{"id":25941,"date":"2026-08-30T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-30T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/?p=25941"},"modified":"2026-08-29T08:33:20","modified_gmt":"2026-08-29T07:33:20","slug":"sidetracks-detours-sunday-30th-august-2026-too-darn-hot-jazz-review-from-lanzarote","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/2026\/08\/30\/sidetracks-detours-sunday-30th-august-2026-too-darn-hot-jazz-review-from-lanzarote\/","title":{"rendered":"SIDETRACKS &amp; DETOURS,  Sunday 30th August 2026:  Too Darn Hot jazz review, from Lanzarote."},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1030\" height=\"687\" src=\"https:\/\/aata.dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/atlantic-jazz-lab-orcherstra-1-1030x687.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-25965\" style=\"width:462px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/aata.dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/atlantic-jazz-lab-orcherstra-1-1030x687.webp 1030w, https:\/\/aata.dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/atlantic-jazz-lab-orcherstra-1-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/aata.dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/atlantic-jazz-lab-orcherstra-1-768x512.webp 768w, https:\/\/aata.dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/atlantic-jazz-lab-orcherstra-1-705x470.webp 705w, https:\/\/aata.dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/atlantic-jazz-lab-orcherstra-1.webp 1500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1030px) 100vw, 1030px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p><strong>The Atlantic Jazz Lab Orchestra<\/strong> returned to Lanzarote on <strong>Sunday May 10<sup>th<\/sup><\/strong> to present <strong>Too Darn Hot!<\/strong>, their new album recorded in <strong>La Gomera<\/strong> and released on the <strong>Dutch label T\u00e9l\u00e8s Jazz Records.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Their performance paid tribute to the great female voices of jazz\u2014<strong>Anita O&#8217;Day, Diana Krall, Doris Day, and Peggy Lee<\/strong>\u2014through the orchestra&#8217;s arrangements and the vocals of <strong>Esther Van Hees<\/strong>, winner of the <strong>2025 Edison Jazz Award <\/strong>in the <strong>Netherlands<\/strong>. Under the direction of <strong>Tenerife-born trumpeter and producer Natanael Ramos<\/strong>, this internationally distributed production brings the <strong>Canary Islands to the European jazz circuit for the first time<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Born in <strong>La Oratova, (Canary isklands, Spain)<\/strong>, in <strong>1988<\/strong>, Nataneal graduated with a <strong>Master in Jazz degree<\/strong> at <strong>The Conservatorium van Amsdterdam<\/strong> with<strong> Ruud Breuls, Jan Oost hof, Joris Roelofs<\/strong> and many others after having completed the <strong>Bachelor in Jazz Trumpet <\/strong>at T<strong>he Centre For Advanced Musical Studies Of The Basque Country<\/strong> with trumpeter <em>Chris Case.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Nataneal has also been taught by<strong> Perico Sambeat, Bob Sands, Miguel Blanco, Roger Mas, Juaquin Chacon<\/strong> and, in <strong>master-classes,<\/strong> with the great<strong> Wynton Marsalis<\/strong>, and many others. He now leads his own band, a Latin Jazz nonet, <strong>La Banda de Solar<\/strong> as well as <strong>Ibaka<\/strong>, &nbsp;a salsa collective in <strong>Tenerife<\/strong>, for which he creates projects and takes on composing and arranging tasks as well. Nataneal has also become<strong> the artistioc diorector of The Atlantic laboratory For Jazz And New Musics.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On the latin music side&nbsp; he has been a member of <strong>Caracas Latin Brothers<\/strong> and <strong>MG Son Iya Latin orchestras.<\/strong> Other individuals and ensembles he has worked with inlcude <strong>Maquinaria Band, Orquesta La Sabroas<\/strong> and one of the most recognised traditional cuba bands in the Canary Islands. <strong>Troveros de Asieta.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"500\" src=\"https:\/\/aata.dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/album.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-25966\" style=\"width:275px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/aata.dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/album.webp 500w, https:\/\/aata.dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/album-300x300.webp 300w, https:\/\/aata.dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/album-80x80.webp 80w, https:\/\/aata.dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/album-36x36.webp 36w, https:\/\/aata.dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/album-180x180.webp 180w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As a comoposer and arranger Natianial has has worked with include  <strong>North Atlantic Jazz Collection, Big Band de Canarias, Reunion Big Band <\/strong>and <strong>Sedajazz Latin Ensembler.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As a teacher Nataneal has taught a number of workshops and master-classes in different countries across Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"592\" height=\"592\" src=\"https:\/\/aata.dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/estgheer-van-hees-1.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-25970\" style=\"width:288px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/aata.dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/estgheer-van-hees-1.webp 592w, https:\/\/aata.dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/estgheer-van-hees-1-300x300.webp 300w, https:\/\/aata.dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/estgheer-van-hees-1-80x80.webp 80w, https:\/\/aata.dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/estgheer-van-hees-1-36x36.webp 36w, https:\/\/aata.dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/estgheer-van-hees-1-180x180.webp 180w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 592px) 100vw, 592px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Today Nataneal is working with <strong>Esther Van Hees<\/strong> who is making another visit to<strong> Lanzarote<\/strong>, for the first time since playing in a different show with more or less the same support for <strong>Too Darn Hot.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Although today\u00b4s concert is celebrating female jazz artists, Esther Van Hees confesses that, with his unique voice and storytelling trumpet style, <strong>Chet Baker <\/strong>performed jazz standards so exquisitely that they became forever associated with him. Who doesn\u2019t immediately think of Chet Baker upon hearing <strong>My Funny Valentine, Alone Together, <\/strong>or <strong>How Deep Is the Ocean? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She paid tribute to Chet Baker in a special setting during a recent &nbsp;<strong>Red Light Jazz Festiva<\/strong>l,  in the intimate setting of <strong>Prince Charming<\/strong>, a restaurant is located in <strong>Hotel Prins Hendrik<\/strong>, where Chet Baker spent his final night and died in 1988 after falling from a window.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For Esther, Chet Baker remains a major source of inspiration, particularly for his unique phrasing and unmistakable sound<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Esther van Hees was born in 1991 and as a jazz vocalist she is now identified for her deep connection to lyrics and her velvety sound. Dutch newspaper <strong>de Volkskrant<\/strong> compared her voice to that of &nbsp;Norah Jones. In 2025, Esther performed at the <strong>North Sea Jazz Festival<\/strong>, where she also received the <strong>Edison National Vocal Award.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Today she was accopmpnioed by <strong>The Atlantic Jazz Lab Orchestra, (AJLO)<\/strong> founded in <strong>2017<\/strong> under the name of <strong>Atlantic Jazz Orchestra<\/strong> as part of the <strong>Atlantic<\/strong> <strong>Laboratory of Jazz and New Music<\/strong>, an organization dedicated to the promotion of jazz in the <strong>Canary Islands<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The <strong>AJLO<\/strong> is directed by trumpeter <strong>Natanael Ramos<\/strong> , one of the most outstanding musicians of his generation. In addition to his work as the orchestra&#8217;s director, Ramos is also a composer, arranger, and educator, and has received numerous awards and accolades, including <strong>first prize for Big Band Composition from the Granada Jazz Association<\/strong> and the <strong>SGAE Foundation in 2015.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Atlantic Jazz Lab Orchestra<\/strong> is comprised of some of the country&#8217;s most prominent and respected jazz musicians and boasts a repertoire ranging from jazz classics by artists such as <strong>Duke Ellington, Count Basie, <\/strong>and<strong> Frank Sinatra<\/strong> to new compositions and arrangements by composers like <strong>Kenny Wheeler, Chris Kase, and Miguel Blanco<\/strong> . The orchestra has toured throughout the Canary Islands and other parts of <strong>Spain<\/strong>, as well as performing at festivals such as the<strong> Canary Islands International Music Festival<\/strong> and the <strong>Canary Islands International Jazz Festival.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition to their work on stage,<strong> AJLO <\/strong>is also committed to music education and conducts numerous programs and workshops for young musicians and music students.<strong> <\/strong>They have recently  released their first album, <strong>&#8220;Garajonay Suite.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Artistic template if The Orchestra incl\u00f1udes<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Trumpets: <\/strong>\u00c1lvaro Artime, Natanael Ramos, Leo Torres, and Julian D\u00edaz.<br><strong>Trombones:<\/strong> Pablo Mart\u00ednez, Cristo Delgado, and Pablo Gonz\u00e1lez.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Woodwinds:<\/strong> Fernando S\u00e1nchez, Diego Jimenez, Cameron Rivero, Marcos P\u00e9rez, and Juan Antonio Mart\u00edn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Piano<\/strong>: Daahoud Salim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Double Bass:<\/strong> Paco Charl\u00edn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Drums:<\/strong> Andreu Pitarch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As I mentioned earlier, today\u00b4s show was performed under the borrowed title of <strong>Too Darn Hot<\/strong>, that is, of couirse a title usually attached to a song written by <strong>Cole Porter,<\/strong> for one of the most loved-musicals of all time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the stage version, it is sung at the start of Act 2, and in the 1948 original Broadway production,with <strong>Lorenzo Fuller<\/strong> singing it as the character of Paul  and <strong>Eddie Sledge and Fred Davis<\/strong> (as the specialty dancers), leading the full company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>IMGM Hollywood<\/strong> created a film version in <strong>1953<\/strong> in which the song was moved to a much earlier point in the narrative  point in the narrative with Ann Miller delivering the vocals in her casting of Lois Lane Fred&#8217;s new girlfriend, who is cast as Bianca. Most critics, and perhps audience members too, felt the song does not contribute to the plot in either the stage or film versions ; in the stage version, the song represents the company o<strong>f&nbsp;<em>The Taming of the Shrew<\/em><\/strong>&nbsp;taking a break offstage during the intermission of their play; in the film version it allowed the audience to see Lois&#8217;s fun-loving, risk-taking nature, and gave Ann Miller a chance to show off her dancing skills, specifically tap. The Kinsey Report noted that the line &#8216;According to the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Kinsey_Reports\">Kinsey report<\/a>&#8216; (in the original stage production) was changed in the film version to &#8216;According to the latest report&#8217;. The song has also beenperformed on stage,m tv and radio as well as on recordiongs by many well known names.&nbsp;by many artists such as <strong>Claire Martin<\/strong> and, of course, <strong>Ella Fitzgerald.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this wonderful jazz concert today Esther Van Hees delivered her own excellent verion of <strong>Too Darn Hot<\/strong>&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1030\" height=\"1027\" src=\"https:\/\/aata.dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_20260511_152353-2-1030x1027.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-26183\" style=\"width:181px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/aata.dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_20260511_152353-2-1030x1027.jpg 1030w, https:\/\/aata.dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_20260511_152353-2-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/aata.dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_20260511_152353-2-80x80.jpg 80w, https:\/\/aata.dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_20260511_152353-2-768x766.jpg 768w, https:\/\/aata.dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_20260511_152353-2-1536x1531.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/aata.dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_20260511_152353-2-2048x2042.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/aata.dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_20260511_152353-2-36x36.jpg 36w, https:\/\/aata.dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_20260511_152353-2-180x180.jpg 180w, https:\/\/aata.dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_20260511_152353-2-1500x1495.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/aata.dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_20260511_152353-2-705x703.jpg 705w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1030px) 100vw, 1030px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p> Fourteen musicians took to the stage in what was a modern day amphitheatre, built in the depth of the three years old but still brand new Barcelo hotel that rightly labels itself as <strong>The Barcelo Experience (right) .<\/strong> With palm trees and beautiful water features in the Wembley sized reception area and a long distance infinity swimming pool that reaches out to the shore line and across the ocean to Fuerteventura and its golden sand dunes The Barcela appears to live up to itds reputation for elegance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Around two hundred people attended this performance of <strong>Too Darn Hot Jazz<\/strong>: some would have been holiday makers staying at the hotel, some would have been holiday makers from <strong>Playa Blanca<\/strong> and other resorts, some would have been indigenous of <strong>Lanzarote<\/strong>, and some, like my wife Dee and I and our friends <strong>Iain and Margaret,<\/strong> were surely new immigrants and new citizens of the island.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As I was counting the number of players in the band as they tuned up instruments like piano, double bass, trumpet, saxophone and percussion there was a brief radio introduction as <strong>Esther Vees<\/strong>, the vocalist, stepped out in a little black dress, approached the microphone, said hello and thank you for being here, clicked her fingers and the music was immediately underway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It was a good to begin with title of the performance <strong>Too Darn Hot<\/strong> and its rhythmic lyric and excellent little scat interpretation certainly set the tone for the whole performance.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"220\" height=\"220\" src=\"https:\/\/aata.dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Cheek_to_Cheek.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-26184\" style=\"width:467px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/aata.dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Cheek_to_Cheek.jpg 220w, https:\/\/aata.dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Cheek_to_Cheek-80x80.jpg 80w, https:\/\/aata.dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Cheek_to_Cheek-36x36.jpg 36w, https:\/\/aata.dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Cheek_to_Cheek-180x180.jpg 180w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 220px) 100vw, 220px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p><strong>Dancing Cheek To Cheek<\/strong> was next, instantly recognisable with its breathy introductory line of <em>\u00a8Heaven, I\u00b4m In Heaven\u00b4.<\/em> Written, of course, by renowned songwriter <strong>Irving Berlin,<\/strong> around 1934\u20131935, the song was specifically composed for the musical film <em><strong>Top Hat<\/strong><\/em><strong><em>,<\/em><\/strong> in which it was famously performed by <strong>Fred Astaire<\/strong> dancing with <strong>Ginger Rogers (left) <\/strong>with Astaire singing &nbsp;the song to Rogers as they dance. The song was <strong>nominated for the Best Song&nbsp;<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Academy_Awards\"><strong>Oscar<\/strong><\/a><strong>&nbsp;for 1936<\/strong>, but was voted second to <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Lullaby_of_Broadway_(song)\"><strong>Lullaby of Broadway<\/strong><\/a><em>.<\/em> However, Cheek To Cheek spent five weeks <strong>at #1 on&nbsp;<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Your_Hit_Parade\"><strong>Your Hit Parade<\/strong><\/a>&nbsp;and was named the <strong>#1 song of 1935<\/strong>. and&nbsp;Astaire&#8217;s 1935 recording with <strong>The&nbsp;<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Leo_Reisman\"><strong>Leo Reisman Orchestra<\/strong><\/a>&nbsp;was inducted into the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Grammy_Hall_of_Fame\"><strong>Grammy Hall of Fame<\/strong><\/a><strong>&nbsp;in 200<\/strong>0.&nbsp;In 2004, Astaire&#8217;s version finished at No. 15 on&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/AFI%27s_100_Years...100_Songs\"><strong>AFI&#8217;s 100 Years&#8230;100 Songs<\/strong><\/a>&nbsp;survey of top tunes in American cinema. The&nbsp; song has proven longevity and popularity, confirmed by<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>the database of secondhandsongs.com, By 2021 Cheek to Cheek has been recorded by 438 different artists including the likes of <strong>Sinatra, Billie Holiuday, Ella Fitzgerald &amp; Louis Armstrong<\/strong>, <strong>Doris Day<\/strong> and even (in 2014) <strong>Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga <\/strong>in one of my favourite versions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Esther then took the opportunity to introduce the members of the rhythm section of orchestra who proved to be quite brilliant throughout the rest of the show. There was a bar open at the far side of the auditorium, but there were no lounge-bar lizards out today for this mid-day concert. Instead the audience stayed in their seat to enjoy what was already promising an enthralling and intriguing set-list. Esther had, so early on, shown that she would be able to handle it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For instance, the third song of the concert was called, I think, <strong>Take Two Shiny Stockings. <\/strong>Esther gave a light-footed, teasing performance of this song thatmaintained this early air of intrigue. This was due to the fact that although the musical composer of the song was <strong>Frank Foster<\/strong> for the <strong>Count Basie Orchestra.<\/strong> two sets of lyrics, one by <strong>Ella Fitzgerald<\/strong> and the other by <strong>Louis Armstrong<\/strong> were written and became equally popular. It seemed to me that <strong>Esther Vees<\/strong> melded the two sets of lyrics together in what was quite a sassy performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This slight air of mystery of this concert was noticed again in <strong>Come Rain Or Come Shine<\/strong> that incorporated a brief ac appela insert from Esther. This is a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Popular_music\">well<\/a> loved&nbsp;song that is now a jazz standard. .<strong>Harold Arlan<\/strong> wrote the music&nbsp;&nbsp;and <strong>Johnny Mercer<\/strong> wrote the lyrics and the song was included&nbsp; in&nbsp;&nbsp; <strong>St Louis Women<\/strong>, a musical that opened on March 30, 1946, and closed after over a 100 performances.<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Come_Rain_or_Come_Shine#cite_note-JS-1\"><\/a>&nbsp;The show also produced another notable standard, <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Any_Place_I_Hang_My_Hat_Is_Home\"><strong>Any Place I Hang My Hat Is Home<\/strong><\/a><strong>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In fact,Come Rain or Come Shine is one in a series of enduring songs with meteorological themes that Arlen composed through the course of his career, including&nbsp;, <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Stormy_Weather_(song)\"><strong>Stormy<\/strong><\/a><strong> Weather, <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ill_Wind_(1934_song)\"><strong>Ill<\/strong><\/a><strong> Wind<\/strong>&nbsp;(1934), <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Over_the_Rainbow\"><strong>Over The Rainbow<\/strong><\/a> (1939), <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/When_the_Sun_Comes_Out\"><strong>When the Sun Comes Out<\/strong><\/a> (1941), and the delightful &nbsp;<strong>I Never Has Seen Snow<\/strong> (1954).<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1030\" height=\"547\" src=\"https:\/\/aata.dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG20260510125309-1030x547.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-26185\" style=\"width:452px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/aata.dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG20260510125309-1030x547.jpg 1030w, https:\/\/aata.dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG20260510125309-300x159.jpg 300w, https:\/\/aata.dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG20260510125309-768x408.jpg 768w, https:\/\/aata.dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG20260510125309-1536x816.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/aata.dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG20260510125309-2048x1088.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/aata.dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG20260510125309-1500x797.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/aata.dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG20260510125309-705x375.jpg 705w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1030px) 100vw, 1030px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Esther\u00b4s following song was the fun dialogue that constitutes <strong>Let\u00b4s Call The Whole Thing Off<\/strong>. I love the simplicity of two being fed up of how their partner seems to speak their shared language in a totally different dialect.&nbsp; Esther handled this superbly, having a laugh with the audience as we, and she, it seemed, smiled at how many pronunciations there can be of the word potato.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let&#8217;s Call the Whole Thing Off is a song written by&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/George_Gershwin\"><strong>George and Ira Gershwin<\/strong><\/a>&nbsp;&nbsp;for the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/1937_in_film\">1937<\/a>&nbsp;film&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Shall_We_Dance_(1937_film)\"><strong>Shall We Dance<\/strong><\/a><strong>,<\/strong> where it was introduced by&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Fred_Astaire\">Fred Astaire<\/a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ginger_Rogers\">Ginger Rogers<\/a>&nbsp;as part of a celebrated dance duet on roller skates !.&nbsp;The sheet music has the tempo marking of <strong><em>\u00b4brightly<\/em><\/strong> and that was certainly how <strong>The Atlantic Lab Orchestra <\/strong>delivered&nbsp;this song ranked <strong>No. 34 on&nbsp;<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/AFI%27s_100_Years...100_Songs\"><strong>AFI&#8217;s 100 Years&#8230;100 Songs<\/strong><\/a><strong>.<\/strong> Most jazz fans will have heard this song in the\u00edr local jazz club by a myriad of assorted musicians and I\u00b4m sure my friend <strong>Steve Bewick<\/strong>, the jazz journalist and radio presenter,&nbsp; will have played several versions over the years on his on-line programme, <strong>Hot Biscuits<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Love Me Or Leave Me<\/strong>, a <strong>Donaldson \/ Kahn<\/strong> composition was probably my favourite selection in the concert. With the cool dude on the drums, wearing his shades, seemingly paying respects to this moody song.. Esther captured the mood of the song exactly, and delivered perfectly with the orchestra playing at a respectful, slightly subdued tempo and volume. She has a voice not only suitable to \u00b4torch songs, but also to bluesy ballads like this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For the next number, under a mid-day sun at full height, we were invited to conjure up the darkness of a night with <strong>NO MOON AT ALL. <\/strong>I wonder if<strong>&nbsp; David Mann <\/strong>and<strong> Redd Evans, <\/strong>collaborators on this song, would ever have imagined that their composition would be performed almost eighty yearslater,&nbsp; in a posh new hotel, for holiday makers on a tourist island that was probably hardly known to anyone outside <strong>The Canary Islands<\/strong> in <strong>1947<\/strong>. Esther\u00b4s sassy little interpration of the lyrics perhaps signalled that theings tgrule were getting Too Darned Hot<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the meantime,&nbsp; No Moon At All has been recorded by the like of <strong>Doris Day <\/strong>and<strong> Ella Fitgerald<\/strong> once performed it live on <strong>The Ed Sullivan Show<\/strong> in <strong>America<\/strong>. A British singer, the late and great <strong>Julie London,<\/strong> also recorded this in 1955. I also have a recording of it by <strong>The Nat King Cole Trio<\/strong> that perfectly captured, as did Esther here today, the it\u00b4s smooth, moody feel.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1030\" height=\"712\" src=\"https:\/\/aata.dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG20260510122059-1-1030x712.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-26188\" style=\"width:466px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/aata.dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG20260510122059-1-1030x712.jpg 1030w, https:\/\/aata.dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG20260510122059-1-300x208.jpg 300w, https:\/\/aata.dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG20260510122059-1-768x531.jpg 768w, https:\/\/aata.dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG20260510122059-1-1536x1062.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/aata.dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG20260510122059-1-2048x1417.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/aata.dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG20260510122059-1-1500x1038.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/aata.dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG20260510122059-1-705x488.jpg 705w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1030px) 100vw, 1030px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p><strong>I Like The Way He Does It<\/strong>, a song written and recorded by <strong>Ethel Waters<\/strong> way back in 1929 was a highlight here and you can find her recording of it on Spotify. This was another highlight by Esther Vees <strong>(left<\/strong>), who seemed to be really enjoying herself as she swapped compliments with members of her orchestra for their instrumental passages, (in particular I was enjoying the pianist and the double bass player for their insertions):<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The Very Thought Of You <\/strong>brought this excellent concert to a close, or so we thought, as Esther gave us a rendition faithful to the original, with lyrics and music written by <strong>Ray Noble<\/strong>, (for his own jazz orchestra) in <strong>1934. <\/strong>Noble and his orchestra very soon then recorded the song with the invited lead singer being England\u00b4s<strong> Al Bowlly, <\/strong>one of my favourite \u00b4jazz\u00b4 artists of that era.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The concert wasn\u00b4t quite over, though, as Esther revealed that we would fade out of the show&nbsp; with a move from swing to some <strong>Latin American Music<\/strong>. We were then given two superb numbers that fitted beautifully into that category.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Love For Sale<\/strong>, written by <strong>Cole Porter<\/strong> is told from the viewpoint of a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Prostitution\">working<\/a> girl &nbsp;advertising &nbsp;her trade as <strong><em>love for sale<\/em><\/strong>. The song was first performed on stage by <strong>Kathryn Crawford<\/strong> in <strong>The New Yorkers<\/strong>, a musical that opened on <strong>Broadway in 1930<\/strong> and ran for over 160 performances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When the song came out in 1930, a newspaper labelled it as being in <strong><em>bad taste<\/em><\/strong>&nbsp;and radio stations avoided broadcasting it.&nbsp;Because of the complaints, Porter shifted the setting of the song in the musical. The white&nbsp; performer of the song, Kathryn Crawford, was told it would be in future performed in a set resembling <strong>Harlem\u00b4s Cotton Club<\/strong> and therefore &nbsp;would be sung by <strong>Elisabeth Welch<\/strong>, an African American,&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Later, <strong>Ella Fitzgerrald, <\/strong>and <strong>Eartha Kitt<\/strong> each recorded the song and&nbsp; <strong>Boney M<\/strong> recorded it as the title track of their 1977 disco album.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Tony Bennett<\/strong> had, a few years earlier, released a jazz duet with <strong>Lady Gaga<\/strong> and asked her if she would like to record another album with him, that this time would cover &nbsp;<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Cole_Porter\">Cole Porter<\/a><\/strong> songs. The duo recorded Love For Sale as their second collaborative album, and the song was later chosen as the second single off the album, released on September 17, 2021, to digital retailers.<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Love_for_Sale_(song)#cite_note-BillboardSingle-11\"><\/a> The duo&#8217;s rendition of the Cole Porter standard is an old-fashioned duet, trading lines and harmonies over the joyous, and has big band, up-tempo&nbsp; arrangement.&nbsp;The song starts with Bennett softly singing the lines alone, with the big band arrangement joining him at the chorus. Gaga, in the role of streetwalker, joins him and trills: &#8220;Who will buy?&#8221;<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Love_for_Sale_(song)#cite_note-FinancialTimes-14\"><\/a><sup><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There\u00b4s a lovely bebop saxophone break on the track&nbsp;that is part of a rendition that brings a &#8220;hearty helping of Broadway and some razzle dazzle old-school&nbsp;&nbsp; to the <strong>&#8220;grim scenario&#8221;,<\/strong> &nbsp;of the &#8220;<strong>sleazy world of sex work&#8221;.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There was one more highlight to close the show. Composed by<strong> Duke Ellington <\/strong>and<strong> Billy Strahorn,&nbsp; Satin Doll&nbsp; <\/strong>had lyrics by<strong> Johnny Mercer.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Esther Vees<\/strong> and <strong>The Atlantico Lab Orchestra director<\/strong> sadly announced that they had to catch the next ferry over to <strong>Fuerteventura<\/strong> so that they could arrive there in time to set up for the performance later that evening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Esther and the orchestra agreed to pose for some conversation and photograph-taking with the audience. I didn\u00b4t manage to get my photograph with the jazz singer, nor with any of the half a dozen of the musicians who had played some marvellous solos or collaborations. I did however manage to hand over my business card and we agreed that we would undertake an e mail interview that I hope to publish in <strong>sidetracks &amp; detours<\/strong> soon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So watch this space. !<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"261\" height=\"193\" src=\"https:\/\/aata.dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/pass-it-on-9.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-27271\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"340\" height=\"340\" src=\"https:\/\/aata.dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/whats-next-1462747__340-5.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-26148\" style=\"width:185px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/aata.dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/whats-next-1462747__340-5.webp 340w, https:\/\/aata.dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/whats-next-1462747__340-5-300x300.webp 300w, https:\/\/aata.dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/whats-next-1462747__340-5-80x80.webp 80w, https:\/\/aata.dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/whats-next-1462747__340-5-36x36.webp 36w, https:\/\/aata.dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/whats-next-1462747__340-5-180x180.webp 180w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 340px) 100vw, 340px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">SIDETRACKS &amp; DETOURS SUNDAY 6<sup>th<\/sup>&nbsp;SEPTEMBER 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Canary Cruising,\u2026cool<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"512\" height=\"512\" src=\"https:\/\/aata.dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/coming-soon-4.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-26150\" style=\"width:179px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/aata.dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/coming-soon-4.png 512w, https:\/\/aata.dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/coming-soon-4-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/aata.dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/coming-soon-4-80x80.png 80w, https:\/\/aata.dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/coming-soon-4-36x36.png 36w, https:\/\/aata.dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/coming-soon-4-180x180.png 180w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 512px) 100vw, 512px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">SIDETRACKS &amp; DETOURS SUNDAY 13<sup>th<\/sup>&nbsp;SEPTEMBER 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>secretly recorded live gigs legitimised on line?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">SIDETRACKS &amp; DETOURS SUNDAY 20<sup>th<\/sup>&nbsp;SEPTEMBER 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Waiting For Godot and Music At Lunchtomes<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">SIDETRACKS &amp; DETOURS SUNDAY 27<sup>th<\/sup>&nbsp;SEPTEMBER 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>r.i.p. David Alan Coe, songwriter and unreliable narrator<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Atlantic Jazz Lab Orchestra returned to Lanzarote on Sunday May 10th to present Too Darn Hot!, their new album recorded in La Gomera and released on the Dutch label T\u00e9l\u00e8s Jazz Records. Their performance paid tribute to the great female voices of jazz\u2014Anita O&#8217;Day, Diana Krall, Doris Day, and Peggy Lee\u2014through the orchestra&#8217;s arrangements [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":25946,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25941","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorised"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25941","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25941"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25941\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27273,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25941\/revisions\/27273"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25946"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25941"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25941"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25941"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}