Clare Teal
Clare Teal is Britain’s undisputed queen of jazz. Emily Horton sounds her out ahead of her November gigs
The Pied Piper of swing is returning to the South-East, leading us down the nostalgic path to the 40s heyday of the genre. On November 19, Clare Teal brings her trio to the stage at Norden Farm in Maidenhead, before continuing to Redhill's Harlequin Theatre on November 24 with with her mini big band.
It’s 11 years now since she netted the largest recording contract ever awarded to a British jazz vocalist. Since then the Yorkshire lass has become a regular at the Proms, won British Jazz Singer of the Year (twice) and BBC Jazz Singer of the Year and performed with the likes of Van Morrison and Liza Minnelli. Her heavenly, mellifluous tones and self-deprecating sense of humour are also a regular feature on Radio 2.
Now, with her 15th album, Twelve O’Clock Tales, due for release this spring, the big band doyenne is set to confirm her standing as the most successful jazz singer in the land. Yet it was not what one would have foretold. “I was such a shy little kid,” she recalls. “Singing was the last thing you would have expected me to do. My nan was a huge inspiration, but she certainly wasn’t musical. In fact, she was tone deaf!”
Windsor Magazine November 2016
Even so, it was her grandmother that introduced Clare to the sounds of swing, courtesy of her old record collection at home in Kildwick, near Skipton.
“I used to visit her twice a week and I discovered her dusty old 78s in the attic. Big band music was my first love. Listening to those old, crackly records, I lived in black and white. I loved the songs and the stories that Nan told me of that time; the clothes, the way people talked...”
Pop music was never to find a fan in Clare. Instead, she would hide out in the attic, listening obsessively to the sounds of another age.
“I just quietly got on with learning about this style of singing, imitating what I heard. Nan did that great thing that grandparents do, which is to make you feel that there is nothing you can’t achieve.”
Sadly, her grandmother passed away when Clare was just 16 and never got to hear her granddaughter sing. It was later, while Clare was studying music at the University of Wolverhampton, that fate played its hand. Finding herself without her clarinet for an unexpected exam, the resourceful student decided to sing instead. Much to her surprise, she achieved her best grades ever. Before long she was balancing her studies with work as a jingle singer, honing an evident ability to imitate other people’s voices.
“Eventually, I had to deprogramme myself from doing that,” she laughs. “It wasn’t until I was in my late 20s that I could trust what came out of my mouth.”
Enter Sir Michael Parkinson, son of Yorkshire, whose championing of Clare led to her first signing for a record label, at the age of 27.
“I would not be here, doing what I am, without Saint Michael of Parkinson,” she says warmly. “I am still so grateful to him.”
Then, in 2004, she was catapulted into the limelight when Sony signed her for a reported £3m, five-album deal, and her album Don’t Talk topped the jazz charts and entered the UK Top 20. Presenting soon followed, her initial break facilitated by another veteran broadcaster, Desmond Carrington.
“Not so many years ago, you wouldn’t have heard a northern dialect like mine on national radio, except as some kind of joke,” she laughs.
“I choose music for my shows that is uplifting and makes me feel good, in the hope that it will make those listening feel the same. Plus I have the attention span of a goldfish, which ensures that we explore many different genres, styles and tempos.
“The songs could span a period of 100 years – swing might be mixed in with Latin or Motown Gospel. It’s how I listen to music, so that’s how I put my shows together too.”
Above all, she wants to communicate the idea of music as a wonderful accompaniment to life’s journey.
“I can’t get through the day without it,” she enthuses. “It always make me feel better – it’s like medicine. And such a useful tool for expressing emotions. I always take my audience on a journey with unexpected twists and turns – just like life. An acute ballad will always be followed by a song to bring you back up.”
This, then, is the kind of mix to which our local audiences can look forward to.
“We have all sorts of people at our gigs. If I perform, say, Snow Patrol’s Chasing Cars, often I’ll also sing We’ll Gather Lilacs, by Ivor Novello, a World War II composition. At the end, I’ll have the grannies asking who Snow Patrol are and their grandkids asking about Novello.”
Music and youth, in fact, is a subject close to Clare’s heart.
“If I have any opportunity on the radio, it is to instill in young people – as Nan did in me – the belief that they can pursue music beyond school. If every child had the confidence to stand up and sing, the world would be a very different place. The fact that not every kid has access to learning music is terrifying.
“Traditional instruments are vital, especially for girls – there aren’t enough women in jazz instrumentally. Where are the trombonists? We need to take the labels away from this type of music – after all, many of the samples in modern music have been played in orchestras and big bands. We should encourage the playing of these instruments, not lose the beauty of them.”
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Listen to Clare's music here
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Clare Teal and Trio play Norden Farm on Nov 19 (01628 788 997; norden.farm) and on Nov 24, Clare is joined by her Mini Big Band at the Harlequin Theatre in Redhill, Surrey
