Clare Teal at the Gala Theatre, Durham Review
Clare Teal
Gala Theatre, Durham
12 October 2014
Reviewed by Tammy Linsell
I read a review of a performance Clare Teal gave in Harrogate last April. The reviewer said that it was the first time she’d heard Clare sing, and that this placed her in a minority, because the remainder of the audience appeared to comprise of the Clare Teal faithful, most of them apparently enjoying a return visit to one of her gigs. I’m one of the faithful she was talking about then, because the enjoyment I derive from hearing Clare sing live is never dulled by repetition. We saw her at the Durham Gala last Sunday night, bringing our attendance figure to a full half dozen. We’ve also seen her at Gateshead, York and Harrogate.
Clare Teal is a world class singer jazz singer, and her accompanying trio are as equally outstanding. Pianist and musical director Grant Windsor, Simon Little on bass, and Ben Reynolds on drums. I first came across Clare when she appeared on the BBC Proms singing with The John Wilson Orchestra in a tribute to Hollywood. One of the numbers she performed was Gershwin’s “Clap Yo’ Hands”. It’s still on the planner and I never get tired of hitting the rewind button. Watching Clare on television and playing her CD’s is always enjoyable, but live music is what she does best. She’s fond of saying, “Live music is good for you.” It certainly is when delivered to a standard of this calibre, we came out buzzing.
Her show on Sunday kicked off with another Gershwin song, “Nice Work If You Can Get It”, and continued with other well known numbers, such as the Doris Day classics, “Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps,” and “Ready Willing and Able”, also “Mountain Greenery”, made famous by Mel Torme. There are newer songs too, Snow Patrol’s “Chasing Cars”, for which Clare’s voice is heartbreakingly mellow, and a couple of Clare’s own compositions (she’s a talented songwriter and regularly works in collaboration with her partner Muddy Field). The gentle ballads are delivered in a tone of warm honey, and the upbeat numbers belted out with pitch perfect assurance. In between, Clare natters to us warmly – as if we’re just in her living room.
A major aspect of our enjoyment is the way and which Clare makes herself so accessible. There are two parts to this. If you visit her website www.clareteal.co.uk you will see that her live dates cover most of England, and she seems to be branching into Scotland now as well. There aren’t so many advertised at the minute because we’re coming to the end of the year, but new dates are added regularly. The second part to it is that during the interval, and after every show, Clare comes into the foyer to chat and sign autographs. There’s always a healthy queue, but she’s never rushed and her partner Muddy is usually there too and is equally as friendly and approachable. It was better again on Sunday because she was joined by all three of her band members, Grant, Simon and Ben.
My partner and I like to combine our travels to gigs with a weekend away. We stayed at the Premier Inn in Durham, and parked in the nearby municipal car park which is £6 for 24 hours, £1.40 all day Sunday. There are good bus links, and Durham is on the main east coast railway line with trains running in both directions every hour.
We paid £17.50 for our tickets to hear Clare, but prices vary slightly according to venue. Never anything less than excellent value however.
Rating: 5/5 
Clare Teal is currently touring the UK. For more information and tour dates visit www.clareteal.co.uk.
Gala Theatre. 1 Millennium Place, Durham, DH1 1WA | 03000 266600
