you have fond memories of any particular musicians you have worked with?
I made a couple of LPs with Colin Beaton for Lansdowne Recording, one of which is now considered a collectors’ item called Elaine Sings Wilder (Alec Wilder). I also worked with Dill Jones and Victor Feldman (great talents) and toured with Cannonball Adderley, an American alto player who I had admired for years. One of my fondest memories was working with a wonderful pianist named Pat Smythe who very much formulated my style and musical taste to this day. I have a great deal to thank him for.
Do you try to work with the same personnel, musicians you can trust and who trust you?
I usually try to work with musicians I know and whose work ethic I can trust. Hopefully they would want to work with me too.
Do you have a favourite show you have worked on, and are there any musical shows you would love to be in?
My happiest show experience was in Bubbling Brown Sugar with Billy Daniels, Charles Augins, Clarke Peters Amii Stewart and Miquel Brown. Those wonderful people became my family and still are. The only other musical I would love to have been part of was West Side Story.
Have jazz audiences changed over the years or are they the same as they always were – just very passionate about the music?
I don’t think jazz audiences have changed. People still want to be moved and taken on a musical journey to (who knows where?).
What do you think of today’s music, in particular the pop and rap scene?
I’m afraid rap leaves me cold but I very much enjoy composers such as Billy Joel, Michael Jackson Stevie Wonder, Sting and Lionel Richie.
Do you think we have lost the art of songwriting today, the sort of material that comes under the heading of the Great American Songbook?
I’m afraid most of the songs of today don’t speak to me. Perhaps it’s an age thing!
You perform the works of the greats such as the Gershwins, Cole Porter, Noël Coward, Rodgers and Hart etc. Is there anyone to replace them now?
I have recently been singing material by Paul Williams, Jim Webb, and British composer Duncan Lamont. Fabulous songs.
Do you have a favourite venue to which you always enjoy returning?
I love working at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz club and return there twice a year.
Most jazz and cabaret artists used to love the intimacy of Pizza On the Park. Since it closed is there anywhere else that is comparable?
How I miss Pizza On the Park. It was a room you could hold, just the right size, a wonderful ambience and almost irreplaceable. The Pheasantry and Crazy Coqs come in a close second. Thank goodness we have some more venues opening up but we still need more.
Do you have any (or many) favourite songs or composers whose work you love singing all the time?
I never tire of singing Cole Porter and Gershwin, Jerome Kern and Rodgers and Hart.
You are obviously not going to retire. So what are your plans for the immediate future after your current gigs?
I would say, more of the same. Fortunately, the offers are still coming in!
Compiled by Michael Darvell
* Elaine Delmar is at The Pheasantry on 8 and 9 July; at Burgh House on 22 July; and at the Queen Elizabeth Hall on 20 November with Ian Shaw
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