The London Jazz Festival was kicked off again with its most entertaining offering. Jazz Voice continues annually to serve as a varied showcase of standards, under Guy Barker’s lush musical direction. The 2011 edition included some Gershwin, British musicals, a Louis Armstrong tribute and even the odd Stevie Wonder tune.

Amongst the eight featured vocalists, the one who could truly claim a song was the powerful Gregory Porter. The finest natural performer of the bunch, he shined in the opening number, “Feeling Good”, and continued to strike a deep chord with his own original composition “1960 What?”.

The 42-piece orchestra was especially poignant during its salute to both Impulse Records and Roy Eldridge, faithfully exemplifying then past Jazz innovations.

Despite an extensive running time of well over two hours, Jazz Voice is still a great night out for those who feel like swinging without completely losing their heads.

– Gabi Tartakovsky