INTERVIEW 111 many years, and I’ m still amazed to be working with the man who engineered Stevie Wonder’ s‘ Songs in the Key of Life’( my childhood obsession). We met in New Orleans, a place that puts a spell on people, musically and socially. There’ s no where like it music scene wise and it inspires and encourages creativity in all forms 24 / 7. I would never have gone on my jazz“ deep-dive” during Covid if I hadn’ t been in NOLA, with amazing musicians at my fingertips, and my“ home from home”, the extraordinary Esplanade Studio, to record in. And yes, the city and it’ s players bring the sound, a mix of joy and swampy grease, that sets it apart from anywhere else. I’ m very grateful to move in it’ s heartbeat.
4. Your music blends classic influences with a very contemporary energy.
How do you approach that balance when arranging and performing?
I really can’ t keep still when I hear great swinging music. I’ m a dancer at heart and a very animated performer, so the energy that is always in me comes through the songs and brings them a contemporary freshness. I’ m inspired by the greats, but I don’ t want to sound like anything other than a Welsh woman with a rich, husky voice and a soul bursting with emotions, joyful and melancholy. You really can’ t have one without the other, so I like my albums to be as dynamic as I am. Life isn’ t black and white; it’ s a world of greys, and I like to listen to the music that suits my many moods, and this album reflects that need.
5. You’ ve worked in different formats— from intimate piano settings to big band arrangements. What excites you most about moving between those different musical worlds?
I think it’ s my classical bones that love moving musically and thematically from all to nothing and everything in between. It’ s exhilarating and paradoxical like life itself. Beautiful and painful and all at the same time. As a friend of mine says, without the valleys, you wouldn’ t see the mountains. Also, I was brought up in a very unusual classical home( my dad was an opera singer), where classical music was balanced with jazz, blues, Motown, big band, soul, pop, Americana … So I never saw any lines or walls between them, just different dialects in the language of music. So it’ s always been natural for me to move between them all. It’ s become my style.
ISSUE 77 2026 THE ART OF LUXURY