@ Spiegeltent, Edinburgh, on Fri 17 Jul 2015
Despite the continued abundance of world-class jazz talent that is to be found in Scotland, the jazz scene in Edinburgh has been noticeably shrinking in recent years, something that can only have been exacerbated by the unfortunate closure of a number of key Edinburgh jazz venues. It is thus very welcome that over its ten day stint (17-26 Jul), the Edinburgh International Jazz & Blues Festival is still able to present a valuable window onto the best of the international scene, while simultaneously offering a platform for musicians living nearer to home.
Naomi Shelton, one of the Festival’s international line-up, appears as part of her European tour, and is a performer whom it is undeniably a privilege to hear. Born in Alabama during the 1940s and now living in Brooklyn, what she provides is authentic and old-style, yet in no way nostalgic: something that is utterly her own. Shelton’s set list is a well paced journey of gospel/soul delivered in many ways very simply but with both absolute conviction and maximum impact.
Her impeccable timing and understated nuance aren’t calculated or forced but are rather the outward signs that she and the music are completely at one. Sung with the comfortable stage presence of someone who has been performing all her life, she makes the audience feel warm and welcome despite the wind and rain outside and by the end of her set, neither performers nor audience really want to go home.
Shelton is backed by an excellent and very tight band, led by James Brown’s one time bassist Fred Thomas, and her three backing singers—the Gospel Queens—who are always absolutely spot on. Although somewhat poorly balanced at the mixing desk, and despite Shelton’s first number being annoyingly interrupted by loud feedback, nothing can detract from the quality of what is on offer here: Naomi Shelton is spellbinding from the moment she walks on stage.