This was a terrific evening’s entertainment. It was one of my top five gigs of the year and considering that my wife and I have already attended over 75 gigs, that puts our enjoyment into perspective.
We had seen Nicole perform once before, at the 2017 London Jazz Festival and she impressed us enough to make the journey to Maidstone and it proved to be a worthwhile journey.
This show was thoughtfully planned, it was not Aretha’s greatest hits, though some were featured, and it was definitely not an Aretha karaoke show. Nicole sang songs recorded by Aretha, giving them her own arrangements and interpretatios.
The show opened with ‘Think’ and ‘Freeway of Love’. Nicole had grown up listening to her parents Aretha LP’s and told us how Aretha’s voice had influenced her whilst she was learning to sing.
The lesser known Aretha songs featured included ‘You Got A Friend / Precious Lord’ (a mash-up originally recorded before the word had been thought of), David Gates’ ‘Make It With You’, The Beatles ‘Eleanor Rigby’ and The Rolling Stones ‘Jumpin’ Jack Flash’. My favourite was a couscous version of a Hoagy Carmichael song which Aretha covered in the 60’s.
There were great versions of ‘I Say A Little Prayer’ ‘Natural Woman (Nicole’s encore) and ‘Respect ‘ and my favourite of the evening ‘Amazing Grace’.
Nicole was supported by an excellent youthful band made up of Nick Fitch (Guitars), Joe Hill (Keyboards), Jack Tustin (Bass), Luke Tomlinson (Drums), Tom Smith (Saxophone and Flute) and Freddie Gavita (Trumpet).
Nicole’s voice is superb, it has a beautiful tone and she has great control this together with her stage presence makes her a top class entertainer.
The Maidstone audience was superb and appreciative of the excellent show. Next time Nicole is in the UK, I will definitely Want to see her.
Johns London Music Reviews 