Georgia Cécile dazzles at Ronnie Scott’s debut

The 10-year overnight sensation that is Georgia Cécile made her Ronnie Scott’s debut on Tuesday with a set that felt rather different from her recent hit album Only the Lover Sings. The signature sound of those recordings is of Cécile emoting breathily over a string quartet and piano, while in front of a full house at Ronnie’s, you need projection. And fresh from four nights supporting Gregory Porter at the Royal Albert Hall, projection she assuredly has. At Ronnie’s, the question was always going to be this: how would she and her band kick enough ass to satisfy the audience without compromising the delicacy of her best songs?

There was no need to worry. Cécile not only has the chops but the experience and the star quality to finesse a gig like this. Backed by her long-time writing partner Euan Stevenson on piano, plus Ryan Quigley (trumpet), Andrew Robb (bass) and Max Popp (drums), she won the crowd over with her sincerity and absence of bombast. As many have already noticed, she and Stevenson aim for traditional, timeless values in their songwriting, influenced by the great popular composers of the 20th century - particularly Duke Ellington and Stevie Wonder. Between them, she and Stevenson hark back to the style of jazz you would hear on radio and TV when people like Dudley Moore and Mark Murphy were household names - in other words, when this kind of music was still mainstream.

In performance, it’s all about class and quality: Stevenson has a beautiful touch, caressing the keys Bill Evans-style but rhythmically perfect too. And it wasn’t all ballgowns and tuxedos. There were pleasing glimpses of the real girl beneath the glamour as Cécile bantered with fellow Glaswegians in the audience. Highlights included a terrific extended take on the Gershwin standard I Was Doing All Right and the shimmeringly beautiful original Love the Stars You’re Under, with just piano and that distinctive voice.