She knew a fine way to treat a
Steinway*. Perched like a pigeon on a leather stool, she fingered the ivories
in nonchalant self-accompaniment as she glided like a pro into ‘Heroes’. Few ad hoc live doodles have had more gasp
factor. Given where we were. For the maestro himself recorded the original
here, at Köthener Strasse 38, Kreuzberg, Berlin, the sacred site of a studio
every note as famed as Abbey Road. It was in the Great Hall by the Wall at
Hansa Tonstudios, where the Gestapo threw mad parties during World War II, that
Bowie legend claims he created the so-called ‘Berlin Trilogy’. In fact, only
‘Heroes’ was fully realised here. But he played this piano.
Nina Clark couldn’t resist. She
can’t. She is a paradox. Cocky but coy, in-your-face and a bit
restrained, she conjures songs both mellifluous and punchy which she delivers
with charm and wit. There’s romance and sex in abundance, swirling
lyrics into fables, stirring tunes into delicacies for the ear.
Who’s that girl, lurking behind her
vocals? I’m hearing Julie Driscoll and Judie Tzuke. Astrud Gilberto and Carly
Simon. Chrissie Hynde and Peggy Lee. Not too loudly. Nina knocks them for six with her soul and folk, jazz and pop takes. She gives the broads a run for their fifty pees.
She’s a musical activist and
minstrel as well as a singer-songwriter. Having recorded her first album in
Chicago and produced her second by herself, she launches her third, ‘Alpha’, in
a fortnight. People get ready. It’s part-financed by the Arts Council’s DYCP
(Developing Your Creative Practice) Fund. Money gorgeously spent. Nina’s theme
being that music should be available to all, the thrust of www.musicalwalkabout.com – her
minstrel project for the socially isolated and those suffering with dementia.
*I Love a Piano, Irving Berlin
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