I AM always please to see Richmond jazz Festival come round with its mix of the finest local young players and its regular inclusion of the very best British musicians.

This year organiser Chris Powls chose jazz singer Norma Winstone and her regular accompanist, Nikki Iles.

It’s been some time since either appeared in the area and the Theatre Royal was an ideal space for such an intimate performance.

An enthusiastic audience heard a wide selection of songs, many from Nikki Iles’ album Westerly by her six piece group The Printmakers.

Scaling it down to just two players gave us a chance to hear both more clearly, particularly pleasing with Winstone in such good voice and Iles providing perfect accompaniment despite the piano going out of tune in the upper register.

Who Can I Turn To provided an ideal opening with a gem of a piano introduction before moving into tempo for the vocal, sung straightforwardly at first before Winstone’s distinctive improvisation.

Joni Mitchell’s two Grey Rooms was sung very tenderly, contrasting with the humour of Ralph Towner’s The Glide and there were touching tributes to both Kenny Wheeler and John Taylor with Nobody’s Song But My Own and ‘O’ respectively.

The second set also varied in mood with gentle and touching versions of I Do It For Your Love and Heather on the Hill set off by Tony Coe’s Tango Beyond and When in Rome, ending with Ladies in Mercedes and City of Dallas.

Peter Bevan