At this years Edinburgh Fringe I popped into the award winning Jazz Bar to catch a performance by an award winning vocalist - Ali Affleck with Vieux Carre and the Copper Cats. Ali informs the crowd that we came on “a special night” as it was the band’s final “Fringe run’ gig, and in the standing room only bar I settled down to hear the lady that surely must be Scotland’s best kept secret in jazz and blues.
Vieux Carre (the collective title for her band) proves to be the perfect frame for Ali’s exciting repertoire. Of particular note are Mr Lee on reeds and Mr. Greives on trombone, they offered a sensitive and extremely responsive punctuation to every song. Mr Davis on guitar pulled out some ‘slick as you like’ solos and the bassist added pulsing authority to the stage. Mr .Norman on piano, although somewhat hidden in the background at times, brought some seriously full bodied action to the mix.
Ali is definitely a lady of two ‘styles’ – jazz and blues flow smoothly through her with equal fluency. As a self confessed ‘Vintage vocalist’ it is easy to see why Ali Affleck earned her award of ‘Best Jazz Vocalist’ in 2013. She has an exuberant and virtually pitch-perfect delivery with rich, powerful tones that pack a serious punch in all of her bluer numbers. Her vocal range is vast and this is exhibited particularly well with her trumpet toned ‘head voice’ as it effortlessly adds the right amount of perk to all of the early Billie Holliday tunes. Ali’s stage craft is exceptional, she has a warm and mischievous presence and it is very hard to divert your eyes from her! When pushed to make comparisons (and I always am!) I would best describe Ali as Billie Holliday meets a heavy dose of Patti Page and Julie London- as odd a combination as that may seem it is right on the money!
Ali is spookily like Lady Day when performing ballads, (in Stars Fell particularly) However Ali is certainly NOT one of the ‘copy-cat gang’, you know the type- the singers who spend all their days attempting to mimic the great Jazz divas without allowing their own voice to shine through. No Sir, not this lady!
Ali possesses a supple, powerful and hugely unique voice and it is absolutely her own; such a breath of fresh air in a sea of mimics and easy listening vocalists! It is this gals opinion that it is only a matter of time until Ali acquires her own Jazz Diva status, and with such a solid band behind her it surely won’t take long!
- K.Peterson ‘Heart of the Art’
the Copper Cats are thrilled to be throwing a fabulous New Orleans swing dance party this year as part of the festival! We have a free dance lesson From 6-7... then the band starts at 8... between the lesson and live music you have an hour to practice your moves with a non judgemental and friendly bunch and the Aberdeen university swing dance society will be DJing from 7-8 :)
