Festival review: Out of Abingdon; The Jazz Bar (venue 57)
Australian Tina Fullerton (vocals and bass) and New Zealander Warwick Hargreaves (vocals and guitar) immediately set out their stall. She specialises in cool, sensual vocals – shades of Julie London and Melody Gardot, whose repertoire is plundered during the show – while he is more of a blues man, both vocally and in his guitar playing.
It was a bit of a mixed bag in terms both of the diversity of numbers played and how appealing they were (plus the patter was somewhat lacking in pizazz) – but the highlights were a pair of pop tunes which Fullerton and Hargreaves made their own. Strange I’ve Seen That Face Before, Grace Jones’s hit reworking of a Piazzolla tango, was a showcase for Fullerton’s slinky bass and intimate, sexy singing style which was also to the fore on Portishead’s Glory Box.
Rating: * * *
Until 19 August. Today 5:30pm.