Gabrielle Ducomble Quartet @ Maddermarket Theatre

Gabrielle Ducomble looks gorgeous as she walks onto the main stage in a chic satin dress, an image that’s in sync with the quartet’s Parisian-style jazz. Belgium-born but living in London, her seductive voice is adept at tackling the popular French songs, contemporary jazz or tangos that she sings, backed by a fantastic trio of musicians.

Sanfona by Galliano “is a song” she says “about the first time you go to a tango class, which can be exciting and awkward”. The stage lighting turns a boudoir red, she rolls her R's beautifully like the elegant steps of a tango and we’re all captivated. The deep tone of the bass, the discerning accordion, and the melodic guitar played by the very nimbly-fingered Nicolas Meier harmonise beautifully, giving texture and warmth.

Ducomble is a charming storyteller, and I’m mostly impressed by her own compositions. Les Roses et Leurs Epine, she tells us, “is a tune about two boys playing on the beach. A big wave appears and one of the boys cries because he’s scared and the other one laughs because it’s fun.” The tune depicts their different reactions, all at once fast and happy, and slow and sad – sounds that interact like two boys playing on the sand.  

I particularly love her French version of My Man (Mon Homme), partly because Barbra Streisand sang it in one of my all-time favourite films Funny Girl. Ducomble’s rendition is in French and English (giving me the opportunity to have a quiet sing-a-long), while Maurizio Minardi has a drum on his accordion, giving it a more upbeat feel.