Esther Miller was studying medicine in Cape Town when she happened to hear a Billie Holiday record. It was a pivotal moment that signalled a complete and dramatic career change. Beginning her singing career in the UK, the young South African quickly went on to work with some of her homeland's top musicians (Johnny Fourie, Winston Mankunku) as well as forging links with Britain's most established jazz veterans (Alan Skidmore, Herb Ellis)
Her relaxed, cool phrasing and innate sense of swing have earned Miller comparisons with Shirley Horn, and her current set list is dominated by nostalgic old favourites by such composers as Gershwin, Ellington and Woody Herman.
In Manchester, Miller and her band faced a somewhat meagre audience, although this didn't seem to spoil their fun. They eased in gently with a version of Gershwin's Embraceable You, sensitively arranged by pianist Gerry Spencer. Miller caressed the melody line with the sensuality of a lover, her eyes closed, her hands forming precise pincer shapes in the air. The glassy purity of her tone was matched by Ian Ellis's sweetly cascading clarinet, although on this and several other tunes he sounded rather emotionally detached from the material.
Horace Silver's Tokyo Blues was next, ushered in by a stealthy tom-tom rhythm from Neil Bullock. Bryan Corbett's muted trumpet grew more sardonic as Miller explored the bluesy depths of the lyrics, but by this point many of her vocal subtleties were lost amid the noise of the band. As an arranger, Spencer borrows liberally from the canon of instrumental jazz, using sharp, big-band-like horn riffs and breakneck bop rhythms. Although this often resulted in a gloriously full-bodied sound, it frequently seemed to overwhelm Miller's delicate phrasing and careful attention to detail. A version of Ellington's Don't Mean a Thing found the group in a particularly brash mood, with free-wheeling trumpet solos and seething cymbal patterns rendering Miller's contribution almost superfluous.
She still looked as though she was having great fun, though, and was obviously more than happy for her voice to be just one competing element in a raucous instrumental stew. And it did at least add an element of rough-edged excitement and energy to material that could best be described as conservative.
· At the Cheltenham jazz festival on May 1. Box office: 01242 227979.
