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Concert Review: Izzi Dunn - Jazz Cafe, London – Sunday 1st September 2002
The cello is not an instrument you’d associate with contemporary black music. Bass - of course.
But cello? Well, don’t be too hasty, because if you’ve been following what’s been happening at the forefront
of innovative British music of a funky persuasion, you’ll find evidence to the contrary. Cases in point are
Roots Manuva, Wookie, MJ Cole, Kaidi Tatham, and IG Culture (most notably in the form of New Sector Movements)
, their music spanning some of the most innovative fields of UK music right now, namely hip hop, garage and
broken beats. All said artists have, in recent times, had their projects graced not only by Dunn’s cello playing,
but also by her vocals and arrangements - often under the guise of the string outfit ‘Chix with Stix’.
Dunn was born in Sheffield in 1973 into a musical family; her mother an opera-trained singer, her father
a television and radio entertainer. She took up the cello when she was 9 years old, and in her mid-teens
could be found busking on the streets of London. From there she moved her way into a bewildering array of
sessions, from thrash metal through to household names like the Brand New Heavies, Oasis, Damage, George Harrison, and Natalie
Imbruglia. She also kept her ear to the street, with work for underground breaks practitioners such as 4 Hero
in the early days of the Reinforced label. Oh, and playing the odd spot of Ravel, Stravinsky and Gershwin on
the side. Which brings us to the present.
‘The Big Picture’ (FireWorx) is the provisional name for her debut long-player, due to hit the shelves this autumn,
which follows hot on the
heels of her recent self-entitled four-song EP. Boasting collaborations with usual suspects Tatham and
Manuva, plus some lesser-known contributors including Nyanja, Russell and The Force from Nash, and Me One,
Camden’s Jazz Café gig promised to be the first opportunity for most to sample this new material. Taking the
stage, Dunn, initially to minimal accompaniment courtesy of Mr. Shiver on decks duty and the prolific
Akwasi Mensah on keys, kicked-off with what is probably her best-known song – ‘Betcha’ – co-written with
Tatham. Underpinned by a heavy mid-tempo funk beat, Betcha saw Dunn swapping from electric cello to
powerfully delivered vocals, in this bittersweet tale of a relationship broken. ‘It’s On’ and ‘Big Picture’
saw her joined on stage by MC D who, whilst initially appearing somewhat fazed by the occasion, soon warmed
up and spat laid-back lyrics, providing a perfect counterbalance to Dunn’s vocals, over the top of some classic hip hop
hooks.
‘Storyteller’ saw the rest of the band take the stage (Trevor McKinley on bass, Tim Shoben on guitar, and
Davide Giovanni on drums). Over the course of rattling out one funky number after another, both from the EP and the forthcoming
LP (Storyteller, Smokescreen, Fly On the Wall, No More Mr Nice Guy, Intuition), Dunn
swapped from cello to vocals - and even at one point to keys - with aplomb. Her own-material musical
preferences look to range from vocals over phat hip hop beats to jazz-funk floor-fillers to soulful R ‘n’ B
numbers - all of impressive quality. Throw in Dunn’s electric stage presence – she looks great and has an
infectious energy and enthusiasm, the spine-tingling niceness of the drama lent by her string-playing, and
some innovative underlying beats, and you quickly understand why there’s such a fuss about this multitalented
lady.
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RELATED LINKS:
Jazz Cafe
Goya Music - for release information on the forthcoming album.
PUBLISHED: Thursday 5th September 2002
More Reviews
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::: RELATED LINKS
Jazz Cafe
Goya Music
More Reviews
|
