Claire Martin OBE & Jamie Safir: The Jazz Divas

Join multi-award-winning jazz vocalist and BBC Radio presenter, Claire Martin OBE, for a celebration of some of the greatest jazz singers of the 20th century, including Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Peggy Lee, and their contemporaries.
Enjoy the classic songs that made them stars, such as That Old Black Magic, Fever, Too Darn Hot and many more – all drawn from the timeless collection of music that is the Great American Songbook.
Don’t miss this evening of feelgood music inspired by the most glamorous women in jazz.

Claire Martin has spent the last 30 years honing the craft of jazz singing. To worldwide critical acclaim, she has established herself as a tour de force on the UK jazz scene gaining many awards, including winning the British Jazz Awards seven times along the way. Signed to the prestigious Glasgow based Linn Records in 1990, Claire has since released 18 CDs with the label, collaborating with musical luminaries including Martin Taylor, John Martyn, Stephane Grappelli, Kenny Barron, Richard Rodney Bennett and Jim Mullen on many of these recordings.

“She ranks amongst the four or five finest female jazz vocalists on the planet” – Jazz Times USA

“A consummate jazz singer with old-school virtues … she wins plaudits everywhere she works” – The Guardian

Jamie Safir is a 26 year-old pianist, composer and arranger highly in-demand in jazz, pop and musical theatre in the UK. He has worked regularly with Will Young over the last 3 years and also performed with the likes of The Brand New Heavies, Olly Murs, Rebecca Ferguson & Steps.

Within the London Jazz Scene, Jamie has an ongoing collaboration with award-winning vocalist Ian Shaw as well as having worked with Liane Carroll, Stan Sulzman, Iain Ballamy, Barb Jungr and the Ronnie Scott’s All Stars.

He was a keyboardist in the hit 2017 musical Bat Out Of Hell and is currently Musical Director for Patti Boulaye and working on ‘The Sweetest Sounds of Rogers and Hart’ featuring Claire Moore & Robert Meadmore.

‘Safir plays with wonderful judgment, delicacy and alertness’ London Jazz News

‘The star of the show and the binding force behind the entire set was Jamie Safir. Not only a pianist at the start of a hugely promising career, but a musical arranger of true talent.’ Musical Theatre Review

‘Jamie on piano was riveting. I got the nightbus home, Oh the glamour!’ Julian Clary