Nicki Leighton-Thomas salutes the legacy of Fran Landesman

The warning of references to drugs and murder that greet punters playfully puts this gig in parental advisory territory, but the effect may be as much a come-on as a put-off. After all British vocalist Nicki Leighton-Thomas is working with material from the pen of one of the sharp wits in 20th century song, Fran Landesman, grand agent provocateur lyricist beloved of any artist who appreciates a well-turned phrase on the wild side.

This is not new ground for Leighton-Thomas, who knew the aforesaid American icon and even had the honour of being the subject of one of her songs, ‘The Girl You Can’t Forget.’ More importantly, the singer’s pianist Simon Wallace has set Landesman’s words to music that effectively serves the pithy, insightful observations on human nature, and tonight’s launch of Leighton-Thomas’ new album One Good Scandal sees all these kindred spirits come together for a performance in which the words and music, appealing as they are, also benefit from the singer’s storytelling.      

Set to arrangements that draw on the heyday of both Broadway and modern jazz, the tunes come to life through Leighton-Thomas’ well-measured tone, given a flourish when the moment calls for it, and an acoustic quartet in which tenor-soprano saxophonist Dave O’Higgins acts as primary soloist and frontline partner.

Pieces such as ‘Overture To Corrupt And Deprave’, ‘Did We Have Any Fun?’ and ‘Semi-Detached’ have the biting humour, hot sassiness and WTF attitude synonymous with a personality as a big as a New York skyscraper, and both singer and band, with its alternation of bluesy languor and spiky aggression, capture that convincingly. And all and sundry may well wonder whether they would ever give up cocaine for a lover. Landesman threw the thought into the air. Leighton-Thomas got a kick out of it.